In The Zone

I was back in the zone for the first time in a long time today, and it made me so happy!

I am really struggling with my asthma, and I was supposed to get a CT scan last week.

It didn’t happen.

I’m hoping for it to be this week so my pulmonologist can tell me what is going on, and what the plan is!

In the mean time, I had a 5k today.

I was fully ready to pick up my bag of goodies and bib and walk away if my body said no to exercising, but I decided to gauge the situation.

It was cold and windy, but warming up quickly, and sunny. I used my inhaler, and used my balaclava to cover my nose and mouth on the first half of the race as I headed into the wind. My insulin pump was left on, but I had my PDM in my flip belt in case I needed to pause it. My blood sugar was higher than I normally run, but it carried me safely through the race.

The first half, I ran/walked, using the Jeff Galloway method I learned to safely train with.

I ran the race on the beautiful Gulf of Mexico, running on packed sand along the surf, and concentrating on trying to stay out of the cold water. The wind was hitting me right in the face, so the balaclava was helpful. The first half of the race, my health was definitely on my mind, even as I enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

Coming back, the wind was gently pushing me forward. The packed sand was easier to run on, and I found myself running with no walk breaks. I was watching the birds - the seagulls seeming to hover above the surf as they soared on the wind gusts. The sand pipers pecking at the dozens and dozens of sea slugs that had beached themselves on the white sand. The moon, pale in the deep, clear blue sky. The emerald green water, deepening to sapphire with white caps further out.

When I noticed someone running next to me, I looked around, and realized I had been “in the zone”. I was enjoying the day, all that was around me, not even thinking about running.

I was so happy! It’s been such a struggle to get back on track, as it were. Today reminded me of the years of running longer races, and cruising along, just enjoying the day.

Today was a victory, and it had nothing to do with winning a race. I ended up running 3.68 miles along the ragged shoreline, and crossing the finish line with a small grimace as I plowed through the thick, powder soft sand at the end of the course.

Good thing it went well - I have an 8k trail Run next weekend!

Let the weekly training continue!