Back at it

A while ago I bailed on this blog without warning. I thought I was done with it, that it had served its purpose. But as the days passed I started missing it. The blog had become a way for me to ground myself - writing about running kept me focussed on writing, and running. Without it, I started to feel a bit adrift. And that's when I realized that it was really just all about me and that's ok. I want to share my thoughts/experiences that I have while running because it helps me to feel more connected - with other people as well as just with myself. So here I am, back at it again.

I actually haven't been running much lately. After the "Snowjoke" 1/2 marathon in February, I decided to take some time off to let my hip heal. The week before the 1/2 marathon it had started to hurt a lot on a long icy run in the woods, and at the end of the race it was pretty painful. I finished the race about ten minutes slower this year than last year because of it, but really I was just happy to be able to have finished, considering my injuries last year.

I started running again mid-March with plans to make a plan as soon as I figured out where my hip was at. After a couple of weeks of every-other-day mellow runs, I was about to set up my training plan for my next marathon when I got hit with the nastiest cold/virus/flu/whatever-you-want-to-call-it I've ever had. I've been sick for two weeks now! The first week I actually continued running, but it was ridiculous and miserable.

So I've just been watching Jim train. Last weekend he did a ten-miler on Saturday, then 20 miles on Sunday. He's out there right now, actually, taking his bear spray for a run in the woods on this sunny Easter Sunday, while I am inside blowing and blowing and blowing my nose. LAST YEAR on Easter Sunday I ran the longest I had ever run at that point - 19 miles - almost all the way from my house to our friends' where we went for an easter egg hunt and brunch that lasted all day. I am concerned that I might not have enough time to build up my mileage slowly enough and be ready for the Missoula Marathon in July.

But as they say in AA, "one day at a time." Today, I can barely walk across the kitchen without getting off-balance because of all the snot in my head. Maybe tomorrow? I don't know. Sometimes I wonder how long I will be able to be a runner, because it seems there is always some injury. And sometimes I'm pretty sure I'll keep doing it for the rest of my life. It's just part of who I am now.