Thoughts on the Run

In my post Ultrarunner Secret Getaway Location I wrote about strange body feelings. Most notably the brain pain and chest tightening. Today I decided to take those on by doing a weight lifting workout.

My original plan for this morning, and yesterday morning, was to run. Nothin too crazy, just go out on the trail for a few miles each day. With the Boulder Marathon this Sunday, I had an easy opportunity to make a 50 mile week.

Not even halfway through the week and still feeling that tightness in the body. From chest to legs. Can’t say that I have overworked it as don’t feel like I’ve really done much of running. Marathon a few weeks ago and then a little jaunt in the mountains on a wet cold day.

It may be the past 2 weeks are catching up with me and no downtime. The photo of the 2 computers and coffee is how I worked for 1 of those weeks. It is actually a common setup for me as my brain runs in dual mode. I don’t really have the opportunity for true downtime as I always have to be “on.” Now it appears the kids are getting sick, so it is just a matter of time before I’m laid out on my back for a day or two.

We all go through these phases. Whether it be getting sick, bored at work, or just tired of the disconnected mundane routine. Some are fine with this, but those of us that continue to reach for more really struggle on these days. It’s that mind running on high speed at all times thinking about what I’m doing, goals, what is really possible. Sometimes the fix is as simple as finding someone who thinks similarly and having a nice 3 hour conversation. Other times it is getting lost on a 3 hour trail run. When I am not able to do either, I feel the world starting to close in and shut down … crash.

I can visualize my patience level gauge going down as fast as Apollo 13’s air tanks emptied after they stirred the tanks (haven’t dropped a NASA reference in awhile!). For them, they had a large team to come up with and test solutions to fix the problem. I am working on solution 16 at the moment and hoping for a positive result. I know what the solution needs to be, but don’t have the situation to implement it. Right now, maintaining the path until the option arises to do a full reboot and get back on track.

Life is like a rollercoaster with ups, downs, curves, and free falls. Sometimes we know the track laid out before us, but most of the time we are just along for the ride. As on rollercoasters and in running, with every hill you climb, there is a section ahead to fly down at top speed.