This Part is Hard

I am not going to complain about going back to work. After all, I got a real summer this year, with actual time off and travel to boot. Yes, going back to work is tough, but I'm happy to be back and I'm excited for this year. So, no complaining.

But am I allowed to comment on how stressful this part of the school year is? And how absolutely bone-tired my body and mind are at the end of the day?

Sometimes I think about how hard coming back feels for me and I can understand why students are basically barely-animated blobs when they return each year. Time off gets you into a different set of habits, and you're in them just long enough to start to feel used to having an open schedule, and then school starts again.

Right now, I am struggling to run. I'm exhausted. It's hot. (Like 100 degrees every day kind of hot.) After a day of work, I want to come home and relax, and by the time it's "cool enough" to run (after sunset, usually, and then we're still talking usual Florida summer temps) I've lost the will to move.

Honestly, it's absurd to expect people to go outside in this.

I am mostly writing this post to pry myself out of my chair. I know that once I get into the swing of things, running after work will be a vital part of getting through the school year. I actually keep a better running schedule during the year than over the summer because my schedule is more stable...and I can consistently remember what day of the week it is.

It's getting back into the habit that's been proving difficult.

I am naturally a lazy person. I had hoped going through compartment syndrome and recovery would inoculate me against my natural sloth-like state, but apparently not. Getting out the door isn't much easier than it ever was.

Truer words were never written.

On top of that, because I'm not training for anything, there's nothing to hold me accountable to any mileage. Not beyond my own self-recrimination, anyway.

When I run, I still am filled with joy and a feeling of completion I can't articulate. It's getting started that's tripping me up.

Running is still the only time I truly feel unencumbered. The heat, though, certainly cumbers me.

Of course, the bottom line is that I just have to shut up and run, shut up and run, shut up and run until it gets easier. So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to hit publish on this post and get out the door. (I'll let you know if it works.)

Thanks for letting me whine.

ABK