And that means I can finally share with you the reason for the delay:
And the artist:
"What? I didn't do anything. I swear!"
So, approximately fifteen days ago, I was getting ready to leave for what I planned on making a six mile run. It was a sunny, moderately hot morning, and I was pumped to test out my new running skirt:
It's actually a tennis skirt, but whatever. The only issue is that is doesn't have any pockets -- but no worries, I have my trusty SPIbelt just for this reason.
About a mile into my run, I realized I'd forgotten my water. I don't drink a ton of water on runs, but I do like some -- if nothing else than to avoid cottonmouth. I have a small (8-ounce) amphipod that straps onto my hand. I dig it because it's small -- while it doesn't hold a ton of water, it also doesn't weigh much. Apparently, it weighs so little that I don't even notice it's there! (Or, more importantly, when it's not.)
I wasn't too concerned -- even though it was definitely hot out, my 6-mile route runs down the Schuylhill River trail, up past the Waterworks and onto Kelly Drive. There's a water fountain exactly two miles from my house, which is well-positioned -- I figured I'd run my two miles, drink, another mile out and back, stop for another drink, and then get my planned post-run coconut water at the end. No problem, right?
Except. There was something going on near the Art Museum that morning. There's a spot where the trail forks - you can keep going on the trail itself, which goes under the road and then back up to the Waterworks, or you can hang a right and pick up West River Drive. This morning, for some reason, they were forcing all runners/walkers/bikers/whatever onto West River Drive. Which meant missing my perfectly-positioned water stop.
No worries, I thought. I'd run West River Drive once before -- about a year ago, I did the 8.4 mile loop that goes from Kelly Drive to West River Drive. I hadn't brought water that time either, and remembered stopping at a fountain on West River Drive. I figured I'd just make sure I ran to the fountain.
So I'm running. I'm running. I'm making decent time and feeling good, if a little thirsty. I'm watching as my Garmin rolls over to three miles. Hmm. Now what?
I had no real interest in extending my run -- the last thing I need to do is reinjure myself, you know? So I figured -- OK. I'll just walk to the water fountain! And then turn around and run back.
So I pull off into the grass to slow down. Quick stretch of the hip flexors, and I started walking. And walking. And walking. At 3.25 miles, I was still thirsty, my heartrate way down, and there was no water fountain in sight. "It's gotta be here close," I reasoned. And took off running again.
That freaking water fountain was 3.8 miles out. OMGOMGOMGOMGWATER! It looked so amazing that I was worried it was a mirage. But no, no...definitely not. I gulped down my fill, stretched a bit, and headed home.
And wow. Was that a brutal run home. Extending a run by 1.6 miles probably doesn't seem like much to a lot of you, but I was basically just waiting for death to take me. Even with my quarter-mile walk, I managed to cover the first six miles in just under an hour, which made me happy -- and also made me want to die. In fact, I spent a good five miles solid just wondering when sweet death would take me.
My remaining 1.6ish mile run/walk/jog/shuffle hybrid home could not have ended soon enough. When I finally hit the sweet, sweet air conditioning of my corner grocery store, I could have melted right there. The coconut water was the most glorious thing I've ever tasted. When I finally made it the couple blocks home, I more or less had to crawl up my stairs.
My post-run "OMG I AM HOME" face:
Serious case of the sausage fingers from being dehydrated:
...and I had to wait two weeks to document this because these pictures were trapped on my camera. Thanks to Little Miss Sophie. Let me tell you, this really seemed like a much better story at the time :)
How was everyone's weekend?
No comments:
Post a Comment