Mind your asphalt

This afternoon's return to outdoor running wasn't all that bad. The last time I was outdoors for 40-odd minutes of jogging was a few days after Christmas (12/27 to be exact, according to my log). There, it was quite cold, with here and there a patch of ice to avoid, but quite flat. There, I said it. I log my runs, among other exercises, on my fairly-smart Palm phone, using a free application called Athletix. So, tell me: do you keep a written, or digital, or online log of your training runs or races?

Here, in sunny, breezy 50-degree weather, we have some hills on the little home circuit. I stepped off with QMH, and we walked (as is her habit) the first 1/3 mile because it's uphill. We started our jogging pace as we turned downhill, and parted company a mile later at the first of several sustained climbs. That's when she decided to walk, and I decided to slog on. I managed to keep running with one 30-yard exception near the top of the last steep hill. QMH chided me a little for not rejoining her (we passed each other going opposite directions, but I was about finishing at my pace, at the moment). We've been running mostly together for around 30 years, but this spot can still be a tender one -- I have described in an earlier entry how she leads from the front or back. We'll be doing longer and longer runs together as we close in on Tom King day, but I expect to run at whatever pace QMH sets. More soon . . .