The Bounce is Back!

Time:  20 minutes
Distance:  1.99 miles
Location:  Apple Valley to Sitting Bull

What a relief!  After weeks of painful runs and little progress, tonight's run was a huge step forward.  After the first week of getting back into running this year, my legs began to really fall apart.  Since about mid-May I've been running on aching knees, throbbing feet, and sore muscles up and down my lower legs.  Nothing seemed to be helping ease this pain.  I had a couple of good runs here and there, such as last Saturday's 18:05 2-mile, but I could never build any momentum (after Saturday's run, Monday's run was one of my worst).  I rested yesterday, as it was my final night class of the year, and my frequent rest days recently maybe have something to do with tonight's improvement.  It was a busy day.  I went straight after work down to Rancho Cucamonga with my wife for a physical.  I was told by my doctor that my blood pressure was on the high side.  This made me want to continue running all the more to remedy that.  After the doctor we stopped at Lucille's for a bite, then headed back up to the desert.  I felt full and not too excited to go on a run.  But I knew deep down I had to.  In addition, there were two exhilarating playoff games on tonight that I was glued to.  The Kings won an OT thriller against the Devils to take Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.  And the Celtics lost a close OT game to the Heat to go down 0-2 in the Eastern Finals.  Because of these games I got a late start on my run.  But at 9:00 I laced up and headed out.

And I was surprised by the result!  As soon as I started running I felt like a different person.  I actually had a bounce in my step!  My legs didn't hurt, they felt strong instead.  I was overjoyed by this development and focused on keeping a strong form and getting in a solid 20 minute run.  To my amazement, the good feeling lasted the whole run.  I never let up.  My pace wasn't fast by any means, but it was consistent, and definitely a step quicker than my last run.  I ran the same route as Monday and I was able to get in 1.99 miles (whereas Monday I got in only 1.8) in 20 minutes.  It was a solid run, and I finished feeling great.  It's been a slow, rough road lately, and I've been feeling like I could never get ahead.  But today I broke through, and I sincerely hope it wasn't a one-time deal.