I’ve been offline and off of the roads for much of the past week.

I had a mess of a stomach flu late last week and although I felt well enough to have a great run on Saturday afternoon, I ended up taking off on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.  I simply couldn’t muster the energy.  This is unlike me.   But I did run a hard race just two weeks ago, so I could still be bouncing back from that, as well.

I ran four miles this morning.  There is a part of me that wants to say that the first run back after being sick is the toughest.  But the truth is that it isn’t.  Sometimes that first run back is amazing.  Other times you just have to slog through, reminding yourself that you will feel great when it is done and that pushing through a challenging workout means you are one step closer to getting back to your usual routine.

Today’s run fell into the latter camp.  For the first half of my run it seemed like everyone was passing me, which perhaps they were — but then again I would like to think that only the most hardcore of runners are in Central Park at 7 AM on a 33 degree day in April.  Runners’ denial?  Maybe.

But somewhere along the way I got Miley Cyrus’s Party in the USA stuck in my head — don’t ask (Okay, fine.  This song was played at my wedding.) — and picked up the pace just enough that it started to feel more like a workout than a brisk, torturous slog.

I finished strong and wrapped up with a series of squats, lunges and side lunges before walking home to do abs, bi’s and tri’s indoors.

I felt thoroughly depleted afterwards, but also thoroughly revived.

I survived that first run back after being sick.

Now everything will be fine.

Run On™