Back in the saddle, again...

So yesterday I get home, and I prepare to replace the heating element in our oven that burned out last week. Open the oven door, go to put it in place, and...they gave me the wrong freakin' part! &*%#%^&%$$&! Oh man, was I pissed off. And to boot, the place is about 25 minutes from my house, and is the ONLY place in all of Cincinnati that sells them. I think I'd have an easier time finding original copies of The Declaration of Independence. So what do I do, when I need to blow off some steam? Yup, I go for a run.

I head upstairs, quickly change clothes, slide on the running shoes, and head out the door. No idea where I'm going to run, or how far, or how fast, or if I'll even be able to. You see, I had this slight pain in my left shin as well as at the top of the foot, right at the ankle. I tried to slowly run on it Monday, but decided against it after about 20 seconds. Yesterday, I start up, and while it hurt mildly at first, within the first minute, it was gone. So I coast around the neighborhood, get back to the house, and call it a day. 2.03 miles. Eh, fine. Whatever. The actual run wasn't the important part. I'd calmed down. And perhaps more importantly, I'd gotten back out there and realized that I really, REALLY enjoy running.

Today, I get to work, and see that it is scheduled to start raining around midday, when I'd planned to go for another short run. So I head downstairs to the fitness room at about 8:45AM, and go for another run. Again, mild pain in left shin/foot. Again, it goes away quickly. I run fairly comfortably. I say fairly b/c near the end of this 3-mile jaunt, I realize I'm running a little harder than I need/want to be. No pain, no issues. I just notice I'm breathing a little harder than I wanted to be. I have no reason to run hard right now. None...at all. So I scolded myself for that, went in, showered, changed, and back to my desk in under a hour's time. Once again, the feeling of running again really helps my spirits. But this time, I also realize how strong my body feels, just 3 days after my fiasco. This pleases me.

So the plan for the remainder of this week is to run somewhere in the range of 15-20 miles, and hit the gym once or twice and workout lightly. After Sunday, I'll re-evaluate where I am, and start planning accordingly. Given my actuarial exam is Monday morning, I suspect I'll go for a nice run that afternoon.

The only thing that could screw these plans up? Going back tonight, and being given the WRONG part for my oven again!