15

Wednesday I met up with a friend after work and we did a slow four miles on the West Side. I was really beat from the Tuesday workout and had no idea exactly how slow we were going. I think it took us almost an hour! But we stopped at water fountains and took walk breaks. And of course there is the requisite stopping to put the Cheerios back into the cup of the not yet one year old who was along for the ride. Afterwards, we had a drink at her house and I chatted with her husband for a bit, and left my broken down orthotics with her to be sent off for re-covering. She is a physical therapist and is the one who actually fitted me for the orthotics to begin with. I didn't just leave my stinky orthotics with some poor friend!

It has been a stressful week and I needed to give my body a rest. I took Thursday and Friday off.

This morning I absolutely did NOT want to run. I had a million reasons to skip it. I can do it tomorrrow. I'm not feeling well. I don't even have my new shoes OR orthotics. All true. But I did it anyway. Surprisingly, though I didn't run all that much faster that I did last week on my 14 miler, I didn't feel so bad through most of it. Tired, sure. But I didn't get that feeling in my legs that told me they really wanted me to stop please. Don't get me wrong. They did tell me when I was done that they were not happy with me. But I stretched them and soaked them in an ice bath and we are at least back on speaking terms. Thanks legs!

Sometimes when I am running these hard or long runs, I want to give up. I want to sit down and say forget it. And then I feel guilty because I know that my Grandma couldn't give up and take a rest. She had no choice but to go on with the hand she was dealt. In the end, she couldn't talk or walk, let alone run 15 miles. I am blessed today with good health and a beautiful day and I need to be thankful that I can run this far and still come home and stretch out to read and take a nap.

I miss my Grandma so much. I have lost a number of family members but most were gone before I was an adult. It isn't that I don't miss them or love them but none have the same space in my memory. I'm not sure what else to say about that. Saying I miss her doesn't even seem like enough. Hopefully she knows what I mean.