Brain v. Body: A Conversation
The weather was absolutely glorious this morning: high 50’s with a light breeze, which is my favorite running weather. Now, I’ve mostly given up running of any distances because of joint pain and my suspicions that elevated heart rate triggers my mast cell reactions. But I’ve been experimenting, just a little bit, with jogging super short distances and assessing how I feel afterwards. On the whole, it’s been okay. So, this morning, I mentally prepared for a nice, long walk, stepped outside in the 56 degrees temp, and thus began a battle of wills between my Brain and my Body.
Body: This weather
is AMAZING! It’s the PERFECT running weather.
Brain: Yep, I agree, it’s really nice. But SHUT IT
on the running talk. Remember, we’re just walking faster today. We’re trying to
beat the pace from the other day and that’s it.
Body: Okay, okay, no
running. Certainly not on the uphills, anyway. But what about the downhills?
Brain: That still seems bad, we shouldn’t do that.
We’re just walking faster! … But walking quickly downhill is kind of irritating
AND our pace would be a bit faster if we weren’t walking for all of it. Maybe a
little jogging would be okay to try?
Body: YES! I’m on it! …. See that wasn’t so bad!
That short distance was fine. I feel GREAT!
Brain: Yeah, yeah, I hear you, but that’s all the jogging
you get. We’re speed walking the rest of the way!
Three-ish speed
walking miles later …
Body: I’m still feeling fantastic over here AND we’re
on a downhill. That went so well before, you wanna try it again?
Brain: Well, it *did* feel amazing to run some. Okay,
let’s do it, maybe for a little bit.
Body: WHEE! We’re running! I’ve missed this so
much! Let’s keep going, okay?
Brain: All right, all right, we’ll go until we reach
the cross street or until we get tired. Sound good?
Body: YES, I’m all over this!
One jogging mile
later …
Body: I feel GREAT! Let’s keep going!
Brain: No, no, no, we reached the end of the street
AND it’s all up hill next. We’re done running today. We need to take it slow
and see how it goes, right? That’s the smart thing to do.
Body: Right, right, right. And, if I’m being
honest, maybe our feet bones and joints are hurting a *little* bit. Speed
walking up hills it is!
Brain: Excellent. Let’s speed walk all the way home!
At home, four walking
miles, and three hours later …
Brain: Hey Body, did you notice that? Are our legs
a little wobbly?
Body: Um, maybe a little? But remember we jogged
some today, so maybe they are just a little tired.
Brain: Yeah, you’re probably right. Let’s hydrate
more and put some calories in; let’s see if that makes a difference.
One sitting hour
later …
Brain: Hey Body, what do you think? Did it make a
difference?
Body: Um, not much. To be honest, I’m not feeling
so good over here. I’m cold. Like really cold. Like goose-bumps cold.
Brain: But it’s 80 degrees in the house! Okay, let’s
put on a fleece jacket. Not enough? Okay, let’s wrap up in this quilt too.
Better?
One wrapped up hour
later …
Body: All right, I’ve warmed up. I don’t know what
was going on there.
Brain: Sure, I get you. You know our internal temperature
gauge is always a little off. No big deal. How are the wobbles?
Body: Legs are still wobbly. Actually, the head
feels wobbly too. Oh no, the head is all wobbles. SHIT, we’re getting motion
sick from moving our head! This is not good.
Brain: SHIT! Gulp some more water now! Sit down, stay
upright, see if that helps.
Body: Um, it’s not helping much. How long should
we wait before trying rescue meds?
Brain: I don’t know, a little bit at least. Let’s
give the water a chance to fix it.
Thirty minutes
later …
Body: I still feel unsteady in the head and I’m so
SLEEPY. Maybe we should take a nap and we’ll feel better?
Brain: No, no, no! No naps! That’s a really bad
idea. Let’s try the rescue meds instead and see if that helps.
Body: As long as we can lie horizontally while we
wait, I’m cool with that. Lying horizontally gets us in the right position for
an easy slide into napping anyway.
Brain: No, no napping, meds only! We cannot tell if
the meds or the napping make a difference if we always do both! Stay awake and
we’ll reassess in a little bit, okay?
Body: Got it. Okay, you’re right, no napping. But
I am cold again …
And now we’ve reached the current moment in the timeline. I’m lying on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket, waiting to see if rescue meds make a difference, and feeling super bitter at my body and brain for deciding that jogging was a good idea today.
Conclusion: Our running and jogging days are over, it's just not worth the risk. DAMMIT! ☹
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