Being Flexible Helps Me to Adjust To Stress

Its 5:30 am and I am up, wide awake, with a big day ahead.  Fueling up is the first most important task ahead.  Spoon sized shredded wheat, skim milk, and berries are the choice to start today off right.  Oh, and don't forget the coffee!   What could be possibly wrong here? Well for one thing, after I just polished off my cereal, I remembered I am supposed to be fasting for my six month lab work.  Eating before having labs drawn can alter the true results.  However if I have been eating well and exercising since my last doctor appointment, I should be well within the normal range.  Thats what I hope for anyway! But I will need to reschedule.  That memory thing!
 Today should be a long comfortable paced run for me.  Also,  I have had a bit more stress in my life lately, and as a result, have not been as relaxed or rested.  The afternoon nap has been hit or miss lately with all the business I have had to take care of.   I wake up early with a lot on my mind and some very tight, strained muscles in my neck and back.  I cannot relax them, have tried heat, stretches and  Bengay, with no real relief.  So, after my run,  I am meeting my favorite massage therapist, Erin, for some TLC.  Deep tissue massage helps me a lot.  I have not sought her out for this in a few months, but it is catching up with me.  Professional athletes get them after games.  Some vintage runners swear by them, and get them after every race or after hard training sessions.  Erin incorporates deep tissue massage with some hot stones and stretching.  In her "spare" time, she also teaches Yoga.  She is a very popular and busy lady!   I am looking forward to the relief.  After a deep tissue massage, it is advised to go home, take it easy and drink lots of water.  My hope is the massage will help with the over tight muscles and then when I do run next, I will be more efficient and comfortable.  Running with super tight muscles increases your chance of injury.   No time for down time right now!  My "bucket list" run is two months plus a few days away.  How do you keep life from interfering with your exercise plan to be more healthy?

Exercise is more important during stressful times in life than any other time.  This is usually when we are overwhelmed by change, situations, work that we tend to retreat to rest, but if your body is tense and you are holding in anxiety, taking to the sofa with a soft blanket and the remote control is the opposite of what will really rest and relax you.
Meditation or prayer helps to calm the brain and the nervous system.  In Yoga I think they call it to recenter yourself.  Inner peace can be a wonderful place to find in yourself when life gets crazy.  I have been occupied with prepping our now too large" empty nester" home to sell, trying to determine where we will live next, what is important to take, how much to down size.  Yes, this is another common and anticipated time in the over 50 crowd.  Prior to my inter cranial
 bleed I would have enjoyed the challenge.  Lately, I have been tested and found that change is not feeling good to me.  With what feels like too many things to think about and do, I have had more muscle spasms, more roaring in my ears and head. But race or not, training or not, post head trauma or not, it is time for this change in our lives. The most difficult thing for me to do still, is not running.  Running is mindless.  I can zone out and feel relaxed and accomplished when I complete my mileage for the day.  Thinking and communication over complicated issues is now my nemesis.  My CPU/brain  needs to be unplugged and rested more frequently with all this change coming into our lives.  I accept the challenge of finding time to get my tasks done, run my training schedule as planned, at least one rest/nap per day somehow, because I know I will feel better, and my life depends on it.

A tranquil spot along my run