I swear I did. I used to run a 5k like it was nothing, just a quick jog, a fast thirty minutes of my time. I’d confidently metro to the National Mall and do my brief 3.1 miles around the monuments and take a breather as I rode back to the (oh so wonderful) Commonwealth.

My goal in training right now is to up my mileage. I don’t care about my time. I mean, I do because I am still me after all, but my main goal is mileage.

My first run was 2 miles. The next day I ran 1 mile. A week later I said fuck it, I’m just gonna run a 5k.

My big mistake was that I didn’t stretch. But I did it. And I did it in 35 minutes. With walking breaks every 4 minutes… And then a few extra for good measure. Which, fun fact, is 100% on par with the numbers I was putting up during my half marathon training.

So why do I sound so disappointed? Well, I may be putting up good numbers for someone who hasn’t frequently ran in about a year, but I can tell during my run that I’m not where I need to be.

Just because I haven’t been running doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten everything I’ve learned… And I still read Runner’s World on a regular basis. My breathing isn’t where it should be, the quick speed bursts I was so good at (because I love to pass people and weave in and out) isn’t there, and my muscles are mad at me for using them again (they told me so themselves when I tried to walk like a normal person today).

Butttttttttt, I’m okay with all of that because I know I’ll work through it. I gave myself six months to train for this marathon for a reason.

So I’m going to do what any good won’t take no for an answer runner girl does and just do it. I’m going to stretch and run and weight train and make sure I don’t get injured (at least while running, we can’t rule out the potential of injury via inanimate objects).

And, just to prove that I can do it (and to catch up with old friends), I’m going to run a 5k on Saturday morning with some of the wonderful people at Team in Training. It will be on one of my favorite trails, the Capital Crescent Trail, over by Fletcher’s Boat House in Georgetown. I’ll let you know how it goes, but I’m pretty sure it will be better than my 5k from yesterday.

After almost a year, a bad knee, and some unknown injury to my foot, I’ve begun training for the Marine Corps Marathon. The race isn’t for another six months, so I’ve got plenty of time to ease back into the swing of things.

My first run was a brief two miler at just over a 10 minute pace. I was a bit faster than that when I was training for my half marathon, but I wasn’t expecting anything spectacular and I’m happy with how my first run went.

At this point in my training, I just want to slowly build up my weekly miles before I start doing some longer runs. Hopefully I can add on a mile every 1-2 weeks during these first two months. I’d like to go back to my “oh, it’s only ten miles” days.

Wish me luck!