TITLE: Starting Over, Again
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: May 15, 2007  7:48 PM
DESC: 
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BODY:
Good News: I ran 3 miles this morning.

Bad News: That this is good news.

Good News: I was smart enough not to overdo it.

Bad News: That I had to hold myself back.

Good News: I think I can do it again tomorrow.

I've just gone through a third bout this year of some ailment
that held me under the weather for a prolonged period.  The
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2007-02.html#e2007-02-12T19_27_06.htm">
   first</A>
was the worst, with two weeks of two runs each, a week with
a single run, and then two weeks off entirely. Just as I was
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2007-03.html#e2007-03-06T10_19_40.htm">
   getting back to normal</A>
and working my way
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2007-04.html#e2007-04-11T07_41_41.htm">
   back onto the track</A>,
I lost a week to the same fuzzy head and persistent fatigue.
The third hit me soon after I returned from the
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2007-04.html#e2007-04-28T12_55_54.htm">
   workshop at Duke</A>
-- air travel often seems to hit me these days -- and kept
me off the road for nearly two weeks.  It was hard, because
the weather has turned to spring and the mornings have been
wonderful.  But it was also easy, because I was simply too
tired.

This morning I was careful not to try to run more.  Patience
is a virtue when getting started.  It is better to have
another three miles tomorrow than to be foolhardy today.

Bad News : My total mileage this year before this morning's
run, May 15 == 347.6.  That may sound like a lot, but last
year I reached 350 miles during my long run on <EM>March
5</EM>.  It's also bad news because it means I must have
been sick, else I wouldn't <EM>not</EM> run.

Good News: My body is probably fresher at this point in the
year than it has been in at least three years.  Running lots
of miles gets me into shape, but it also wears on the body.
I hope that my fresher legs -- and mind -- will be useful as
I train this summer.  In the short term, my lack of miles
and fitness will almost certainly result in a slower
half-marathon time at the end of June.  In the long term,
it may help me be fresher at marathon time, at the end of
October.

Oh, and
<A HREF="http://www.marinemarathon.com/">
   I'm in</A>...
So I have a target to shoot for.

But right now, I just want to run.
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