“Every decision we’ll ever make is made with incomplete information.”
I recently read a blog post by Jeremy Enns called “The Impossibility of Right Decisions,” Because we always possess incomplete information, he says it’s almost impossible to ever make a decision that, in retrospect, was the absolute best possible decision. Instead, it’s usually a string of “pretty good” decisions that still move us closer to our goals.
While reading this, I was in the middle of making my own big decision. For the past month, I’ve been planning a big long run for Wednesday, March 22nd. This week is my husband’s and daughter’s spring break. March 21st is my birthday, and I told my husband I didn’t want any presents- all I wanted was the whole day to myself on the 22nd (I work on Tuesdays but Wednesdays are my days off.)
This meant I could get up, get to the trail and start my run WHENEVER I WANTED! What a concept! Instead of working around my daughter’s schedule, I could actually get started at sunrise to (at least partially) beat the heat.
Every hot run I’ve struggled with, I thought “That’s okay- I’ll have my big run on March 22nd. Nothing could go wrong for that one!” I envisioned the whole day, starting with the run, and then a leisurely lunch out- no driving anyone to school in the morning or rushing back for after school pickup.
Well… in the days leading up to the 22nd, I was dealing with a painful issue in my left quad. I hurt it on the bike last week and then exacerbated it by doing squats (why, why WHY???) and it was really sore.
On Monday, two days before the big run, I ran four miles. The quad didn’t hurt while I was running, but it was sore when I stopped, and was actually tender to the touch, which was… concerning.
I was forced to reconsider the long run on Wednesday. Yes, the quad might not hurt during four miles, but how might it feel after running 22 miles? What’s wrong with it, anyway? What should I do? ARRRRRG!
Let’s see. The worst case scenario is that I would do the run, seriously hurt my quad and not be able to do my race (which is on April 22nd.). THAT WOULD BE BAD.
Best case scenario, I do the run and the quad is fine. In-between scenarios included getting halfway through the run and having to bail (that would be bad) or getting five miles in and having to stop (also bad, but not as disastrous.)
The run could be rescheduled for Sunday, which would be okay but not ideal. My alternate plan for Wednesday was taking my car in for servicing, which is pretty much the polar opposite of how I wanted to spend the day. But, I’ve been driving around for weeks with the engine light on and I figured I could at least knock out that chore.
Ugh. On Monday night I was seriously thinking that I would not be running on Wednesday. Sadness.
Then, I woke up on Tuesday. My quad was not entirely better, but it didn’t hurt as much as it had on Monday, and I calculated that if I had the same amount of improvement by Wednesday…. I could attempt the run. Cautious optimism!
There’s a lot of prep involved in these long trail runs (freezing water bottles the night before, getting all my gear ready) so Tuesday night I made my decision- I’m going for it!
You guys, I had an absolutely magical run. The universe obviously knew it was my birthday celebration, and cooperated in every way. I’ll share more details in the Weekly Rundown on Sunday, but I ran 23 miles. It was 66 degrees when I started and 79 degrees when I finished- but it was breezy, and I never felt overcome by the heat.
I needed some sort of indication that I’ll be able to complete a 50K in a month, and this was it. I have one more super long run before the race, and that one will (once again) be difficult schedule-wise. But no matter what happens, I have this one to look back on.
Afterwards I got a falafel sandwich from Maoz:
This sandwich had falafel, hummus, cucumber, tomato, red cabbage, roasted brussels sprouts, olives, and tahini sauce. And I got my birthday drink:
Back in the day, I LOVED Coke. So, so much. But now I don’t drink sugar-y sodas (sob) so EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE I have a Coke Zero. It’s not quite the real thing, but it’s still delicious.
Later at home I took a lovely nap. And even though I said no presents, my husband got me a couple things:
For dinner we had vegan baked ziti, roasted broccoli and garlic bread.
It was a great birthday! Oh, and how did that quad hold up, anyway? Well, funny thing. I felt it aching a little during the run, but it felt more fatigued than anything. And sometimes I didn’t feel it at all. After the run it seized up and got very stiff, but the next day it felt exactly the same as the other leg- slightly sore, but nothing more. So the next time something hurts, I’ll just go out and run 23 miles! Right?
Do you like birthdays? – I like my birthday, although I don’t celebrate it in a traditional way (obviously.)
Do you like soda? – I love it so much, but nowadays my fizzy drink is usually flavored seltzer.
26 Responses
Happy birthday! I’m so happy for you about your long run that cured your quad! 😀 I’m very interested in that book, I hope you’ll write something about it when you’ve read it.
I stopped drinking soda a few years ago. I wouldn’t mind drinking it now and then, but it seems they’re changing the recipes in most of them to add artificial sweeteners and I can’t handle that – ALL artificial sweeteners make me nauseous for some reason and I much prefer real sugar, I just with they could make sodas with simply less sugar. Or like a certain brand, with coconut sugar instead. But I’m happy enough just drinking water, or tea/coffee, or even beer or cider (but in small amounts because of the calories).
Thank you Susanne! I’ll definitely share about the book once I’ve read it.
The thing about soda is… it’s all bad for you, unfortunately. Even if you’re not sensitive to the sweeteners (real or artificial) soda is not good for your bones. I think seltzer is okay, but the regular ones all have acids that are really bad. That’s what stops me from having it more often.
Aw yiss! There’s no better birthday present than a good run. 23 MILEZZZZZZ!!!!!!!
Your birthday food looks delicious. I like the combo of getting a treat meal out and then finishing the day with a home cooked meal.
I usually don’t celebrate my birthday. Unless it falls on a weekend then it’s a pain to take time off during the week, yada yada…but I kind of am this year? Hubs and the boys have a week long adventure scout camp so I’m taking a week long vacation by myself while they’re gone. It’s close enough to my birthday that I’m going to count it as my “birthday week”.
