5 Mile Run (Above Average)

SANTA MONICA -- There's something unique about the runs you have when you first get back into it after a long hiatus. I've been off realistically since the battle of Las Vegas ended in December, with only a few runs here and there...probably nothing over 4 miles.

I've had my best 5K ever in that span, but I wasn't in great shape and I don't really care about 5Ks. It's a nice little jog, but there's something about the sheer distance and time that 10+ miles takes. Even 5.3 or whatever this route is. If you've run for the better part of an hour, you've run. And the day is different because of it and likely the next day, too.

Anyway, the point is I'm back in the saddle, joined the gym in the building and everything. But running that 5 mile route is hilarious...because

A) I haven't run that version of the loop in dammmm near a year.
B) I'm not in any kind of condition that I used to be when I was running these streets.

So it's like you're waddling around the old neighborhood or something, remembering it being so easy. But now it's hard. The nice thing is, it makes it fresh again. You learn the little things again, you duck the weeds here, you duck the shrubs there, you see the golfers at Brentwood CC again, you see the mansions again, you remember the bad lights and the timing for the good ones, you see the runners on San Vincente again. It's new, but known. And you're in no shape to be there.

But that makes completing the old loop sweet again. And it makes you appreciate how much solid work you put in before even if you didn't achieve your dream goal in either marathon you were training for.