Early Morning Hiccups

Yesterday mid-morning I went for a 5 mile recovery jog. Kept it very easy, but I didn't have much to give anyway. 44:36. The word smoldering comes to mind. Saw some mulch beds smoking along Del Ave. I guess broken glass gets in there and magnifies the sunlight to the point of ignition.

I felt kind of lame for crawling into bed before 10 last night. When my alarm buzzed at 4:30 this morning though I was glad I did. Headed out beneath the rising sun with some fresh tunes to listen to. As I stood outside my front door and heard the opening sounds of the Decemberists' Picaresque I thought my neighbors were still up from the night before, making drunken animal calls in their backyard. This set the tone for the first half of the run. Felt very emotionally charged.

Things went into a gradual decline around Fall's Bridge. Yesterday as I was scarfing down some whole wheat ravioli with MM, she pointed to a spot on the inside of my left ankle and noted that it appeared "swollen." Damned if this spot has been bugging me for the past few runs. Nothing debilitating, but today it managed to make me mildly uncomfortable. By the way, I deny that it's swollen.

I thought to myself, well, I better do something quick because I'm 7 miles out and only halfway there. So I buckled down and tried to be light on my feet, not dwelling on my stiffening legs. And Mr. Williams Sr. sang me the honky tonk blues all the way back into town. It was one of those runs that I can't imagine doing without music. During the last 20 minutes or so came After the Gold Rush, and it helped me get to my front door.

Overall, not a bad run, but it's a definite reminder that this isn't always fun and games. Today was work. I was kind of surprised at how quickly my legs forgot how to deal with more than 10 or 12 miles at a time. But I have faith that things will improve with patience. In the end, 14 and a quarter miles, 1:58:58.

Let me tell you how amazing it felt to be done with this by 7:10 am. Had time for a quick snack before biking back down to the Drives to cheer on some friends competing in the Philly Triathlon. I got sucked right in, clapping and yelling, and forgot all about the run I'd just finished. What a great way to spend a morning, almost as good as participating in the race itself. Congrats to all who finished today. Honorable mention to Matt, who finished in 2:09:xx, a personal best for him.