I'm not dead yet....

Today's miles: 0. Ran 4 miles last night. May/may not run a few tonight. I'm taking a 'recovery' week whether I need it or not.

A few days before the Carter Mill Splash 10K, my major goals were 1) do not die and 2) hydrate & 3) do not almost die.

I have no idea how hot it was Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. when the gun went off....but it was hot. (It was 88 just after the race…so probably not much cooler than that.) More than the heat…it was HUMID!

Who holds a race in July anyway??

Better yet, Who RUNS a RACE in JULY???

Oh wait.... that was me.

That's me in the skirt. I love running skirts. They look weird but who cares.

I tried to come up with some reasonable goals for this race....
1) keep an 11 min/mile pace....finish in 1hr6 min  (missed it!)
2) do NOT go to that quitting place (did NOT go there!)
3) give it everything you've got (almost, but not quite)
4) chase down that guy that breathed funny and belched and spit and pass his ass (took him on a downhill!)…and a couple of other people I picked off in the last 5K.

GOAL#1

So, my official finish time was.....1:08:56
That put me at about an 11:03 min/mile pace. So, I missed my time goal. DANG IT!

However, it was 8 minutes faster than my last 10K….even though that was in February 2010.

Even though I’m bummed about my time….I am stoked about it…

I CAME IN SECOND PLACE*

Yes, you read that right…..I CAME IN SECOND PLACE*! 2^ND* FLIPPING PLACE! WOOHOO!!!

*That would be second in my gender/age group of Females 34-39**.

**In full disclosure, there were only 2 other women in my age group, and the first beat me across the finish line by 11 minutes.The lady in third was less than a minute behind me.

GOAL#2

The quitting place is where you start thinking…What the heck am I doing out here? Am I nuts? I don’t want to do this? My feet hurt! My legs hurt! I’m thirsty! I need to walk! Etc., etc.  Despite the incredible heat & humidity, I managed to stay away from those thoughts and push forward. I did walk through the water stations simply because I actually needed to DRINK the water and not WEAR it. And the last two stations I opted for Gatorade because I’m certain I had sweated a few buckets out by that point. And I did not want to wear Tropical Fruit Gatorade on my white tank.

GOAL#3

I missed my goal by so close. DANG IT! Did I give it everything? Was I too conservative on the first half. I know I kicked it in on the second half (mentally at least)....but it was much easier because the first half was mostly up hill and the second half was mostly down hill. Plus it was a down and back, so I knew where I was on the back trip. Making it mentally easier because I visually knew what was coming next. I don’t think I really got this goal met. I don’t think I gave it everything. Of course that’s much easier to say 3 days after the event while sitting in the AC.

GOAL #4

The Belcher-Hacker-HeavyBreathingSpitter was incredibly annoying. His issues kept distracting me from my pace. Impressive belcher, but Really? I couldn’t stay in front of him during the first half, but I didn’t want to lag too far behind him. So for 3.1 miles….I endured, gagged, sang to myself in my head, anything to keep my mind and ears from focusing on him. I’m just glad he wasn’t also a Running Farter since I was behind him! I saw my opportunity on the last half because he was fading. And I had to get around him! I also decided to pick off a few more runners that were in front of me while I was at it.....which takes me back to #3. How did I have that much gas in the tank if I were giving it my all from the beginning.

The green shirt lady got PASSED. You can guess who the fella is.

Well, even though I only got 1/2 of my goals met, I feel pretty good...mentally….sort of. I’m really wondering about my racing. My quads were shot for a couple of days, but I’m back out on the road after a couple days of rest. And it's FABULOUS running in 70F weather with low humidity again!! Too bad I can't bring it home with me.

Gotta run….

Too hot to think.....

Today's miles: 2.5

Maybe I should start posting the temperatures and humidity levels too. 2.5 miles doesn't sound so bad....unless you are running it in a sauna. The only place where it should be 90 degrees at 6 a.m. is on the shore....with an ocean breeze....and a cold drink....now THAT would be okay with me.

