Lessons from (nearly) a month off running:

1. Sleeping in past 5 a.m.--because frankly you don't really care how early it's getting hot--is sort of nice.
2. Unfortunately, the cat that you have inadvertently trained to howl for breakfast before dawn does not understand the word "hiatus." (Or, apparently, "Shut UP," or "Don't scratch me," or "I'm going to kill you once I catch you.")
3. Riding a bike significantly expands your range and you learn entirely new neighborhoods. You also learn that at least in Northern Virginia they look exactly like the old neighborhoods and you get lost. A lot.
4. Swimming works those two bendy appendages that attach your hands to your body that you completely ignored during all those years of running. And they hurt.
5. You can live like a Queen when you are no longer shelling out moolah for running shoes, GU and race entries every few weeks.
6. You cannot use those newfound riches on eating like a Queen, because you aren't really burning calories anymore either.
7. Your toenails start to grow back.
8. You miss your running friends.
9. You fall way behind on the podcasts you used to listen to every morning during your run and then you stink at the quizzes on "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me."
10. The bike really tightens the tush, and frankly at close to 44 years of fighting gravity you need all the help you can get.