Celebrating Thanksgiving, runner style

I have the pleasure of writing from Vancouver this week, where I’m visiting family for Thanksgiving. It’s been a year since I last saw them and a lot has changed in my life since then. The decision to shift my focus to running has been a major change. Ironically, I can’t run while I’m here because of injury, but it’s been a great time of connecting with them and recalibrating before this next training block.

I’m not sure at this point when I’ll be back running. It could be as early as this week, or it could still be six, or more weeks away. It’s going to depend on how my leg feels over the next few days as I try out biking and hopefully some light jogging. I was completely off of it for more than a week, which seems to have done great deal — I can walk pain free. This may be a sign it’s not a stress fracture, or it may be that it’s just feeling fine because I haven’t been “stressing” it. I could sit here and try to figure out how I will in the days ahead and drive myself crazy, or, I can take this time off to, as I wrote last week, focus on the mental side of training, which I have been doing — staying disciplined in recovery.

I also get to take this time to simply enjoy spending time with family — my mom and dad, brother and sister-in-law, nephew and two nieces. It’s been fun playing with the kids and getting to know their little hearts and minds — they’ve all grown so much in so many ways. They are reminder of how important it is to find what brings us joy in life and to run with it. Whether they are colouring, reading a book, kicking around a soccer ball, or playing with their favourite toy, they are fully in the moment — present, engaging, feeling — joy.

It seems we lose sight of how to do this as adults. I know I have been guilty. It wasn’t until I made the aforementioned decision this year to shift my focus to running that I actually started honouring joy in my life. I now wake up in the mornings ready to engage and feel the moments as I’m experiencing them. I’m not fixated on what’s to come, or looking for the next big move. I’m content and have faith in the big picture. Whether I’m on a run, doing yoga, writing, or just having a conversation — I’m present, engaging, feeling — joy.

So, as we carve the turkey and dig into some pumpkin pie, this year, I’m most thankful for the people who have made this major life shift possible by supporting and believing in me. Thank you. And to everyone — happy belated Thanksgiving.