Sweat

Today was weird. It had rained most of the day, but when I arrived home it had all but stopped. Rather than running inside, needlessly, I suited up and ran outside. I don't know if I'm still fighting off something, if it was humid from the precipitation, or both, but I finished up with a clammy kind of sweat. That's not normal. And it's not like my pace was super-fast. I finished the 3-mile run at a blistering average pace of 10:15. Guess I'm just getting back into it. Sweat or not, I'm still glad to be back to running.

Starting Over

This has been a weird couple of weeks. Early last week I was having abdominal pains, like really bad ones, and I went to the doctor. The Wife knew it was serious when I made an appointment. The long and short of it is that my appendix was swollen but I did not have appendicitis. The thought of the medical people was that I had contracted some sort of virus that affected my lymph system and therefore caused problems with my appendix. I was just glad I didn't have to go through surgery, although at the time having it out would have been a relief.

My doctor told me to take it easy for a while and to eat bland foods. I've done both of those with varying degrees of success. Two weeks without exercise was way too long. Especially with the gorgeous mild winter we've been having. I suffer incredible envy every day I drive home from work and people are out on the sidewalks enjoying the weather. Today I figured it had been long enough so I got out for a 3.5 miler. That was a half mile longer than planned since I ran ahead of The Wife and then doubled back to get her. She had slipped up a side street and didn't realize I was coming back for her. Oh, well. It was great to get out in the sun even though it was a little cold and breezy. I'm keeping an "eye" on the appendix area. I can feel a little something and I'm hoping there's not a muscle tear or something else in the area. Today felt like the first day I've ever been out for a run since it's been so long. I've had enough of this starting and stopping and am hoping I can keep going without interruption for a change.

Hemming and Hawing

I spent a lot of the day going back and forth in my mind about whether or not I wanted to run. As is my custom on Saturday when there's not something else going on, I slept in. Then I had breakfast and knew I'd have to wait an hour or so before running. But I delayed, got busy working on a computer program, went to lunch with The Wife, ate too much, took a nap, did some more programming and some writing, and then it came down to decision time. I got out my shoes and put them back. Then I got them out again and finally decided to do it.

Not sure what the problem was other than I was just lazy. It was cold and breezy outside and I knew I wouldn't be running in that. I guess the thing that finally tipped me onto the treadmill was the fact that I took a nap and decided I would have trouble getting to sleep if I didn't do something physical. This was definitely not my normal way of doing things. But as always, I'm glad I got my act together and ran. This was a 6-miler and it felt fine the whole way. Still no signs of knee problems. And also still no sign of my new issue of Runner's World. Where is it? I renewed my subscription last month so it should be here by now. Maybe that's the inspiration I've been missing.

Today

It was another not-so-nice day outside. I suppose I could have toughed it out but I chose to run on the treadmill and avoid the drama. This involved watching more of WS Game 3 and a bunch of runs for the Cardinals. A LOT. Which was good. I ran 5 miles, but my next decision is whether or not to watch the next two games where the Rangers win or skip to Game 6, which was one of the best World Series games ever. Tough decision.

Where's the Snow?

A little bit of snow was in today's forecast but never materialized. And I'm okay with that. It was still cold and just wet enough to keep me indoors for today's run. I did 4 miles on the treadmill and watched some more WS Game 3. I was just getting into the fun part where the Cardinals started scoring a bunch of runs. I knew it was coming but I had to get through the first three innings, but yeah, it was worth the wait. The Knee is still feeling good, and that's a positive sign.

Time Just Flies

It's amazing how quickly time goes by depending on the activity in which you're involved. Since that sentence is just screaming for an example, I will oblige. Running for an hour sometimes seems like sixty minutes of Chinese water torture. Other times you blink and realize an hour has rocketed past. Today's run was somewhere in between, but more toward the fast hour. Even more amazing, this occurred while I was running on the treadmill.

I've watched multiple episodes of a half-hour sitcom while on the 'mill, and it's pretty easy to mark the passage of time with commercial breaks. Today I was watching Game 2 of the World Series, and yes, there are breaks between each half-inning or pitching change, but those aren't scheduled at regular intervals due to the nature of the game. The pitchers were flat-out dealing and the batters were not having a good day. In the bottom of the seventh the Cardinals scored a run and almost got some more except for an exceptional play by the Rangers' shortstop. The innings flew by and before I knew it my time was up. I thought about extending it by a few minutes so I could watch the ninth, but decided I knew how it went and avoided the pain of a blown game for today.

The weather today was cold and drizzly. I saw a few people out running before noon but knew I wouldn't be one of them. I ran 5 miles with no pain. This is a trend I hope continues. The same with time flying by while running, whether it's inside or out.

Helpless

It was another gorgeous day and I was helpless to resist the pull. Once again I skipped the allure of running an errand on the way home so I could get out while the sun was shining. I made it. I thought briefly about how I ran yesterday and that was my first day back in a few weeks, so maybe it wasn't a good idea to run again the next day. But there's rain in the forecast. And it's February 2nd. You don't get this opportunity every year. Even though I was excited to get out I still practiced some restraint and went only 4 miles. Lots of other people were out to enjoy the weather (and by lots I mean less than a dozen). Some city guys were working on the hill by a sidewalk on Shoal Creek, making the drainage work better so the mudslides don't cover the concrete.

It looks like the fun is over for a few days and the treadmill might be back in operation soon. It was fun while it lasted.

Back to It

When I got home I told The Wife I was going out for a run. Note: I don't usually run on Wednesdays. She was surprised, of course. Another note: Today was absolutely gorgeous, February 1st or not, since it was in the mid-60's. I told her if I didn't run on a day like today then I deserved to never run again.

This was my first foray into running in about 2 1/2 weeks. I kept it slow and only went 3 miles. It was clear that laying off of The Knee for an extended period paid off. I felt absolutely no pain whatsoever, which was quite refreshing. I'm hoping to springboard off this run and get back into training without interruption for a while. I feel like the past year+ has been nothing but stop and start with the training. It's time to stay healthy and run a race this spring.