Thank God... I did it.

One question… isn’t it illegal for bikes to be ridden on the sidewalk? I don’t remember actually ever hearing or reading this… so, maybe I just made it up? But, I don’t know, it seems like a reasonable law. I mean, if everyone rode their bikes on the sidewalk, there wouldn’t be any room for people to WALK (or run) on the sidewalk. Right? Right.

Last night, I got home around 5pm and put my running clothes on. I was hoping that it was going to be warm enough to wear shorts, but the windchill was about 20. Uggh. I’m sick of cold weather. I also strapped on my hydration belt. I contemplated whether or not to wear the hydration belt, because… when you are running in a huge ass park like Percy Warner, wearing a hydration belt is cool. It says… hey, I’m a hardcore runner and I’m going to sweat a lot, and possibly get lost in the 15,000 acres of trails here, so I have to wear a hydration belt. But, when you are running around Vanderbilt University on a Wednesday night with a hydration belt strapped to you, it says… hey, I’m a nerd, and I’m the person who stops at the water station at mile one of a 5k and ingests a gallon of water… because, hey… you gotta stay hydrated, right? It’s funny that I contemplate how nerdy I look with a hydration belt on, when I could care less that I’m wearing orange shorts, black leggings, a red layered undershirt and a pink zip up top.

So, I wear the hydration belt. Because, let’s be honest. If I were thirsting so bad…. Would I even care that I was wearing a hydration belt? Incidentally, I could have ran without it. Since I only took one sip of water around mile 14.5.

Initially, the run feels good. The first 8 miles actually go by pretty quick. I decided to run my 8 mile loop, twice. Which, is a little dangerous, because that means that after the first 8 miles, I’d be running by my building. Which means, that I’m about 86% likely to bail on the remaining half of my run. I contemplated it. Ohhhhh did I ever contemplate it. For like all of mile 7. But, luckily, I pressed on and continued.

Random observation: Girls run in the mornings, dudes run in the evenings. Seriously, on my morning runs, its about 75% girls running. And when I run in the evenings, it’s about 85% dudes. Fast dudes, too. Jeez. Those college boys are quick.

I haven’t always been a morning runner. Actually, I used to be strictly an afternoon runner. And I had forgotten how fast the time goes when it’s dark outside. I don’t know if that’s because you zone out easier, or maybe it’s because you have to constantly watch your step on the sidewalks for fear of tripping over something in the darkness.

Overall, most of the run was a good one. I had my moments (of course), but I felt pretty good. One thing that really bothered me at times, was the balls of my feet. They were killing me! I couldn’t figure out what the problem was. I mean, I know I’m a ball of foot striker, but I very rarely have any issues with pain or soreness there. I contemplated this everytime I went down a hill (which, obviously, was when it hurt the worst). It was only when I got home and came face to face with the culprit, that I realized what the problems was:

Yeah, so I wear high heels everyday with no problems. But, I did walk a couple blocks to lunch in these, which, is totally what did it. So, I can endure a little ball of foot pain if it’s from wearing heels.

For the last 8 miles, I kept telling myself that I was going to reward myself when I got home with a beer (which I haven’t had in over a month) and some episodes of curb your enthusiasm (I just got the last season from netflix the other day). But, when I got home, drinking a beer and fiddling with the dvd player were the last two things that I wanted to do. No, I was too busy being curled up on the couch, with 5 layers of clothes, 2 blankets over me, chattering teeth and shivering body, goose-bumped skin, and a constant wave of nausea. I managed to eat 2 tangerines during this time and caught up on my road rules/real world gauntlet episodes. And only ran (well, hobbled) to the bathroom twice in this hour with the feeling that I was going to puke (luckily, I didn’t).

After about an hour and a half, I was feeling fine though. It’s so weird how sometimes I feel like that after a long run and sometimes I feel completely fine (well, tired, but fine). I know it has to do with my nutrition. So, I need to start fueling my body better when I know I’m going to do a long run. A salad, though healthy, was probably not a good pre-run meal. (Better than biscuits and gravy, though).

So, now I’ve got my long run out of the way. I’m going to do my 40 minute tempo run tonight and then a 3-4 mile run in the morning (I’ve jacked my schedule all up this week), then I will spend 9 hours in the car on the way to Isle of Palms, SC (Bachelorette Weekend for my friend Leigh). And I’m hoping to run at least Saturday while I’m there.