Back in the Saddle

O.K. - I didn't peel the pavement off the street, I didn't burn the rubber off the soles of my shoes - but I was out there, running away one foot in front of the next. In my heart - it felt great to be back out there and what that means to me - my body however... Have you ever taken a blanket out of the washing machine and felt how heavy and clinging it is? That's what the air was like this morning. I was up at 5:00 a.m., couldn't sleep, and started reading Jon's blog and Lara's blog and got inspired! One of the things that came to me while out there was how much fun I have running the different races. I would love to run a nice little 5k somewhere out in NY while we were there but I haven't found one yet that will be near where we will be. So, I might have to look ahead a little bit. This is my final tenure push, which I'll write more about later, so I really have to buckle down and focus on all of that, but I'd like to get maybe 2 or 3 races in to keep the batteries charged between now and then (Oct. 15th submission date).

I was reading in Runner's World over the weekend about some big time runner who took about 3 months off and was so worried and heartbroken about being away. When she got the sneakers back on and hit the pavement she realized how beneficial that break was for her - physically. She said the 1st 2 weeks back were pretty tough training wise but not nearly as difficult as she had imagined and she was back in near-peak shape in just a few weeks. Well, at my level, "peak" shape is relevant but I also, by taking it slowly... r...e...a...l...l...y s...l...o...w...l...y today, I did fine.

Stats according to the Forerunner
Run Time: 31:11
Run Dist: 2.28 miles
Avg. Pace 13:39
Best Pace: 8:15
Calories: 251