Running Man

The first thing I learned was I was not alone in feeling overwhelmed. I found sharing my story to be therapeutic, and in my line of work, when you miss more than a month, plenty of people notice.
I was amazed how many others, including plenty of men, experienced something similar. Everyone has different stresses in their life, and at times many people told me they were overwhelmed and needed to take a few steps back to organize and prioritize. It gave me comfort knowing I wasn’t alone.
For me, professional help turned out to be a panacea. I was taught to analyze my situation, along with the variables that led to my panic, and not treat every problem like it was a catastrophe. It wasn’t long before I realized that I was a control freak, guilty of plotting out every aspect of my day way beyond need.
But it also wasn’t long before I learned I was equipped to handle, and handle well, all the things that stressed me. After learning some relaxation methods, and a breathing technique, I was on the road to recovery.
I was back at work, covering UCLA football, and not nearly as worried about extraneous stuff that filled my mind before. But one of the best moments came when I returned to running in late September. I set out to run a half mile, but couldn’t wipe the smile from my face and wound up going a full mile. When it took me a little time to cool down afterward, I did some of the relaxation exercises I was taught, and in no time I was relaxed and confident.
As I did my 12-mile run Sunday, I thought back to that September run, and what transpired in the coming weeks. A few weeks after that run, I ran past the spot where I cut my ill-faded 2-mile run short in exchange for a trip to ER. When I neared the spot I previously stopped running at, I slowed again, summoned up a nice loogey, and spat right on it.
Anyway, I woke up Sunday not much in the mood to run, but rather looking forward to The DaVinci Code matinee. But shortly after beginning my run I reflected, and remembered what a chore it was for me to throw out the trash last summer, and what a privilege it was to be healthy to train for another marathon.
It was shortly after that one mile return to running I decided where my next marathon would be. To me, it was a no-brainer. And when I tell you next week how I came up with Quebec City, I think you’ll agree.
I have 26 training miles this week. The schedule goes 3 miles (Tuesday), 5 miles (Wednesday), 3 miles (Thursday), 6 miles (Saturday) and 9 miles (Sunday).