A Change in Plans

Do you have a plan? It can be a running plan or a life plan, some kind of well thought out way for you to live out your week/ month/ year? Isn't it great if those plans go uninterrupted?

I had planned to run over 100 miles in February, had my scheduled runs and was poised to register for a spring ultra. but.... things don't always go according to plan.

Two weeks ago, after a very fun girls night at my house, my mother slipped on ice, breaking many bones. We didn't plan on spending the night in the ER getting xrays and we certainly plan on her being admitted. She's now at St Ann's on their rehab floor and I've been visiting her daily.

That first week I ran a whole 3 miles. Between work, babysitting my nephew, coaching and visiting my mom, I just couldn't squeeze anything more in. This past week I had 5 miles total, thanks to some good RWK friends getting me out!

Did I get my 100 miles in February? LOL, no! I only made it to 65. This week I started to forget who I was, getting quite down about missing out on something I love to do.... run. Why bother having plans if they don't work out? Maybe I should just forget making plans at all, then I'll never be disappointed when they don't work out.

Funny though, because if everyone thought that way, I would have no one to coach! Of course I need to have a plan. Well thought out plans give us direction. It might not be a straight line to your goal, but a plan can and will help us focus on the journey. If we have a plan, and things get in the way of its progress, we need to be OK with that, and find creative ways to still move forward.

Yesterday was beautiful! The sun was out, the snow looked pretty and I needed to get outside. So I ran to St Ann's to visit my mom. Its not far, just over 2 1/2 miles each way, but I was able to run, have a nice visit with mom, and run home, getting just over 5 miles in. It felt so good! I really needed that time away from cell phones and computer screens to just absorb some vitamin D on a solo run.

Maybe I'll get 100 miles in March. I'll plan on it anyway and so far I'm off to a good start. So go ahead, make your plans, even hire a coach to write one for you:) But if something happens to plan A or Plan B, remember that there 26 letters in the alphabet, so keep adjusting the plan and keep running!