Back in the saddle again!

So guess what I did yesterday? I went running! And it was awesome! I've only run twice since the Nike Marathon - one 4 mile run four days later when my Chicago friends were in town and then a wussy 30 minute treadmill run in my hotel in Cabo (after which, I switched to morning walks on the beach with my friends - and unfortunately, I'm still finding the grains of sand in my precious running shoes as a reminder).

Anyway, I wouldn't say I was *dreading* going running again - but when you're out of habit, it's harder to lace up and get out there. But knowing I have to somehow get a 12 mile run in this weekend, I knew I needed to get at least one short run in beforehand. So Wednesday morning, off I went. And I immediately noticed how different it felt! I felt good - great, even! I'm completely recovered (knock on wood) as I didn't feel any weird pains or aches in my legs at all. It was fun! It sort of reminded me why I enjoyed running in the first place.

I did a 4 mile loop around my neighborhood which included some hilly portions which were definitely challenging as I saw my pace slow down and my heart rate go up. But overall, it was so nice to have such an enjoyable run with perfect weather (just a bit chilly which helped me keep my pace going) - a great way to start my work day!

And my pace was pretty good too! (For me, anyway, as I am a proud leisurely jogger, not a speed demon.) I averaged a 10:30 min/mi pace for the 4 miles and looking at my nikeplus log, I usually average ~11:30 min/mi pace and that's when I stick to the trail. My time was pretty good for me this time considering I had stop lights and hills along the way. I even sped up at the end to a sub 10:00 pace which actually made me feel kind of sick in the end but for some reason, I took that as a good sign.

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how my body reacts through this second round of marathon training. When I first started training for Chicago, I hadn't been regularly running for almost six months! I hope I don't have any of the weird aches and pains - and I hope the long runs are OK and bearable. 2-3 hours on some trail by myself? Yikes.