A Break from Running

As of today, I’m going on a month of no running. It wasn’t my idea; doctor’s orders. And it's been a very…interesting experience. At first, I felt very disconnected. Not just from my running friends but from myself as well. While running has always been a part of my life, joining a running club in 2021/2022 brought my relationship with it to another level. It also brought me a running community. A group of friends. It got me out of my comfort zone. It helped relieve my stress and gave me mental clarity. And it’s become a pretty major part of my life.

📸: Caitlin Moyer Photography

So, when I was told that I needed to scale back on running, it felt doable to let my body recover. “I’ll just run 5k’s for a while,” I told myself. Then at my last appointment, after some follow-up questions, the nurse practitioner said, “We’ll revisit this at your next appointment, but for now, no more running.” And I was so bummed. A month of no running? What was I going to do now? Well, I signed up for a gym membership thinking that if I at least moved my body it would be better than nothing. I overestimated my motivation though, and in the past month, I’ve only gone to the gym four times. Lifting weights and using a stationary bike are just not the same as going for a run.

The hardest part about this experience is putting my running goals on the back burner. At the beginning of the year, I talked about my plans, and how I wanted to reach certain distances this year. Then in February, I decided that I would train for the 2025 Cowtown Half starting in October. And I wanted to work on running farther without having to stop. While I had hoped to still be able to tackle some of these goals, after my last appointment, I was forced to realize that this probably wouldn’t be the case. Now, I know that there is a really good reason for being told to stop. My doctor knows best. So, I will do as I’m told because it’s important and because I eventually want to be able to run again. But it’s still hard.

Tomorrow is the "next appointment" and we will discuss my options. I’m hoping to have some good news. Please let me do slow intervals. But I’m also aware that even if I have good news, depending on how my body responds, I could be told to stop running for the rest of the year. So, here’s me hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. Regardless, I know this is all in God’s hands and there’s a reason for it. In the end, I’ll accept whatever he has in store.

Slow Living // The Summer of No Plans

Last month my husband had an unexpected day off. And instead of getting some much-needed rest, he decluttered our house. He packed up some stuff for storage, cleaned the kitchen, and swept the entire house. It was my Mother’s Day gift. He knew I had not been feeling well, I was exhausted and completely unmotivated. The state of our house was causing me even more anxiety. And so, he gave me a pretty wonderful gift.

Since then, we’ve maintained it pretty well. I’ve slacked on PUTTING UP the laundry, but not on having laundry DONE. So, I’m calling that a win. But the rest of the house is pretty minimal, and we clean all the rooms probably 1-2 times a week. Minus my teenager's room because: pick your battles. I still have to go through my huge DVD collection, and I’ve been casually browsing Facebook Marketplace for a good deal on a bookshelf to display all of my books again. As Corey said, “I’d rather you have books on display than a bunch of DVDs we never watch.” Still, I have some pretty great movies I’m not willing to part with, however, in the land of streaming services we pretty much have access to all of them digitally already. So, in a way, he’s right. It is time to get rid of most of them.

Enough about that; moving along. This summer, we have no plans. Originally, I wanted to go to California to visit my bestie. I also wanted to plan a girls' trip for Emery and myself. However, we’ve had some recent developments that have placed those plans on the back burner. Instead, we’ve talked about a 4th of July weekend trip to visit friends, but that’s still up in the air. Other than that, we plan to just be at home this summer. Enjoying some slow days and our animals. This wasn’t what our teenager wanted to hear but it is what it is.

I’ve been trying to make a better effort to stay at home. My feed is constantly flooded with pictures of trips and luxury vacations. Families that get to spend thousands at amusement parks. People buying new houses and cars. Or moms getting to have weekly shopping hauls at Ulta. And while I would love nothing more than to stay at a fancy hotel for a week with my family to explore a foreign country it’s not in our cards. We can’t financially do that. And instead of getting all bummed out about it, I have to tell myself that I have everything I need right here. My family, home, baby goats, and wide open spaces. So for now, I just need to be happy with that. Maybe one day I can take that vacation or we can buy a house, but we’re not in that season right now. And that’s okay.

📸: introvertedbossgirl

One of the aspects of “slow living” that drew me in was the idea of being content with less. Less is more. Less is more. It’s also a way to become truly aware of how materialistic our lives can become. And how, if not kept in check, can turn into something negative. Of course, there’s also the appeal of being able to slow down in all areas of my life. Slow down my day-to-day. Slow down my work schedule. Rest and reset more. All of which are things that we can benefit from. Even if implemented for short periods. Now, not everyone in my home is on board with this. It's actually been a cause of tension sometimes. But I’m trying my best to make that shift for myself. That said, I’ve realized this will be a constant work in progress for me. But again, that’s okay. Baby steps are just as important as the leaps and bounds. 

Wordless Wednesday

📸 : Julie Brinkley from SRC