My body has not been itself this week.
Fatigue. Cramps. Farts (well, that’s normal). Loss of appetite. I knew I must be gearing up for the Parting of the Red Sea, the Surfing of the Crimson Wave and/or the Joining of the Cast of Pad Men. Yes, the old period. (<no, I didn’t make these up. Go HERE to see more hilarity).
Today I am 48 years, 9 months and 14 days old. Yet, I have not the slightest indication yet that this period business is ebbing. It just keeps flowing. I guess that is not surprising since the typical age for menopause is 51 years.
I’ve always sucked at keeping track of when she would arrive (<I’m guessing she’s a she. She has to be. A “he” would be creepy). I know it’s not difficult to count days, but I forget. Most of the time, my body doesn’t react too strongly to getting my period. The cramps are kept at bay and I am not regularly found screaming obscenities at drivers at school pick up even if they’re ass-hats. But, then there are some weeks where I’m begging for mercy.
This was one of those weeks. I can deal with the unpleasantries, but I HATE it when anything fucks with my running. Awhile ago, I did a post on how running affects your period. I can’t honestly remember what I wrote (I am 48 years and 9 months old, you know), but you can read it HERE. I think it was pretty interesting and I actually did quite a bit of research (<uncommon on this blog). I also read a great article this week about why your period can cause so much stomach upset. Read it HERE.
I had a few mediocre runs this week, figuring I’d put in some bigger miles on the weekend. Saturday morning I was still feeling particularly turd-like, but I thought a run would help. We barely made it to the trail head when I had to make a run for it (<even though I’d left the kids at the pool before leaving home. Another fun code phrase!):
I thought all would be good after that, but nope. This was to a be an 8 mile run, cut short to a 6 mile run due to my frequent stops to jump off of the trail. There was also mud and ice and on Saturday I actually kind of hated running. Yep, I said it. (This is mud, btw).
Today was a new day and I thought I’d try for 10 miles on the road. I felt crappy pretty much the whole run, but I did it and I’m glad I did. I will be forever grateful to my favorite itty bitty store (Purple Door Market) exactly 2.3 miles from my house that put a porta potty out front. In fact, I purchased a time share.
So cozy! And purple!
That is all I have to say. The point of this is that whether it’s your period or something else that derails your running, it’s okay. It always means that the next runs will be better or that they won’t, but you will still be running and that is the point.
In my mind, a horrible run is actually better than no run at all. Plus, the rest of the day I just did this:
My slippers. Heidi taking up the whole couch.
And I WILL tell you something that made my weekend. I woke up to a text Saturday morning from my aunt in Maryland who did her first 5K yesterday at the age of 65. Now THAT put a smile on my face. Go Aunt Donna!
Do you get PMS? Does your period affect your running? When did you first get yours? I was 16!! Late bloomer. I am still waiting to get boobs.
When did you run your first ever race? Bolder Boulder 10K in 2000. Then I took a break for 8 years.
SUAR
