Scenic Loop

I was finally able to run with the extended group today after 10 days away due to vacation and my ankle. I joined the mob at RunTex at 6AM and the Gazelles peeled off from the Roguies. Rudy was kind enough to fill in for G and Bernard since they were both out of town. The weather was warm, but didn't feel so humid. I headed off with Marcy, Anne, Shannon and a couple of newbies were right behind us. Before the MoPac bridge, Marcy and Anne took off and joined Alex and Rich. Shannon and I stayed with our pace which felt good. We stopped for water at Red Bud and then again at the Cleaners. There we were joined by a couple of new guys, Chad and Mike for the return trip. We skipped Mt. Bonnell, I didn't want to mess with my ankle, and headed down 35th street to Exposition. We scooped up Joseph along Exposition and stopped again for water at O'Henry. From there we kind of split up. Mike trailed off, and the others went ahead of me. I just ran how I felt and ended up catching Chad and Joseph. Shannon finished a few hundred yards a head of me. I ran the last mile in 7:44 so I had a bit of a fast finish. We pretty consistent after the first couple of miles...all in the 8:15 range.

It was a really good run for me. I haven't run on the road in over a week and my ankle responded pretty well. The pace was kind of fast, but not a big deal at this distance. I will have to dial it back as we increase our mileage in the coming weeks. I did 6 strides and then joined the group for strides.

Stats - 11.5 miles/1:35:00/8:15 pace