Oh running, how I have missed you!

Today, I strapped on my Newtons, my running watch and my MP3 player and went out for my first run in 30 days since the wheels fell off in Uniontown, Alabama on March 16th.  (Seems like a long time ago to me!)

I had a great "first work out".  7 miles in 54:38...or around 7:40 miles.  Not too shabby for a soon to be 47 year old who has been sitting on his butt the last 30 days.  In the last 30 days, I have had no exercise, too many slices of pizza and probably a few too many Racer 5 IPAs.  (Try one!)

Christine asked me if I was nervous to get out there.  I wasn't.  Though I did not know what to expect, I knew it would be what it would be. 

I was pleased with the run.  Not because my shankle behaved or because I ran sub 8:00 minute miles after being sedintary.  Nope.  My reasons for smiling were probably a little deeper than that.

Like seeing a long lost friend, getting back on the road made me happy because I really missed it! 

Hitting the road, breathing hard, feeling the burn, seeing other runners (and bikers and smiling dogs and sun and the ocean), cooling down and the feeling of a long hot shower are all part of a way of life that has been missing the last 30 days.  Endurance athletics are threaded through me completely.  It is a real passion.  If I could wind the clock back, I would have gotten involved with it earlier in my life.

Running, (biking and swimming) is one of the few things that is 100% up to me.  Running is controllable, independent and totally unreliant on others.   When I get on the road or in the pool, I either "have it" or I "don't".  If I perform well or if I don't, the mirror is the only thing I need to look at to determine what can be improved or who deserves the high five. 

Very few things in life are truly like that.  Work?  Teamwork is at the core.   Marraige/Relationships?  Same...team work.  Raising Kids?   Team work.    Friendships?  Takes two.  

Endurance athletics (minus the equipment!)...totally up to me.  

Running, I missed you...but I am back to stay!