Morning Walk OR When the Pupil Is Ready, She Will Learn

Something has clicked these past few days that have taken me from merely concentrating on managing pain to being completely annoyed with the whole situation. I just want to get back to my Real Life.

I declare this a Good Sign.

I am determined to get back to at least walking consistently. Not only have I been feeling flabby, I have noticed that exercise better regulates my moods, my digestion, my cycle, my sleep ... I feel "off" in ways beyond the pain.

Do not be fooled by the look
of innocence on this Dotty Nog.

Luna-pup has also been a terror without the exercise. At this writing, she has eaten off a My Little Pony face, torn the head off a vintage Winnie the Pooh, and taken a chunk out of a sock that I was knitting. At least this is what I have found ... Since my lifting restriction is done as of tomorrow, I thought I'd give walking Luna a try this morning. I hadn't before because I was afraid she would be over-eager, pull, and cause further internal injury with me. Instead, she was amazingly responsive to my commands and a great companion.

I also headed out without being plugged in. Part of it was the fact that I couldn't readily find my headphones. However, I've been thinking about the problem I had my last race in keeping pace without music. It's that old adage in play--nothing new on race day. As painful as it can be, I've been trying to do my walks without music or NPR--just my breath and the sounds around me for at least a half hour. All the call and response of the birds this morning (not to mention catching a glimpse of a hawk bringing home breakfast) makes me wonder what I've been missing. Music has its place, but maybe this is what I should be doing for a while.

As far as my pacing, my walking is pretty close to what it used to be. A couple times, I made an attempt at a shuffly sort of run; my arms and breath were the right pace, but I didn't lift my feet very high to avoid jarring too much. It was veeeeerrrry slow, but I was very surprised at how long I could keep it up. Yes, I got hit with the Obvious Stick when I finally realized that this should probably be my pace for at least the beginning--the running with my head--so I have enough gas to run with my heart at the end of a race. You know, that thing that People I Respect have been telling me for some time now.

Just one more thing I'm learning after this whole ridiculous ordeal ... right along with the fact that the Universe can operate just fine without me and that I am far more loved and cared for than I know.