Pancakes, Beer, and Nudity

According to Runner's World they have 15 ways to add fun to your run!!!!!

Today's run was actually 16.5 miles so the pace was a bit better at 13:20 minutes/mile....acceptable for me as a training run.

I got up super early (3:00 AM!!!!!) to get ready and also because I was responsible for 2 of our water/fuel drops. I got my legs warmed up via our heating pad and I was feeling really good. This run would be my longest to date and I was a bit nervous about it...actually apprehensive about it...after all, could I go the distance? I had done 14 two weeks ago and finished strong...but this was 2.5 miles further.

When I arrived at our starting point I was the first one there...go figure. I hit the start button on my Garmin and no go!!! I hit it again and nothing...then I panicked a bit hitting "all" the buttons and even looking for a reset button but in the end it was not going to be on my wrist. Again, I panicked and almost went home, neither Clyde or Rachel had arrived yet so I could just say I had slept in...but then they would find the water/fuel that I had dropped and I couldn't get them to believe some street person was feeling sorry for them, so I stayed. Clyde and Rachel both have other Garmin models and also Timex Ironman watches, so we were not hurting for technology....I just wouldn't have "MY" Garmin.

We set out together and enjoyed the early morning heat (around 80 degrees at 4:30 AM) minus the sun and much of the humidity. As it got closer to dawn though the humidity found us and we each looked like we had been running through lawn sprinklers.

Somewhere around mile 10 Rachel and I got ahead of Clyde for a while and he began shortcutting the route some by taking some alleways and meeting us on neighboring streets...see he's only training for a half marathon so he felt justified that he didn't need our training miles. We also ran into Bonnie somewhere in that 10 mile segment and she ran with me for several miles. Rachel had dropped back to run with Clyde for a while. Around mile 13 I got ahead of Bonnie...borrowing her Ironman to keep my run/walk intervals in check. She returned to her vehicle and had Clyde and Rachel coming by soon after that and ran with them.

Near mile 15 I ran into Rachel and Bonnie running together and Clyde some distance behind them. I decided to run back to our starting point with the girls. They had a good conversation going on...you have to know Bonnie...she can handle a conversation anywhere anytime. They allowed me to break in once or twice but were quick to point out that I was getting them off their subject...so I just ran with them....When I could see the end in sight I began to sprint...maybe the last 1/4 mile or so and I finished strong, maybe 45 seconds ahead of the girls and several minutes ahead of Clyde...but the important thing was that we all finished!!!!

I had run further than I had ever done and I had managed to sprint the finish....I have one sore toe...bruised nail on my second toe of my left foot but it's nothing serious...I'm not experiencing any significant shin pain and it's now mid-afternoon.

BTW...I'm sitting in the Denver Airport waiting on my connection to Grand Junction.

Several interesting features of our run today...I think we collected maybe .20 cents towards Rachel's future entry into a marathon from road change that we found...I thought I had struck a gold mine when I found .06 cents near a phone booth...until Bonnie told me that Rachel had found a dime while they were running together.

I found out after we were done that we had a "mad bird" experience...and I originally thought I was the only one that had it. Turns out I was the first....to be attacked by some crow/grackle looking bird. I had turned a corner and it flew up from somewhere, I didn't see where...to land on a nearby powerline. Then it was behind me. Well a few steps later I felt something brush across my head and realized the bird had just divebombed my head. I kept a wary eye for a bit, but no other episode from it. After the run I was telling Bonnie about it and she giggled saying that the same bird in the same area divebombed first Rachel and then her....grazing their hair before swooping away. It was as if he or she was playing touch and go wiht our heads...maybe it was considered an act of bravery in birddom and a story worthy of telling little fledgling flyer grandbirds that I touched the mighty human as they were toddling down the black mass of rock (road).

This day helped me discover that I would much rather run with people that I know than to run alone. I enjoyed the morning and I feel great now. I am getting big time excited about the September Lewis and Clark Marathon (9/16).

My hat is off to Bonnie as well for coming out and running with us, we figured that she ran at least 5 miles and truly closer to 6 miles. She's a trooper and is making great strides with her running.