Sunday morning; I wake up naturally, no alarm. The sun is streaming through my windows and I hear birds chirping. I roll over and check the time, 7:41 a.m. Holy man, I never sleep this late. But I have no commitments, so it doesn't matter. I get up and head downstairs where I grab my glass jar, squeeze a lemon into it, and fill it with warm water. Drink up. Get dressed. Running clothes today. Head back into the kitchen for some watermelon. Munch, munch. Refreshing. Start up the Garmin, lace up my shoes, head out the door.
I have a couple of favorite running loops near my house. I absolutely adore them. They're peaceful roads surrounded by trees with just the right amount of hills and little passings of creeks that I always pass while fighting off the strong urges to jump right in.
The one route, 6.5 miles, is something that I haven't done at all this year. Since I just started getting back into running this month I didn't want to go all in and run bigger milage and risk hurting myself. No thanks. Easing into this.
I've been doing 3-4 mile runs 3 times a week along with daily yoga practices and the occasional bike ride.
Simple. I've been loving this because I can do it all at home. Lace up my shoes, head out the door. Roll out the yoga mat, flow. Hop on the bike, ride. After a year of having to drive to the gym and then back home after being done it's nice to just get back into the easier routine of having my workouts at my fingertips. With lifting I felt as if it wasn't exactly "right" for me in the last month or two. I did my workouts but I didn't love them and therefore, I didn't push myself as hard as I was in the past. I worked through those feelings for a while because I know that I won't feel like doing something 100% of the time and off days or even weeks are completely normal. But it's important to be able to tell the difference between having a tough few weeks in the workout department or simply needing to move on from what you're doing to find something that brings you joy.
Also, I must add, I feel so good. Seriously, I feel amazing. Now, I'm not telling everyone to quit their workout routines, do what I'm doing, and you'll feel amazing too. No, no, no. Don't do that at all. What I'm saying is to do things you love and once you stop loving them then try something new. It can be scary and intimidating but it's so worth it. And if you leave the thing that you once loved it doesn't mean that you can't ever go back to it. You totally can, and I'm sure that someday you probably will. But holding onto a workout routine that you dread doing everyday isn't worth it.
So anyways, I headed out for that 6.5 mile loop. I was so excited. Favorite route, beautiful morning, fresh watermelon vibes flowing. It was great. I struggled through mile 4 big time because it was the biggest hill and in the blazing sun. But I made it. Finished the run. So good.
I came home, filled up a big glass of water, and went outside to chill out. I reflected back on my run a bit trying to figure out why I love it so much, once more. And I'm not really sure why. I imagine that there's lessons to be learned and experiences to be hard during this running journey, just like with everything else. And all that I have to do is show up each day and let the rest unfold.
I'm just going with the flow of things, letting myself love running right now. Will I love it forever? Maybe, but probably not. I'll probably find something else that takes hold of my interests in due time. And that's okay. Just like the seasons we experience each year with the weather, we experience seasons in other aspects of life. Right now I'm in the season of running. Two months ago I was in the season of biking and lifting. Seasons change and so do we. I'm just working on adapting to the changes and being open to the opportunities that it presents me with. Living, loving, learning. Having fun with it all.
What about you? Have you experienced this as well? What season of workouts are you currently in. Let me know!