So my blog's been pretty quiet this week. I've not been overly busy. I've had my normal days...some even shorter than others. I've just lacked in all inspiration this week. Nothing has seemed funny, weird, ironic, disastrous or much of anything except too damn hot to me all week. I come back to the hotel every night and just crash in an internet surfing daze.

But I need to get my thinking cap on because I've got to come up with some goals for tomorrow's race! I read once that you should set 3 goals for each race. Sometimes you can meet them all, but not always. It just may be my 'off' day tomorrow. That's why you need 3 - you don't want to put all your eggs in one basket....because they may all be poached by the end of the race.

Here's my first attempt at goal setting:
First goal......do not die.
Second goal......start hydrating today!
Third goal.....do not almost die

But other than that, I'm having a hard time setting my goals. I need/want to be conservative because of this incredible heat. But I don't want to cross the finish line with regrets, thinking I could've done more (like at the 5K in May).

Maybe a 6 hr drive home in the air conditioned car will allow me to think some today.

Gotta run....

Add Penn State to my resume.....

Today's Miles: 3x1600m with 800m recoveries

I realized a long time ago that I like to learn. There is just so much information out there that intrigues me and I want to absorb it. Unfortunately, my absorption capacity is limited by 1) the length of time my butt can sit in one place and 2) the physical amount of space I have available in my brain.

#1 is obvious…If I’ve been sitting so long that my butt aches, I will NOT be paying attention to your presentation. I don’t care how interesting you are.

As for #2…I often imagine my brain is like a filing cabinet. Each file has a piece of information that I can retrieve at a later time if needed. But at some point, my filing cabinet gets stuffed full and in order to file another piece of information, I have to throw out (a.k.a. forget) a file to make room for more.

I’m certain this is true because there are things that at one time I....just.....knew and now, I cannot remember. It’s just gone. When I look it up, it seems like new information to me all over again. So that file got trashed somewhere along life’s way. And let’s face it….my filing cabinets are stuffed to the rim because I went to college and grad school for 7...long... years.

Unfortunately, it seems that the new files (new pieces of information) are just useless pieces of knowledge. These new files may be interesting, cute, funny, entertaining, or just one of those “Hmmm” things. But they aren’t going to help me when a customer asks me about the description, cause and treatment of Arcanobacterium pyogenes mastitis. And I JUST KNEW that 5 years ago! Sadly now, my tidbits of knowledge don’t come close to that level anymore.

With that being said….I can’t help but pick up new pieces of info! They’re so new and shiny!!

I’m in State College, PA for a few days, and this is what Penn State has taught me…

#1 - The Facility Planning people at PSU have a wicked sense of humor…

I had the pleasure of completing my track workout at the beautiful Nittany Lion track. The track is DIRECTLY across the street from the university’s hog farm. So what? I’ll tell you SO WHAT! Go to your nearest hog farm and take a REALLY deep breath. Then continue to breathe heavily for an hour! Pig smell stains your nostrils....and your tastebuds. I’m still smelling pig and worse things – and yes, I took a shower & brushed my teeth. Also, now I have this hilarious (at least to me) mental image of the hogs escaping to the track and running some races!! 

Now these ladies don't look like REAL RUNNERS...

 #2 - Barefoot old men can run really fast.....

Yes…BAREFOOT…OLD…and slightly overweight men can apparently outrun me. I’m so ashamed. I think I’ve lost my Real Runner status. 

#3 - Self Spray Tan at night plus a large volume of sweat in the morning is not a good combo....

I literally look like my skin is melting off of me. I have runs on my legs like I over-painted a wall! Luckily, I took a towel to wipe my face between sets. So my face isn’t runny looking. But my sweat towel (a.k.a. a white hand towel from the hotel) looks like I stopped by the farm and bathed a couple of pigs with it! 

#4 - Though it may sound funny to hear a story about an Army recruiter making ROTC cadets run until they puke……..it’s not so funny in person...... 

(Please see previous blog regarding my adversion to vomit.) They really should talk to those kids about appropriate breakfast choices before working out

#5 - Running at the butt-crack of dawn has its advantages.....

