Dear Friends,
It’s been a long time. I miss you too, don’t worry. My husband tells me that I don’t need to explain but you see my toddler doesn’t nap regularly anymore so I am finding less time available during the day for writing. Also, I have been writing some trivia. Thank you for playing by the way.
I also have a lot of mommy guilt if I am not working on something while my children are awake that isn’t directly related to them, but enough of that for now. Maybe that is something I could write about another day.
What have I been up to lately? I have been getting up early, like at 5:20 am. Also I have been streaking. Don’t worry, it isn’t as racy as it sounds. You see, I have been running every morning after I get up.
My routine goes a little like this:
I am a little afraid of the darkness and the cold so after I wake up, I sit on the couch and scroll through Instagram looking at things I don’t really care about that much. My Instagram feed is mostly mommy jokes and posts about books chosen by the Reese Witherspoon book club.
I wait until the very last second that I can possibly wait to get dressed to go running. If I waited any more seconds, I either wouldn’t have time to run or I would make my husband late for work. I put on what feels like a million layers. It always takes longer than I remember. I make a mental note to start earlier tomorrow (but I never do).
Then I run. I turn on my headlamp and my neon, light-up safety-vest and my watch which tells me how far I’ve gone and how fast I am going. Spoiler alert, it’s not very fast. Nothing to brag about but I am still proud of it
Yet I am still doing it. I have been doing every morning since December 2nd. On Instagram, they call this being on a streak, a run streak. I’m on a streak.
I follow other people on run streaks on Instagram. Some people’s running streak posts seem to be a ploy to get themselves a modeling contract or a way to model booty shorts, but some of the posts are very motivating. There are people who have been on multiple-year-long running streaks.
I read an article once about running streaks and one thing that it does for you is answer the question, “Am I going to run today?” The answer is yes. In a sense it makes your life less complicated, because yes, you are going to do it. There is no question.
I went on a streak for one-month this past summer. I ran every day from July 11th-August 11th and you know what? It really got me through a stressful stretch of this year. I did it for the endorphins.
It always gets easier after the first 1/8 mile, by that time the cobwebs have been shaken off. I usually go about 2.5 to 3.1 miles in total. By the time I am almost home, I start to get really excited about the coffee that will be waiting for me when I get home, made by my husband who has gotten up for work by this time.
We are expecting a snowstorm right now, so I don’t know if I will be running tomorrow morning. If the snow is cleaned up enough by tomorrow night, I will try to run a little to continue my streak. I may just go a mile or so if there are few cleared paths. If not, I will not worry about it. I may just take a few days off to let the snow melt a little. I am not trying to fall on the ice.
I do notice a difference in myself though on days when I run. I have more patience with my children and husband. I am more buoyant. Things bother me less. Life is fun. So hopefully, I will keep this up for a while. Because as much as I hate the darkness, life always feels lighter when I come home, even if it is still dark outside.
That’s all I got for now. How are you doing? What kinds of things are you doing for yourself this season?
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Your friend,
Katie
