The last self-indulgent running post for a while

In case you haven't inferred as much already, my lack of post-marathon posts has been caused by my re-discovery of pre-marathon life. Concerts, Stag n' Does, baseball and throwing myself into an online conference at work have taken the place of my former training regimen.

For the first week, at least, getting reacquainted with my old friend Excess was an exciting novelty. I could barely locomote for the first few days after the race, so plunking down in front of the TV with a pile of Red Barons and the vape seemed like the natural thing to do. The thought of running anytime soon was laughable when I could barely get out of a chair unassisted.

Then my first non-training weekend: a whirlwind of partying in Elmira, watching my beloved Barcelona demolish Real Madrid to clinch the Liga title, gorging on lamb chops and finally replacing my fat clothes with more size-appropriate garments.

But with my lower-body pain subsiding and gorgeous spring weather outside, I was desperate for a light jog on Sunday. And I probably would have if it were not for my equally desperate need for new running shoes. But the price tag on a new pair of Saucony Hurricane XI's is prohibitive - close to $200 after tax.

I went for a walk - to the office, sadly - instead. It was what I imagine a shot of methadone feels like to a heroin-addled junkie.

By Tuesday, I was getting seriously restless. Cooped up for two days in the stuffy e-Conference 'nerve centre' (a meeting room at CIGI where we're running the event from), all it took was a light baseball practice to push me over the edge into full-blown endorphin withdrawl.

In an excercise reminiscent of the Bad Old Days when I'd cave and hit up a convenience store for a pack of smokes on my walk home from work, I marched into the Running Room and was home with a new pair of Hurricane's within 15 minutes. As quickly as I could lace them up, throw on my gear and get out the door, I was back pounding the pavement for gloriously liberating 10k.

Having no schedule or set distance, I could go anywhere I wanted at whatever pace I felt like. For the vehicularly challenged such as myself, new running shoes are the only thing I'll be taking for a joyride anytime soon, so I generally ran my guts out to see how the shoes and my body would react. Some very minor pain in my right leg was easily overshadowed by the temporary satisfaction of my new (and much healthier) insatiable addiction.