Recharging the batteries

Last weekend was our first chance to enjoy the inaugural season of our West Virginia football tickets, and it came at a perfect time. It's been a busy few weeks at work and at home, and I was really looking forward to a weekend away.  One of the perks of being in Morgantown, WV is that my phone doesn't sync e-mails or connect to the internet, and it's freeing to be a little disconnected.  

Morgantown, taken from Mountaineer Field
I usually take Fridays off from running, but I ran Friday morning before we left so I could take the weekend off. It's been almost three weeks since my partial bowel obstruction, and I'm still feeling a little sluggish while I'm running. I've been running low mileage, but it's been rough going. I'm hoping this week I can get back into it, but first I needed a weekend of recharging.

It was nice to be in Morgantown and be able to sleep in a little bit despite the fact that I was sleeping in a twin bed in the guest room at my parents' house with our 120-pound Golden Retriever. It's not the most restful sleep ever. It's probably a good thing that I wasn't running.

It's a rough life.
On Saturday we headed out to tailgate with one of my friends I grew up with and his wife. We had a great time, and I couldn't wait to be at Mountaineer Field for the first time this season. Our tickets are high up in the stadium (seriously - almost Heaven) but we still have a great view of the field. My Mountaineers won 31-21 over Maryland. It wasn't quite the high powered offensive showing I was expecting, but it was great to be at the game. I love football season, and being in Morgantown makes me nostalgic for college and a less busy time of life.

At Mountaineer Field, one of my favorite places in the world
After the game I found myself completely relaxing like I rarely do - basically only when I'm home in Morgantown. I felt badly not running, but I think my body and my spirit are still recovering. I start racing against this weekend with the Playmakers Autumn Classic 8k, so it was nice to have a weekend off. Now, back to the races...  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Some Reasons Why Diet Culture is Garbage: I Poop a Lot and I'm Always Hungry

Image
It was the spring of 1996, and my mom and I were at the mall shopping for my senior prom dress. I had decided I was only going to eat 500 calories a day over the weekend. It was track season, so I couldn't starve myself on practice and meet days, but in my mind it seemed perfectly logical to basically starve my healthy, 17-year-old body on less physical days. I was in the fitting room trying on dresses, and I heard the sales person say to my mom, "Your daughter is so tiny!" I was light headed and nauseous from not eating, but that overheard compliment made me feel like it was all worth it.  Senior Prom 1996 I've struggled with my body image since I was a pre-teen, and in the 30+ years that have passed it's still something with which I struggle daily. I spent years punishing my body so I wouldn't gain weight: eating very few calories and working out for hours, purging, taking laxatives, only drinking alcohol until I threw up so I wouldn't gain weight. It...
Read more

Here's a Shortcut: Do the Work.

Image
I have a confession to make: I don't think I'm my best self right now. I've been thinking a lot about being my best self overall (including fitness which is a huge thing for me), and I've come to a simple, unalienable truth: there is no shortcut. To be the best version of yourself (whatever that means) you have to do the work. I'm not the same version of myself at 46 as I was at 26. (Man could I give that girl some good advice though.) I spend a lot of time reflecting on who I am and who I want to be. While doing the work all the time seems daunting on its surface, it's not. It doesn't mean life has to be a grind 24/7, but it does mean that there is effort in whatever is important to you (which of course is unique to each of us). Where am I willing to do the work to be the best version of me? Fitness. I love exercise. My husband says I'm "obsessed", and I retort that there are way worse obsessions. While I'm logging way fewer miles than I ...
Read more

Why Do I Talk About my "Stuff"?

Image
A few months ago a friend told me someone we knew was venting that I share too much about myself in my blog and on social media. She said (I'm paraphrasing) something like "We all go through stuff. There's no need to share it." At first I was irritated until I realized this person has zero impact on my life. And it's true: we are all going through things. But since then I've been thinking a lot about why I am so candid about things in my life (in particular my struggle with Crohn's Disease).  I was 19 when I got sick. It was so embarrassing. No college girl wants to tell people they're dealing with bloody diarrhea and nausea and horrible cramps. That's the thing about a chronic illness: it's easy to feel like you don't have anyone to lean on. I had my colon removed 5 weeks before I started law school (the delightful adventure chronicled in this blog ). I began law school having lost 30 pounds in less than a month, with steroids puffing up m...
Read more