Happy New Year

It's Tuesday and the first day of work in the new year. Fortunately for me I only took off the time I was given as holidays. That means that I was one of the reliable ones that was in the office last week after Christmas, unlike most of the other slugs in my office. It is so funny watching some of these guys coming in after being off for two weeks . . . . they walk in the door and they're already dragging. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed your holidays, whether you took off or stayed in your routine.

Saturday was a pretty nice day. The temperature was very moderate . . . mid to high 60s. A little warm for a long run but since I ran on the Lakeshore Greenway, it was a little shady and in the woods. Plus there was a little breeze that kept things a little cool. I did 15 miles and enjoyed it! The portion of the trail that I run is between a parking lot and a water fountain. The section is 2 1/2 miles long and works out nicely for 5 mile round trips.
Here's my 2 1/2 mile times . . .
0-2.5=22:09 (8:51 pace)
2.5-5=22:10 (8:51 pace)
5-7.5=22:09 (8:51 pace)
7.5-10=22:07 (8:50 pace)
10-12.5=24:00*
12.5-15=23:50*

* I didn't crash the last 5 miles-Susan joined me and we ran at her pace. I was feeling really strong and felt that I could have kept up the sub 9 minute pace. I am finally starting to feel a little stronger in my runs. Oh yeah, I wish I could catch the SOB that stole my water bottles that I had under my car. The area I park in an area where a bunch of runners and bikers park along the trail so whoever stole my water bottles had to be a runner or biker. I've been parking in this area for months and doing the same thing-leaving my water bottle under the bumper . . . . just like everyone else does. Whoever it was, I hope that they choked on it!

Monday (New Year's Day). After watching my Auburn Tigers win (but stinking it up) over the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Susan and I went for a run. It was cool and cloudy . . . a slight feel of winter but very nice once we got warmed up. It was a recovery run for me so I didn't wear a watch. Susan ran the first 3 miles with me and then she bailed out to walk my dog (Kelsey). I ran another faster mile and was starting my 5th mile when I caught Susan and Kelsey. Surprisingly, they started running with me and Susan actually ran a faster pace with the dog than with me . . . go figure. All said and done, I got in 5 nice miles.

On another note, we finally got Susan set up with a blog. She's still working with it and is a little bashful about sharing her life with folks like us, so be sure to stop by and welcome her. I will be adding her to my links on the right hand side but for right now here it is http://runningtales-susan.blogspot.com .