(soma means "the body," it's true!)
as i'm sitting here in the waiting room, waiting to see M post-wrist surgery (ahem, don't play hockey!), i'm thinking about the body. mostly, how much we take ours for granted!
one of the many things i miss about competitive running (now that i officially consider myself a "recreational" runner... hard to say!) is how very attentive, maybe overly attentive, it made me to my body. seriously...
what i ate / how much water i consumed / how much i slept / how far i ran / how fast i ran / how much rest i gave my legs / what cross training i did / how much core i did / how much weight training i did / did i go in the ice bath?
these were all daily concerns... and then there were the classic runner ailments!
uh, my IT band is tight today... as are my quads & hammies / i'm anemic! i'm anemic! / i have tendonitis... everywhere! / i have a stress fracture / i have pneumonia - mono - flu... how will i race?!? / i have a big race tomorrow! can't sleep! now i'm exhausted! / argh, my form is all over the place! / where's my tape? i need my tape. i have to tape all of my leg. and the other one too.
then there's the mental blocks of the classic runner (and i'm referencing myself here):
if i run horribly this weekend, my life is over. i'll be in a slower pace group, how will i go on? / do i have my lucky socks - gu - water bottle - singlet - shorts - warmups - breakfast foods? my body will not work without them! / if i so much as have a sip of wine, forget about PRing! discipline! / if that Tommie who puts on lipstick to run the 10k beats me, i swear to God that i give up! i give up! / if i don't keep improving, what's the good of running?
......
we are so fortunate. first of all, running is a physical privilege. if we're running, we have functioning legs & likely, functioning-everything-else. if we're competitive runners we have the privilege to have the time to dedicate to our bodies, our physical and mental well-being. (post-college, i feel deeply grateful for that time i had to dedicate each and everyday for practice and racing.) we are privileged that what is stressing us the most is how well we'll run saturday. for real! with all the possible hardships and sadness in the world, for our worries to be centered around how well a race will go ("how i will perform?") is truly a blessing.
.......
i'm going to get a little corny here.
recently, M and I watched Dolphin Tales. and yes, adults without children rent that movie too....
anyway, the movie is centered around the story of a real dolphin who was found on a beach tangled in fishing nets. because of the utter disrespect we humans have for our planet, for our animals, the poor thing lost her tail due to infections.
she adapted to swimming without a tail, wiggling left to right, which is unnatural for a dolphin who is used to kicking her tail up and down. pretty remarkable. unfortunately, swimming like this strained her spinal column & through the generosity of a scientist, who creates prosthetics for injured soldiers, she was given a new, prosthetic tail, which allowed her to swim like a dolphin does!
i tell you, if you don't end that movie sobbing - gripping couch cushions for comfort - then you may not have a heart? i kid. but the movie had a very moving message of perseverance and gives you appreciation for your correctly working body. we certainly are not only our bodies, but our bodies certainly allow us to be who we want to be. a runner, or anything else.
......
now, everyone think healthy thoughts for M, who needs help putting on socks, opening jars, typing & most other things.
i'm happy to help him (with my two healthy arms)!
