Day 21- Running 6 Miles!

7:45 am Saturday Morning Run

I made it out of bed this morning and tried something new.  Mike, one of our team leaders, suggested taking a hot shower before running in order to loosen up stiff muscles and joints.  What a brilliant idea!  I took a very hot shower this morning, along with some ibuprofen, and after a little stretching, felt great!  I met Lynn at the river, and away we went for a 6 mile run.  This is about the distance of the 10 km that we’ll be running in the triathlon, so I was eager to see if I could do it.  She brought along Oya and told stories while we rant, so the time flew by!

Lynn and Oya

Oya gives us a break!

I liked having Oya along because she needed occasional potty breaks, which allowed me to catch my breath!  The run was especially great today because we took a new route through the Delta Ponds and got to see lots of birds and signs of life.  The path was full of runners and we all encouraged each other with friendly waves.  I love the energy of an early morning run in Eugene!

I misunderstood Lynn’s planned route and thought we still had 3 miles to go when really it was only 1.  That was a nice surprise!  I finished strong, but my hips and knees were starting to hurt.  No sprinting at the end this time.  Oh, it was good to be done!

Finishing up 6 miles

It was one of those rushed days where I had to get home and get oldest daughter to her basketball game.  At the game, I was so tired that I kept nodding off.  I had one night this week where my old insomnia kicked in and I was still awake at 2 am.  I guess I still haven’t caught up on my sleep!  We got home from the game and I had a soccer game an hour later.  I missed my last game and really wanted to make this one.  I thought I’d just lay down for a half hour rest, then be on my way.  I have never been able to fall asleep in the middle of the day, so I knew I’d be ok to make my game.  About two hours later, I jolted up and realized that I had fallen asleep!  I’m SO SAD to have missed my soccer game and hope my team will forgive me!

I was reading a blog last night by a guy named Jay Lake, who is currently going through cancer treatment up in Portland.  He wrote something about spoons that resonated with me.  The way he explained it is that when you’re going through chemo, you only have so many units of energy, represented by one spoon equalling one unit of energy.  Some days you might only have 2 spoons, and you have to decide what you’re going to do with them, like do a load of laundry or go grocery shopping.  I can relate to that because that’s what it was like for me during chemo.  I would get so tired just doing daily activities.  I have most of my energy back now, but I can feel that I have only a certain number of exercise spoons to use per day.  Apparently I did not have a spoon for soccer today.  Before chemo, I could have a morning of running and an afternoon of soccer.  Now, it seems, I need to scale back a little and plan some naps!

I am inspired by Jay, and by his friend, Blake.  Blake recently shaved his head in solidarity with Jay, and perhaps also to honor his dad, who died from Leukemia when Blake was 18.  Tonight I’m lighting a candle for Jay.

Blake with his hair

Blake's Solidarity Shave