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July 2, 2005, 7:00am: I Hate Horseflies...I Really Hate Them.
| GOAL: |
16 miles |
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| LOCATION: |
Katy Trail, Weldon Spring, Missouri
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| CONDITIONS: |
62°-76°, cooler and dry |
| RESULTS: |
16 miles |
TIME: 2:48:45
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PACE: 10:32/mile
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| TOTAL TRAINING MILES TO DATE (walking & running): 329 miles |
Here We Go...
I arrived at the Katy Trail, and there was no tent, but I did see the Joints in Motion water cooler and the containers for bagels and bananas sitting on the back of a pickup truck, so I knew I was at the right place. There was no one there when I arrived, so I didn't know the route. Thankfully, Coach Glen (Coach Rich was out of town) had written up the route on the clipboard. I was to run 5 miles to the right out to the Highway 40 overpass and back, then go left 3 miles out to the ice cream stand and back...hmmm. that's just mean...putting an ice cream stand on the route.
The Run
I didn't see anyone on the trail for the first mile. Not even a bicyclist. It was just me and the trail. The trail was quiet and serine. Most of the trail was covered with trees, and it was so cool, whatever sun rays that did shine down didn't seem to warm me up dramatically. After about 10 minutes, I finally crossed paths with one of our team members, Suzanne, who was in the middle of running 21 miles. She is really an amazing runner. I can't believe she can run like that and keep a great smile every time I pass. After a couple more miles, I crossed paths with Jan and Shelly, then later on I cross paths with Jenni. All of them got an earlier start than me.
My right hip was hurting in the beginning of the run, but I was hoping it was just from warming up. It did go away after my body turned all numb from running. There were times when I was running when I felt, 'Is this the day I get injured? Will it happen to me? Will it just be one bad landing on my foot and BAM, I'm down with a fractured something?' The training just seems too good to be true right now. I'm losing weight at a very slow pace, and I still feel like I'm a big tub of goo out there running. I'm thankful that I'm doing this for such a great cause, and I'm glad I'm about $200 away from hitting my $4,000 goal. That's pretty exciting and QUITE A RELIEF. I just have this bad feeling that I'm going to get injured in one of these long runs.
After 10 miles, I realized that I wasn't going to stop running...again. I've already invested 10 miles, so what's 6 more? The next three miles seemed to have been all uphill. There were some nice wooden bridges I ran across, and runners and cyclists were filling up the trail. At Mile 13, I noticed the ice cream stand, just grinned and turned around to finish the final three miles. If I really wanted ice cream that bad, I figured I would drive there after the run (but I didn't).
I passed up Jenni around Mile 16, and just then, I had met up with a surprise enemy: A HORSEFLY. Here I was on my final mile, and this thing was orbiting around me like the moon. It found my head a few times, and I would swat it off each time. Even Jenni was warning me that it was on me, and I would swat at it some more. When I would look back, there it was following me like an F-18 attacking an enemy plane. I took out my wet washrag and swat at it a couple times. One time it was caught between my fingers, but I wasn't strong enough to smack it down to the ground. And, of course, I didn't want to stop running! I had gone 15 miles non-stop, and a horsefly was not going to stop me. This went on for about 5 minutes. At one point, I started running FASTER to get away from it, but it kept following me. Imagine me running at sprint speed on my last of 16 miles. It was horrible! I think it went away finally when some other runner passed me, and the horsefly decided she would be a better target. But still, I was paranoid...all the way to the end of the run, and everytime it felt like a bug was landing on my back or my head, I'd get out my washrag and whack myself. I was FREAKING OUT!
After the run, I drank lots of water and tried to cool down. Someone had put up the tent to keep us in the shade, and my stomach was too queasy to eat a bagel or banana. But that's been the case ever since I started running more than 10 miles. I usually go home, shower, and then I feel like I can eat something.
| THOUGHTS: |
I'm so thankful I brought a washrag. Not only did it help with wiping off my sweaty face, but it helped keeping that horsefly off me! |
WHAT I'LL
REMEMBER MOST: |
Obviously, the horsefly. |
Back
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TODAY'S PHOTOS
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July 2: I'm sure most runners experience this. The only way I can keep my nipples from bleeding and being sore all week is to cut bandages and slap them on before the run. I tested them today, and they stayed on the entire 16 miles.
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July 2: Here are my shoes, over 300 miles later. Fleet Feet said my shoes would last about 400 miles. Hard to believe they looked so good just three months ago.
SHOES WHEN THEY WERE NEW
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