Hello Again

Well, hello old friends. I haven't seen you in a while!

I went running on Saturday for the first time in a loooooong time. My sports bra felt more like a tourniquet than a support garment, and I cringed to see my thighs wobble and strain. My body kind of crapped out just before I hit the 2 mile mark (I was headed home already, so it was only somewhat demoralizing). My lungs felt great. My legs/hips/back were not even in pain. It was just the halting weariness of being woefully out of shape. And unaccustomed to doing anything more strenuous than walking in the humid soup of a Chicago summer morning.

I hadn't even made it two blocks from my door before tears started welling up in my eyes and I realized that I have missed running. I have missed it, and I a surge of joy pulsed through me as I shuffled slowly towards the lake. I miss the focus, the dancey ipod music, the solitude, the zen of hearing and feeling every breath. I also miss feeling healthy and slim(mer). I miss the fist-pumping amazement of finishing a double-digit mile run. Essentially, I miss feeling strong in just that holy-crap-I've-been-running-for-over-an-hour-and-I'm-still-running sort of way. There's nothing like it.

But it's Tuesday, and I haven't been out again yet. Sigh. Gotta get some good running mojo going.

playing with my new camera.

And if the blog post title has gotten Neil Diamond stuck in your head, I apologize.