On my Tuesday run, two words kept rolling around in my mind. With each step I took, I felt them swish forward and then back and up and down like water jostling around in your stomach while you run. Ebb and Flow. Ebb and Flow. Over and over and over again these words would slam into my brain like an ocean wave surging and throwing itself upon the shore. I spent much of the run trying to figure out why these words were so strong and vivid in my mind and how they applied to my life/run. It took nearly the whole damn run, but I finally figured it out.
I find that when I am running often I experience moments where my energy, pain, consciousness, etc. decrease and then increase. It is like a dip and then a swell (Yes, ocean alliterations). I will be moving along and if I stop and think about it, I will realize my gait has a pattern to it and so does the way my arms move in tandem with how I breathe. Everything works together in a very basic 1-2-1-2 pattern. And it’s beautiful! My pattern is an ebb and flow of my body’s movements; actions, and re-actions. I often have tried to find a word or set of words that describe me as a runner. My kind mother calls me a gazelle, but I know that my bumbling pokey gait is nothing like a gazelle’s. My friends, who've run with me, call me Pocahontas, because I am so slow. I have never had a specific set of words though that both described and inspired me, until Tuesday. Ebb and Flow, that’s me. Every run I take is now very full of the ebb and flow mantra, but this concept also permeates my life and relationships. While on my 2.4 mile run on Tuesday, my 3.1 journey on the elliptical on Wednesday, and my 3.2 mile run today, I mulled over the ebb and flow in my life. I really can’t speak for anyone else because I know that each person experiences the world and its moments differently, and who am I to judge someone else’s feelings. But I believe that the concept of ebb and flow affects my life on a daily basis, and when I am running it just happens to be accentuated.
On today’s run my brain was scattered and I couldn’t focus. But the 1-2-1-2 beat was still there. I think it is because I am closing in on another race (a training run of sorts) and I have a bit of pre-race jitters. I tired to calm myself my matching my breathing with my pace, but the sound of the 1-2-1-2 only made me want to run faster, but I couldn’t breathe that fast. I really booked it today. I soared across the route I normally plotz along. I really wanted to work on speed work anyway, so I used my excess energy as an excuse. As I blasted down the road the wind, which was stunningly harsh today, kept blasting me in my front or back or side and throwing me significantly off balance. However, instead of getting frustrated I found it funny and just laughed. I tried to keep the run in perspective, instead of obsessing over the details and getting hung up in the moments when I felt weak. Besides the mindless wanderings, the run was quite pleasant and a welcome detour from my daily routine.
After each run recently I have taken to resting my sore knees in a pile of snow. To any runners out there who are near snow, I HIGHLY recommend this post-run activity. It’s just like an ice bath, except it works faster and you feel better afterwards. Also you didn’t waste any excess water to heal your legs. I am also going to throw this out there; I am thinking of becoming a vegetarian. I have this crazy idea that it will help me be more healthy.
Anyway keep on, keepin’ on!
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