Lazy Bum

That's exactly what I have been for a week and a half!
The hike did end up doing me in just a little. I wore super stiff shoes and the lack of flexibility may have contributed to some minor shin splints. Both shins were pretty sore that night and the next day. I had never had a shin splint before so I read up on them a little. Everything I read said to be careful and rest well.
So I did.
Maybe a little too well. I skipped the next group run to let my shins heal all the way. By last Monday, I was ready to run again.
And then 104 degree days came to our area and I had another good excuse for not running.
Now it had been almost two weeks since I last ran and, to be honest, I didn't want to run anymore. I didn't want to eat well either. There was the morning I had coffee and a brownie for an after breakfast snack. In fact, I was beginning to feel a lot like the slug I was before I started running. I knew I was in the make it or break it time and I needed to keep running.
That's why I am SO thankful for the Saturday group runs. I knew I could just show up and find a place to join in. There are so many levels of runners there. I knew I would be encouraged to see everyone else still running. I knew if I didn't go it might be the end of running. I came very close to staying home. I had a good excuse, too. It was the first day at a new job for me and I needed to make sure I didn't get there late. My mother-in-law talked me out of my excuse, though, and I went.
The group I ran with did a warm-up jog and then a five minute stretch. For 30 minutes we ran cycles of an 'easy' pace for three minutes and an 'race' pace for one minute. I was great to be running again. I enjoyed the changes of tempo within my run. I loved the feel of pushing through that minute with long fast strides and then the steady relaxing jog for the three minutes. I found that these cycles were very similar to how the walk/run cycles felt when I first started running. We also ran a different route. It was fun to see new scenery.
Tomorrow, I will get back into my weekly routine. I'm not making any excuses either.