Back in the Saddle Again

I finally made it back to the trail this weekend after a two month absence. Saturday morning saw me up bright and early, stretching and feeling faintly pudgy in my running clothes. Okay, more than faintly. I flat out felt fat and jiggly. It's amazing how fast I can decondition. Frank missed his date with his running partner, Hang, and decided to walk with me, an unusual activity for him. I had chosen the 3 mile loop around Town Lake but instead we did the 4.5 mile loop. Boy, was I feeling it. I probably should've stuck with the shorter one on my first time out in so long. I think at best we walked at a 15 minute mile pace, which is turtle slow compared to his normal running pace. I was very happy to have the company, even if Frank didn't get a good workout. He did get a nice stroll around the lake, and time to enjoy the scenery.

Sunday I met my friend Darci bright and early so we could do the Race for the Cure. This race has to be the largest 5K I have ever been involved in. The crowd was huge. I guess it's a good sign when a charity has that much of a turnout. Hopefully they met their fundraising goal. I did my part, thanks to my friends and family that contributed. I appreciated your donations!

That little 5K on top of my Saturday walk was, I'm sure, too much to do in the first weekend of activity. And I think I need new shoes. My feet were sore after both outings, something that usually doesn't happen. I have a lot of work to do if I'm going to complete the Freescale Half Marathon in two months but Darci and I had a great time talking and walking. Aside from the humidity, we didn't break a sweat. The crowd for the untimed race (they divide it into timed and untimed) was so large that you simply couldn't walk fast. There were too many people in front of us. I was very impressed with the sheer number of participants.

Now that I've taken baby steps to get back into my training program I need to refine my focus. Or maybe that's "find my focus". I need to dig into my reserves and pile on the motivation so that I gain momentum. I want to be back to running. I'm okay with walking for now, but as soon as my body allows, it's back to the fast track. Or at least the faster track.

How did you spend your weekend? Did anybody else hit the trail?