The Groove

It is only Wednesday and I feel like I am in the groove this week. Where everything feels good, smooth, and just good. Like a good warm cup of dark french roast. I have to say how beautiful it is snowshoe running in Mendon Ponds Park this week. Base training is wonderful in that a running workout in zone II can be replaced with a running snowshoe workout. It help build strength, of course adds to endurance, and it requires good running form. If I don't bring those feet up I face plant due to the toe of my snowshoe getting stuck.

For those not familiar with snowshoeing, it is an art in itself. Specially designed snowshoes for running make it a tremendous amount of fun. Gators over your running shoes and toe warmers keep the feet warm. Through the forest, it is actually quite warm as you are protected from the wind. I love it. Since we are "racing" on Saturday I thought I might want to get out there and get at it!

The park is full of deer, nature, and I come into contact with fellow snowshoers, cross country skiers, and the groomer guy. The groomer guy rides the snowmobile around dragging a specially made grooming thing, which keeps the trials perfect.

I needed the solitude during the morning run, because I knew my bike would be full of great music. Last night I delivered a baby, in a bathroom, by myself with my bare hands, whose mom was fourteen. The insanity and craziness of the situation kept me awake long after I got home at midnight.

The baby was healthy, but the teenager stated her period was last week, and her obesity covered the fact that she was pregnant. Her complaint of abdominal pain was routine (the two highest reasons for coming into the peds ed are for abdominal pain and asthma). She was in an unusual amount of pain and I kept thinking something isn't right here. Needless to say when I brought her into the bathroom to collect urine for a pregnancy test or look for blood in her urine..... I was not confident she could pee in a cup alone. Hence I accompanied her in and .......
we had a baby.

The implications of this for the baby's life, the mother's life, it is an Oprah episode in itself, and I can not solve the world's problems. As I drove home however I thought about how on Sunday night I watched a 18 year old girl die, and on Tuesday night a baby was born.

Lives crossing. One goes and another comes, just as easily as the wind blows.

As the wind blew through the park this morning I felt grateful for all that I have. Because last week when I was pitying myself for having a tough week of training, what I should have been doing was feeling grateful to be able to have a bad week of training.

The solitude of the snow felt good as it washed through my heart, cleaned out some cobwebs, and allowed me to hold my face up towards the sun.

How lucky I am to feel.

:-) Mary Eggers