Danielle here:

After six days off  I was worried my next running experience would be torturous, but when I set out for an early-morning run in Santa Maria it was anything but. I don’t ever run first thing in the morning, usually I wait until I’ve been up for a few hours or I go after work. In the past I’ve found I actually have MORE energy running that way. However I hit the pavement around 7 a.m. Friday, blasted the Ipod, focused on trying out those new breathing ratios (I prefer a 4:4 I’ve discovered) and before I knew it I had churned out 3 miles like it was nothing! It was an amazing feeling to do the last stretch of my route knowing I could go farther if needed. In fact I probably should have done that and pushed to 3.5 miles but that is what tomorrow is for right? I think the best part though was that for the rest of the day I was energized and could just keep reminding myself that I had already accomplished something great. With great summer weather around the corner I figure if I keep feeling like this on my runs I’m bound to be “bitten!”