Taking One For the Team

This morning I met up with the Team in Training Crew at the Seminole Wekiva Trail for a nine mile group run. I think that the trail is realatively new, maybe a few years old, but this was my first opportunity to check it out.

It's a nice paved trail with mile markers ever half mile. The best part about the trail is there is a lot of shade. nearly the whole run was under a canopy of trees. Except where the apartments are. Oh, and where the land is cleared for yet another development (Really, where are all these people coming from? Are there towns in North Dakota that have been deserted?).

My iPod is still not calibrated correctly. I think we went a little more than nine miles, but I know it wasn't 9.9.



I had been trailing a guy for the first few miles. The same guy I trailed last week. I kept thinking that I was on track as long as I could see him. Then I realized I was catching up to him. "I'm sneaking up on you Jim!" I called out to him.

As I got up to him, we started to chat. We were discussing nutrition, and he said that he had taken in a lot of carbs last night, the beer kind. He said he was struggling a little bit.

I couldn't leave him. I slowed a bit and we ran and chatted and ran and chatted. It's the first time, maybe ever, that I ran and talked with someone for that long. I bet we ran six miles together.

The funny thing is, my pace was slower than last week, after a poor nutrition plan last Friday night I struggled through the run last Saturday. I was pretty unhappy with my run last week. This week, I helped Jim get through the run, and he told me how grateful he was.

With a mile or so to go he said he was so glad he had someone to talk to get through it. When we finished our run. He said, "You know, You Kick Ass!".

I thanked him for his kind words. Despite the slower pace, it was a great run!

Side Note:

I took Marathon Chris' advice and tried out Podrunner on my run this morning. The 175 BPM mix kept me pretty consistant through the first couple of miles. I think I have a keeper for the long runs. If you haven't tried it yet, you're missing out! Thanks for the suggestion Chris!

Dinner Last Night:

Cheese Ravioli with Vodka Sauce and Hot Sausage. I don't know what it is, but there is something in the pasta and sauasge combination that works really well for me. Anyone care to weigh in on that one?