Running just to feel better

Runners - do you have a run you do after you've been sick, or hit a bump training, or otherwise just been not quite right?  I do.  I've been not feeling myself the past couple days.  I seriously considered calling in sick to work one day, went to work, regretted it and left early sick, and then stayed home sick the next day.  Towards the end of day 2, I was feeling more like a human being and knew enough to get out for an easy run.  To non-runners, this sounds insane.  Whatever, it helped me get back to myself.

My 'feel better' or 'confidence booster' or whatever route, is a little out and back around Lake Nokomis, starting and ending at the crazy intersection of Cedar Ave at the north side of the lake.  I run all the way around the lake, to where Cedar intersects on the south side of the lake, then turn around and head back the long way.  It's about 4.4 miles when I run all of it.  Today I stopped at 4 miles precisely and took a few pictures while I walked back to my car.

The goal for the run was just to run at a pace I liked where I felt strong.  I felt good for the first mile or 2, then felt like I was going to drop.  Laying on the couch for two days really takes it out of ya.  Then I realized it was 77* and 70% humidity and I'm not used to such things so I just settled in.  I tend to run on the dirt/grass track next to the paved trail which can slow me down more than I realize.  There's some sections along this path where the grass track disappears or becomes a super narrow single track which is a challenge to keeping an even stride and rhythm.  Whatever.  I prefer that to pounding my knees and ankles on concrete when I can avoid it. The back half of the run was also entertaining because there was this runner lady who was like ten feet behind me, and staying back there for much longer than I liked. There was a point where I sort of put the hammer down just to be on my own again.  When I hear footsteps I just want to know they're my own.