Triumphant Return?

Everyone had a great time this weekend celebrating with Dan and Stephanie and the wedding was absolutely beautiful this morning. The happy couple couldn't have asked for better weather! In fact, Liz and I got home with about an hour-and-a-half to spare before meeting friends for dinner so I decided to squeeze in a run.

I haven't run since August 3rd and it's about time I got back on the horse. My back had been feeling much better most of last week but started acting up for some reason yesterday and today. It wasn't hurting too bad, but it felt... out of place. So I was unsure how today would go.

When I stepped out the door to stretch, I noticed this guy staring at me:

He's the biggest praying mantis I've ever seen and I decided he was a good omen for my return to running.

I decided to keep my little test run fairly short and made sure I took it easy. I could tell I've been resting because my stride felt smooth and easy and there was that well-rested spring in my step. Everything went really well and I didn't have so much as a twinge in my back the entire time. I caught myself speeding up a little more than I wanted a couple of times and had to pull back on the reigns a bit, but I decided not to even glance at my watch until I got home. When I finished, I was surprised that my pace was much faster than it felt. I stayed controlled and relaxed and still averaged 7:13 a mile.

After the run, we went out to dinner with some good friends and spent the evening with friends and neighbors. My back felt good all night and I'm hoping this means I'll be able to resume training without problems. We'll see how my back feels in the morning.

Saturday
Goal For The Day: Rest.
Distance: 0.00 Miles.

Sunday
Goal For The Day: Easy Run.
Distance: 4.12 Miles.
Time: 29:45. 7:13 Avg. (7:08, 7:00, 7:08, 7:29, 0:57*)
Route: Old Town Eureka Loop w/ the City Hall Extension.
Conditions: 84 degrees/breezy. 4:00PM.

Notes: The weather is awesome! A warm run but the first day in a long time with a breeze that actually cools you off. Also the first day in a long time that sweat kept getting in my eyes and really stung. It's how I imagine pepper spray feeling, only dialed down some. An awesome weekend with family and friends and my first good run in almost two weeks!

Daily Miles: 4.12 Miles.
Blog Totals:
  Run - 164.96 Miles.
  Bike - 98.53 Miles.
  Swim - 7,200+ meters.