Slowly but surely

I'm happy to report that after 5 weeks of Physical Therapy, I finally was able to run 4 miles yesterday PAIN FREE!  As you running mom's know, being sidelined by an injury (or anything else) can make us VERY grumpy so my family is also thrilled I am slowly making my way back.  In an ambitious move, I've registered for the upcoming Irongirl race here in AZ.  It's in my hometown this year, which it has never been before, so I felt it was a sign and I needed to do it.  There is a 5K and a 10 miler so I went for the 10 miler.  The Irongirl holds a special place in my heart since it was my very first race of any distance.  I ran the 5K in December, 2004 and got hooked on racing immediately.  I'm sure you other mom's have the same experience in one way or another.  Something or someone got us hooked on running.  No matter what or who it was, we can thank goodness we ever started because we can't imagine our lives without it.  Someone was interviewing a celebrity on TV recently who was a runner.  When the interviewer asked this person why they ran, they responded "I run for sanity, not for vanity."  I couldn't agree more.  While I was disappointed I put on 5 lbs. during my hiatus, I can honestly say I missed the therapeutic aspect of running more than what it does for my physique.  All in all, it's been a slow recovery and I'm still making my way back but my sanity was at stake more than my vanity.  How do you recover from a running hiatus (whether from injury or something else)?  How do you maintain your sanity?  I went to spin, worked out on the elliptical machines, practiced yoga and Pilates, but those didn't come close to what running gives me.  Simply put, I missed running and am glad I'm back.