On the road again

This morning, I ran for the first time in 16 days, a week sooner than the doctor told me I should run, but just in time for my psyche and my waistline.
I knew it was going to be a good morning when I slipped on my Asics 2130s. My feet were like, "Where have you been, good friend." It was like wrapping your body in a blanket you've just taken out of the dryer. Ahhh.
I did four miles. From the first step, I felt great. My legs were just alive. Springy. Bouncy. Pick your adjective.
Once my lungs caught up, it felt like I was floating on the Trinity Trails.
I had to work to not run too fast. At one point, I looked at my Garmin for my mile pace and it said "7:50" Ohhhh, my. (Sorry, Dick Enberg).
I ended up doing four miles in an 8:25 pace.
From time to time, I felt a slight twinge in my right Achilles. And I mean slight. (Like when I feel my phone vibrating in my pocket sometimes, but it's really not vibrating.) Lets call it a phantom twinge.
At the end of the run, I had some soreness in my knees. But not to worry. My knees get this way for two reasons. 1) Because of the cold. (It was in the high 30s this morning where I run in Fort Worth) and 2) It's time for some new shoes.
Yeah, that's it. It's time for some new shoes.
Hooray.
Anyway, earlier in the year, I set a goal of running 1,600 miles this year. Well, after a 16-day hiatus, I may have to adjust that figure. Here is where I am so far.



My Final four picks: North Carolina, Kansas, Stanford, and UCLA are still in the tournament. But a lot of my other picks lost. In fact, I am next to last in our office pool tournament. Guess this wasn't my year after all.