Sunday Morning Check-In

I'm a big fan of Sunday mornings. There is usually no street noise so I wake up when my body tells me I've had enough sleep, not when some big truck beep-beeps it's backup alarm or when my own bedside alarm rouses me. Even though I tell myself I can sleep late, I'm almost always awake by 7.

I'm practically forced to move slow on Sundays. Most stores don't open until around noon. My best friend isn't an early riser so even if we have something planned for the day, I know it won't be until late morning or on into the afternoon. When I started exercising again, I made Sunday my LongWalk day. I'd take my camera and stop for whatever caught my eye.

Now that I'm running again, I use Sundays as my SlowRun day. I no longer take my camera along but I try to run at a slower pace and I intentionally set out to get the most from my run. (During the week, I'm just trying to cover the miles/minutes, get them done and get to work by 7:30.)

By "get the most" I mean I try to fit a lot into the run without stressing about it. I start off by paying attention to how my body really FEELS. Am I sore in one particular area? Are my shoulders too tight? How does my stride feel? I take the time to shake out my upper extremities, to adjust my steps. Giving the start of my run a few minutes for body mechanics has helped me build endurance and makes for a more pleasant experience. Going through that little check allows me to let go of the feeling that exercise is work/hard/painful/a hassle and then I can move on in a state of relaxation, listening to a podcast, taking in the view around me, or exchanging "good mornings" with the people I meet on the road.

For over a year, Sunday mornings were particularly painful for me. My dad and I had a ritual of me calling him and we'd catch up on the week. I waited until after 10am to call because he was in California. We often talked during the week (if some issue came up), but Sunday was for chatting, for advising, for letting each other know that we had time to spare for each other. After he died, I missed those phone calls as much as I missed anything else - maybe more than anything else. So many hours of our relationship were poured into those Sunday mornings. The quiet of not speaking to him was dreadful.

I endured quite a few months of painful, sorrowful Sundays.

I'm not sure when I moved out of dreading Sundays and into appreciating them again. I only know that I moved. I give credit to my camera, my running shoes, and also to allowing myself to Feel. More than anything - to allowing myself to Feel. At some point, I checked in with myself, made an assessment and decided that life is (at times) work/hard/painful/a hassle and I moved on.

It's nice to know that once the Sunday run is done I can also move on with the remainder of the day at whatever pace I choose. I can do as little or as much as I want. In my own time. (I need to remember this the next time I complain about being single.)

Here's to the Sunday of your choosing, whether it be active, quiet, calm, restful...whatever. I'm still on track, still moving, and I appreciate the words of support I get here. If you're stuck, consider checking in with yourself. It can be the most painful/wonderful/rewarding way to move on that you can ever imagine. I highly recommend it. With feeling.



©Michelle Scofield, July 29, 2012 All Rights Reserved