{52 Snapshots of Life} Week 37: Labor

The Lazy Pit Pull totally stole my idea for spinning this theme from Labor to Labor of Love, but it was for a good reason, so I'll forgive her! My story is going to pale in comparison to hers, but I'm going with it.

My back and hip have been bothering me for quite awhile. If it hadn't been for the addition of heat, I probably would have pushed it, but it really is for the best that I didn't. Finally, after 16 days off, I felt so much better. We were finally able to run again! Unfortunately, the heat was sticking around longer than expected and it was raining. Depressing. Thursday night, I let Henri outside and cool air washed over us. I looked at the clock: a quarter till 7pm. We had time before the sun went down. I hadn't eaten dinner, which was good because I wasn't going to run on a full stomach, but it was bad because I kinda wanted to eat. I went back and forth for ten minutes and I just thought, 'Why am I wasting my time? Let's go for a run and I'll eat when we get back. It's a half an hour! It feels great outside and I want to run!' Henri was very happy with this decision and cuddled with me on the couch long after my dinner was eaten (meaning no chance of getting any food, so no point in sticking around except for the fact that he loves me!).

Friday was rainy as well, ruining our previously made plans for a destination run. The weather report at lunch was that the rain had moved out of the area, but there was still some pop up showers for the rest of the day and it was making it muggy. Those pop up showers turned out to be random downpours, but it seemed clear when I got off work. The forecast and radar looked good, so we loaded up to go to the park for a run. Of course, just as we're approaching the park, dark clouds are rolling in, but they kept on rolling and not a drop fell on us as we ran.

So, 16 days off was a lot and our impromptu run on Thursday night had killed my legs and the park is a little bit hilly. It was still a little warm once the darker clouds rolled out and the sun was shining brightly. I was sore and my pace was steady. It was a challenging run, for me. Of course, Henri was fine, aside from the bit of heat. He didn't droop though. He was having a great time! So, I pushed as much as I could and we walked some extra miles at the end, to make up for my lack of speed.

When we stopped in the grass and he lay down and stretched out, I knew it was worth it. It's always worth it. It's good to be back, isn't it, Buddy?