The Kindness of a Stranger

I have been making a real headway in my comeback to running. In the last four weeks, the weather has allowed me to run outside, and I have put in four 6+ mile runs outside. This has been a real step forward for me, as just months ago, I was struggling with 1.5 miles. It is very nice to be able to run pain-free again!

I give a lot of credit for my success to two very different things. First off, Ryan, has been such a positive supporter, and has really cheered me on during my training. He has been a real trooper, occasionally running with me and signing up for races, even when he is not much a of a runner. His motivation and encouragement has meant the world to me!

The second thing that has help me, is Yoga. Now, I have to say that I have never really been a fan of Yoga, it had always felt like too much for my wrists, and I just couldn't get into it, but recently I have found my inner Yogi and have really enjoyed and even look forward to going to classes. I have been trying to get to Yoga class 3 times a week. I have been doing Yoga for Strength twice a week and then a Basic Happy Hour class on Fridays. It has done wonders for my hips, lower back and hamstrings!! I am so happy with the results and have had some really amazing runs after getting all stretched out. I also feel like I am getting stronger, and my arms are toning up a bit. Overall, I am very happy with the results and really enjoy the classes, and the quiet time! 

I am trying to balance my running and my yoga. So I have been going to Yoga on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and running on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. It has been working pretty good. 

Ryan became interested in my Yoga practice, as he has seen be become stronger, and he has heard less complaining from me in the way of aches and pains I usually have from running. He thought he would try it out, so last week we started a Beginners Yoga Series, which is a special course for couples and it was buy-one-get-one-free!! Ryan has enjoyed it so far, however, this week was hard because he is putting in so many hours at work and is just really worn down. I don't know how he manages during this time of the year!! 

So, for the past two weeks, I have "gotten my Yoga on" two times on Fridays, with a 30 minutes run in-between! Wow!! 

Today, I went to a Saturday morning drop-in Yoga class to get stretched out before my long-run. It was great, because I did not sleep very well last night and I was very sore and tight.

After Yoga, I went and had a quiet relaxing breakfast and well deserved vanilla-bean latte at one of my favorite coffee houses River Rock! If you are in the area, seriously check them out! Everything they make is outstanding!!

During breakfast, I was on Facebook and read about Erin Williams aka For the Love of Disney Running, and her plans for a @rundisney Run Fest! It sounds like a lot of fun!! I just need to see if my finances can handle another trip to Disney! I am really hoping to run the Tinkerbell 1/2 in California and then the Princess 1/2 in Disney World next year!  And as everyone knows, when I travel, I like to do so in style.....so it tends to be on the expensive side of things!! Lol!

Anyway, after breakfast, I headed out for a run. It was a beautiful sunny day here in MN, looking out the window it could be 40 degrees or better. When I started my run, however, it was 12 degrees and warmed only slightly to 15 degrees by the end of my 6.5 miles. 

Three miles into my run today, I completely broke down in tears, and I mean I had to stop running because I was sobbing!! Here's the story:

I was 3 miles in and just turning a corner to head up a long hill. In the car coming towards me there was a older man with his wife driving. He rolled down the window and gave me 2 thumbs-up and yelled "way to go!" I smiled and waved back, about ten steps later I broke down. It's been so hard to get back into running and this small gesture from a total stranger was so touching!!! It took me quite awhile to recover from this, and even as I started running again, the kindness hit me and I cried again! Luckily for me, I was red-faced already and sweating, so it was hard to tell I was crying!! This sweet man's gesture gave me the strength to finish my 6.5 miles, with a smile on my face (once I stopped crying like a freaking baby!!)

Have you ever cried during a run?