Dear Village Street...

(This is not a picture of my neighborhood, but I don't have one of my fabulous tree-lined street)

I just walked in from reuniting with you after a very long absence, & I must say it was great to be together again! I didn't forget what it was like to be running through your tree-lined neighborhoods, but I had to put it out of my mind for awhile. I didn't plan on hitting the pavement so soon, I had told myself I would wait a MINIMUM of 6 weeks. As the 6 week mark grew closer I found myself daydreaming about seeing you again & I found myself staring with envy at every runner I passed. As the weather has grown cooler I longed for an early morning run to start my day, but with my very messed up sleep schedule a sunrise run was very unlikely.

Today I reached my breaking point (in so many ways) and I found myself planning out my evening in such a way that I could somehow get out to see you this evening. As the afternoon ended I was starting to think it wasn't going to happen, but as the stress of the day closed in on me I knew what would take the edge off. So I finished getting my sweet babe to sleep, followed by a quick change and I was off!

I was a little nervous not knowing how my out of shape, post-partum body was going to do. I will say that I made a huge mistake by not starting slow & pacing myself... but it felt so good! Running as fast as I could down my street, literally feeling some sort of chemical overload, I got goose bumps & a grin spread from cheek to cheek. As I rounded the corner I forced myself to slow down. My goal was to run the whole loop, no matter out slow. It wasn't easy & I did regret my decision to take the extended loop when I turned to do the southbound stretch. The head wind made it hard, but it was a beautiful night, wasn't it? The moon was a soft shade of orange against the periwinkle sky, & staring at that helped me through that hard stretch.

I made it home & I was able to run the whole way... and it felt GREAT! I'm not sure when I'll be out to see you again, because I really do need to take it slow. But I want you to know how great it felt to be out & I'll be back soon!

I look forward to joining you again!