easing back into running

Friday was my first day back running, and I would've been an absolute fool not to.  It was 60, our Latin class only ran 2 hours instead of 3, it was Friday, and it was just too nice to study.  So, I ran for 3 miles around Brookland, and then walked one mile.  I was going slower than normal, but my legs weren't screaming in pain, which I was happy about.  It was fairly relaxing, because it didn't matter how far I went, just that I did it.

Then on Saturday, I ran to Seth's house in Takoma Park.  I wrote out the directions on my arm (very classy), and the 5 mile run took about 50 minutes.  I enjoyed running through a more residential area, and there were a couple of hills to tackle (I feel as if I'm going to include Maryland a lot more when I begin formal training again.  Once, I got to Seth's house, we just hung out for a while, and then went out to lunch at Trinity.  And of course, a proper Trinity Deli lunch should not be complete without a black and white cookie (so good).

It is nice to just be able to run without a real structure, especially since schoolwork will be picking up very soon.  For the next few months (probably until June), I'll just run when I can, as far as I can.  I don't think I'll be doing 15 mile runs for a while, that's for sure.  I just need to do maintenance work.  I am running in the DC Cherry Blossom 10 miler a week from today.  Originally, I was very hesitant about my ability to run a race so soon after the marathon.  However, since I was able to comfortably do 5 miles yesterday, I think I'll be in okay shape.  I'm not planning on a very fast race, but I do want the experience of doing it.  There are 12,000 runners scheduled to participate, so it will be my largest race so far.  I'm very excited to see the Cherry Blossoms; they've just started to bloom.

Just about ready to head out for another short run.