I decided to go for a long shuffle...I was shooting for 8-10 miles.
8-10...hot...hilly...miles.
Sounded like a great idea!!
I put on my super-duper hydration pack, filled with 20 oz. of an ice cold mix of water and Gatorade, extra socks, my new water shoes (so I could test them out on the gravel berm on the side of the road), band aids, GU, my phone, my ID...and the kitchen sink.
Yes...that pack felt like it weighed 20 lbs. (Especially as it bounced around on my waist the entire time!)
I put on my scuba socks, turned on my music, and hit the hot asphalt.
When I shuffle, my music of choice needs to be relaxing. I cannot shuffle to the music of Lady Ga Ga or any type of music that has a heavy dance beat. (I'd be too busy dancing...and singing...down the street ... people would call the police...wreck their cars...it would be ugly...).
Shuffling is truly difficult for me...the entire time. I have to constantly remind myself to relax any muscles that are not necessary for forward propulsion. If my jaw is tight...that doesn't do anything to advance me forward...it is wasted energy. I cannot afford to waste energy!! Maybe someday I will be an energy millionaire...today is not that day. I must be frugal with my energy if I am to survive my shuffles.
Relaxing music helps me to stay relaxed and save energy.
Lately, my relaxing music of choice has been Contemporary Christian Radio on Pandora. Not only is this relaxing, it is uplifting and energizing. It is my one hour of quiet time with God...and I have really come to enjoy it. I feel renewed and peaceful after my shuffle...this is the feeling to which I have become addicted.
On this particular day, I chose to listen to Coldplay....my "first favorite" running music.
My shuffle was slow...I took MANY drink breaks (at least every mile). The sun was extremely hot and I was soaked in sweat by mile 2.
At mile 3 a little dog ran out into the road as her owner called after her. I stopped and walked the dog back to the safety of her driveway. Her owner kept talking to me ...telling me I needed to run a little faster to catch up to where I would have been had I not stopped (ha ha ha...no kidding! Thanks for that, by the way!). I agreed, slightly annoyed that she kept talking to me...and that the traffic kept coming and I couldn't cross the street to continue on my way. After about 3 minutes I was back on the road, plodding along.
My goal was to run to Her Royal Highness's preschool...that would have made a 10 mile round trip. I questioned the safety of this route for a bit, but eventually rationalized that I had plenty of fluids and GU to keep me hydrated and I'd be fine. This route kept me on mostly moderately traveled roads but would put me on two main heavily traveled roads for about 2-3 miles.
As I neared the first main road, the sun was excruciatingly hot. My feet were especially hot in my black scuba socks....plus, it was mostly up hill. I stopped several times to take in a sip of water and to complain about how hot and miserable I was. I mostly....walked.
As I came to the main road, I saw police lights. The traffic was backed up for several hundred yards and the road was blocked. An accident had just happened, probably within the past 5 minutes.
My first thought was 'Oh man!! Now I have to re-route myself! I had this all planned out!! Darn it!!'
Then a little voice spoke in my head... "You could have been standing right there when that accident happened."
Then I got the chills.
Oh my goodness....had that little dog not come out...had that annoying woman stopped talking to me...had the traffic not kept me from continuing...had the temperature been 10 degrees cooler....
I could have been right where that car had gone off the road.
I had completely ignored my quiet time with God up to this point...in all honesty, I hadn't given Him a single thought...
I stopped walking, and thanked God for my safety and protection. I said a prayer for the safety of those who had been involved in the accident...
and turned on my Pandora radio station.
I spent the rest of my shuffle enjoying my time with Him and grateful for the assurance (and reassurance) that He is always with me....even in my extremely selfish moments.
Scientific data time:
Days until half: 22 (Yikes!!! Biting fingernails off!! Will move to toenails soon!!!)
Shuffling miles this week: 15.75 (only shuffled twice :( ... But my 6 miler was amazing!!!)
Average pace: Roughly 11:15 minutes/mile (During my recent 6 miler I believe I was in the 9 minute mile zone...though I have no scientific evidence of that)
Pilates...yoga...anything else??? : No :(
Beginning weight: 165
Last week's weight: 160.8
Today's weight: 159.4 (YAY!! Out of the 160's!!)
Next week's goal: Strength training!! Do a couple more of those 6 milers!! :) Reach the 10 mile mark!!
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