I have high expectations for this week. I'm really wanting to push and stretch myself, put in some hard training, get in the miles in order to ready myself for the peak of this training season. The Monday morning run was great, 7 x 800's at the track with Jamie, felt hard but satisfying. By the afternoon, the fatigue, cramping, bloated blahs kicked in and I was already self-doubting. You ladies know what I'm talking about, for a whole week out of every month, your body is hating on you like no one's business.
Tuesday morning's plan was a solo run of 8-10 miles in CH with promises of big, long hills. But, after two Midol, I simply wasn't feeling it physically, and mentally, well that's a whole different story. I was late taking the 3 kids to school, each one progressively later than the first. Then a text message from the middle child reporting that he desperately needed a paper he had left on his side table which meant my run was going to begin even later! In order to make my 10am appt with my trainer, I needed to make this run fast and furious, and closer to home.
Already feeling sluggish, bloated, fat, disgusted, crampy, and just plain yuck, I didn't have much will power to get me through this long, hilly, humid run that I had to do solo. I contemplated my outfit, I think it made my bloated belly protrude, so maybe a quick stop at home was needed.....maybe I needed new music on my ipod......I think I had the wrong inserts in my shoes.....really, the list went on and on in my head before getting out of the car. It's seriously ridiculous! Finally, when I though no one was looking, I got out of my car and proceeded to the trail. I usually do a few dynamic stretches, find a good bush, then begin my run, but while I was stretching, I noticed a few ladies approaching and I needed to wait until they passed me. Once they passed, I finished my routine, then did a brisk walk to the start of the trail. As I caught up to them, the first lady said, "oh, I love your legs!" What? I turned down my music, not certain of what I heard. The middle lady said, "Yes! I love your legs! Wow, you are so lucky!" The three of them smiled as I had no idea how to respond to that.
As I ran the first several miles, I kept thinking about the timing of these ladies and how fantastic their words were at that moment. At any other time, I probably wouldn't have thought much of it, but at that exact moment, when all the self-doubt was bubbling at the surface, it felt awesome to receive such a compliment. And yes, I should be thankful that I have two legs in which to run with. Why don't we compliment one another on a more regular basis? What are we afraid of? Is it really too hard to speak kind, encouraging words to people we don't know? My silly self-doubt was washed away by three ladies who had the courage to speak compliments (heck, they don't even need to be true!) to me. I will return the favor and pass along the goodness.
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