A Fitting End and a Good Start

I finished off 2008 Wednesday night with 9 really lousy miles through the streets of Salem. I didn't have any problems in terms of aches or pains, but the whole run just felt like a struggle. I'm not entirely sure why, but I have a feeling the bitter cold 25-30 mph winds with gusts as high as 60 mph had something to do with it, although even when the wind was at my back I still didn't feel good. Guess it was just one of those days. In any event, it wasn't much fun, and it was slow, slow, slow. In fact, I was having a hard time believing I was going as slow as the GPS indicated and was left pretty frustrated when it was all over. It's not very encouraging when 60 minutes feels like 90 and you realize just how out of shape you are, but after I thought about it, I chalked it up as a very fitting conclusion to a pretty poor year of running.

The good news is, the first run of the new year was completely different. I didn't have much desire or energy when I started, but as soon as I got going I felt good. In contrast to the night before, the effort felt pretty easy while the pace was quite a bit quicker, as much as 30 seconds per mile as a matter of fact. It was a great run and I hope a sign of things to come. I wound up doing 7 miles, partially because that's around what I had planned and partially because I thought maybe it would be a lucky number. Actually I don't really believe in luck, but I figured it couldn't hurt with the way things have gone for me the past few years.

Anyway, I'm on pace for a very nice week of training this week, at least for where I am at the moment, and I'm pleased with the way things are going. I've been battling a little quad and particularly calf soreness, but neither is anything significant. I'm sure both are just my body getting used to running a decent amount every day again, and I'm actually feeling a little more like myself every day. It's basically the perfect scenario when you're building mileage and feeling better every day, and that's basically where I am right now. Okay, that's all for me. I hope everyone's year is off to a good start!