What a difference...

Certainly, what a difference a day can make.  Yesterday's humdrum attitude was washed away with today's run-3.03 miles after work and practice in the neighborhoods around school. Of course, to run around suburbia is a nice diversion from the hustle and bustle of every day.  However, the added bonus of a light drizzle really helped me to get out of the doldrums.  

I always like to run with this type of weather.  Everything smells clean and new, plus I know I'll never overheat.  While some smaller runners might cringe at 55 and rainy, I personally enjoy these runs much more.  While in the past, runs on days like today were usually faster, I did have some struggles.  My week of near inactivity reared its ugly head.   Though my hips were no longer sore, my left calf and quad were pesky.  My right psoas was back to it's old tricks of a year ago, and of course my lower back was in agony for the second mile (loosened up and felt fine on the home strecth).  Both my psoas and back were very tight, and this came as no surprise as they're connected.
Some new music along the run today: Muse's Uprising (see video below).  I started the run with this, and my first mile was my fastest (9:47).  I struggled mightily for a while, and though my back loosened up on my way back to school, the driveway's steep grade always proves a killer at the end.  
Upon my return, as I stretched, I got a nice surprise. A few of my runners had taken my advice and sought out a teammate who was taking a yoga class to teach them some easy poses.  These boys run stiffly, and I hoped it would help them loosen up a bit.  Looks like I should've taken my own advice.  OH WELL!
It was nice to be out on familiar roads.  It was good to run in the tranquility of the light rain.  It was nice to rock out on the first mile...These are the runs that make me love running.