Maybe this will be the last chilly morning. Another mid-30's morning. I'm getting used to these in a way. But the nice thing is absolutely no risk of overheating! Met with Joe at Starkey park this morning. I was a few minutes late (supposed to be there at 6:15). We got going and it was still dark but not completely, sun came up before too long. Started out slowly with first two miles slower than 9:00. Gradually warmed up and picked up the pace a little here and there. Just under 8:00 pace at the turnaround point. This was my first 20 mile run in a while and the first long run with Joe since before Jacksonville marathon. The miles went by pretty quickly and before we knew it there was just 4 miles left. With 3.5 miles left we caught a glimpse of Keith and Dixie way up ahead - they had left before us and we had last seen them before the turnaround at 9.5 miles for us. Joe said that maybe I could catch them. So, I picked up the pace and intended to keep it between 7:10 and 7:20, but I wasn't looking at my pace but instead was looking at Dixie's orange hat. With 1.5 miles left I finally caught up to them. Decided to keep on the pace, finished the last 3 miles at a 6:52 average pace. Average pace for run: 8:03 Fortunately, I did not miss the social hour, enjoyed some coffee and snacks with the other Suncoast Striders. Arrived back home and found that my wife had valiantly guarded four pieces of French toast made with her homemade bread that the kids had not devoured. Along with some fresh berries on the side it was an awesome breakfast!
| 