Chills

Last night I felt fortunate enough to get away from work early to get a little bit of strength training in before running with the Lifetime Run Club. I've been enjoying having a bit more free time now that school is out for the summer and our crazy hectic schedule is slowing down. It was hot and I felt like I had drank enough water throughout the day to stay hydrated. I started off a little faster than my normal pace but still well behind most of the group. I didn't care; all that mattered was enjoying a run on a beautiful night. I spent that time reflecting on my running journey over these past 3 years. I never had any intention of being a runner. It was something I felt compelled to do following the death of my brother in law. During those first days following his sudden passing, I spent many sleepless nights worrying about my sister and her 3 small children. That led me to get up early each day to walk. However, walking was no longer enough. I wanted to run. I started slow, sometimes running less than a block at a time but by the end of that summer I was running several miles at a time. Since that time I have run two 5K's, two Half Marathon's, the Trolley Run and Ragnar Chicago. While I still have so much to learn, I feel like I should know enough to listen to my body. More often than not though I take chances and push myself a little harder. Last night I made a mistake, I pushed hard for the first 2 miles and really felt carefree. Halfway into mile three I began to feel the effects of the heat. I knew I should slow down and take it easy but I kept telling myself I could push through it. As soon as my Garmin signaled 3 miles I stopped. I had nothing left to give. I walked back to the club telling myself it was no big deal but deep down I was frustrated. I drank my water and headed home but soon the chills set in. These were teeth chattering, just can't get warm kind of chills. I put on a sweatshirt and wrapped up in a blanket but nothing helped. After 2 hours I finally took a hot bath and warmed up. Looking back I realized I was probably very dehydrated and was having a bad reaction to the heat because once I warmed up I had a horrible headache. I didn't run with water like I normally do in the summer and my water intake over the holiday weekend was less than stellar. These were great lessons to learn (or relearn) before the heat and humidity really set in.

Today I had chills of another kind. As I left work I began receiving a flurry of text messages from my sisters. First Jaime, "Did Erin seriously deliver TODAY? What are the chances?" Today is the 3rd anniversry of Chris's death. Erin is my sister-in-law by marriage and she was expecting a little boy next week. Her husband, Greg, is Chris's brother. We became very close to Erin and Greg and their sweet children, Amelia and Graham, while they lived in Kansas City. We lived close to each other, went to the same church and celebrated many holidays together. We miss them every day because they were the closest thing to family we have here and we look forward to seeing them whenever possible. My next text was from Betsy and it stopped me in my tracks. "I am thrilled to share the following news that at the exact time Chris collapsed three years later Maxwell Christopher Weier was born. Erin went in today a week earlier than her due date. God is good!" Yes, God is good! Congratulations Weier family! We love you and miss you! We can't wait to meet baby Maxwell and I hope he is blessed with Chris's laugh!