This past weekend, I traveled to Wellfleet, Cape Cod to spend Thanksgiving with my husband's wonderful family. I've never been to the Cape before but had heard of it's beauty, so a part of me was excited to see it by foot. My long run mileage was set at 8 miles this weekend and I knew it would be a challenge to get the mileage done while staying in a new place. The 'out of my normal routine' questions come up....Where do I run? How far? Will it be safe? Do I need to bring water? What type of weather? Running where you 'are' can be very daunting. It is amazingly easy to put aside your running while on vacation. I can always think of a million excuses to skip my run.
So, in true Natter fashion, I thoroughly researched the area and found a 'Rails to Trails' run that actually started in Wellfleet! Perfect! Everything had fallen in line and it couldn't have been more perfect! And although the weather was gorgeous and the trail was beautiful, I had a very hard time settling into my run. My mind was bouncing around on a million thoughts....on our visit, my family back in AL, a friend that was about to go into labor, the wine I drank the night before and all the while realizing that the majority of this trail was uphill!! I was NOT in a good place. And then I thought of the reason I am running this year. Stories of people affected by Leukemia/Lymphoma scrolled through my mind....my Uncle Pat, a new friend who bravely shared her story of losing her husband, an incredible female Lieutenant in the Navy, a man on our team fighting everyday, and another man who told us of losing his son at our last training run.
Perspective.
So, I stopped for a bit. I re-grouped. I let everything else go out of my mind. I became present in each mile and in each step. Lets not make this into a fairy tale....it still wasn't great! But, it was meaningful to me. This won't be the last run that I'll have to do in a strange place but my lesson learned is to run where I am. Both physically and mentally.
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