solo long run

well, the weather here in eastern washington state is gorgeous today...but i did have to battle 1000 mph winds! well, yahoo says up to 20 mph. i do believe that's at least how strong they were. one way that was okay. on the way back, tho, something to be desired. i wasn't starting at a place where i could make the decision to go the opposite direction. and, per usual, you don't really know you're going to struggle w/ wind issues until you are actually facing it. at least that's MY limited experience.

i wore a FANNY PACK for the first time in my not-so-young life. are you impressed? horrified? well, it was outta desperation. i can't really see running loops around my car. at least, today, that did not sound like fun. so. i had a vanilla bean GU packet to try out. i had my cell phone. and per a convo w/ running group the otra dia, i brought my ID. my van key. some raisins and trail mix. and my ipod. which for most of the run i actually KEPT in the fanny pack. cool.

it was so incredibly windy where i started, that, against better judgement, i pulled out the sweatshirt and wore it. it was apparent almost from the start that was a BAD choice. was hot from 1/2 mile! ugh.

happily, tho, i was listening to a book on cd: sue grafton's "s" is for silence...pretty good. so it was mind consuming.

i knew of 2 people's houses within the first 3 miles of my route. of course, since i started later in the a.m., i had had enuff coffee to necessitate an early-run-pit-stop. woe is me. i had tentatively planned to hit some gas stations that i know of in that neighborhood. i figure i sometimes buy a pop in there, surely, i could stop in, use the toidy and get a gulp of water. (the only thing the fanny pack didn't carry. coulda. but that woulda been bouncier. i opted for not.) (AND BTW i did NOT wear that fanny pack on my FANNY.)

since i had my cell phone i tried both of those peops' houses. neither home. well, i knew of another, about 1.5 miles away. so i called them. at this point i was wandering around in a cul-de-sac trying to shade my cell from the voracious WIND. i heard my garmin beep. it alerts me at each mile. while asking my friend, on the phone, if i could come to their house for a pit stop, i heard the garmin beep again! i looked down. TO MY HORROR i read "distance alert" again!! WHAT? at that point i was at only 2 miles. after it stopped SKIPPING it read about 2.5 MORE than i'd yet run!

what is wrong w/ that picture? HAS ANYONE OUT THERE HAD THIS PROBLEMO? why, oh why did it do that? amber, i remember once you said your garmin had added like .11 miles to your mileage i think. did you ever figure out why?

well, not only did i have to do MATH the rest of my trip...now it's in my garmin FOR LIFE. my history totals reads 145.3 miles. so forevermore i'll look at that and go, oh yeah, MINUS 2!! eek!

well, one of my new 'resolutions' (not new year, just a resolution) is to shorten my posts. not off to a good start am i? well, LONG runs need LONG posts, don' t they? i mean!

went up to my friend's house, went potty, shed the sweat shirt. back on the windy way.
down to a BAKERY run by a CHURCH at the turn-around point. our little homeschool co-op had a field trip there recently. i knew they'd give me a cup o' water. i was planning to take my GU.

oh.my.gosh. imagine: your toothPASTE is flavored vanilla bean and is clear. you open your mouth and squirt enuff of the thick stuff in there to fill it up. now imagine swallowing. are you there?
it tasted fine. but there is SOMETHING about having a mouthful of GOOOO and then trying to swallow it which does NOT come naturally nor does it FEEL good, NOR DOTH THE THROAT react well to the human trying to force it to do just that.
UGH-A-LUG!!

but i forced it down. the nice lady, frances, gave me a glorious cup of ice water! that helped.

then i was off again, back the way i'd come. now, that stuff was kinda thick in my throat. i got out a 1/2 stick of minty gum and tried to chew on that a bit, AGAINST the wind..so i'm also having to really concentrate on breathing. i'm moving especially slow.

so, the test was: did the GU really help? i just don't know. i think the water did. but the going was just SO SUPER-SLOW i cannot tell for sure if the carbs in the GU helped my "running."

close to the finish line, and in doing my mathematical equations in my head, i figured i'd better start zig-zagging to get in the appropriate mileage.
up one street, down the next, up the next, down the next and so on until i had run for 2 HOURS and 14 minutes (some walking and stretching, pottying, and the GU eating) ... and had gone 11.2 miles. (actual) BECUZ of the mix-up, i'm gonna load the kids up in the van and go do the mileage! oh well for gas prices, eh? when you've run for over TWO HOURS, you WANT (no, NEED) TO KNOW THE ACTUAL MILEAGE! =) and i'll p/u my sweatshirt. my sweat shirt that has a screen print on it of my GRANDPA JUMPING over the high-jump pole! my world-record-holding grandpa! so, no, that sweatshirt wasn't disposable. =)

so! tho i was incredibly slow. tho it was lonely. tho i am hacking and sore. IT IS DONE! yeahoooo!

for those of you who worry about my legs...my constant complaining is why, i know...i do have an appt w/ a SPORTS medicine general practitioner on tuesday...and guess what? he's a runner!

i will keep you posted.