Back to work

Exactly two weeks ago, November 15th, I ran a 5k in Norristown, PA. I ran a smart race, placed 2nd overall and set an official PR by nearly thirty seconds (18:40). Later that evening I headed over to the Haverford Nature Trail and ran an easy 4.5 miles as a shakeout/recovery run. And that was it.

That day marked five weeks since the Baltimore Marathon Relay, where I ran 7.3 miles faster than I ever had before. Five weeks which saw my first ever 50k and a 5k PR and more than a few hard training runs in between. I was exhausted, physically AND mentally.

Since that day I haven't run at all. In fact, I haven't done much of anything, exercise-wise, in the past two weeks. I have a pretty physical job and I've gotten what passes for exercise there most days but nothing at all compared to the activity level I'm used to when in the midst of training. So for all intents and purposes, I have done absolutely nothing for almost a fortnight. And that was exactly what I had planned.

Unlike my other extended layoffs over the past few years, this was my call. I wasn't injured or breaking down, but I had been racing hard for over a month, my peak had almost certainly been realized and it was time for some downtime to recharge and recuperate. And that's just what the past two weeks have been.

So tonight, after Jess & I finished our two day Dexter Season 1 marathon, I laced up my Brooks Launches and ran. It was nothing special; just the typical out & back along the park road at North Point, 3.4 miles total. I didn't feel particularly awful (my intercostals reminded me that nothing had been used in a while) and I didn't feel fantastic (I've never had a "runner's high") but it was exactly what I wanted it to be: An easy "Welcome Back" run. A starting point.

This coming week, and really the next few weeks, will be mostly more of what I did tonight -- shortish, slowish, easy runs. Right now it's just going to be about reintroducing my body to the rigors of running almost daily, and doing so gradually to allow my strength to build up and NOT GET INJURED (always goal #1 for running). It might be a little boring and I'll DEFINITELY be itching to run more than I'm going to allow myself for a while, but it's worth it.

So, now it's back to work.