Last week was a doozy for me and running helped me get through it. Life was chaotic and circumstances were out of my control yet I was able to get myself out there on the track and the trails to run and to forget about the muck. Running allowed me to not only operate in “survival mode” but also to somehow keep a clear head and a smiling heart during the less-than-easy moments. Thankfully now that I’m through it I can look back on it and see that it was not so bad after all – I can even laugh about it a bit – and realize things could definitely have been worse.
Two and a half days of feeling like someone was punching me in the stomach repeatedly followed by back-to-back puke sessions for my two big kids who each became victim to the virus (someone please tell me why stomach viruses strike in the middle of the night, when our children are sleeping…hence massive amounts of disgusting messes combined with heart-wrenching moments with our sweet, sick, pathetic children?!?). It was gross and sad and lasted another FOUR days. Did I mention that this was during the biggest heat wave EVER in the Washington DC area and that over the weekend our air conditioner BROKE? Yep, it was a blast. But you know what? We got through it and are no worse for the wear. Actually I would venture to say that my marriage is stronger because of what we just endured – somehow late in the middle of the nights up with sick kids and the extreme heat we were able to laugh about the situation even during the toughest of moments.
I am so thankful to have a husband who is a true partner in this life – who takes the bad with the good and is always by my side. Who supports my running, my therapy. Yesterday morning I was not even scheduled to run and he told me I should get out there for a few “recovery miles” – I’m not sure if I was recovering from the long run Saturday, or the chaos of our life over the prior week, but it was a wonderful run and I was so thankful for it.
Today everyone is healthy again. Our AC is fixed and didn’t need to be replaced. It is raining outside – finally – and I could not be happier about that. This morning I did a 7.4 mile progression run at the track at sunrise with my sister and it was amazing. I survived a really rough week last week. Running carried me through and gave me the energy to take it all on and be there for my family.
Here’s to survival. Here’s to a new week and to always looking for the bright side. Has running ever helped you through unbelievably crazy weeks?
