Please Don't Stop the Music!

So I am recovering from a week with a ridiculously sore throat and an almost unbearable earache. I felt this coming on Friday or Saturday and by Sunday I had made a pact with myself that I would take the WHOLE week off from any type of working out, and sleep as much as I could, in hopes that my body would reciprocate the thoughtfulness and heal up nice and fast! I am pleased to say, it worked! It's Friday now, but I was feeling quite like myself by Wednesday or so.

My Friend and running partner, Karen, is now on her way to Virginia for a 2 week vacation, just as I am about to stage my big comeback. I am looking ahead to 2 full weeks of forging on with the workouts without her. Part of me is saddened at the loneliness I will surely feel when I am 3/4 of the way through a 7 miler, and my hip aches, and it's pretty humid, and my throat is so dry that I am wishing I could muster up enough saliva to get one little sip, and I look up to see that I am only half way up that mountain of a hill, and all I would have need to get me through that tough moment is Karen, trotting along next to me. Karen, who still, to this day, is amazed that she, too, can call herself a runner. Karen, who claims to not have an athletic bone in her body. Karen, who never imagined, nor wanted to ever run a half marathon, yet went on to Virginia Beach to complete (in great time, I might add!) the Shamrock Half that I talked her into running, WITHOUT ME! Karen, day after day, running alongside me, conquering little tiny battles with herself each time we go out, helps to inspire me, to keep me going, to push a little further, even when thoughts like "hmmm, I could walk right now, just this little bit" creep into my mind. "that wouldn't hurt, right? " WRONG!

So, that's the sad part of me. Then there's the secretly excited part of me. The part of me that can't wait to break out the headphones, create a new playlist on iTunes, and just run my little heart out! You see, I run differently when I'm alone. I can't explain why or how, but I just run fast. I run as fast as I can. I run until I am huffing and puffing with every step. I run to the edge of that place where I know that if I go any faster I will surely puke all over the place, yet if I were to slow down I would surely pass out! I think it may have to do with the fact that I am not concerning myself with anything else but running. No conversation, no friendship, no worrying about whether I should wait or not, no worrying about having to take a walk break, nothing! I race myself. I want to be better and faster and lighter than the last time. I want to get over that hill a little easier this time. I know I can do better. I always do. I know that I can and must push myself to that next level. I have always been that way when it comes to any sort of physical challenge. I will do better, for as long as my body will let me!

So yes, I will miss Karen over the next two weeks. I will miss my faithful friend and companion on those long jogs, but I am going to embrace this time. I am going to feel the beat of the music, and just go with it. I will surrender to the tempo and let it take me to that place. I will get lost in my mind, and in the beat of the "race day" playlist. I will keep up with the beat, lest it beat me!!