Another run is in the books today. Slowly but surely I am getting out to run more regularly. It was slow going, but I have already managed to surpass my running mileage from last year, though that admittedly isn’t saying much. In 2015 I only ran 16 miles. Only a year before, I still only ran a pitiful 52.4 miles. In 2013 I ran 449 miles! So far this year, I have run 22.2 miles.
It isn’t a great start, seeing as it is already the end of June, but I have managed to get back outdoors instead of just running on the treadmill in the small gym in my apartment building. My body has slowly been getting re-accustomed to running outdoors and my 
abysmal miles reflect my struggle. As I start to run slowly increasing distances, I have reverted to a run/walk method for running. Even when I started out running (not terribly long ago, back in 2012), I only needed to run/walk for about two weeks before my body adjusted to running greater distances with ever decreasing recovery times between runs. Now that I have been getting back into running more seriously again since a couple years back, I have only been able to slowly increase mileage from a mile at a time, up to two miles, then almost three miles, and today I finally hit the three mile mark. Still not even a 5K, but I will be run/walking my first 5K of the year over the July 4th weekend up in Michigan while spending time at my fiancé’s family’s cottage. While I have kept up running, though rather sporadically, this will be my first actual race since 2014.
Wish me luck.
It has been such a great feeling to run outdoors again! While I have kept my runs short as I try to make my way back up to higher distances, I have also been running more slowly than I ever have before and it has allowed me to pay more attention to my surroundings (when I 
am not focused on my breathing, or footwork, or posture, or hydration, or anything else to help me get back on track). I have also been running in the mornings for a change. Not always, as my work schedule typically forces me to run at night after returning from a day at the office where I just sit around in a cube all day. It turns out that I like running in the mornings. Historically, I have generally been more of a night person, but circumstances always seem to align to force me in some way to wake up early in the morning for something and I suppose I have gotten used to it over the years. My brother and I used to have to wake up ridiculously early in order to get a ride to middle school/high school with our Mom if we didn’t want to have to ride the bus (and we were the last bus stop on the route before it dropped everyone off at school so there were rarely any seats left, let alone good seats). After that, several jobs have required me to wake up early, or college classes forced me to wake up early (so I would be free to work nights). Now, I am back to working a job where I have to wake up early in order to make the long commute to the office. As a result, I have found that I now seem to prefer to run in the mornings on days where I am not working or where I am Work From Home. It is an energizing way to start the day and I seem to be more productive on days where I start off with a run, rather than telling myself I will run ‘later’ and maybe or maybe not end up getting around to it. Also, if I run early, I don’t feel guilty having a beer while I go out to a pub afterward to watch a Euro Cup 2016 match.
Allez Les Bleus!!
My Kind Of Run 