Beautiful day... need... to .... run... play... exercise... need... to... AHHHH!!!
Leave it to God to have a great sense of humor. One of the nicest days of the year and I am supposed to be resting. Resting? That's one thing I don't do well. I may preach rest, but I sure don't practice it as much as I should. I don't even have a lectern in my classroom, nor do I sit on a stool. I can't stay in one place for very long and I bore easily. Which is probably why I became a teacher. One of the best ways to keep classroom order is to constantly be in motion and with all the million really important decisions a teacher has to make in a day in a short amount of time, it's hard to get bored. There is no down time.
My usual routine has me coming home, completely exhausted from the day, then going out for a run. This refreshes me, this resets my mind and body, this is how I deal with the stress, and this is how I come up with my best teaching ideas. Today, however, I rest. I do not run. I sit, and had the boy taken a good nap this afternoon, I would have also taken a nap. But here I sit.
I am making soup. Soup is easy to make. I just put in the broth I made from the chicken last night, then celery, noodles, black-eyed peas, left over chicken, mushrooms, carrots, garlic and onions, salt and pepper, and thyme and basil. All these ingredients basically simmer until Jesus comes to gather his people into heaven, then yum! Or when everything blends together and is soft- whichever comes first.
That is basically a "throw it together and wait" type meal. It's done and I will be eating it soon, but until then and after then, I shall rest. Which is probably a good thing, because I am much more prone to over exercising than I am to under exercise.
There's a great article in Runner's World magazine by Peter Sagal in which he talks about having lost all this weight, but even now he feels as though he is trying to outrun the pumpkin that is following close behind. I thought the article was poignant for people like me, who have lost a lot of weight. Basically, every day we think about that old self following close behind. We get concerned with that pumpkin who can take over our bodies and bring us back into the clothes that we gave away long ago.
My point is that a taper is almost like an injury. We can't run, we have to rest. In that rest we worry about the pumpkin. We're about to run 26.2 miles (+ an 8K the day before), but still that dang pumpkin! Call it PTSD from obesity. Unless you have had the weight problems, you might not understand. It's a mental battle that we fight. In this case, as I prepare for my 4th marathon, I will do everything possible to make sure that my legs can pull me through 26.2 miles in 3h 45m. I know I can do it, I just hope the pumpkin can't.
Shamrock race weekend is this weekend. Pray for me and all the other runners!
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