Today I Ran

(note: this post was supposed to go up yesterday (monday), but I got busy midway through and forgot. imagine.)

There have been a few posts that have had a title similar to this one.  Not like “I’m going to take a vacation from running,” kind of thing [Gosh, NO!], but a “Something is going on in my life that is forcing me to stop running.” 

I hate those.

I would much rather decide on my own to take a vacay from running, I’m not a fan of being told what to do…just ask my parents…or my husband.  

No, every time I have had to stop running it is a must.  Ugh.

But oh happy day, TODAY I RAN!!!  Thank You, Jesus, for my feet, my legs, my lungs, and the beautiful scenery that I observed on my 6.25 mile run this morning!  It.was.glorious.

GLORIOUS.

At the time of my run this morning exactly six weeks ago, I was having my bilateral mastectomy and beginning the reconstruction process.  Meaning, all the breast tissue and “other stuff” was removed, along with a lymph node, and tissue expanders were put in.  You can check out this post to read more about it.

So in my six weeks of recovery I’ve done a LOT of walking…5-6 miles/day, 5-6 days/week.  And it’s felt great to just be moving.  Anything else was basically off limits-no weights, no pushups, nothing crazy that involves too much upper body movement.  I was also not supposed to get my heart rate or blood pressure up either-umm, I’m going to assume that my sons’ basketball games don’t count.

But yesterday, I emailed my amazing PS and her response,

I was super excited, and a little nervous when I got her answer…why?!  That’s crazy!  I’ve been dyingggg to run for 6 long weeks and now I finally get permission and I’m hesitating! 

Truthfully I guess I just didn’t know how things would feel.  Would I have the stamina?  Would it hurt??  Would it feel like before?  Will my expander end up in my armpit if it bounces too much??

So I decided to test things out yesterday afternoon.  I wore a sports bra over the top of my surgical bra and padding that I wear every day…believe me, NOTHING was moving.
  

And I hopped on the treadmill.  For 5.25 cautious miles, I alternated between running and walking.  For 61 minutes.  And everything felt good!  My boobs didn’t fall off, they weren’t sore, they felt normal!  And I felt back to normal for the first time in six weeks.

Since my test run felt so good, I decided that I would try running OUTSIDE today.

The verdict?

 

6.25 miles in one hour.  Yippee!!!!! 

Thank.You.Lord.

Even though the skies were cloudy and gray, it could not dampen my spirits at all!

Flying high on endorphins today!

Love y’all!

xoxo