Ain't nuthin' like it

After what seemed like eons of elliptical training I FINALLY got out for a run this morning. Going out the door I thought "sure hope I remember how to do this!" Fortunately, running comes naturally to our species, what with the large toothy animals and rival clans that we had to get away from in our evolutionary history.

The run went pretty well. There was the tiniest pain in my heel at the beginning and a miniscule pain in my right calf but it went away after a bit. I took it slow (mostly) and remembered to shuffle my left heel most of the time. It's paradoxical to me that a change made in my left foot/leg would make a huge difference in my right foot/leg. Hmmmm....yet another example of the amazing interconnectedness of all things. You know, the butterfly effect thing.

I'm probably going to stick with the elliptical for the most part. Oh, and I added lower body weight training during my running exile so I'll keep doing that and add a run about once a week, until I am certain that I can continue. But I gotta tell ya, it's SOOOOO tempting to get out there EVERY DAY.

Today I came back half frozen (It's 10 degrees here) but with an ear-to-ear grin. ONO asked how it went and I said "Pretty good. There's just nothing like it." He said "Not even the love of your husband? Not even sex?" I said "I didn't say it was better than those things, there's just nothing like it."

Smile

Go ahead, do it.

No, really! Go ahead and smile.

Yes, even if you don't feel like it.

Your mom and Nike are right. Just do it already! You'll feel better when you're all done.

One of my favorite quotes from my favorite philosopher is:

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but
sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy."

This ancient piece of wisdom has now been "proven" by the scientific method.

Turns out, a bunch of those wackos in the ivory tower have been studying this stuff. And sure enough, just the mere act of smiling, even if you don't feel happy, changes the brain's functioning. Don't believe me? Here are a couple of links to check out:

One is more readable,

the other is written in all that scientific gobbledy-gook. Just skip down to the "Discussion" section.

I know! Crazy, huh?!

But really. You should try it.

I did a couple of days ago, when we were having yet ANOTHER gray day (I lost count of the exact number), and the mini-muffins had serious cabin fever which caused them to launch into frenetic physical activity every 2 1/2 minutes or so, and as much as I nursed, babied or bullied it, my right leg and foot continued to hurt like hell, even if I used the eliptical! I was in a bad, bad, state. For some reason, I'll call it Grace, I remembered this idea and went ahead and tried it.

Laughter, or just smiling, really is the best medicine.

Top 5 reasons I'm a Negative Nelly

5. I'm on a diet
4. I'm injured
3. It's cold
2. It's dark
1. I'm not running

Stretches of Silence

I thought I'd explain why I'm not writing.

I'm not running much and I've realized that I compose blog postings while I run.

No running = no blog posting.

Hopefully things will turn the corner soon.