Brian’s fitness journal after a brain stroke
Today required a little more attention to the clock than my usual Saturday. Naturally, Saturday morning also meant my regular run, but I expected a busy schedule.
We had arranged to visit my sister’s house to celebrate both my wife’s and my mother’s birthdays, which meant I needed to finish my normal morning routine before it was time to leave.
So, as soon as I woke up, I put on my running clothes and headed outside. Unfortunately, the run itself was difficult.
Once again, my pace was disappointingly slow. I have been working hard to improve my speed, so seeing another slower result wasn’t exactly the encouraging start to the morning I had hoped for.
Fortunately, I wasn’t running against only one clock. I may have lost to my target pace, but I was still comfortably ahead of our departure time. I’ll count that as a different category of victory.
Once I got home, I didn’t have much time to contemplate my running performance. Saturday’s next contestant was waiting for me: the vacuum cleaner.
I finished vacuuming, took a shower, and finally made my way to my desk for breakfast. I still needed to fit in my planking and stretching exercises before we left, so the morning became a carefully choreographed sequence of running, cleaning, eating, exercising, and occasionally checking the clock.
Some Saturday mornings are relaxing. Others apparently require project management. Despite the full schedule, everything worked. We left on time and arrived at my sister’s house exactly as planned. Once there, the stopwatch could finally retire for the day.
We had a wonderful time catching up with everyone and celebrating the birthdays together. My brother-in-law made tacos for the occasion, and after a morning filled with running and exercise, I was more than prepared to participate enthusiastically in that part of the celebration.
My running pace may not have been what I wanted today, but the rest of the day went beautifully. That is worth remembering.
Not every successful day needs to include a personal best. Sometimes success means finishing the run, completing the chores, arriving on time, spending an afternoon with family…
and being rewarded with tacos.