The Butt-Crack of Dawn is defined as that few minutes before day actually breaks. It's not really light yet. It's that time when you think - "WTH?? It's not even light outside and I'm up and out the door!!???" It's not a 'pretty' moment in time. It's the butt's crack - not really pretty, but necessary for function.

1) it is really quiet and peaceful. It’s only you, your thoughts & the pounding of your feet (that is, until the Army shows up) and 2) you get to see the sunrise from the beginning of first light through the end…..one word….BEAUTIFUL....(moment in time not captured because I was in the middle of a 1600m repeat!)

#6 - Running at 60°F and 20% humidity is SOOOO much easier and enjoyable than 72°F and 70% humidity.....

Yeah…..I knew this at one point. However, this summer it has been 70-80°F at the butt-crack of dawn which has caused that valuable piece of knowledge to melt from my brain. 

#7 - Chick-fil-A Mini Breakfast Chicks are N.A.S.T.Y.!!!! ...

I was expecting a chicken nugget (it was) wrapped in a miniature biscuit (it WAS NOT). These good little chickies were semi-stuffed (mostly semi) into a Mrs. Schubert’s yeast roll and soaked in some type of sticky, gooey NASTY glaze. What the H*%$!?? 

#8 - I LOVE little town diners that serve homemade pumpkin pie year round!!!!

Gotta run.....

The ILLNESS

Today's Miles: None. Resting up for a track session at butt-crack dawn tomorrow. 

Symptoms:

1. headache ranging from nagging to raging migraine
2. nausea and occasional vomiting 
3.  EXHAUSTION to a level I cannot begin to describe

I KNOW what you are thinking. I’m pregnant. Right?? Is that it?? Am I expecting??

Not a chance on earth. Well, I’m sure there is one small tiny statistical chance – but not likely.

I never entertained the thought that I was pregnant. However, my sisters and mother sure did! I told them my symptoms, and the first thing that popped out of their mouths “You’re pregnant!” …with a little bit of shock and a lot of enthusiasm that I wasn’t quite comfortable with. After trying to convince them no – it was ruled that I:  1) was carrying the next Messiah 2) had Mono 3) had a gallbladder problem or 4) just a virus.

Apparently it was just a virus. I’m calling it the Miraculously-Preggar-Kissing-Indigestion Virus.

Thank the Lord it is over. I do not want to deal with a gallbladder problem or mono for the next month. And I certainly DO NOT want to be pregnant!

I know some women LOVE pregnancy, and would have babies all the time if they could afford them. I do not understand these women.

Moms will tell you, “Oh, when you take your first look at that baby, you’ll forget about those unpleasant things that lasted for 9 months, and you won’t remember the pain of childbirth.” 

And they say that with a straight face! I do not understand why more women are not participating in those poker tournaments on ESPN.

Let’s think about this for a minute…..

Numero Uno. I HATE to throw up. I’m a sympathetic-puker. I gag if my dog gags. Mark has to clean up the dog vomit in the house because I can’t do it. I will make myself throw up again, just because I heard myself throwing up. So I will not forget being sick for weeks on end.

Numero Dos. I HATE pain. I will endure self-inflicted pain from running, but that is not equal to the amount of pain caused by childbirth. Though I have never personally experienced childbirth, I have witnessed live birth in the animal world more times than I can count. I have had to pull calves out of their mommas, and I never once saw a cow enjoy the experience. And I have witnessed the birth of a child up close and personal…..what I saw was a hairy cantelope coming out of a vajayjay…..and I don’t care what you Mom’s say….That… Ain’t… Normal. And there’s nothing ‘beautiful’ about that. And good grief - dislocating my knee makes me throw-up....refer back to Numero Uno.

How could you possibly forget that???? I DO NOT forget.

It’s not just the fear of pregnancy that keeps me from being a Mom. I’m not a Mom because I’ll just admit it……I’m just not normal.

I was never the girl that played house, and played with dolls, and knew growing up that I’d fall in love, get married and have 2.4 kids. And we’d raise the little tikes in a quaint little house and watch them grow and become little people and then teenagers and then young adults….blah…blah…blah.

