Obstacles

I HATE obstacle courses. I don't know why, but I always have. Once I start moving, I don't want things to stand in my way ( one reason I don't think I could ever do an obstacle run, it would throw off my momentum and frustrate me to no end. I want to GO, full steam ahead, until I cross whatever finish line goal is in front of me. 

This week we got hit with about 7 inches of snow and really low temps again- obstacles for training. Monday was supposed to be a 7.5 mile training run and thanks to some very dead and tired legs, only ended up being 4 miles. Seriously? Doesn't my body know that I have a race in 4 weeks and that I need it to cooperate? Tuesday and Wednesday were forced rest days thanks to the snow and the icky roads preventing me from being able to get to the gym and my trusty treadmill. I finally got there on Friday after work for a quick 4 and back this morning for a not-as-quick 8, and even though I'm sore and tired, it honestly felt so good to get out and run, even if it was on the treadmill and all I had to occupy me for an hour and a half were reruns of "Bath Crashers" on HGTV (hey, they did the job). 

Oh yeah, this week we also picked our wedding rings, went to our cake tasting and booked that- with no arguments!-, started designing the invitations, and had to reschedule our meeting with our priest due to snow. And I spent 2 mornings in court with one of my students, did all of my report cards, and finished new schedules for all the students for 2nd semester. Oh, and sat through a 3 hour statistics class from hell.

Add training onto all of that over the last couple days and I am EXHAUSTED. I left the gym and wanted to come home, shower, throw on that compression gear and take a nap.

Instead, I walked in the house to news of a nasty mall shooting at our local mall where 3 people died, multiple others were injured, and thousands of people have been traumatized. I spent the next hour reassuring my family that Kevin and I were ok and that we hasn't gone to the mall that morning. And I quickly realized that the snow obstacle that had seemingly kept me from my outdoor long run, may have saved my life. If it had been nicer, I had planned on going to the mall this morning to pick up undergarments and accessories for my dress so I would have them for my upcoming fitting, and would have done my long run this afternoon in the warmer temps. What derailed my training turned out to be a blessing in disguise. 

I'm no longer complaining about obstacles, not with the horror that some people in my neighborhood have dealt with today. Instead I will say an extra prayer for those involved and for the snow that kept me safe this morning. Next time I see an obstacle, I hope that I can view it from a more positive place.