Many of you are aware of my involvement with Michigan Youth Leadership (MYLead) and the number of sleepless nights I spend working on things for this nonprofit organization that I hold close to my heart. For those of you who are not aware (that means you have probably never spoken to me, because I shamelessly plug MYLead and its greatness at nearly any chance I get), now you are!
Well, the annual MYLead conference was this weekend. I drove to the conference on Thursday evening, fully aware of the fact that I would not be running Thursday through Sunday. My initial thoughts while packing for the weekend were to pack all of my running gear and fit a run in each morning before the day’s activities began. Then, I decided to think realistically and that is when I decided to not even bother packing my running gear.
To provide a little insight into why I decided this, I share with you a brief overview of the MYLead weekend schedule of activities: Thursday night staff prep from 6-11pm, Friday morning staff prep at 6:30-8am, Friday activities 8am-11pm, Friday night staff meeting 11-11:30pm, Saturday morning staff prep 6:30-7am, Saturday activities 7am-11:30pm, Saturday night staff meeting 11:30pm-1am, Sunday morning staff prep 7-7:30am, Sunday activities 7:30am-2pm.
Now, as I tried to be brutally honest with myself as I packed, I realized that the nights are usually even longer than scheduled because naturally the staff meetings end up taking an extra “few” minutes. So…yes friends, that means “go mode” nonstop from Thursday night to Sunday afternoon, after having been in “go mode” all week long prepping for the conference in the evenings after work. The overly-optimistic part of me said, “sure you can fit a run in each day.” But, then the realistic/growing up ::sigh:: part of me said, “you need sleep and to let your body rest if you want to continue to function and stay healthy…then you can get in great workouts next week since things will calm down post-conference.” So, thank you realistic/growing up ::sigh again:: part of me for keeping me sane.
Yes, I listened to the smarter part of me. I decided to forgo packing the running gear. I promised myself I would get to sleep as early as I possibly could every night–of course, early is a relative term. And, I promised myself that I wouldn’t be a Miss Crabby Pants because I couldn’t get my runs in during the conference weekend. My body would have time off, and when I return to my groove tomorrow I will feel good and be that much more motivated to rock it out. I didn’t do as decently on the “early” part as I had hoped, I did great on the “no Miss Crabby Pants allowed” part, and I was definitely right on about the “feelin’ good and being motivated” part! I’m ready to have one of my best running weeks so far, starting with tomorrow’s workout.
I have to admit…I feel like I can breathe a little easier now that the conference is over. Now, a few months off before planning for the 2011 conference begins! That means slightly more time in my days (and although only slightly more, every little bit counts) to continue to make a running a priority this year.
After all, the Detroit Marathon isn’t just going to run itself.
journey to 26.2 