My first official day back. Today I ran. Two miles. Hard and slow. But it was good.

Back in December, illness took me out, which is normal, but not normal. I got sick the way winter does it. A cold. A cough. Then a fever. Full-blown flu symptoms. But when it hit Alissa? That’s when I decided enough was enough. Time to see a doctor. Flu test positive. Influenza A, for us both. This is the kind of sick where you stop making plans and do your best to manage the week. Running is the first thing to go.

I’ve been running for almost a decade. Ultras. Long training blocks. Mornings early enough to finish before sunrise, when the rest of Jackson is still asleep. Running is more than a casual routine for me. It’s borderline necessary. So when December pulled it away, it’s like a missing tooth. You can feel it with your tongue and know it’s not there. Still feels weird. You run your tongue over where it was. Over and over. Again and again. Every day.

Mid-February came, and the sickness finally cleared. I kept thinking I’d go back today. Then it was tomorrow. Negative nine degrees outside. We’ll try next week. When the weather breaks. When I feel more like myself. The excuses were like those of Englishmen: posh, polite, and extremely reasonable.

But they kept adding up to nothing.

Today I woke up, laced up, and ran. No more excuses.

Someone asked me why today. What finally flipped the switch? I thought about it for a second, and the only honest answer I had was this: I don’t know. It’s like Apple Jacks. I don’t know why I like them. I just do. Same with getting up and going this morning. I don’t know why today was the day. It just was.

Two miles. I was slow. Really slow. My lungs kept reminding me it had been a while. My legs were cooperative but skeptical. The first quarter mile felt like negotiating with a two-year-old. The second mile felt familiar, like coming home.

After nearly a decade of putting one foot in front of the other, I’ve learned you rarely know why the good days happen. You just know it when they do. The bad days always have reasons. Fatigue, injury, weather. Life piling up. The good days, the ones where you lace up and go and feel something click back into place, those days show up uninvited. Stay available for them.

I’ve been writing Five Minute Observations long enough to know most good things feel like my run today. One conversation can change everything. Some mornings feel different. Different is good. And the run you almost skipped turns out to be the one you needed most.

Today I was available. Two miles. Hard and slow. So good.

More tomorrow.