Day 3 - Lay It Down

There was no time for breakfast this morning; today saw the funeral of one of "my guys" (a gentle-giant named Bob) and there was no opportunity to even really think about it, never mind do it.

I knew later on I would have to do a radio talk-show on suicide prevention in the LGBTQQ community.

Weight: 152.2 lbs

Breakfast/Lunch: dead cow, steamed vegetables (carrots and string beans with garlic - yummy!) one potato croquet type thing. A cappuccino (because I needed it), and a tortoni (which is a small cup of almond-flavored ice cream).

Drank not nearly enough water.

The work day ended, the day got significantly cooler, and rain threatened. Got home. Got changed. Checked for my phone and my keys and as I closed the door...realized I'd locked myself out: I'd grabbed my work keys.

Well, alrighty then. Called Shane to let her know that until she got home, I'd be "outside," and off I went.

During the run, I cut through the park so I could run over a bridge that crosses Silver Lake. I love the way the air feels on misty days, love even more the way everything appears - especially from the midpoint of that bridge - when it's like that out.

I needed that, the union of water, stone, and sky, me the fire and the spirit moving over and across.

I focused on numbers, focused on my breathing patterns. Made sure that I didn't hold my shoulders tight as I moved one foot in front of the other, over cement, over grass, over stone.

One full cycle of inhale and exhale takes about four steps. One full cycle of inhale and exhale is about four heartbeats.

And as I ran, I realized that this is life: starting and ending, hoping and hurting, and it's up to me, no matter what, to do the things that are important, to do the things I need to do for me, even before (sometimes) I do them for anyone else.

I modified today's training run a bit: instead of 50/50 running and walking, I did 60/90. The original intent was to keep to the 10 minutes but...by the time I was done, I'd actually done 14.5!

So I increased the "recovery" portion by 50% and increased the actual productive/active time by 45% - honestly, not a bad exchange, especially since I covered just about twice the distance and I still had energy to spare.

And there was a lesson in that, too: take the recovery time. Schedule it, plan it, make it an integral part of the work - and it will work for you, increase your capability and productivity.

Because even when you're doing what you've got to do, sometimes, you really need to lay it down.