Missing out on a tradition

For the past three years on the first Saturday of December, I have ran in the Bedford Christmas Classic in Bedford, Va. Even though I moved to Richmond a few months ago, I had every intention of making this race my first post-marathon event. I think it would have been a perfect chance to return to the 5k distance that I first fell in love with.

But as you've probably already read, the snot in my head had other plans for me this week. Two days after getting on a prescription, I'm finally feeling worthwhile today. There's not as much cloudiness in my head. I was sluggish this morning, but by noon and a quarter box of tissues later, I took my sad-looking dog out for a walk. Poor thing hasn't had his usual walk/runs this week. We even ran for 0.7 miles, which felt pretty good. It had been a week since I last ran -- my longest running drought since September 2006. Even though it wasn't even a mile, it does a lot for my confidence. My legs still work and they felt great! And I think the full week off helped me fully recover from the marathon. On Thanksgiving and on Saturday, I had some discomfort in my right heel and my left knee, but nothing major. I stress discomfort over the word pain. Perhaps completely taking time off is the medicine my lower half of my body needed to get back to running again.

So, on a day that I lost a 3-year-old holiday tradition, I feel like I've actually gained a lot when it comes to running. Now, about those 1,000 miles I want to hit ...