That ain’t me. I don’t like babies. There…..I said it….May all the other women in the world kick me out of the Sorority of Utero. It’s not that I hate babies. They just aren’t my thing…like some people don’t like green beans. I don’t mind babies….I just don’t want one.

I’m always amazed when friends/family have a baby and they bring that baby into a room of other women…..women of all ages are strangely transformed into a weird pack of baby sniffing dogs……They want to get a close look at the baby, smell it, touch it, hold it, feed it, burp it, change its diaper….

I… just… don’t… get… it.

I’ll hold your baby if you need me to. I’ll babysit if you need me to (which you probably won’t now after you’ve read this blog and that’s okay). But I just don’t go gonzo over babies.

I want to spend time alone with my husband. I don’t want to share him. I love my sleep. I NEED my sleep. I want to have a job….and one that doesn’t involve scheduling around everyone else. I want to be able to do what I want to do, When I want to do it. I want to see the world and go places I never dreamed existed, in which packing a kid along isn’t either possible or very convenient. I want to spend money on building a house, not another college fund…I’m still paying for MINE!!

Don’t get me wrong…kids are great – as long as they aren’t mine and I can send them home. I love my nieces and nephew dearly and would do anything in the world for them….except raise them. Unless for some unspeakable reason I needed to.  Which I guess now if my sisters read this, then I will not be chosen as a God-parent….

In reality, I am normal…I’m just selfish. And selfish people should not have kids. That never leads to anything good. Current headlines prove that point.

And FYI - Mark has been really tired this past week and had a migraine today.....He's Pregnant!!!

Gotta run……

What was I thinking??

Today's Miles: NONE. I'm recovering....

I’m brilliant an idiot. That’s my blessing curse. Just bloody brilliant stupid sometimes.

Last week I was off of my 10K training because I was sick. I’m not talking ‘just feeling a little under the weather’ kind of sick….I was ILL. But I’ll get to that another time.

So last Tuesday, June 28 was the last run I completed, and it was a train wreck. I shouldn’t have been running at all last week.

I started feeling better on Saturday but decided to give it a couple of days just to be sure….I did NOT want a repeat…plus it was a holiday weekend and hotter than hell...excuses, excuses. On Monday morning, I laced up my runners and hit the treadmill – b/c I could at least control the temperature and humidity in the house and it was MISERABLE at 7am on Monday. I just did a 3 miler with some walk breaks at each mile…just an easy run to ease back into the training. Smart right?? I told you....I'm brilliant! I know better than to go balls-to-the-walls after being sidelined for a week! That short 3 miler felt pretty good! I was a little sore later that day b/c I haven’t used these muscles in a week, but still felt good!

Yesterday is when the brilliance ended. I decided to get back on my training schedule, which included my normal Tuesday speed session at CHS track at the crack of dawn (okay, actually 7am b/c I couldn’t get motivated). Thank you Lord for making yesterday morning cloudy and foggy!

So on my schedule was 8x800’s with 800 recoveries. Translated = you run 800 meters (2x around track) at a fast sustainable pace, then do 800m at a slower “recovery” pace…..8 times. Sounded ambitious, but I’m feeling better so what the heck. Go for it!!!

4^th rep: “Man, I’ve been out here a LONG time. Wonder what time it is??”

5^th rep: “Holy crap, this is a long track session, what rep am I on? Crap! The insides of my thighs are getting chaffed – THAT’S GOING TO HURT!”

6^th rep: “I can keep going all day like this! My legs have suddenly become numb to the pain! Wait….I can’t feel my legs? How slow/fast am I going? Oh wow, faster than I had planned. Yay!”

7^th rep: “I need a banana. I’m starving.”

8^th rep: “Jeez, I really hope this is the last rep b/c I can’t make it another round. Is this the last rep? Crap I've lost count. Hope my Garmin is keeping up. I think I’ve lost 5lbs in sweat and I look like I’m in a wet Tshirt contest. Wow. White shirt + blue bra can make you stand out. The guys walking around the track may enjoy this, but I look ridiculous. How long have I been out here!? Wait a minute – I don’t give a rat’s butt what I look like. I’m not walking out here – I’m doing a speed workout! Kick it in and finish this thing!”

