Eh?

It’s been a wile, eh?

Sorry to cause worry or concern, Dear Readers – that was never my intention.

So what’s the deal? You so rightly ask.

Oh – where to begin? Nothing serious, nothing exciting, nothing other than every-day-life. I wish I could say I had taken a surprise trip to Fiji. But I haven’t. And yes, even though it was my worst race last year and a race that I fully intend to compete sometime in the future; I wasn’t up at Timberman (although I know it would have been incredible to watch). No – sadly I wasn’t up in the Twin Cities with my folks or in Philadelphia with my sister.

I’ve been in Pensacola, going about with recovery (again, the physical and mental part – it never seems to end), enjoying the new furniture, going out on dates with Nathaniel, reading at local cafes, and watching the kitties with growing amusement.

Anabelle, it seems, thinks that her tail is some foreign object needing to be chased. So she runs in circles, chasing a tail that seems to always elude her.

And Tabbitha? Well, The House Monster is growing less hostile towards her Itty-Bitty counterpart. We’re down to merely one or two chases per day, although Anabelle is the provoker of kitty chases.

Quite frankly, I can’t blame Tabbitha, as Anabelle has now taken over The Ugly Green Recliner. The battle for this piece of furniture is never ending. And never ceases to amaze me. Between the Husband, The House Monster, and Itty-Bitty Kitty, the recliner is the most coveted piece of furniture in our house. And after buying a new living room set, that is just plain wrong.

Additionally, I’m a self-professed “Olympaholic”. There’s something simply incredible about watching these amazing athletes pursue their dreams, give their all, and participate in the sports they love. I have a newfound respect for those athletes recovering from injuries; I know how difficult the physical – and now mental – hurdles can be.

And what about those Canadians, eh? Only recently have they managed to win a few medals. The Canadian press, prime minister, and public – as reported in the NY Times – have become increasingly alarmed. Even I feel bad for our Northern Friends. So I’ve taken to cheering them on as well as the US.

I was very happy the Canadian Lightweight woman’s double won bronze, and over the moon about the Canadian Men’s eight gold. I speak of rowing….

But that still doesn’t answer the main question – what about the blog?

Through this journey, one of my friends recently dropped a bombshell on me. “Marit,” she said, “You are one of the most Thinking-persons that I know. But in your thoughts, in your brain, you loose complete sight of your feelings.”

I wondered if she was correct. And as I went about my day, it slowly dawned on me how correct she was. I can think my way into and out of just about anything – be it races, feelings, ideas, writing, training, etc. If I want to hit x mile in y time, then I need to run at z pace… Additionally, I think when I write, but I don’t take the time to experience, to feel what I’m writing. There’s a huge disconnect between what I write – getting the thoughts out onto paper – versus feeling the emotions that accompany those thoughts.

In the past few years, I’ve turned off my feeling receptors and instead have tuned in only to the thinking aspect of life.

So my challenge to myself was to simply sit back and FEEL for the past week or two.

Turn off the computer, get off the treadmill, not write (although that was tough, as I get a lot of my issues out by writing), and simply experience and feel the emotions.

And for the first time in recent memory, I actually stopped while running.

Odd, I know. Something the thinking aspect of Marit would NEVER do – that’s not the point…. But the feeling aspect of Marit wanted to try something new.

While running the trails out at UWF, I crested a rather-large hill in the middle of the woods. The morning’s rain had left droplets on the leaves and trees, and as the wind rustled the overhanging foliage, I could feel the individual droplets splashing off my face, neck, and shoulders. I paused, turned my face into the wind, closed my eyes, and simply let myself feel my surroundings.

I heard birds chirping, could hear a rushing stream nearby, felt the wind whip past my body as the droplets rained down on my open arms. I opened my eyes, and picked up a red and rust-colored triangle shaped stone near my feet. The sand felt gritty between my fingers and I could feel the rough edges of the stone.

I’m not really sure how long I stood still – it felt like an eternity within a matter of seconds.

But I was proud of myself, because I took the time to really feel something, even though it was contrary to my running task-at-hand.

And I realize that sometimes we need to rock the boat, so to speak. Sometimes we need to go out of our comfort zone and really feel things for what they are. Take a break from what we’re used to in order to grow. I’m still figuring things out on this journey, but I feel closer to a resolution as each day passes.

Now, if you can excuse me, I’m going to go cheer for the US and some Canadians, eh?