Day 2: Recovery

Many athletes will tell you that your recovery days are just as important as your "work" days. Well, they are right. Yesterday I went on my first run since being “grounded” almost a month and 2/3’s ago. While I have worked very hard to keep my endurance up, I found out today that my long hard elliptical and stair stepper workouts over that 1 + 2/3 month did little to prepare me for the pounding my poor quads would receive. To be honest, my quads were not the only set of muscles that took a beating. My hamstrings, shins, calves, feet, arms, shoulders, and back are all also feeling the love today. I do, however, LOVE this feeling. Whenever a specific set of muscles are sore a day after exercise it means that you did just that, you exercised. You pushed your body just past your limits and the pain you are feeling is your miraculous body beginning to heal. It rocks. Well, I mean it rocks that you’re healing. Not that you’re hobbling around the office and wearing ice packs (on 20 min and off 20 min) for the entire day. At this point my work peers have probably decided I am just a nutter and leave me alone.

I love running and the days when I am not running I miss it. I long for my runs like a fat kid longs for cake. It does border on ridiculous, I know that. To be honest, the longing I feel for being back on the trail or road making movement, is more in tow with the way a young person yearns and longs for a lover. The idea of going for a run flips my stomach, the way some girls get butterflies when they see the person they are attracted to. The mere thought of the cool breeze on my face chokes me up. Everything about running brings chills to my spine and a light sweat to my forehead and the back of my neck. This actually does sound kind of crazy when I read it back to myself, but at least I am being honest. And like I have said twice before, this is for me. Running is also in many ways like a best friend. The kind who you want to be around all of the time and never seem to tire of. The kind of best friend, who loves you for your imperfections, takes them, keeps them, and tells you to keep pushing onward. This friend provides support and a world of possibilities. I should get one of those best friend necklaces you buy in 3rd grade and throw one half on the trail somewhere and keep the other half hanging around my neck. That is very cheesy, but basically running fills me with joy.

And yet today was a recovery day. This means that I spent 20 plus minutes moving as fast as I could in place on the elliptical and lifting weights. Now that running is back in my life, I am not content with fooling around on the elliptical or lifting weights. I spend all of my time thinking of the freedom and fierce chill of the open road. How does that song go? “If you can’t be with the one you love, honey, love the one you’re with.” I guess that is the correct mentality for me in regards to running. I must have recovery days, so that I can (duh!) recover. And yes, I must keep my endurance up and cross train on those days. But I don’t want to, I just want to run.

So this is day two and I put in my time at the gym. Tomorrow is another fleeting chance at freedom. See you out there BFF.
Ha! Oh I crack myself up.