I spent the rest of the day on the couch with the laptop doing market research and realized at some point….I haven’t peed in a LONG time. Let the rehydration begin!!

And with every trip to the refrigerator for water/Gatorade/OJ my legs reminded me of what a strenuous fabulous workout I had completed that morning. When I downloaded my Garmin later I realized what an athlete idiot I really am!

8x800’s w/ 800 recoveries sound ambitious??!! Maybe that’s because it turns out to be 8.5 FREAKING MILES!!

I just spent a week lying on the couch hoping death would visit soon, and I go out for a 8.5 mile run???!!!

I must be A Real Runner Idiot!

One that has REALLY sore legs today, but not as sore as I had anticipated…..so now I’m a proud Runner Idiot! I ran 8.5 miles yesterday!!

Me trying to rock a fuel belt. And yes, I run in a skirt.

Gotta run.......or just sit at my desk today....

I wonder as I wander: Chapter 1

Today's Miles: 4.5....I think. Garmin was dead so I guessed at it. But it was the slowest 4.5 ever. Migraine on Saturday night and little to drink on Sunday plus 72 degrees and 75% humidity at 6a.m. did not make for a good combo.

When I’m running, I have to find something to entertain me. Some days it’s my iPod. Some days even Pink & Lady Gaga can’t keep me entertained. So I wonder.

The nice think about running alone with your thoughts….if I’ve got a problem or trying to figure out how to do something at work, it’s the perfect time to sort all of that out in my head. But when things are going well and I’m not stumped on something – my mind wanders.Sometimes I can solve all the world's problems on a long run. Sometimes my mind just wanders off the reservation.

So one of the many things I've been contemplating on runs.... Which may reveal how twisted I really am…

Why do dogs eat poop?

No, Really. I’m serious…..WHY????

I’ve got one dog that has a sweet tooth. If he spies a bowl and even suspects it contains a dessert of any kind, he will try to win an Oscar for his begging performance. He’ll sit, with eyes wide open, ears perked up and back and tremble ever so slightly. Like whatever is in that bowl would be THE... BEST… PRESENT… E.V.E.R. On other occasions, he’ll lie on the floor in front of you and put his head in a near vertical position to get his chin to rest just on the edge of the couch, with the most pitiful – I’m. Dying…. From. Malnourishment….. I. Know….. Ice cream….. Would…. Save…. My…. Life… – kind of performance. He truly deserves an Academy Award.

My other dog, however, acts like a kid sneaking candy out of the cookie jar – you know, keep your head down low so no one will see it in your mouth, grab it and eat it on the run, but you’re so flipping excited you can’t control your giddiness (if she could giggle, she would). And she only does this when she’s eating POOP! 

We’ve not had any critters up on the hill behind our house for a few months. While we were on vacation, Dad had some cows and the donkeys up there for a few days. When we got back from vacation, I let the dogs go run in the field….and where did she go?! Yep, right up to the hill to sneak in some of those oh-so-delicious Field Biscuits. Now she’s up there every day, getting her fill. It’s like the never ending Easter Basket for her!! I'm surprised she didn't dig a hole under the fence and sneak up there every day while we were gone....just so she could get them hot and fresh!

Several months back, both pups go to the vet because one had tapeworms, and I assumed if one had it then there was a good chance they both did. I was told that I had to scoop their poop because after the medicine, if they ate their poop, they’d get re-infected.

Let me be clear on this….I do not scoop poop.

That is why I live in the country. So that my dogs can run to my brother’s yard and poop on his lawn. Love ya bro’!

Thankfully, my dog does not eat her own poop – she eats everyone else’s poop – cows, donkeys, horse, goose, deer, rabbit and who knows what else. I know she doesn't eat Rascal's poop. We all give it a 4' berth! Shhheeewwww! I do have a friend in Colorado whose dog carries around her own turds like a cigar hanging out of her mouth. I’m SO glad I don’t have one of THOSE dogs!

But I still don’t understand how I have one dog that’s a sugar addict, and another that’s a poop addict.

