Scaring the Thunder Away

"Don't Count the Days, Make the Days Count." Muhammad Ali

It has been a crazy emotional week. A week of little running and a lot of running around.
My father in law is still in the ICU trying to recover from open heart surgery.

Cross country finished up, Friday was our banquet. I am very sad it is over. I fall in love with the kids. We are wrapping up when I feel like I am really connecting to the kids and they are connecting with me.
One day, we were running repeats and I asked the kids to run their last interval dedicated to someone. I overheard one of the kids say. "Who did you run for?"
"I ran for Coach Harless." she responded.
I swallowed deep and choked back the tears.

With so little running I think my bootie is healing. I, of course rub my snake oil over it, stretch and roll it. (Snake oil: Young Living Deep Relief and Panway). It numbs it, almost like peppermint. I rub it on my sore muscles really deep and it almost burns, like icy hot.

Today is Ariel's birthday. She would be 25. I picked the scab off again today. I bled tears.
In my silence my heart screams.

Anger was present more this week than normal for me. I had crazy moments of RAGE. I found my arms gripped in fury. Images flashed in front of me. Punching the bag, hearing the snap of my foot hitting the heavy bag, screaming loudly in frustration and hurt. I found myself getting in my truck to drive and praying no cops pulled my over as my foot irresponsibly hit the gas peddle. I was just not in control emotionally. Words vomited from my mouth. I was foreign to myself. Trapped in a crazy persons body. I hated who I was. I begged God to intervene. I begged God for forgiveness, embarrassed by my action.

I Needed to RUN.

Today, was my only opportunity to get a solid run in.
Only Mother Nature had other plans. Like rain and storms all day.
I didn't care. I was going to run NO MATTER what the conditions were.

Lacey and I met in between our houses. It wasn't raining yet.
Mile 4,  was a WHOLE DIFFERENT STORY.

At first, it was just a little sprinkle. Then the Thunder erupted. I tried to ignore it but Lacey verbalized it.
We kept running. Both of us really needed to get some miles in.
We kept running.
It kept thundering.
It started raining, no more sprinkling.
Andy showed  up in my truck to bring us home.
Wet, but not drenched we told him we were going to keep running.
"OK, now is your chance, I am NOT coming back!" he yelled between the crack in the window.
"BYE!" we laughed

We didn't get a mile down the dirt road when Lacey screamed "DID YOU SEE THAT?"
I thought it was a deer.
With her eyes as big as saucers she describes the lightning that stretched across the sky.
We turned around. Not to go home but to be closer to home.

We thought we were running in rain. Then the skies REALLY opened up.
The dirt roads were being washed out,. We couldn't stop laughing as the thunder rolled and the rain pummeled us.
We were drenched. Our shoes were heavy and soggy. We were running through mud puddles because the road was saturated and we couldn't find any dry space. People were on their decks watching the storm come in. One guy actually laughed with us and we ran by him like drowned rats.
By mile 8, the skies cleared and the sun came out. And so did the humidity and heat. We both enjoyed the rain.
The biggest problem with the weather was that I couldn't get a proper read on our pace. We wanted to go slow, but my legs after not running almost all week wanted to go fast. Lacey kept bringing me down.

RUNDOWN:

Distance: 12.03

Time:1:52

Pace: 9:13

It was one of my favorite runs. I enjoyed the adventure of running through torrential rain showers, thunder and lightning.

I have really enjoyed listening to all the quotes that Muhammad Ali had said in his career.  In honor of him I told Lacey "We ran so tough that we scared the storm back home."

I finally get to run with Danielle tomorrow! I haven't seen her in 3 weeks. I miss her.


Muhammad Ali Quotes

• "If my mind can conceive it, if my heart can believe it--then I can achieve it."
• "A man who has no imagination has no wings"
• "He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life."

ANITA~