I finally came out of my funk today. I’ve been really grumpy, depressed, short-tempered and badly focused for several weeks. Between the post-IM blues, extreme job-stress, and dealing with the added workload of the program, I was spinning in a maelstrom of distraction. The situation got so bad that I had to bail out of my last race of the year. Toss in a head-cold and I’ve not been in a happy place.
So what finally popped for me?
A little over a week ago I got an e-mail from a former co-worker reminding me that we would hook up for a photography shoot. Tony wanted to fill out his portfolio with some athletic shots, and I said I’d be happy to help, for what ever that was worth!. So we agreed to meet this morning and do the shoot.
The morning was COLD (mid 30’s when I got up) but I got packed up and headed down to Colonial Park. I took my bike and run gear and figured that I’d try to get a short run in after the shoot.
When the sun finally came out, the day was perfect. Bright sun, cool temps and the leaves are just starting to turn. Tony showed up right on time and we quickly set up and started the shoot. We did some running shots, then some biking shots. A lot of the same back-and-forth up and down the running path. It was interesting watching Tony do his thing with the camera, and the previews he showed me looked pretty cool. After the shoot we chatted about sports
, injuries, computers, careers, and some geeky IT security stuff. It was really cool to catch up after several years. I’m really looking forward to seeing the pictures.
After Tony left, I changed back into my running gear and headed out for a short run. I hadn’t run at ALL since IMWI, so I figured I’d just take it easy and go short. I left the HRM strap in the car, and just ran by feel. I came back with a nice easy 3.12 miles for 30 minutes. Nothing earth-shattering there, but the run in the sun and cool fall air was EXACTLY what I needed to drag my soul out of the pit. Between catching up with Tony, doing something new (the photo shoot), breaking a little sweat and breathing some fresh air I felt SO much better.
Nothing else has changed though. Work is still going to be really stressful for the next several weeks; school demands will continue to challenge my time-management skills, and I’ve got several must-do social commitments over the next two weekends that will consume lots of time planning and executing. I’m still not sure how I’ll get any kind of workouts done.
But the world isn’t all darkness and woe any longer. There will be more days like today. I’m certain of it.!o