Gotta run…

I'm just a Dumbass Runner

Today's Miles: Haven't decided yet. Either 4 or 2 easy miles...depending on how well my legs have recovered from yesterday...

Yesterday just sucked…for awhile…then it was better…then it sucked again…then we had power…so all the world is right again…..

Like most in Knox County – I spent 20+ hrs without power. My ice cream melted – which totally pissed me off. But mostly it was a bad day because I couldn’t work. Blackberry was dead. Laptop battery was dead. No internet. So…doing work that I get paid to do just wasn’t going to happen – and I had stuff to do. Instead, I volunteered to help Dad clean up trees on fence rows and rebuild fence. Yes, I was that bored.

Brush Removal and Fence Repair 101 lasted until 2:30pm. After working out in the rain; then the sun; then the bluejeans-sticking-to-your-butt humidity – I NEEDED a shower. But still, no power which means no hot water which means no-way-in-hell-I’m-taking-a-cold-shower. So I laid down in the floor and took a short nap instead.

At 3:30pm I woke up and decided with some intensity, I’ve got to do my track workout because I didn’t do it on Tuesday! Because the world might end if I don't stick to my training plan. I’m already stinky so what’s a little more sweat going to matter?

I arrive at CHS track with cloudy skies and just a light drizzle – PERFECT. I get out on the track, get my warm-up stretches done, start around the track for a couple of warm-up laps…..and here comes the sun. Like torture bright. My response: “REALLY? It’s been cloudy all day and now you come out??”  (Yes, I talk out-loud to myself, to Mother Nature, to God, to anyone that may or may not be listening to some weird lady talking to herself.) Big. Mistake.

I’ve never run in a sauna before, but I’m certain what I experienced for my first set was exactly like running in a sauna. There was so much steam coming off the track that I couldn’t see the other end of the track!

At the end of my first set, Mother Nature felt sorry for me and gave me a break by covering up that sun with a beautiful cloud. 

During my third set, it started drizzling – “Thank YOU! This feels great!”

During my fourth set, it started thundering off in the distance. “OH COME ON! I’ve only got 2 more sets left!”

During set #5, here comes the rain…and more thunder. No longer a nice cooling drizzling rain. It. Was. Raining. “Bring it on! A little rain won’t scare me off!” Big. Fat. Mistake.

Set #6. It’s pouring and the wind is blowing and it’s really thundering…loudly. The rain drops feel like a thousand little bees are stinging me. My shorts are so wet they feel like diapers. And I’m certain that each of my shoes weighed over 2lbs each.

And all of a sudden, I’m over come with pride. Who else but A REAL RUNNER would be committed enough to get out here and finish their track workout in this kind of weather.

I’ll tell you who….a real dumbass.

“Please Lord, do not strike me dead because I’m such a dumbass for running in a thunderstorm.”

(Don’t judge me. Yes I sometimes cuss, and cuss during prayer. That’s a whole ‘nother discussion for another day.)

Despite it all, I finished my track workout. 6x800’s with 400m recovery in the blinding sun light, sauna and a thunderstorm….so you decide….A Real Runner or a Dumbass?

Gotta run.....

Do you really NEED all of that????

Today's Miles: 3.5 miles on Tread-Dread because there were some NASTY thunderclouds out this morning and being struck by lightning was not on my schedule for today..... Of course this was after I ran to & from my neighbor's house to take back her dog that's scared of storms.

That’s the question I ask myself every time I pack a suitcase and zip it up, then pick it up while trying not to break my back.

The next question is – Did I accidently pack my dog because this bag is H..E..A..V..Y..!!???  (Yes, my dogs watch me pack every time. They lie there with a pissed-off, pouty face because Momma leaves every time this big tan bag goes on the bed, and they don’t like it. I’m certain they’ve considered climbing in that bag and one day I'm going to be in Randomtown, PA; check into a hotel; unzip my bag; and one of them will climb out of that bag, with a pissed off look on their face because they've been zipped up in a bag all day!)

All of this leads me to the question I’m sure men have been asking since the beginning of time……….

