Whoa Nelly!

First a little housekeeping...I promised an explanation for the word "froggyposs" from a previous post.  As I was typing that post I had a suspicion that the Blogger spell checker wasn't working, so I figured I would type some gibberish to see if the spell check would highlight it.  Well, it didn't, so I had to manually spell check the post.  I obviously forgot to go back and delete my "test word."  As for what it means, it was about 2 in the morning that was just the first thing that popped in my head.  I have no idea what made me think of it.  Maybe it'll catch on one day and become a common term that describes when a spell check fails to recognize a misspelling.  Anyway, now we can get back to some normalcy...

We have had a very warm winter/early spring and the Smith's have been spending a bunch of time outside.  Much to dad's delight, Emry has loved playing outside.  She loves to go on family walks around the neighborhood.  She no longer wants to ride in the wagon, but prefers to push Whit in the stroller or walk/run alongside mom and dad. 

 

On the Emryboard, we told the tale of Emry's first skinned knee.  Well, earlier this week she discovered how to use the pockets on the front of her jacket.  While we were out on a walk, she put her hands in her jacket pockets and started running down the street.  I said to Maren, "That's probably not safe because she can't brace herself if she falls."  No sooner had the words left my lips and Emry faceplanted right on the pavement.  It was a scary fall, but she survived.  Emry was left with a nice bruise on the right side of her face...which served as a reminder for her to slow down and take her time.

I mentioned on the Emryboard how much Emry enjoyed showing off her skinned knee, well her face bruise was no different.  She loved the attention and putting on band-aids.  I think deep down she wants to be a rapper.  Her first album drops later this summer...

I tell you about Emry's story because I've learned to pull back on the reigns a bit myself.  In the past, I always ran with a watch, keeping track of my time and pace.  Every race I've ran and training run I've done has had a goal time in mind.  Since I took a break from running after I had my back pain in the fall, I began running earlier this year without a race to train for.  I also decided to run solely in my minimalist running shoes, which completely changed my stride and the way I run.  So to avoid causing injuries I started off slow...very slow for me.  In fact, it was so slow, that I didn't want to know how slow I was going, so I decided to leave my watch at home. 

It was a liberating experience, just going out to enjoy a run for the heck of it.  I found myself paying more attention to my surroundings than looking down at my watch.  I also discovered it was more enjoyable to run this way...I'd go out for an early morning run and just get completely lost in my thoughts.  I wouldn't worry about how far I'd gone or how long it had taken me.  I was more in tune with how my body felt, and if I got tired or sore, I'd head back home.  It was nice not being tied to a stopwatch or a training schedule that said I have to run this far, in this amount of time, on this day of the week. 

That's not to say I'll never participate in a race again.  I'm just saying it is nice to go out and just run for the sake of running...just going out an enjoying your God-given abilities without any other distractions makes you feel in tune with His creation.  Its quite an experience!  And despite what 99% of people say, running can be fun...

(I couldn't resist the urge to post a Back to the Future clip!)  

So next time you feel like going out for a jog or a walk, think about leaving your watch (and ipod and cell phone) at home.  Don't worry about how fast you go or how far you've gone.  Try to get off the city streets, maybe find a trail or a nice country road and just take it all in.  Listen to how your body feels and what it's telling you.  Just get lost in your thoughts and the beauty of everything around you.  And when you finally get tired, turn around and head home...or just keep on going! 

She'd keep right on going if we let her!