So, I bought a new pair of shoes - the Nike Air Span - back in April, and entrusted these bad boys with getting me back into shape. I jumped into it way too soon, naturally, and after a few weeks of running about 15 miles per week I noticed some uncomfortable tenderness in pretty much every muscle in my body. I decided to park it for a little bit.
After that - and we're talking June and July here - I got back into things slowly, doing an easy 4-miler here or a very easy 8-miler there. I spent a lot of time running in the thick of the day, braving some 100-plus-degree temperatures. I told myself that the awful weather would toughen me up a bit, but I couldn't finish these runs without a great struggle and a good bit of time spent walking and stopping for water.
This past August, discipline took over, as I started waking up early and driving to McAlpine Park for my runs. This led to an increase in general distance as well as more consistency in my running. I had yet to begin keeping track of mileage but I would estimate I was doing about 25 miles per week for the first few weeks of August.
I made it up to 6 days a week by late August, including an 8.5-mile long run with Daniel Eggers and David Brinkley, who I met for the first time, and announced my intentions to begin racing on a regular basis. I ran a nice solo tempo run and a 10-mile long run later that same week for my first real action in over seven years. Life is good.
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