An internal monologue from my run this morning. It was sunny, in the low 50s, and I always listen to the podcast of the local classic rock radio station morning show when I run.

“Ooh already a dog, not even a half mile in.”

“You can stop at the hill and walk up it.”

“This hill is always bad, it’s okay to stop and walk.”

“Okay, stop at the cross walk here, okay, no cars, go.”

“I don’t remember this street ever having a hill on it.”

“Wearing a t-shirt was a good idea but maybe I should have worn shorts instead of capri leggings. It’s a bit sunnier outside than I thought.”

“Ugh, it’s only been a mile and a half? I feel like I’m so far from home.”

“If you can run from here up the hill to the main road, you can walk after.”

“Running, running, running.”

“Another dog!”

“Okay, run from this spot all the way to the end of the road and then you can walk.”

“Wow, that truck is driving pretty fast.”

“Walking up hills is better than running up them.”

“How did I regularly run 6.2 miles all last summer?”

“Okay, you’re in the neighborhood now, run all the way home.”

“Wait, was that the same dog from earlier? Ah I can’t tell. I’ll count it as a third dog anyway.”

“Why weren’t there more dogs outside? It’s nice out!”

“Home!” *a lot of heavy breathing in the driveway*

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As you can see, most of my running is telling myself if I run a certain distance, I can walk after. I’m having a bit of trouble trying to get back into running. I took most of the winter off—1. because it was cold, and 2. there aren’t any in-person races I really need to train for—and only really started consistently running last month. I’m having issues with the combination of my asthma and the feeling of heavy legs.

My relationship with running is better now than it was this time last year. I view it as time to get out of the house, enjoy the weather, and listen to my podcasts. Whether I’m running or walking, I’m moving and I think that should count for something. I’m keeping my distance around a 5K/3.1 miles for now because I view that as the baseline of my minimum mileage (since I normally run 5K races).

I’m a bit disappointed I only saw 3 dogs today. My record of total dogs seen on one run is 22. I’m hoping I can have a run this year that is just as good as that one from last year. You can check out other animals I usually see on my runs here.