A New Perspective on "Healthy"

Let's see, where did I leave off?...

Oh, waaay back in the fall, I was taking time off of running and then easing back into it, including more cross training, etc. So far so good as of October...

Until I was blessed with the swine flu. There went an entire extra month without any exercise at all. Nothing. In fact, walking into the kitchen from the living room and trying to do dishes or fix a snack was exhausting enough. Amazing what a little microscopic pest can do! 10 straight days with a fever over 100, seven pounds lighter, two dozen cans of chicken noodle soup, probably 50 cups of tea, four doctors visits and one to the E.R. so they wouldn't feel left out. Also, almost 3 weeks of missed work, missed the most important music performance of the year (veteran's day), and a house that looked like it was occupied by the Tasmanian devil. Swine flu, I hate you.

Needless to say, December and January were spent regaining my stamina. It took a while, but it came back 100% plus. By February, I was back into a steady running routine, which included 2-3 days per week of cross training. It's worked pretty well as I am now up to 18 miles for my long runs. Thank goodness, for recovery, as being sick when your husband is deployed seriously sucks.

What I've learned from this year and these experiences:
Embrace and cherish every day that you feel healthy and active. Never miss the opportunity to do some thing healthy for yourself. There's something about being so ill for so long that teaches you an awareness of your body that you've never had before. Since having recovered from injury and illness, I've become aware of how great I feel when I eat well, rest well, and keep my social ties active. It's no longer a challenge to do this because I no longer crave late nights and crappy food. I don't really know how this happened, but I'm not complaining.