Running while large

some hyacinths are in bloom now

The other day, the Dalmatian lady (I know people only by their dogs as names escape me so quickly) stopped me to say how much faster I am now than when I begun running a few months ago. I guess I could have sighed and said I wish I were as fast as when I began running almost 33 years ago but yeah, I know she meant well. Maybe she saw me tiptoeing on the ice 2 months ago when I first  moved in. I am definitely faster when I don't worry about breaking my neck.

But actually I am faster after a long decline starting when I was 40 and getting much worse after my stay in Cancerland. Since Josh was 5 months old, I have been running  almost continuously covering (since I am a record keeper) more than 40,000 miles. I had to take 4 breaks: 3 months when I was pregnant with Naomi (switched to swimming a mile a day), a month or so when I had Thyroid storm due to Graves' Disease and risked getting a heart attack; two months when I broke my arm but they couldn't set it because the break was right underneath my shoulder bone and any little movement caused exquisite pain; and finally during chemo. I gamely tried to run just a little bit when I first was treated with the Red Devil but my red blood cell count kept falling with each new chemo session. After 8 of them, I was very weak. though I did try to walk every day carefully covering up my bald head. Any little draft would be so painful.

But today, I was especially speedy covering much greater distance than usual. Maybe because I had a break yesterday (riding 20 miles on tires needing air but that uses different muscles) or maybe because it was just so pretty out (now it is raining). Later I  took the bike in, I am supposed to get free maintenance for the life of the bike, and got a few things adjusted so I will hopefully find biking even easier..

Last night was our TV night, fun. Tomorrow, I go dress shopping.