Days 205-208: Flowing Freely

Day 205:  On Thursday I thought that all of my post ten-mile run soreness had been rested away- I was just a little bit wrong.  I ran a mile, walked for a minute, stretched a bit, ran a block, walked, stretched  and continued this pattern for the next 40 minutes.  It was a meek attempt to run, but I tried my darndest and clocked my daily sweat time.

Day 206:  Friday morning, I yoga’d at Karma Yoga for 90 blissful minutes.  The instructor had a way of helping me lose my thoughts and dive into my body.  I wish that was a place I could get to on my own.  I suppose that’s why they call yoga a practice.  It takes time…much, much time.

Day 207:  Yesterday I picked up my friend Sarah for an impromptu hike.  I grabbed my Denver hiking book and found a trail in Mount Falcon Park by  Morrison that was said to have breathtaking views.   We set out to complete a 80 minute hike and instead, ended up a bit lost and it turned into a 130 minute hike.  Around 75 minutes in we asked a fellow hiker how to get back to where we started, he chuckled and said “you guys must have been booking it down here because you are really far away.”  After that, we got a little nervous and picked up our pace a bit more and headed back the same way we came- giving up on the trail we were originally searching for.

Almost at the end of our hike we ran into three female deer.  They stopped eating grass to stare at us, the same way we were staring at them.  I happen to think that deer are one of the most beautiful animals because of how peaceful they always seem.  Being so close to them and nature literally took my breath away.  Two hours prior to that I was in the heart of the city and worrying about traffic and dinner and at that exact moment my only thought was how glorious nature truly is.  I am humbled to be able to live somewhere that allows such easy access to places that allow me to escape.

Day 208:  Today I was L.A.Z.Y.  I cooked, cleaned, grocery shopped and read…a lot.  That last thing I wanted to do was get off my rear, put down my salacious book and start to sweat.  Alas, it had to be done!  I threw on some Bob Marley, grabbed my yoga mat and flowed to my own breath for an hour.  I tried to lose myself a bit like I had the two previous days, but I kept being brought back into my life.  My cat rubbing on my feet (and face, hands, calves, etc), the oven timer going off telling me that my dinner was done, my phone vibrating, neighbors laughing, car doors slamming….I just could not get out of my life.

That’s when it struck me, sometimes my life is just perfect and being it in so fully is all I need to feel happy.  Life is about the ebb and flow, being able to disconnect some days is wonderful and being 100% immersed other days is also perfection.  Learning to be content with the variety and present in the moment is the challenge.

Days 109-111: Sweating Through The Pain

Day 109: On Friday morning my friend Jenny and I went for a three-mile walk in Washington Park.  I had planned it to be an easy day of working out since the rest of the weekend was going to be packed with high intensity workouts.  Unfortunately, I ended up catching a bug that knocked me out the rest of the day on Friday and all day on Saturday.  My friendly friday walk was the last amount of big movements I’d be making for the next 48 hours.

Day 110:  I read recently that people who consistently workout average one cold a year and people who do not workout consistently average four colds per year.  Since I am now characterized as a person who works out frequently, I knew that there was a chance of sickness at some point during this challenge.  This was my time.  Friday night I could barely swallow and my head was pounding.  Saturday morning it became apparent that sweating was going to be a painful challenge.

Thankfully, I have a fiance who held me accountable.  We got super bundled up and went for a twenty-minute walk around the lake at Washington Park.  He even held my arm the entire time because I felt super weak.  Do you remember that entire lazy body feeling you would get when you were a teenager and your parents would ask you to do something and it felt like your muscles couldn’t physically move?  That’s what I felt like all day yesterday.  Hence the need to lean on someone during a walk.

Day 111:  Today I woke up feeling a little better, but still not fantastic.  I knew I was going to have to take it easy again.  Mike planned out a hike for us at Red Rocks that was 3.3 miles with a 600 foot elevation gain.  That sounded doable to me if we took it slow.  Fortunately the breath-taking views kept my mind occupied from the pain in my throat.  The trail ended up getting really icy in spots, which naturally slowed us down- which made my achy body happy.  Overall, it took us 80 minutes and we came straight home to relax right after.  I am really hoping that my body decides to continue to heal after small gentle sweats all weekend.  Here’s to finding out if workouts can lead to a cure.