4.5 miles in 7:18 pace In an effort to give my achilles time to heal completely before starting into a new training cycle, I had been cross training all week. Even though I had been exercising every day, I was just feeling sluggish and mentally a bit down. Running withdrawal symptoms. Yesterday I ran just one mile to "wet my whistle" and see how my achilles was feeling. Still a little tight, but much better than it was right after the marathon. Today I just couldn't handle it anymore. No amount of P90X or elliptical machine was going to satisfy my craving. I just had to do it. So I put on my tights, long sleeve shirt, running shoes, iPod, and gloves and headed out the door for a few miles. You may think me strange, but I was seriously crying tears of enjoyment!!! I was singing out loud (and probably off tune) with enthusiasm to the songs playing in my ears. My achilles was whispering to me to take it easy so I listened and resisted the desire to run fast or far but my body was just SO excited to be running again!!! The sunrise was unusually GORGEOUS. The Flatirons were glowing a happy orange color and the fresh, autumn air brought joy to my heart and lungs. There is nothing in the world that can brighten my mood and lift my spirits more than a run out in the fresh air on a cool autumn morning. Happy autumn running, everyone!! | 