Running isn’t always fun and games.
Awhile ago (a week? a few days?), my twitter feed started going a little crazy. This tends to happen when something big happens, like when the pope resigns, or there’s a school shooting. This time, the twitterverse was having a conniption fit over the fact that, as of July 1st, Google Reader would be no more.
It was a little dramatic. Maybe it’s because most of the people I follow are bloggers who make heavy use of our beloved Google Reader, or maybe it’s because twitter is a quick and easy outlet for momentary flares of emotion, but it really seemed like people were about to melt down over what to do now that their favourite RSS service was going to be disappear in several months.
Want to know what I did?
I didn’t do anything. At least, not immediately.
In fact, today was the first day I paid any heed to the fact that I was going to have to do something about my reader. So, I Googled “Google Reader replacement”, clicked the first article, and clicked the first suggestion.
Feedly, where have you been all my life? You are awesome and sexy and I’m very happy we met. About two seconds of work solved the problem that sent the twitterverse into a temporary panic.
I’m trying to learn not to sweat the small stuff.
Like last night. I was about 4.5km (2.75 miles) into my 14km (8.7 mile) run when my right foot started doing something weird. Suddenly, every foot strike was causing something to pop.
I stopped the treadmill, as you are supposed to do when something suddenly starts popping inside your body.
I took my sneaker off, and then my sock. I wiggled my toes. I bend the offending toe back and forth a few times. It felt fine.
I got back onto the treadmill and resumed my run.
pop. pop. pop. pop.
I tried to ignore it but it definitely wasn’t going away, and it wasn’t a minor thing that I could ignore. Something was definitely not right.
So I turned the treadmill off, cursed the missed opportunity because so far the run has been going really well, and went home.
I’m going to try a 6km (3.7 mile) run today and see how I feel. Hopefully the popping will be gone. It hasn’t been happening at all while walking, and I’m not in pain. If that goes well, I’ll do my 14km long run tomorrow night.
If it returns, that could mean problems. Problems that might cause me to have to take a break in my training, or maybe even miss my half marathon. But I’m not going to worry about it. Whatever the issue is, it’s going to unfold on it’s own, and no amount of my fretting or fuming is going to change anything.
Some things are worth thinking about, worth developing a plan about, worth devoting your attention to. Things like your family, your money, and your health. Those things require thought. The death of Google Reader is not worth worrying about, and neither is the anatomical soundness of my foot. I’m learning this lesson, ever so slowly. I’m learning that I can’t possibly worry about and plan for everything. I can have a plan, and adjust that plan according to the bumps in the road, but I can’t account for the bumps, so worrying about them is a giant waste of time, energy, and happiness.
Do you worry unnecessarily? I want to know!