Monday.

Some days are rough, some days don’t even have a word to describe it. But a way to recover from them or to survive…is to RUN. At least that is what they say.

Running can be difficult at times, yes, but it can also be therapeutic too. Some people blast some music in their headphones and are lost on the trails for a few hours, while others talk it over within themselves trying to find answers. Either way, running is a de-stresser. Think about it.

That quote by Christopher Mcdougall, “If you don’t have answers to your problems after a four-hour run, you ain’t getting them,” holds some truth. When you are out there on the roads, trails, treadmill, track…it’s just you and it. Nothing more. It’s YOU time.

And that is what I did today. Took some much needed ME time on the road and treadmill today. Ignored everything and put some things into perspective and really listened and focused. I wasn’t going to come back until I was done or until I was satisfied with my run and found a solution to my problems.

Your shoes are your therapist and they do all the talking and the pavement does the listening. All you have to do is RUN it all out and leave it there. Because you will come back feeling better, I least I always do. I rarely feel down and out but lately I have been. With the first anniversary of my mom’s passing looming the day after Christmas. But I am being strong and remembering the good times and her smile and laughter.

And yes, I can hear her yelling at me right now for being sad for her, she never liked anyone being sad for her or to worry about her. But today I took some time to run it out and grieve a bit and release some frustration and built up tension from my chronic illnesses and I decided I wasn’t going to stop until I was happy with it. So it took me 13 miles until I was done. LOL Literally. My legs are jello. I wasn’t prepared for that mileage today, but I guess mentally I needed it. Sometimes we need a mental break and today it was mine.

-gelcys