Getting back on track

Yesterday I went for a run, but didn't have time afterward to blog about it.  So here we are, a day later.

I meant to go around 5pm; unfortunately, other events interfered that prevented me from following this plan (by which I mean, I discovered Angry Birds).  Yet I knew I was going to go running.  I could feel it deep in my runner's brain.  There is some point you reach where you know that regardless of how much you procrastinate or put things off, you are eventually going to go running.  I haven't felt this for a few weeks, so it was nice to know that my 'get up and go' was still in there somewhere.  Yay.

Because it was dark by the time I got out (thanks, Angry Birds!), I decided to run around my complex.  The loop is around 0.7 miles.  It is not the most exciting run, but has several good aspects: it is well lit, there is not much traffic, and you can't trip on any sidewalks or anything.  I've done the complex loop before and while it's not the most inspirational route, I like it when running at night.  Also, if any alligators pop out of the sewers, there are people around who can hopefully help before I suffer a fatal injury.

I decided to do 4 loops, so around 2.8 miles.  This wasn't about the distance or time, it was about getting out of the house and running (try that sentence in a Canadian accent!).  The first lap, I actually felt good, better than I had about running in a while.  Laps 2-4 were less enjoyable because the humidity -- which is still high -- caught up with me.  However, it wasn't as bad as Saturday since there was no Mr. Florida Sun to add insult to humidity.  Anyway, I figure that probably it is good to get acclimatized since likely the humidity will be here for a while.  I am doing another 5k in a week and a half...this was the one at which I was hoping to set a new personal record (PR), but that is not happening now.

Also, I became more acutely aware of how marathon training and shorter distance training really were different.  Back when I was training for the marathon, I would have just done my 2.8 miles (or whatever) and really not worried about performance.  Yesterday, I found that I was trying to keep up a faster speed.  This wasn't on purpose, but it did feel different.  So maybe it is okay that I'm not switching from one plan to another with ease.  Maybe that is normal.