Oh. My. Gawd. I actually ran. Woohoo! It was like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Well, sort of. I felt insanely slow and sluggish as I plodded my way through the woods. Starting to wonder if I should carry an axe just to have an excuse to go so slow.
Anyway, it was raining and I was okay with that. In fact I welcomed it. At first I wanted the challenge but after I thought about it more, I decided I wanted to have fun and play in the rain and mud. So that's what I did. I prepped for a run where I'd get wet, muddy, and probably fall down. I did everything but fall down, which still surprises me, but I guess I just played it safe. The trails were muddy and had plenty of puddles and I slipped a few times but I knew in advance that the boardwalks would me super-slick and that the one section on Laurel Point Trail would put me on my ass if I wasn't careful. So I was careful.
I did manage to scare the shit out of two Canadian Geese and either a pheasant or grouse or something like that. All I know is suddenly 10 feet in front of me a small brown leaf that wasn't really a leaf took flight. There were other birds and squirrels and what-not out in the woods but nothing worth mentioning.
As I neared the end of the run, I spotted two roses tucked into a nook of a tree. I was surprised. I saw a ton of trash along the sides of the trail and even found a geocache near the start. But I've never, ever seen flowers along a run. It felt like a memorial so I left it be.
Photos:
The beach has slowly been eroding away. I think it's mostly because of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Sandy.
The trail was a wee bit wet.
The odd memorial I found. Two roses.
Pulling a Shawshank.
The aftermath wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
Weather:
Temps were about 55F to 60F. Wind was light but stronger on the hilltops and river front. It rained nearly the entire time but there were a few breaks here and there.
Fluids and Fuel:
In an attempt to eat less like Biddi tells me to, I had a breakfast of a burrito, yogurt, and part of an iced coffee. During the run I had only one gel for fuel. I wanted more but figured one would be more than enough. For fluids I had my hydration pack with plain water and drank about half of it. Recovery was a shower and a nap followed by a lunch with more coffee, madras lentils with leftover corn and taco meat.
Aches and Pains:
None really. Felt a little winded after the last hill (a staircase really) but I don't call it Highway to Hell just for nothing.
Gear:
Wore my Lone Peaks, T-Star shorts, and a t-shirt. Wore gloves and arm sleeves but the arm sleeves were rolled down after a few miles. I also wore my North Face hat which again proved itself as a winter hat. That thing is damn hot. I wore my hydration pack just in case I fell and took along my GoPro for photos.
Splits:
I'm ignoring my splits since I started my RunKeeper app early and stopped it late.
Finish - 1:19:20
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