Hello, my friends
Here I am again... and hopefully, here you are!
Take a seat and rest up a while. It is a tad blowy out there today... so hopefully we will all be taking extra care.
I am feeling a lot happier getting plenty of exercise in and also, the odd run whenever the weather will let me !
I am not, as you know, also, pushing it in any way, still taking it gently and accepting what comes. This month is moving on and we are moving forward with it. That is enough.
I do as you know love a ramble... so here goes. I have been thinking, again! I have read a few posts this week and one yesterday morning, echoed what I have had in my head for a few days. The thought has coloured many of my outdoor activities since Mr OF had his heart attack, and I fell by the wayside with over-worry. I have used this thought many times... and in a fair few posts... it still has merit.
Exercise, whichever one we choose, has an impact on our lives and for many of us, begins quite rapidly to be part of our lives and who we are as a person.
Certainly, the runners amongst us, very quickly get hooked. We start slowly, we hold back, trying not to spend too much cash on running gear, in case we don't enjoy it, and we take it steadily until, suddenly almost, without us realising it, running is a part of us.
We look forward to our runs, we look forward to each new week of the plan. We have successes and we have setbacks , we learn so much; about running, about ourselves and about all the forum friends here.
It is the same for those forum friends, who cycle, walk or partake in any form of regular exercise.. we get hooked and we really do find the times when we are unable to do it, very hard.
But...we have to accept, that sometimes we cannot exercise; Illness, injury, family responsibilities and life generally stops us in our tracks. Disaster!
Now, do we sit back, do we rest, do we recover?
Sometimes... but sometimes we don't and, the excuses are amazing! "We have just started , we are in the middle of a new routine, our runs are becoming easier, longer, more fun, we are on the last week before Graduation , we want to move onto 10 K, longer walking routes, different exercise and classes, ", the list goes on and on.
That is where problems may occur... and that point is where we have to stop, take stock, but most of all, we have to listen. Hence the quote!
Listen to the advice from the experts, ( especially with any medical issues), and the experienced, but most of all we have to listen to ourselves.
I read a super post on C25K a day ago... if you get chance, do, please, read it. @Num29 tells an inspirational story, but the line that sticks out for me is this one,
“...I was really annoyed with myself for not persevering but think, in retrospect, that I was listening to my body and made the right decision.”
Got it in one.
Listen to your body. It is our best advisor, and if we listen, we may not hear, or want to acknowledge, the advice we would welcome, but it will be the advice we should follow.
If it is telling you to ease back, to rest or recover, then please, please do listen
I have learned over my eight years plus of running, that if I take the correct action, listen to my body, and if necessary, follow expert advice, however hard it may be, then in the end, I will run again! I may even run better !
What you have all been doing over the last week is fantastic. The weather has hampered a fair few of us and for some of us, life is offering some very real challenges. I am, as ever, in awe of all of you. You are truly amazing!
So... maybe you have a tale to tell...has there been a time when you should have eased back, taken a rest or, quite simply, slowed everything right down.
It is good to share, our experiences, our successes and our setbacks too.. so I am looking forward to seeing a few folk in here later
Oldfloss x
Rumi got it exactly right...
.. that voice is in our head, and we do well to listen to it.
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