Yes, a birthday week sounds amazing! I also don’t need to celebrate on the exact day (like I wouldn’t go so far as to take a day off from work.) Luckily for me this year my day off was right after my birthday, so it was the perfect day to celebrate.
I’ll be looking forward to hearing all about your birthday week!
I am so glad that you had your perfect birthday day just how you envisioned it! I also hope that run gave you the confidence boost you needed 🙂
Thank you Deborah! It was a huge confidence boost.
Oh Jenny, I am literally smiling so big right now! I was worried as I started reading your post that something terrible was going to happen and then I let out a GIANT happy sigh when you said you had a magical run. I’m elated and what a wonderful birthday “gift.”
I do like soda (we call it pop in Canada), but don’t drink it very often. My favourites are Diet Coke and Root Beer. Like you, I mostly just drink flavoured sparkling water, but every few months I’ll have one can/drink of pop and I do love it!
I’m not a big birthday celebrator; what I really want on my special day is ZERO responsibilities and a massage and a slice of my beloved Unbaked Cherry Cheesecake. Sometimes I get my ideal day (or some approximation thereof) and other times I’ve had some really bad birthdays (like my husband having surgery, or being in an apartment by myself with no phone/internet one year in college and so NO one was able to contact me; that was a very depressing birthday indeed).
Oh, yes that does sound depressing! I guess every birthday after that was an improvement- other than your husband having surgery. I agree- having zero responsibilities is the best birthday gift in the world. And yes… it’s “pop!” We called it that growing up- I guess I switched to “soda” after I moved away form the midwest. Every once in a while I call it “pop” for the fun of it.
Yay for your run! I’m glad to hear it went well and I’m sure it’s really given you a boost of confidence for that 50K!
I mostly drink fizzy water, but I do like the occasional pop. I used to drink a Diet Coke/Diet Cherry Coke every day, but gave it up when I stopped drinking caffeine. I really miss it. I feel like people told me that if I didn’t drink it for six months, I’d get over it, but that has not happened. Ha! I will allow myself a Caffeine Free Diet Coke occasionally, but it’s not really the same level of mini-celebration as my Diet Coke was.
Yes, I agree. I really don’t miss sugar… except for soda. Why is it so good??? Now I’m craving a diet cherry coke. Oh and I love how you called it “pop.” Yay for the midwest!
Happy, happy birthday! So gald your run went well – and, how exciting to be so close to your race, right? For years, I spend my late-November birthday at the movies by myself. It’s the best. I hit the first showing, go to a bookstore and wander and grab some lunch and a coffee, and then go see another movie – it’s the best!
I LOVE that! I could totally celebrate my birthday that way. As a matter of fact, maybe I’ll do that one of these years.
happy birthday! what a great way to celebrate it, with a good long run! that’s my favorite type of things to do on birthday. let me know how you like the book.
sometimes the nagging fear of an imminent injury can mess our head for days… but I’m glad it didn’t bother you much and you went for it anyway.
Thank you Coco! I had never actually heard of this book- my husband just picked it out, but it looks good. I’ll let you know.
Happy Belated Birthday! And now I know how it all turned out. It sounds like the perfect day!
Thank you Wendy! The day really turned out exactly how I wanted.
The best present is being able to run pain free.
Hooray.
I have a big birthday. Trying not to think about age as a number.
Yes, that’s all I really want on my birthday- to be able to run. When is this big birthday of yours?
Happy belated birthday. In my calendar for next year
I love celebratory miles. USually in Florida for mine (11.23) so have been known to do that in KMs and or 8.x miles One set for my age, and another for good luck,. Beach helps. Sounds like your quad decides to give you a gift too
Can you drink Sparkling Ice? That’s my favorite sweet fizzy, but not sure whether it’s vegan.
Ha, I looked up the ingredients of Sparkling Ice and it is vegan! They have some yummy sounding flavors.
You have a good birthday for running in miles or kms- unlike mine, 3/21. One of these years I’ll have to figure out some sort of cool mile equivalent, although I guess 21 works.
Happy Birthday to a fellow Aries! (My bday is in April) So glad that you had a great long run. Those are the types of runs that I love because when everything just clicks, its glorious!
Ooh, your birthday is coming up! I hope you have a fun day planned.
I am so glad you had a wonderful birthday, Jenny! You definitely deserve that. And hooray for being able to do the run you wanted to do AND the weather cooperating for you. Amazing things all around!
Celebrating my birthday is a BIG THING for me. I just love a day that’s all about me, hahaha. And soda is my #1 weakness. I love it so much!
Yes, I’ve read your birthday posts! You definitely know how to celebrate it.
Why, why, WHY is soda so delicious??? I already want another Coke Zero… but I have to wait. Sigh.
Happy belated birthday! I am so glad that you had a great long run that has given you more confidence about your 50k! That is the best gift you could get for your birthday!
So I do like soda, but I drink it very infrequently so when I drink soda, I drink a coke. I know it is not good for you but I figure that since I rarely drink it it’s ok to go for the high octane version!
And I love birthday but I especially love other people’s birthdays. We are very low key about birthdays in our family in general. Like we generally give the kids 1-2 gifts. But we shower the kids with a lot of attention and there is a lot of build up to the birthday – like ” only x days until your birthday!” I like my birthday, too, but don’t do much to celebrate it. It was nice to have a friend visiting this year. I had a fun birthday lunch and then treated myself to a massage after dropping her at the airport.
Yes, I remember your birthday post- it sounded really fun. Ah, a coke. I would love to drink a real, sugar coke again… but my body would not be happy.