Getting Back Into It

I haven't run in the 2 weeks since the Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon. I've had a ton of reasons: The Holidays. I was sick. It's been raining a lot. I was recovering from the race. I haven't had anyone to run with. I lost my iPod shuffle and I don't like to run without music. Of course every one of them is a crappy excuse. The truth is I've just been lazy. Shame on me! So I decided to get back to it by doing a 10-miler. That should also put me right on track for the PF Chang's Half Marathon in 3 weeks. Bill has been fighting a bum knee, so I figured he was out. Barry doesn't like cold (and the overnight low of 38 definitely counts as COLD!), so I figured he was out. Bill surprised me by counting himself in for a 10-miler. We met at Granada Park at sunrise. It was a balmy 32, 38 or 40 degrees, depending on which source you consulted. Either way, it was friggin' cold! For the first 2 miles, my hands were painfully cold. After that, they warmed right up and the cold didn't bother me. As we neared the 4-mile point, Bill said his knee was hurting, so we decided to turn around at 4 miles. I was feeling the 2-week layoff, too. I wasn't quite back at square one, but I was definitely laboring more than usual. On the run back, Bill's knee loosened up and we decided to do our original goal of 10 miles. Bill even felt a little runner's high. At mile 9 or so, we passed an old man whose run could best be described as a shuffle. He dragged the soles of his shoes along the ground as he ran. It took us a little while to pass him, but I was bound and determined to do it because it seemed like we should both be able to leave a shuffler in the dust. :) We finished up at about 1:29, an acceptable 9:00 pace. It was far from my strongest run, but I was happy that I overcame my laziness. For not having run in 2 weeks, it was acceptable. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 1242 ft Location: Phoenix, AZ Elev. Gain: +4 ft Date: 12/28/08 Up/Downhill: [+118/-114] Time: 07:35 AM Difficulty: 2.8 / 5.0 Weather: A Few Clouds 40 F temp; 67% humidity 40 F heat index; winds Calm Performance Distance: 9.81 miles Time: 1:26:55 Speed: 6.8 mph Pace: 8' 52 /mi Calories: 1532 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 44 -0' 08 6.9 +0.1 +7 ft 2 8' 44 -0' 08 6.9 +0.1 -4 ft 3 8' 37 -0' 15 7.0 +0.2 +10 ft 4 9' 36 +0' 44 6.2 -0.5 -3 ft 5 11' 32 +2' 40 5.2 -1.6 +3 ft 6 8' 44 -0' 08 6.9 +0.1 -10 ft 7 9' 01 +0' 09 6.7 -0.1 +3 ft 8 8' 57 +0' 05 6.7 -0.1 -7 ft 9 9' 03 +0' 11 6.6 -0.1 +4 ft end 8' 56 +0' 04 6.7 -0.1 0 ft Versus average of 8' 52 min/mile

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