OBJECTIVE 10 mi. w/8 mi.@ 8:24-54/mi. & last 2 mi.@ 7:55/mi ACHIEVED 10.35 mi.@ 8:34/mi. w/8:43/mi. & last 2 mi.@ approx. 8:26/mi. 5:20 AM 73° 94% 2 mph I got the miles in this morning but it didn't go exactly as planned. I started from Spring Cypress headed toward the Y. The Spring Running Club and ChampionsFit were starting from the Y at 6:00. My plan was to meet them there like a have the last couple Saturdays. My legs were sore at the outset but loosened very gradually as I worked my way to the bayou and down the trail in the dark. My pace was a little slower than I wanted over the first 3 miles but I was anticipating meeting Sean and Bob who would push it faster than I wanted on the way back. Miles 4 and 5 I was at the high end of the range I wanted to be in. When I got to the Y, no one was lined up to run. Rather than be about a half mile short of 10 miles when I got back to the car, I decided to make a loop of the soccer fields while waiting for the large running group to appear. While I was early in my loop, the group materialized at the "start line" and disappeared. I finished my loop and started reeling in runners. The group came back to me pretty quickly. I pushed my pace as I passed the other CF runners some called out "hello's" and encouraged me to catch the "fast guys". It took me a while to catch Bob, Seth, Stan, and an unidentified woman who's training for the Portland marathon. When I saw that Sean wasn't with them, I knew the pace wouldn't be as "hot". We chatted as we worked our way back up the trail. With 2 miles to go ... it was time for my pickup. But I didn't. For some stupid reason, I felt obligated to stay with the group. I'm a bit mad at myself now for not taking off. Once we got to Eldridge, I had planned to break off since the group was going to go through the neighborhood to get an even 5 miles before doubling back. Bob persuaded me to stay with the group through the neighborhoods and end up coming out the backside close to my car. Okay ... I agreed. Figuring it wasn't that big of a deal. Well, Stan and Bob then proceeded to disagree about the right course through the neighborhood. This slowed as down and really frustrated me. This went on for much longer than it should have. Now I really wished I had just picked up over the last 2 miles on the path and turned up Eldridge to my car. Needless to say my last two miles were slower than planned. Once back at the car, I took time to stretch really good. I did figure 4 on the ground and the yoga position Sean showed me a couple weeks ago. While in the parking lot, I noticed a HUGE bird sitting on a power line. I walked over for a closer look. It didn't fly. I wished I had me camera for a picture. I want back to the car for my phone which, like most phones, has a poor-excuse-for-camera built into it. I took 4 or 5 pictures then took my phone back to the car and started stretching some more. Still watching the bird, I noticed a blue jay kept swooping at it like mosquito. The big bird didn't flinch. Suddenly out of no where another HUGE bird came flying in and landed on the wire next to the other one. This one was bigger than the first! The first bird flapped its wings and made some noise until the second moved down the wire about 50 yards. When that bird flew it's wingspan seemed like it was 6 feet! I was amazed at the size of the birds. When it flew, I saw color around its head and beak. All the time, I'm wondering what kind of bird is this. I was thinking it must be some kind of vulture. After seeing the head and color, I was thinking maybe it's a California condor. I looked up wikipedia and the California condor is critically endangered and its range doesn't extend to Texas (although it used to). So I'm back to wondering what kind of bird I saw. I think the smaller one was a female and the larger, more colored a male. ... a couple of vultures knowing where a tired runner was going to finish a long run for the day .... PRE RUN Accelerade POST RUN Accelerade Later, chocolate milk, multivitamin & Kashi GoLean cereal w/skim milk | 