Never Again, Will I Take More Than a Week off of Running

Okay, the blisters from my 5-mile run in boots are almost gone! But after 11-days off my pace today wasn't much faster than running in boots! Ran with Kara today, we hit a few trails so it wasn't all road running, which was a good change of pace. Speaking of pace, it felt good for the first few miles and would've been more than manageable. However, the first big hill we hit at a touch over 3-miles (see elevation chart below) I hollered "last one up's a loser" and charged to the top! Big mistake, by the time she made it to the top of hill, I was light headed and running like a wounded gazelle. It really did feel like it was 90° with a dew point over 80°. At least a mile after cresting the hill, I regained some composure and wasn't running blind anymore. Then it was all down hill, till we hit another trail, man I was smoked, but never stopped. Finally, we got off the trail and headed towards another good sized hill. As we rounded the corner to this hill, (at about mile 7) I hollered "head all the way to the top" in an attempt to hide my struggle! I thought when we hit the hill, I would charge right past her and be king of the mountain; however, it was all I could do just to make it to the top! If ever, I felt like walking on a run it here, on this hill, today! Thankfully, I persevered and made it home! Nevertheless, this is a hill that I have run repeats on in the past and have never felt like I did today! Kara called me a "Sally" today. Well, I guess sometime, we will have to go for The Running of the Bulls, we'll see who the "Sally" is? Most likely though, after I get my mojo back. Which  I will, leave no doubt! It may be a few runs from now, but when I do get back in the rhythm, it's some not so "Sally" hill repeats...we'll be doing! Gotta love the ups an' downs of running, Chris Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 883 ft Location: Stoughton, WI Elev. Gain: -3 ft Date: 03/17/10 Up/Downhill: [+354/-357] Time: 12:26 PM Difficulty: 3.7 / 5.0 Weather: Clear 60 F temp; 22% humidity 60 F heat index; winds N 3 Performance Distance: 7.96 miles Time: 1:11:05 Speed: 6.7 mph Pace: 8' 56 /mi Calories: 1132 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 08 -0' 48 7.4 +0.7 +4 ft 2 8' 29 -0' 27 7.1 +0.3 +49 ft 3 8' 45 -0' 11 6.8 +0.1 -37 ft 4 9' 34 +0' 38 6.3 -0.4 +52 ft 5 8' 39 -0' 17 6.9 +0.2 -63 ft 6 9' 04 +0' 08 6.6 -0.1 -26 ft 7 9' 27 +0' 31 6.3 -0.4 +56 ft end 9' 18 +0' 22 6.5 -0.3 -40 ft Versus average of 8' 56 min/mile

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