Dad's Dash 5K in Westwood, NJ

My return to racing was on a humid, gray, rainy morning. It could have been worse - the original forecast called for thunderstorms.

As recovery from my mysterious back injury continues, I run with varying degrees of pain (at worst) or ache (at best). Six months after that day when it all fell apart, I still struggle. 

On the plus side, I am able to run faster and longer with each passing week. Though I do not feel the blissful joy in running that I did pre-injury, I still have the motivation to get out there after each day's endless stretching and strengthening exercises.

It was inevitable that the time would come to race, but at the end of the eight-week Hal Higdon Intermediate 5K program, I was unsure of whether a race was a good idea. But if I did not race, then I would never keep up the drive to improve; and how would I gauge the results of my efforts?

With that in mind, I entered this 5K in beautiful Westwood, where at least half of the race takes place within a park. The setup was excellent - plenty of food and drinks, a DJ (playing Grateful Dead, among others!), and good vibes despite the fact that the race was in honor of a local fallen Marine.

The rain tapered off before the start of the race, but the humidity was stifling. Glad I ran shirtless. I placed myself near the front, knowing that six months ago I would have stepped right up to the line. At the go signal, I pushed it like I normally would, knowing that the effort would not net what I was used to on 2014.

The first mile of this flat course (a loop the parks) was surprisingly decent - 6:09. I did not think I was going that fast.

The opposite was true for the second mile as we took a path into another section of parkland before heading out to the street. It was a 6:19, but I thought I was going faster.

I could feel myself running out of gas in the third mile, fighting through the fatigue, lower back pain and humidity. I pushed with all my might, but continued to peter out as I hit the third mile mark with a 6:20.

Digging deep for the final tenth, I crossed the finish at 19:20, taking 11th of 342 overall and 209 men, and second out of 30 men in my 40-44 age group. Nothing to complain about, sure, but it was my slowest in six years and the first time I ran over 19:00 in just as long. That mental ache matched my physical pain as the morning went on and I could not get my back into a comfortable position.

A comeback? Not really. But how do you treat such a race, knowing that six months ago, you could have beaten that time by almost a minute; yet five months ago, you could barely walk? What ends up being the standard by which you judge?

Screw it. I should not judge it at all. It is not a comeback. It is a reboot. Like it or not, I am a different runner now. I should let this new era begin and stand on its own, judging future races only against those from this point on. It is Daniel 2.0.