Why do women need more crap men? 

I’m certain that when Cavemen were packing up and moving on to the next cave, it took the Cavewomen 3 days to pack up their clubs and bear skins. And they also needed to take along some rocks they found that are perfect for cutting up meat; and 10 lbs of nuts and dried berries in case they get hungry along the way; and some firewood because where they are going may not have any good dried out wood; well…you get the idea.

After 2 years of living out of a suitcase, I feel like I’ve become fairly good at packing only the essentials….1 set of clothes for each day (I will sometimes wear the same pair of pants twice…gasp!); something to sleep in; and a set of workout clothes for however many days I will be running that week; running shoes; and toiletries…and of course an extra pair of undies and socks.....’cause you never know.

I pack these things, and my bag will weigh 50lbs. A man could pack the same thing, and he could fit it all in a shoebox! Why is that? I just don’t understand this weird phenomenon!?

I went for a ‘long’ run on Saturday – 4 miles. Well…it’s a long run for me…don’t judge me…I’m building my mileage! Anyway, I left later than my planned 6 a.m. More like 7:30 a.m. So what’s the big deal???

I'LL TELL YOU THE BIG DEAL….about 10 degrees and 15% more humidity! Oh, and don’t forget the unrelenting direct sunlight and the head wind of 10mph. THAT’S THE BIG DEAL!!!!

So, I knew on my long run I would need a water break. Problem with that: I was running a loop, through a residential area. Which I know most of my neighbors, but I’m certain if I stopped and knocked on their door for some water, I would probably win the “Weirdest Neighbor” Award. And leaving a cooler on the side of the road is not an option because people around here would be like “Hey, someone threw out a perfectly good cooler. I could fit a six pack in that!” Or it would get peed on by a dog....Or the bottle peed in by some prankster.....

So that left 2 options. Option 1) get Mark to deliver some water to me ½ way through my run. A good option, and he’s such a fabulous husband that he might actually do that for me! But, I’m holding that card for when I’m on really long runs. Option 2) pack it. This option includes wearing a fuel belt. Which if you don’t know what that is….imagine a fanny pack with extra pockets for little 4oz bottles of water.

No matter how hard I try – making a fuel belt look cool just….doesn’t….work. Oh well. I rocked that fuel belt for my 4 mile run, and I wouldn’t have survived without it! I NEEDED every ounce of water and Gatorade I had on me…..and the 4 dog treats I need to get past the German Shepherd, Black Lab “Lucy” and the 2 snarly little Jack Russell/Beagle mixes!

While I was running and trying to get used to running with all this crap hanging off my hips which possibly slowed me down more than the heat, humidity and sun…..I remembered seeing a lady at the Knoxville Marathon warm-up area last year. She was running the marathon I think. During most races, this one included, there are many water/Gatorade and even some GU or Gel stops (GU is a weird non-liquid electrolyte/calorie/sugar/caffeine thing that’s essential on long races…feels like Jell-O that’s been through a blender, tastes like stale Gatorade). So for my run, I had me and my iPod. What more could you NEED? 

This lady had EVERYTHING you could possibly need: a fuel belt with extra pockets for keys, ID, cell phone, & money; 4-4oz bottles of water; a hand held drink container (about 20oz) with Gatorade; at least 7 packs of GU; a poncho (plus the light jacket she was wearing); a hat that had some Sports Beans (Jelly beans with a punch) in a side pocket; and something large packed in the ‘fanny’ part of the fuel belt. My guess was extra socks, extra undies, and a first aid kit...'cause you never know. She was ready to run a race on a deserted road! She was P.R.E.P.A.R.E.D. for Everything… I felt grossly unprepared standing next to her.

It’s funny how we all define what we NEED to take with us…wherever that may be.

Next weekend, I may leave notes in my neighbor’s mailboxes and ask them if I can leave a bottle of water in their mailbox for a few hours. I NEED water/Gatorade on those long runs. I do not NEED the aggravation of extra stuff hanging on me while I run. And despite what Bear Grylls may believe, I don't think pee is a good electrolyte when dehydrated.

 Gotta run.....