Today's Run - Cloudy and Rocky

Report:
Wow. I crushed my PR for this route today. By like two and a half minutes. Pretty damn awesome over a 5 mile stretch of gravel road. All in all, I wasn't sure what to expect going out today. I didn't really want to go but I eventually convinced myself that I needed to get some miles in and it would be better than eating lunch. What? A fat guy can't starve himself every now and then? I promise I'll make up for it later by eating crappy food.

Okay, okay, I skipped most of the crappy food and just snagged some ham, cheese, hard boiled egg, and some of these Belvita cracker/cookie things. Anyway, the run went well despite some hardships. The gravel road has apparently been graded or raked or something because I hit more stingers (pointy rocks) today than I have in the past year of running period. Ouch. But I made it through. And on top of that, I was passed by several cars and not all slowed to avoid making more of a dust cloud than needed. Which means I only had a few times of obscured vision and rough breathing.

Outside of that, it was just another run full of deep thoughts and heavy breathing.

Weather:
Temps were about 55F to 60F. The sun was out for nearly all of the run but there were some clouds in the sky. Wind was light, maybe 5 to 10 mph. Humidity was just about zero, which was interesting in the first mile as my shorts were stuck to my legs from static.

Fluids and Fuel:
Breakfast was oatmeal, yogurt, coffee, toast, and eggs. I took a PowerBar gel before the run. During the run I had a bottle of Hammer Fizz and a bottle of plain water. I finished almost all of both bottles. Recovery was chocolate ZICO followed by ham, cheese, a hard boiled egg, and Belvita crackers (or cookies). And another chocolate ZICO since my Keurig appears to have died and refuses to make me coffee.

Aches and Pains:
My right hamstring was tight later in the run but was otherwise fine. Rocks were the worst of the run but nothing too terrible.

Gear:
Started my run with a short-sleeved shirt and gloves but eventually stripped them off around mile 3. Also wore my iPod shuffle.

Codename - Cloudy and Rocky
Sometimes the path you travel is painful and sometimes difficult to see where you are going. But eventually it will smooth out and the way will become clear.

Splits:
Outbound - 27:37 (includes a pee break)
Inbound - 26:47
Finish - 54:24 (new PR by about 2:30)