Momentum Monday: A gift

Hello Monday, here we are again. The beginning to another week and already looking forward to the weekend. HA! This weekend was quite busy for me and also a good one for our local sports teams! The Seattle Sounders won on Friday, my alma mater the University of Washington Huskies beat Illinois on Saturday and the Seahawks beat the 49ers on Sunday. So lots of sports for me this weekend, I was loving it! 

It was also another big weekend for me because I ran for the first time since the Disneyland half. Yes, if you are keeping track at home, that is a two week hiatus. At first I was just physically tired and drained from that weekend and wanted to rest my legs. Then after that, the ball of my left foot was bothering me quite a bit, to the point it hurt to walk or even stand on it. However, that mysteriously went away and my foot feels back to normal again. So I figured, what the hell, I'll go out for a run and see how long I can go.

About a mile into my run, I was hating life. Everything was so out of sync I was just getting frustrated and started to doubt my ability to continue running during my pregnancy. Then around mile 2ish, it all got better. Breathing was easier and my strides were more fluid. Don't get me wrong, I still took walk breaks, more than I normally do. I've made the decision that I still want to run but I'm not out to break any speed records of mine while I'm pregnant, it will put too much strain on my body and the baby.

When my run was over, I had managed to get in 4 miles in just about an hour. Not my best time, but I didn't care, I was glad to be out getting the mileage in. Then I was thinking as I was stretching at how lucky I am to still be able to run while I'm pregnant. I have had friends that when they were pregnant, just getting out of bed each morning was a feat, let alone getting any physical activity in. At this point, this very quote ran through my head and I feel this way everytime I run, regardless if I'm pregnant or not, it still is true to all.

Running really is a gift. It may not be wrapped up in a pretty bow or get delivered to you in your stocking on Christmas morning, but it is more precious than anything you can buy. Having the ability to get out there and get any kind of mileage in on any day that you can, is something not to take for granted. We commonly lament our training runs, huffing and puffing that "I really don't want to run because of (insert long list of excuses)". Then there are those that may be injured or changed in some way that they can't run and all they want to do is have the ability and the freedom to run.

Now I'm not saying that you have to take this so solemnly, I'm just saying this is how I was feeling this past Saturday. Thankful for my run, blessed that I still have the physical capacity to continue to run and grateful for the gift of running. I know how it has changed my life, I marvel as I sit here and think of how changed my life is due to running. I'm literally sitting here in tears (damn hormones), but I can't imagine what I would be doing now if I hadn't started running a couple of years ago. The memories I would have missed making, the amazing friends I never would have met and the clarity I get every time I go out there and pound the pavement.

So the next time you run, take a deep breath, take it all in. Take in this precious gift you have and enjoy every moment of it.