A little chilly, but...

Another day in the park. This time I was better prepared; wearing less clothing and I was much more comfortable. Shorts and 2 layers of shirts for the basics. I added a hat and gloves but those came off after the midpoint of my 10K walk.

I started off at a good pace despite the pain of sore muscles, knowing that the pain wouldn’t last. And after a mile or so I was feeling pretty good. Thank goodness for muscle memory! My racewalking stride returned and made the walk much easier.

The shoes were still comfortable and the path had been cleaned up from the day before. Yesterday, I had to watch where I was going as there were all sorts of broken limbs and small fragments of limbs scattered on the path. Those fragments roll quite easily if you step on them and one such “roller” had me floundering for a moment.

Overall, 10K in 80 minutes, a 12:88 minute/mile pace. Now let’s see where the weight is… 204? Darn. It must have been the maple scone and latte I enjoyed just before heading home.

Training

OK. I’m back… after a month long hiatus, I’ve run out of excuses and decided to get my feet back on the trail and get in some practice for next months ½ marathon in Phoenix.

First it was rain and then wind; back to rain and some fog. Poinsettias were part of my excuses as well. And all during this time I was snacking and enjoying the occasional comfort food meal. Hey! It’s winter time and a guy has to do what a guy has to do…and that’s eat.

I took of from my usual starting point at 1-Mile in Bidwell Park; hoping to do about 8 miles. The first mile went by pretty fast and then I started feeling the effects of those 4 weeks without training. Sigh! After about 4 miles I was ready to pack it in but decided to persevere. I ended up doing the 6.38 miles in 85 minutes. That works out to be 13.32 minute/miles. Not much to be proud of but since I was afraid I was getting into 14 minute territory, I was glad to see those results.

This was also a time for me to try out my new NB 767’s. They are a little lighter than I am used to; a good thing. They performed well enough for their first trip out, though I was starting to feel some aching in the sole of my left foot after the 5 mile mark. And since I was by myself and in some minor pain, I decided to use my favorite daydream to pass the time. That daydream involves my winning the lottery and all the variations on that theme can keep me happily involved for miles!

Here’s the best news of all…201.8 pounds! I think I will celebrate and have some Cheetos. I wonder what the caloric value of chittle is? (Chittle=the orange crud left on your fingers after eating Cheetos)

Recap

I just got around to checking out the times for the 5K Run For Food event and here’s what I found… 34.37 was my recorded time and I ended up 434th in a field of over 1,000. And while I was buying some new racing shoes the other day at Fleet Feet, we found out that the Jesus Center made a little over $33,000 that day. Not bad for an event that was hoping to raise 3 or 4 thousand dollars and was expecting no more than a few hundred participants.

Hmmm? I thought I had a 37 minute pace. I think I'm going to go with that. I like the idea of a 34 minute walk, but it doesn't fit with my version of reality.