RunSingTeach

Today I joined 20,000 other poor souls for the Hot Chocolate 15k (and 5k) held in National Harbor.  This race was a gift from dbf and I was super excited to go to a themed race about my favorite dessert item. I didn’t really pay much attention to the details until this last week when we were finalizing carpools and planning packet pick ups. I kind of figured that any race going to NH (one way in and one way out) that required advanced parking passes at 10 bucks extra and necessitated carpooling was going to be a  bit of a clusterf. Boy was I right….I won’t get into the details but I will just pass along this little link. (I will also highlight that I had a lovely and wonderful time commuting to and from the race with two amazing MMTC ladies, MS and AK. They made my day! And that our packets were graciously picked up by SM from the club, who picked up like 30 packets!!!)

As my cold, wimpy muscles were dealing with the hills, the automotive congestion in the first five miles, the rocks, and the lack of aid stations, I started to think about “how can I be thankful for all the good of this day” and so here goes….

I have two legs, two arms, two eyes, a heart, two lungs, two ears, 10 fingers, 10 toes, a brain, and two ample breasts that all work relatively well and are cancer-free. I can say that I know lots of people who cannot say the same about one or more of all of these things. I get up in the morning sometimes before dawn and walk a dog. I run on a treadmill. I see beautiful art. I hear amazing music. I type with my fingers and wiggle my toes. I use my non-stop adhd brain all day long and my heart beats a happy beat of anxiety on a regular basis to remind me I’m alive. And let’s just say the ample, cancer-free breasts have always been the highlight of others ogling and/or jokes…

So despite all of the crazy of the morning and the abuse that my body takes because of poor food or lack of exercise, I am so grateful for it. I put this body through a lot and I push it beyond its happiness on a regular basis. It reminds me of its distaste with aches, pains, gastrointestinal distress, and anxiousness often, but all of those things continue to remind me that I am alive. And that, my friends, is something for which to be grateful.