A Hunt for Gu and a Foggy Path

Last week, I was rather inactive. It felt strange, but my body needed a rest week. The trip we had planned for Chicago just didn’t happen. I have to say it sort of made me happy because that meant I could get a long run in. I would really like to get my HM time under 2:30:00. I’ve got nearly 30 min to shave off.

One problem was since I didn’t plan on running, I had no GU. I plan on doing some fasted runs, but my long runs are not those runs, or at least not yet. Neither of the running stores were on my way home and I had a time crunch to get to a dinner on time. I went to the GU website and searched for dealers and I was in luck! A bicycle store a few blocks from my house was listed. After work I ran over there and they told me “nope.” As a stream of foul curses flowed thru my head, I asked cheerfully if they knew where I could find some. “Well, there is the vitamin store that sells all sorts of things. They probably have it. Oh, but they’re closed.” More curses.
My phone was my savior sort of and I found a store that seemed to be mostly bikes but seemed to support triathlon athletes too. Once again, GU promised to be there. Off I went. My phone refused to call them, yay technology, but my need for my little gummies urged me on. The store had bike stuff all over their branded van, windows, and hanging from the walls and ceilings. My heart sank. Owner came over and I asked dejectedly if they had fuels. He said, “Of course, but we just have blueberry pomegranate and raspberry flavors.” Not my favorite but I grabbed some fistfuls. He asked where I normally went and I told him the local running company and he told me he carried all the same things. I nodded. We briefly bonded over our dogs and then I ran for my car.

The dinner was wonderful. Many people I hadn’t seen in awhile were there. There is something comforting about catching up with people. I was glad I was able to make it. I was also glad my waist did not expand like Violet Beauregarde with all the wonderful food and desserts (my weakness). It also gave me extra motivation to hit the pavement in the morning. I also had a new route that used the local walking/bike paths. I couldn’t wait to give it a try but first “carb-loading.”

Saturday morning was glorious and foggy. Dog woke me up around six. It felt late. The sun was practically up. The weather was wonderful with nearly no breeze, mid-40’s. I went out with a light long sleeve tech shirt but still went with the fleece pants. I like warm legs. I wanted to take pictures of the scenery but my phone is rather fussy with Runkeeper running. I ran down to a local path and we were early enough that there weren’t a lot of people (with dogs). There was still heavy fog giving the whole run a misty, mysterious look.

The mileage came pretty easy. I was building my speed with each mile. I feel like I could have brought my average pace under 13:00. The GU I hunted so hard for did their job. I felt loose. There were moments of “why do I do this?” and “gee, I’m really far from home.”

The first three miles flew by. It didn’t feel like I had gone that far. I felt some elation knowing this time last year that this would have been a very foreign concept. The trail miles went by quickly as well. There were other runners cloaked in the fog too. Everyone said, “hello” and went on their way. The dog enjoyed the new path aside from the other dogs intruding on her. Some dog passings went better than others.

I had to cut it short. A friend had mentioned she might want to do 3 miles with me. The last thing I wanted was to be too tired for her. This 13 miler seemed doable but another three on top of that with a short distance runner, that would be too much. Better to cut it short.

The dog and I ended with 10.17 miles. I still ended up freezing twenty minutes later. Maybe I need a space blanket to keep warm after long or hard runs. I felt tired but good. I think I might have been able to beat last week’s time. 

My friend had had a long Friday and I let her sleep. The mileage will always be there. Sleep is fleeting.

I have a new race on my schedule. I still may end up with one in January but I will be running a race to raise money for heart disease research sure mid-February. I am also looking at a Pi run 3/14. Get it? Run for pie? Seems good. In the meantime, coffee from my local roaster, Valentines.