Of running and furniture

A metaphor for running

Today's run (street): 4.1 miles
Yesterday's run (street): 3.2 miles

“The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” ― John Bingham, No Need for Speed: A Beginner's Guide to the Joy of Running.

I always liked that quote because it sums up the fear so many people have about going out for their first run. Or maybe it's about their first race. Either way, it's about overcoming fear related to running. I have my own, similar quote, but it's not about running. It's about assembling a Danish modern dresser with directions that contain confusing illustrations with no words.

“The miracle isn't that I managed to assemble this overcomplicated bunch of furniture parts that came with indecipherable directions. The miracle is that I had the courage not to ship it back to Denmark and ask for a refund.” ― The Emerging Runner.

Also, I haven't finished assembling it.

Besides spending time on that project, I've actually gotten out for a couple of runs. I'd hoped to complete four workouts this week but my hopes for an after work elliptical session were dashed by a late day meeting on Wednesday. Thursday night I had to attend a business dinner and didn't get home until 10:00 PM.

Friday was Mrs. Emerging Runner's birthday and I took it as a vacation day. My kids were off from school so we celebrated the day together. I got out fairly early and did my usual 3 mile neighborhood loop. Despite some misty rain at the start, 94% humidity and 10 MPH winds, I was comfortable in shorts and a single shirt layer. I ran okay but I was impatient to get through it. No miracles on that run.

This morning I got out a little earlier and faced much colder conditions. I've been trying to be better about selecting running clothes that will keep me comfortable through my run rather than only at the start. The 16 MPH wind was more than I bargained for and I regretted not having an over the ears hat. I broke away from my local streets and ran over to an adjacent neighborhood in Woodbury after covering a little more than 4 miles.

I went back to dresser assembly in the afternoon and made some progress. I've discovered that putting this unit together works better when I just focus on one challenge at a time. Just like the expression, "run the mile you're in",  my approach is to assemble this thing one confusing instruction page at a time.

Good run with a side of Danish

Bygge mig og være glad

Today's run (street): 3.5 miles
Yesterday's run (treadmill): 3.1 miles
Wednesday's workout (elliptical): 30 minutes

According to the World Happiness Report that came out this week (yes, this is a real thing), Denmark is the world's happiest country. I'm guessing that's because they spend their days laughing at Americans who buy their DIY furniture. A good chunk of my day was spent assembling an eight-drawer dresser. Actually I only had the patience to assemble the drawers today. And not all the drawers, just the ones that had parts that were manufactured correctly. hvorfor skal jeg det til mig selv?

Wrongly drilled piece on left. Thanks Denmark!

Earlier in the day I went out for a very nice run around the neighborhood. I resisted my tendency to overdress and braved the 40° chill until my body heat caught up. I felt great throughout the run and capped my distance in deference to my morning schedule. After lunch I turned my attention to building the dresser and got an impromptu upper body workout moving two heavy boxes full of dresser components up the stairs.

Yesterday I had an even tighter schedule and needed to get my run done before an early meeting. The only way to pull that off was to use the treadmill. It was fine and I was entertained by our new TV in the guest room. I started the run feeling like it would never end, but happily it did. I only subject myself to about three miles on the machine for sanity's sake and I cope by telling myself, "Only X more miles to go before I can hit stop!"

I did manage to get an elliptical session done on Wednesday and that will get me to four workouts this week. It's not quite where I want to be, but better than I've been doing lately.