This morning I was preparing to go to the Dunbar track for a workout at approximately 4:55. As I put on my contact lens, got dressed warmly, and raced out the door to try to avoid being late, I noticed that it seemed to be sleeting. As I quickly sat in the driver's seat of my car, I noticed that I had somehow missed a call from one of the two people with whom I was supposed to run. As I quickly called my training partner back (I don't usually call people at 5 AM), the sleet continued. We decided that since we did not know how long it would continue, we would call off our workout.
As I checked on how much more to expect, I noticed that the local online weather indicated "light ice pellets". That term surprised me, so I posted about it on Facebook. Much to my surprise, the post ended up with more than a dozen comments about the difference between sleet and ice pelled. My one friend who is a trained meteorologist commented that the term ice pellet was more accepted internationally. So I joked that just like The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (see the symbol to the right), I could call the weather The Precipitation Formerly Known as Sleet. Clever, perhaps. But some friends claims their local weather coverage said there was still a difference.
More importantly, as I returned to the warm interior of my house, it gave me a chance to rethink my priorities for the morning. Yes, I would have loved to do a track workout. We had planned 800 meter intervals and I would likely have done six or more at a very quick pace. But instead, I began by making semolina flour pizza dough. It ended up making a decent dinner, but my eight year old is rarely sufficiently patient to get the best pizza out of a dough.
Then, I took my dog for a relatively long walk. She was incredibly happy. That made me happy as well.
Next, I did run. Just 3.1 miles at an easy pace. But that was what I needed. No pressure. No hype. Just a relaxing opportunity to use my legs and get the heart going a little.
Then, I went to the grocery store. And eventually, I did make it to work on time and had a good day at work.
So, my friends and I decided not to take a risk and instead of getting a great workout and feeling incredibly pressured otherwise, I got a good workout and had an opportunity to take care of some other quite important things.
That is a good lesson to learn--sometimes a change in plans creates new opportunities. Each change should be taken not as inherently a setback but as an opportunity to take another path that may turn out to be even better.
As I checked on how much more to expect, I noticed that the local online weather indicated "light ice pellets". That term surprised me, so I posted about it on Facebook. Much to my surprise, the post ended up with more than a dozen comments about the difference between sleet and ice pelled. My one friend who is a trained meteorologist commented that the term ice pellet was more accepted internationally. So I joked that just like The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (see the symbol to the right), I could call the weather The Precipitation Formerly Known as Sleet. Clever, perhaps. But some friends claims their local weather coverage said there was still a difference. More importantly, as I returned to the warm interior of my house, it gave me a chance to rethink my priorities for the morning. Yes, I would have loved to do a track workout. We had planned 800 meter intervals and I would likely have done six or more at a very quick pace. But instead, I began by making semolina flour pizza dough. It ended up making a decent dinner, but my eight year old is rarely sufficiently patient to get the best pizza out of a dough.
Then, I took my dog for a relatively long walk. She was incredibly happy. That made me happy as well.
Next, I did run. Just 3.1 miles at an easy pace. But that was what I needed. No pressure. No hype. Just a relaxing opportunity to use my legs and get the heart going a little.
Then, I went to the grocery store. And eventually, I did make it to work on time and had a good day at work.
So, my friends and I decided not to take a risk and instead of getting a great workout and feeling incredibly pressured otherwise, I got a good workout and had an opportunity to take care of some other quite important things.
That is a good lesson to learn--sometimes a change in plans creates new opportunities. Each change should be taken not as inherently a setback but as an opportunity to take another path that may turn out to be even better.
So true!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tee! I've learned the lesson before, but sometimes it takes a cute reminder of how important this lesson can be.
ReplyDelete