Mother Running Rampant

As it turns out, the best treatment for plantar fasciitis is a shot of the flu with an upper respiratory chaser. After a beautiful Christmas–complete with non-invasive snowflakes–I woke up on the 26th with a stomach flu. Fortunately, it was a minor case because I’d had a flu shot, but it knocked me off my feet for a few days. On the heels of the flu, I immediately came down with a nasty cold. Ten days later, and my right foot is feeling much better, even though my vocal chords are so sore, I can barely speak and I cough like I have tuberculosis.

As a result of my forced rest, I’m able to run 6-7 miles with minimal discomfort now. I do need breaks to go blow my nose, but I’m more encouraged about training, so much so that I booked my hotel in Big Sur. I feel optimistic. The New Year feels generally auspicious, both stronger and more calm than the Year of the Dragon, which was a doozy. If you haven’t looked it up  yet, 2013 is the Year of the Snake, which is my birth year, so I’m going to think of it as my rebirth year, you know, giving new life to stuff I may have lost sight of. Like my hair.

Okay, and maybe things of more substance.

Like my running.

I’m excited about my new training experiment, which is going to look a lot like not training. I’m not training for Boston-to-Big Sur as much as I’m “progressing” towards them. I find that as I enter 2013, I have less to prove, on the road and elsewhere. Running is more of a practice, a mind-body-fulness, than it has been in the past, and I’m enjoying this phase. When you aren’t running for proof of yourself as an athlete and you have a decent level of experience with the marathon enterprise, I think you can replace the schedule and regimen of training with the discipline of practice, or what I’m going to call “progression.” You may not achieve a personal record in terms of finish time, but I think there’s a personal record to reach in terms of visceral flow and mindfulness. That’s what I want this year from running.

I spent much of 2012 become a quieter, more private person, and this has been such a positive experience that I feel pulled to become quieter and less performance-oriented about running, too. Quitting Facebook was a big part of it. I highly recommend making that move. There’s been frequent googling of my marriage, and while I love the idea of Daniel Craig checking to see if f I’m divorced on a daily basis, my good sense has kept me from writing about it because I suspect Sexy McBond isn’t dying to ask me out.  (In case you are looking for me, Mr. Craig, I can be reached through the contact page on milemannered.com.)

In any event, I’m liking the peace and quiet. I’m looking forward to making 2013 a year of calm, strength, and mindfulness, and to finding my feet in Boston and Carmel.