AND SO IT BEGINS AGAIN...

Three years ago. A 5k was the
limit of my capabilities back then.

Well, the party is over. Put away the streamers and de-spike the punch. I have to run tonight. Well, I don't *have* to, I choose to. And I'm actually kind of looking forward to it. This two week hiatus has been really good for me. My body feels so much better and I can tell my legs healed up nicely and they needed the time off. My massage was great and probably helped in that process too. I'm ready to go back out there!

I expect that my first run back my legs will feel fine and it will be my breathing that will be troublesome. Got to get that cardio back, I think that's the fastest to go. My legs should still be near where they were before the break. My group run is tonight, so I'll do the five mile route and go at a comfortable pace as there is no reason to push it out of the gate. If everything feels good I'll run hard one or twice before the Shamrock Run and then just see what happens.

Overall, I'm really glad I took the time off. I didn't gain any weight (yay!) and it helped clear some things up for me. Yes, my legs needed rest and they felt like death because of that. Yes, I am still "old" in general, so I was still a little stiff in the morning (#) or after sitting for a long time even after two weeks. It was actually kind of interesting to experience my body without constantly running... I didn't really know what to expect! I felt great but I know that continued non-activity would eventually be a net negative. Now to get back to it!