An Old Friend

How can something be nostalgic, wonderful and pathetic all at the same time? And yet it is. I ran yesterday. For the second time. In many months. I love running. I've missed it. The gym isn't nearly as fun without a run on the treadmill. I know there are few people who share this opinion. But, nonetheless, for me it is a very true statement.

I ran for the FIRST time in months a couple weeks ago. It was also a very joyous occasion. But slightly less. The pathetic part comes after the run, actually. I got off the treadmill after I had only run 2.5 miles (though it was at my normal pace, which made me very glad my hiatus hadn't made me slower). I suddenly realized... dun, dun, dun....my legs felt like jello. I was a little surprised. I used to run 3-5 miles without even thinking about it. So for that short run to do that to me was, well, a bit of a set back.

But not totally surprising. It had been MONTHS since I ran. And, of course, I have been going to the gym in the meantime. I've gotten better at the bike, the arc trainer, the stairmaster and my arms actually have identifiable bi's and tri's-- which may be a first for me. But I haven't done as much cardio as I'd been doing while I was able to run. I would frequently do cardio for over 40 minutes if I was running. In contrast, I normally kept it to 20, and SOMETIMES 30, with these other machines. What can I say? I just don't love them as much.

It seemed like a minor set back. But not the end of the world. I just needed to build my muscles and endurance back up. C'est la vie. Yeah. At the time I clearly didn't know the meaning of the term "set back". No worries. I was soon to find out as I was TOTALLY sore for the next few days, to the point that I walked like a disjointed, stiff, adolescent boy, nervously making an effort to make his awkward body move at a middle school dance. That's a wee bit embarassing.

And that wasn't the worst of it. When the soreness started to subside I went back to the gym to run again, which I learned I shouldn't have done. Because when you run like I ran, you get sore for many reasons, one of which is that exerting your muscles like that causes little tears in your muscles. I am sadly very prone to BAD tears, and succeeded in exacerbating one of the tears in my left thigh within the 1st two minutes of my 2nd attempt at a run. OW! I am so not smart sometimes.

So, two weeks later, which could also be called yestersday, I finally got my sorry butt on the treadmill and ran a slow, steady 2 miles without tears or other reasons for pain. I didn't run too much. I didn't run too fast. And today? I feel just fine. Ahhh, welcome back friend. I've missed you.