Coming Back – Heidi

It is the end of school vacation week and my family is back in Massachusetts after a few warm and humid days in Southern Florida. We are all feeling better from the winter cold bug(s) that were aggravating us before we left and I’m starting to log some miles after a week without running.

It is tempting to try to catch up in my training as quickly as possible, but that is probably not the wisest choice. After running no more than four plus miles for a week, I was tempted to do an 18-mile long run that I had missed last weekend. It is in situations like these that I am thankful for the advice and sanity that my husband provides. He was quick to point out that 18 miles was almost a marathon and I’d just be apt to hurt myself. I did survive a 13-mile long run this weekend while my son was enjoying an outing with his grandfather. It was encouraging to be able to complete that distance but I was certainly pleased that I didn’t have to go any further!

We celebrated my father’s 74th birthday with a dinner out last night and my mom wanted to know how my training was going. I told her about taking time off and not really knowing how the disruption of the schedule would affect me in the end. Always the optimist, she reminded me that I had run consistently for years now and that had to be in my favor. I hope that she is right!

It has been interesting that my experience this year has seemed quite a bit different from last year. I think as a “first timer” I had a little more energy for the training and was more willing to arrange the few flexible parts of my day around my training needs. The novelty has worn off a bit for my family and me so this year the training seems to be taking a back seat to the rest of life. If only there were more hours in the day! At the same time, it feels great to have my energy back and I continue to enjoy having those times on the road to clear my head and unwind as I pound out a few miles on the pavement