Not what I expected. Definitely NOT what I hoped for!

Just to warn you now, this could be a PG 13 blog entry.  BEWARE! 

We had the most amazing speaker at class tonite.  She was funny, knowledgeable, interesting.  Had lots of good things to say, things for me to ponder.  She talked about committing to something and the difference between being involved and committed.  I know what some of you are probably thinking....I SHOULD be committed!  LOL  (I haven't lost my sense of humor yet, it can't be THAT bad.)

And I thought to myself, I'm committed to this class, and to running the schedule and to improving/benefiting my body, mind and spirit, to taking better care of my health.  So I ask you.....What is a person to do when they're committed mind and heart to something. but the body is failing you?  (As I sit here, writing this, with ice on my left shin...AGAIN!)

Now....every piece of literature they've given me at this class has the same recurring message...."Listen to your body."  Maybe I should've left the Ipod in the car....how can I be listening to my body when I'm listening to Donna Summer?  Or Faith Hill? 

And then a revelation......my "Aha" moment if you will.
 
My body has not been my friend for years now, why would we have a decent enough relationship to communicate?  I think the only things I've said to my body in the last 14 years has been, "Jesus you're getting fat." or "It's jiggling!" or "I wish I had insurance for that hail damage," as I look at my backside in the mirror. 

My best friend (and fellow runner) Lori tells me I have the perfect body for a runner.  She says, "You have those muscular athletic legs, you're built for it."  Really?  I mean Really?  The women that run tend more toward being tiny and ultra lean.  With the exception of my sister, whose built more like me only thinner with smaller boobs, I don't see women that run that look like me.  Of course......maybe they did at first?    Hmm.....that's a thought.  No....I still don't see lots of women built like me running. 

I have all these muscles from gymnastics years ago and they like to cramp when I pull them out of storage and use them.  And of course.....like everything else I do in life....I do it with gusto! 

Now, I am a few weeks behind everyone else in the class due to the shin splints and the dental emergency, but I really believed I could keep up.  I wanted to run the full 20 minutes, 30 seconds of running, 30 seconds of walking.  OOPS!  My mistake....check your schedule Roni.....tonight is 25 minutes total of 1 minute running and 1 minute walking!

Still.....overconfident, dressed, water bottle in hand, Ipod on the waist, ponytail swinging, I'm ready to go.  I certainly look the part.  :)  I believed I could do the full 25 minutes at this pace.  I do need to be committed....to the Looney Bin!  What WAS I thinking?  I haven't even ran a full 25 minutes yet on my own!

Sure enough.....1/3 of the way through the run....I feel the pull of my left shin muscle.....OH SHIT!....now it's really cramping.  What happened to my philosophy of taking it easy, and that it's not a race? 

I look down at my left leg and I can see the cramped muscle bulging from my shin.  So I stop and stretch for about a minute, a Volunteer comes by and asks if I'm ok, I tell her yes, thank you, then start walking again.....then I think, "It feels better to run."  So I run....wait...Deja Vu!  Anyone remember a previous blog with something really similar?  DUH!!

So I stop and stretch again.  I use my water bottle as a rolling pin to try and loosen that muscle. 

Another Volunteer comes by and asks if I'm ok, I tell her it's my shin, she looks down, sees the muscle bulging, gets on her knees, tells me to give her my leg and let her take the weight and she starts to massage the cramp and try to work it out.  What a sweet woman, damn...I wish I'd shaved my stubbly legs.  Poor thing....she probably has whisker burn. 
She told me to walk the rest of the way and when my group was on it's way back to join them, no more running, not to push it. 

Needless to say.....I walked a little further....the cramp in my shin worked it's way up my thigh to my butt!  Ok....I'm done.  All I want to do is get to my car, grab my bottle of Ice, half water now, and ice this leg before it gets so bad I'm out of running for days.  So I turn around and go back.  As I get closer to Southwest High School, people are passing me.  Volunteers are getting to the end and standing on the curve high fiveing people  as they go by, saying, "
Great Job!"  I felt like a fake.  I know that I'm not really fake....just enthusiastic and now....frustrated and in pain. 

I guess I just want you all to know, and think about this;  How is your relationship with your body?  Is it good enough for you to communicate nicely and for you to listen to what it's telling you? 

Please be smarter than I was tonite.  I think alot of it had to do with hydration.  I thought I was pretty hydrated but they did mention that if I want to run Friday, I need to spend Thursday hydrating myself because muscles are built to work in a fluid environment and work best that way.  I probably didn't drink enough water to accomodate.  So I probably had double whammy, overdoing it and underhydrated. 

I will learn from this lesson!  I will not quit!!!  Ice, elevation, rest and ibuprofen will be my good friends tonite and tomorrow and hopefully, I'll be running again on Friday.  I really enjoy running.  I think I do it better alone than with buddies.  That way I don't push myself to keep up with anyone else.  It's just me!