Go, you chicken fat, go away!

Well, it was my birthday yesterday, and I ate everything that was put in front of me.  I think I'm still feeling the effects from Saturday's run, too.  I just ran a nice easy two laps today.  Except there was some construction going on at the Floodway, so I stayed on the Canal road until I got to University.  Then I went up the Floodway and cut through the green belt.

I went to do my 3.7 mile loop, but I noticed there was still construction going on at the Floodway.  I was going to turn north on the Floodway to avoid the workers, but I noticed they had just put a fresh coat of tar on the pavement.  That stuff dries pretty quick, but I didn't want to disturb it quite yet.  So I just ran over to the Canal like yesterday.  As I got close to Brown Road I could see an older couple running towards me.  The woman crossed the street first and said hello to me.  I ran to the other side of the Canal and headed back.  Then I noticed that the woman was running right next to me, but on the other side of the Canal.  We stayed at the same pace for a quarter mile until she either sped up or I slowed down.  I think she sped up.  She got to Adobe about 50 feet ahead of me.  The man caught up and got there about 5 feet ahead of me.  They both stopped briefly to catch their breath.  I continued south, but crossed over to the same side of the Canal as them because the west side is blocked off by a gate.  This allowed me to get in front of them again.  I ran for another quarter mile wondering if they were behind me because I couldn't hear them.  Then I passed a man pushing a baby in a stroller and walking two dogs.  I said good morning to him.  Then I heard the woman say good morning to him, so I knew she wasn't far behind me.  It wasn't long before she caught up and we had a little converstation that went like this,

Her: "You are a steady runner."

Me: "Thanks.  You guys are, too.  Are you training for anything?"

Her: "Yes, we're doing a 5k Saturday and a half marathon Sunday.  What about you?"

Me: "Ummmm...Ragnar."

Her: "Then you need to be steady."

Me: "Yeah."  By that time she was too far ahead to continue the conversation.  She again beat me to University by 50 feet or so and the man never caught up to me.  As I passed by her she told me good luck and to have a great day.  I continued running down to Main St.  This is where the Canal runs in to the intersection of Main and Higley Rd.  I usually cross the Floodway and head back up on the other side.  Then I saw that they had already coated the pavement down to here.  I'm not exactly sure what they're doing by my house, but it could be more than just re-surfacing.  Anyway, I headed back out toward Higley and ran along the road all the way home.  I'm feeling better every day.