on walking before running

7.31.2014

the common misconception is that because i am a runner, i live this super healthy lifestyle. while i appreciate the high regard that comes with the assumption, i can't own it. the truth is, i only take really good care of my body when i want some specific result from it.

two prime examples are my first marathon and august's birth. in both situations i treated my body like a temple and it paid off. come to think of it, those may have the only times i've truely seen my body for what it is and appreciated all the amazing things it is capable of. you'd think that realization would've been inspiration enough to stick with whatever was working, but although i continued to view my body as a temple, continuing to treat it that way was another story. proof of that kind of neglect usually appears in the form of either injury or illness and in the past month, i've had both.

something else happened in the past month; august started walking on his own! while observing him {and it doesn't get old watching him take those wobbly steps, with him mouth open in concentration, and arms out for balance}, it occurred to me: he and i are living parallel lives right now. here's this boy, whose big eyes dart from place to place faster than his little legs can take him there. then there's me, whose big ambitions jump from one goal to another faster than my body is able to recover. we're both itching to run.

one thing before the other, right? so i took five weeks of rest to let my body fully heal and swapped the time i'd usually spend out on early morning runs, doing the things i'd daydream about during those runs. when that didn't involve sleeping in, it meant walks to the park with august and helping him to develop his new skill.

with the forced downtime, i also did a lot of self-evaluation and dug through the mental archives to pull out all the things i was doing before that made me feel so good and that helped my body to perform so well. they were simple things, going to bed at a good hour, being mindful of what goes in my body as well as what goes on my body, like drinking loads of water, stretching after every run, strengthening weak areas and trying to maintain balance ALL while being kind to myself.

seems like a lot to manage, but i thought again about my new little walker and all the different things he must have to think about just to get one foot in front of the other. one day, it'll come naturally and he won't have to think about it so much, which inspired me, maybe the same will be true for me? in the mean time, i am commited to getting things back to where they were, not because i have another specific demand to ask of my body {although truth be told, there are a couple of goals in the distant future that i've got my eye on}, but because it'd be nice to be able to keep up with august.


over the past couple of weeks, i've made small changes to my lifestyle to get "back to basics". i'll be sharing those simple changes over the next month with the hopes that it might inspire you too because "if we aren't improving then we aren't moving forward", or something like that. also, accountability is key when enthusiasm wanes, so hold me to this, deal? deal! 

14 comments:

gillian claire said...

such great words! i used to be so much healthier than i am right now. i am SO out of the habit of so many things that are good for my body and i am looking forward to the day that i get back on the right track!

Amy S. said...

I can relate to this post a lot at the moment. Life's stresses lately have seen good routines fall by the wayside lately, in my case. Hopefully you can find good motivation to keep things going in a positive direction!
And can we just talk about those little baby squeals/babbles for a minute??? Cutest thing ever! Makes me just want to squeeze him! :-)

Claudin Mangum said...

YES! I'm on board! Mind being the guiding light?..


p.s. LOVE that a. just had to stop his walk so that he could pick up that twig. *eep!*

Petra said...

please, I need to get back on track too. so share your wisdom :)

rebecca said...

Ohhhhhhhh I feel you! I have a to do list thats metres long and feel like I'm going nowhere. Hopefully *fingers crossed* when Spring comes round I'll have a new spring in my step (see what I did there?!)
Bec x
www.dancingthroughsunday.typepad.com

lucinda said...

thank you gillian claire! one step at a time, you'll get back there!

lucinda said...

i'm happy you liked it so much! and you are absolutely right, sarah, i am constantly amazed by all the things august is teaching me. these kids, i tell you!

lucinda said...

glad it struck a chord, amy. it's funny how a stip of the scale is all it takes for us to realize how off balance we are!
and yes, his "conversation" is my favorite - i always love trying to figure it out, but who knows what it all means! ha!

lucinda said...

*hands in* GOOOOO TEAM!
xox

lucinda said...

oh i sure do hope it is "wise" but i'm excited to share none the less! let's do this together, petra! ;)

lucinda said...

there's nothing like a good ol' "to-do list". just find encourgaement from every box you are able to check off and don't be worried about how long it takes to get through the list - every step is another forward! (clever play on words too, by the way!)

Ursula said...

Oh I'll totally hold you to it because I love that idea! I totally need to get back to the important things in life.

What cute pictures of little August's steps :) Whenever I see my nieces take those tentative baby steps I want to jump in and catch them. I'm on permanent edge but they need space to learn.

I'm so amazed that you have taken your rest time to self-evaluate. It's very admirable as I imagine it's mildly tempting to fall into a cloud of self pity. Keep up with the inspiring posts :)

Hannah Smith | fox and willow said...

oh my goodness, August's little squeaks! Sorry to hear that you got sick and injured! I hope you are feeling better!

Sarah McConnell said...

I can't tell you how much a LOVE this post, and I applaud you for taking the time to be good to yourself! Isn't it crazy to have a new walker in the house? These little ones can teach us so much about ourselves.

 

© current tempo All rights reserved . Design by Blog Milk Powered by Blogger