Story
This ‘attempted’ run is brought to you by A Series of Unfortunate Decisions!
This morning I had time to run my FINAL course and the weather looked favorable (and it was!!)
I need to rework the algorithm used to make the decision to run this morning. Time and weather did not balance out:
- Significantly increased work time for a major deadline (yesterday)
- Several nights of reduced sleep time
- Deciding last minute to squeeze in fasted bloodwork this morning (I ate a little immediately after)
- Not being well hydrated prior to the run
Another unfortunate decision was not carrying water.
I pulled into the parking lot and backed into a spot parallel to the road. I see how that makes sense.
Honestly, I was not feeling it this morning. I do not like Lower Creek Road, too much traffic, not enough shoulder (and it was new squishy gravel). I decided to take the course a quarter at a time. At one point, I had to remind myself how to eat an elephant, one bite at a time because to finish the course, I needed to take it one step at a time.
Adam’s (or was it Rachel’s?) favorite part of the course was not mine. There was a minivan stopped on the road, not really pulled off to the shoulder. For some reason, I thought it could be a bad guy. I ran way out into the road so they couldn’t grab me. They didn’t.
Not too far from the turnaround, I was really starting to fade. Calves were tight (which is not good for plantar fasciitis that I dealt with for months). At mile 7, I slowed to a walk and noticed my foot was very slightly irritated. The remaining miles were a lot walking and a little stretching and slogging.
But …
I covered the ground and completed the Challenge!!
I really wanted to dip my feet in the water after finishing, but I couldn’t find a good place to access the water, I saw a large, flat rock that looked inviting but wasn’t sure I could get up off of it, and then I saw a snake.