a good start to a good year

I think...I slept for about ten hours but it was still hard enough to get up to go to work, so the morning routine didn't happen, much less the treadmill running. However, I think I made up for that with real running. I ran to work, and then nine-ish miles around the Canal, and then another mile back home after lunch. Total 10.58 miles, and not all of it little bitty chunks, either. It was cold but sunny, and it was nice seeing skaters on the Canal. And, at the same time, it was nice not seeing them on Dow's Lake--seeing that still expanse of unbroken white helped put me into a good zone. It was a very meditative run, even with the wind that was almost always in my face.

The nine miles was probably the longest chunk I've run since the marathon, and I was surprised at how easy it felt...I would have thought that I would be in worse shape now, not having run much in December. It's very encouraging, especially since I'm supposed to run the Hypo Half in 3 weeks and a half. That's kind of creeping up.

I also did some pushups and core/resistance exercises today. I still have a bit of stiffness in my back line, but nothing that seems to impair running: the only time I notice it is when I try (still just try) to touch the ground or my toes. Other than that, I'm pretty much back to normal but with definitely more muscle tone in my arms. Not that that's saying much, compared to what was there before. LOL

2009 doesn't seem too bad so far. Yeah, the first half of it will be 'deployment' but we have two weeks of vacation in the spring to help break it up, and by then we'll have a nice posting to look forward to afterwards. Hopefully! knock wood!!! Meanwhile, I've got the Hypo Half and the Winterman full to distract myself with, plus exams.