I’ve been back to running regularly for little over a month now. It’s been weird, coming back to running after an entirely-too-long for my liking break. While from the very moment I began again I was physically loving it, I must admit that mentally the first two weeks were kind of tough. During its absence, there were times that all the non-runner questions were swimming around my head: “How can you really enjoy running? Doesn’t it get boring? How can you not listen to music?”

Maybe thee was still some residue of these queries still in my mind, but those first two weeks or so really were kind of difficult and not as enjoyable as I had anticipated my return to running being. My thoughts were focused on my the mechanics of runing - foot strike, knee lift, arm swing, hip position - so much more than I can ever remember. The flow, the zen, the ease of running seemed to have vanished. Some of that was certainly expected, but not to this extent. What had once been my therapy and pleasure seemed to have turned chore-ish.

After those first two weeks ago, things began to turn themselves around a bit. I’d forget about effort for a few moments mid-run, and would find myself somewhat surprisingly at a road crossing. The first big gain came on one of the first mornings that I regretted not having worn gloves. About 20 minutes in and feeling good, I decided on a whim to throw in a few short tempo intervals, nothing blazing just fast enough to make me breathe relatively hard. It’s the first time my lungs have really been burning from anything in the last few months.

But the real breakthrough came about a week ago. Midway through my morning run, I ran into Jeff, a somewhat recent Alamosan, who I had met in July 2010 at the Devil Mountain 50k in Pagosa Springs. He was out for his morning run, and having joined on the same path, we decided to continue running together. We chatted a bit, but the rest of the run was spent largely in silence. Everything just seemed to click for me while running with alongside Jeff. The movement was relaxed, and while still wholly in the run my mind was lingering not on effort, but on movement.

All of my running this last week has had that same feeling. Maybe not the first few blocks as I’m negotiating the train tracks and stop lights, but it soon turns into that joy of movement experience rather than a labored endeavor. THIS was what I’ve been missing, and having it back is so enjoyable.

This has additioinally led to the return of dreaming more about running and racing. Or at least getting crazy ideas about running and racing while out on the run - some daydreaming on the move, if you will. I don’t expect to go into anything this year with any high expectations or lofty goals - not that I don’t want to, it’s just that I know if I try to really put in a hard effort before the year ends I’ll get revved up for it too quickly and probably push myself too hard, too soon. I’m sure I’ll hop into a few local 5k races here in Alamosa (I’ve got a Monster Mash Dash title and Best Costume title to defend), and I know I’ll be doing the Naperville Turkey Trot 5k with the fam, and running a 1/2 marathon in Pueblo with Melissa in early December is also still a possibility.

Other than that, the rest of this year is focused on just getting back to running regularly period, which I’m way more than happy with. But I’ve still got some things that have been on my mind for a while and that will certainly be getting considered much more seriously now.

In terms of just running, there are a great number of trails I have heard about or driven by in the last 7 months that I cannot wait to get out and explore myself. Other than the Buena Vista area and the Moscs Pass/Mt. Blanca/Zapata Lake area, I really haven’t explored the mountain running surrounding the SLV. That’s gonna have to change. I also had my first chance to see the Gunnison and Crested Butte area last weekend, and a return to those parts is gonna be a must. And while I’ve run some of the Santa Fe area trails once, I’d love some more time to see what else Santa Fe/Albuquerque has to offer.

As far as racing goes, I’ve had Leadville on my mind for a while. The Leadville 100 is the race that my mind gravitates towards when I think about iconic races in the sport of ultrarunning. I certainly entered this year with thoughts of Leadville, and will enter next year with even stronger thoughts. I also have my sights tentatively set on the Collegiate Peaks 50 in the spring. It was my goal race at the start of last year, and unfortunately had to be the first race I’d signed up for that I did not make it too. Seems as if I owe it another go, eh? I’d also love to get out to the Bay area, as every picture/video I’ve seen of races in that neck of the woods looks astounding. I also feel I ought to point out here that I’d love to visit our neighbors to the North for The North Face Canadian Death Race. It was article in Trail Runner Magazine about the TNF Canadian Death Race that peaked my interest in ultrarunning to begin with, so making it up there at some point is high on my list of races/places to visit.

All this dreamini’ has got me salivating, and I know could potentially lead to me being an idiot about training to much, too soon. But, like I said, I feel happy enough with just being back to running right now that I can hold myself back and just continue to enjoy it for a while.