Run it.

I wrote this piece a while ago and somehow it got lost among the crazy that followed after the Ko’ko’ ended and the work load, once again, began to pile up. Recently, I ended up tweaking my knee while playing dodgeball. Click for poster. This has rendered me unable to drive, walk too fast and most disappointing: run. I don’t think I would last in a cast so I’m glad I didn’t break a bone. My sympathies to anyone reading this who have been in one.

Anyway, I’ve decided to share a couple of thoughts from the last few months of kicking my own butt and lecturing myself that there are no excuses. Some of them are common sense, some of them are just interesting but here you goes:

Chances are, none of the people you run by is thinking about mugging you. Honestly, that is the most freeing feeling ever. Yes, I do still flinch if I see a dark figure during that last leg home but it’s gotten better.

Electrolytes make the difference. You’d think that after spending all that time in dance — which, mind you, is fairly rigorous and I still use that training work out to this day — , evening workouts with my sister and morning runs because I can; I would know that by now. Thing is: 1. I have never in my life hydrated well to begin with (iced tea at dance practice was almost forbidden but a rule broken regularly) and 2. I’ve never bothered to consciously think about it until one day I had more trouble doing 3 miles sans-electrolytes than I did my 6 miles just a few days prior. Blew my mind.

Closing your eyes helps. Yes, it can seem dangerous and pretty scary when a passing car honks at you — or you run into a pole — but it does. And I don’t mean going a few laps around the neighborhood; I mean going a little bit of time during a straight course sans vision. It’s well known that cutting off one sense helps the rest of your senses to focus better. Closing your eyes, especially in a discouraged moment, helps you to feel the run better. It encourages my body to focus, my lungs to regulate its breathing and my mind to get on the path to finishing.

You can pace yourself by singing. I was never one who knew how to pace herself on a run but after plugging into my favorite  tunes, I found that singing along helped me to run at a consistent, comfortable place. Yes, I am that weird girl you keep hearing sing Marianas Trench at night. No, I will probably not stop doing that. No, I don’t really care if it freaks you out.

I can’t wait to get at it again. The friends and I are planning a trail run once the semester finally ends so here’s to hoping ol’ righty here heals in time.