Motivational Monday: I'm Back, Baby!

I haven't purposefully been on hiatus for the past 6 weeks, but the truth is that I simply didn't want to lament about being back in PT, constantly doing my prescribed stretching exercises and waiting on the green light from my doctor to start running again. 

So instead I opted to invest my time in stalking following the members of the countless Facebook Running Groups of which I am a member: Hogwarts Running Club, the Marine Corps Marathon & 10K Club, SparkleAddicts, Disney's Glass Slipper Challenge, 2016 Disney Princess Half Marathon, Team #runDisney, runDisneyRun (you get where I'm going here) to inspire me not to give up on running. 

To add insult to injury (literally), I had just received "Sparkle Mail" containing my first Sparkle Skirt purchases right before I got hurt and therefore had to wait to take them out for a test run, oh the horror! 

Rather than wallowing in a sea of self-pity, indulging in wine and chocolate (OK I'd be doing that either way) and listening to Morrissey in a dark room, I have been living vicariously through all of the runners in these Groups, celebrating their milestones and being there to support them during their setbacks.  Following the stories of these runners was so inspirational and put my being laid up for a few weeks into perspective (how can I be annoyed over a minor injury when there are runners out there training through chemo? Seriously, CHEMO!)    

Finally, after weeks of strictly following the doctor's orders and PT (and promising to stop looking online for solutions to the problem), I was cleared to get my run on! 

Of course the first order of business was to bust out my new Sparkle Skirt and figure out my route for the inaugural run... that's right y'all! I skipped the treadmill and took it to the streets! I wish I would have listened to pretty much anyone EVER who told me that running outside was far superior to the treadmill - a theory I have been staunchly refuting for years. At this point, I have no option but to fall on my sword and admit defeat because you were right, all of you. 

While my first run was paced pretty conservatively, every run since then has been outdoors and my pace is steadily improving and distance increasing.  I think I am finally able to admit to myself in the proverbial words of George Costanza, "I'M BACK BABY" and grateful for my healthy body and 2 working legs that allow me to already complain about how much I don't feel like getting in my evening training run! (You had to know that my gratitude would be short-lived).