Keepin' it real, for sure.

Still coming off of Sunday's long run "high," I struggled with a lack of motivation for today's solo run.  After dropping off three kids at three different times at two different schools, I drove over to east campus where I spent nearly 20 minutes trying to psych myself up for a run.  Ugh.  Here's the reality.  Not every day is a good, positive, happy, wonderful type of run day.  This morning's plan was deeply disrupted by my husband's schedule, then a daughter who forgot to pack something in her back pack, and various trips back and forth that left me eating a cold, (already nasty) gluten free waffle in the car while slugging down warm water.  The permeating smell of the baby's poopy diaper didn't add anything great to my breakfast either, yuck.  So, as I sat in the car watching people run on the trail, I simply didn't feel inspired to run.  The schedule said to run an easy 6 miles, simple.  Not.  Another 5 minutes passed and I hadn't even unlocked the doors, so I decided to just go back home and treat myself to a warm breakfast.

Now eating my second (but better tasting) breakfast of the day, I exchanged my running clothes for warm sweats and made a cozy spot in my bed where I could devour my breakfast and watch a little morning news.  In flipping through the channels, I stumbled across Rachel Ray's program and saw she was interviewing Elisabeth Hasselbeck on her new book entitled, Deliciously Gluten Free.  I stayed glued to the program, absorbing every word she spoke, and quickly downloaded her book onto my Nook.  It was almost as if this morning's scheduled run was supposed to be interrupted so I could tune into TV programming, it was just what I needed today.  Listening to Elisabeth share her experiences as a Celiac, reading the prologue of her cookbook, and paying careful attention to a variety of potential gluten contaminating items, I felt a sigh of relief and a new desire to find flavorful menus.   I formulated a grocery list that was sure to help mealtimes be more enjoyable once again.

After leaving the grocery store with many GF items, I noticed the sun had begun to peek through the clouds and was warming up the air enough to send my spirits soaring for a run!  Perfect shorts/tank kind of weather.  I sped home, changed back into my running clothes, and rushed over to the Wa Duke trail.  Finally, the energy and will had combined into one and I let my body run free.  There's nothing better than a run where your spirit feels like it's soaring, your body moves effortless, your feet hardly feel like they're touching the ground, and you just run.  Had I forced this morning's run, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have had the same experience, I'm glad I waited until my body was ready to go.

Last week I clocked 40.5 miles of running, no wonder I was struggling this morning.  By afternoon, I felt like I could have run another 40 more.  Sometimes it's okay to back off, take a break, but other times is necessary to push through.  I battled those thoughts this morning, but glad I was able to back off, it proved to be the best decision.