Dodging Downpours and Walkers

I had quite an exciting run over the weekend dodging puddles and walkers.  Not walkers as in equipment for the elderly.  Walkers as in the 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk participants.  It was raining on and off for two entire days in San Diego.  Whoever says we have perfect weather is wrong!  We only have perfect weather 99% of the time. 

I planned out a 16 mile run that involved running through my neighborhood and down a bike path to the beach and back.  Nice and simple.  Due to the completely spectacular mass of women walking in pink clothing and tutus I had to take a detour.  I was completely motivated by the walkers because they had to endure 3 days of bad weather in San Diego for their entire walk.  To top it off, they are walking for a reason.  Many of these women walk in memory of a lost loved one from Breast Cancer or in honor of a survivor. I just felt lucky to be running at all.  I am healthy and lucky to be alive and thriving.  I can't take it for granted.

My excitement started to wear off as I continued running into the line of walkers on every route I tried to navigate.  I wound up doing several out-and-backs trying left and right to tack on extra miles here and there.  Accumulating 16 miles can be quite a challenge.  

I was out of Clif Bars so I had to get creative before I left the house.  After reading the ingredient list on a bag of Vegan Trail Mix Cookies, I was sold.  These insanely addicting cookies from Trader Joe's have nuts, seeds, raisins and brown rice syrup.  Perfect for mid-run.  I ate one at about mile 9.  It was the perfect pick-me-up to get me home. 

WARNING:

These cookies are great for a run but can be dangerous if left alone with them. 

You can potentially eat the entire bag.

As usual I ran the second half faster than the first, by about 20 seconds/mile.  This may have been due to the downpours I dealt with on the first half and the amount of puddles I had to leap over.

I usually do not feel completely wiped out after a run but this time I was done.  Toast.  My calf muscles were barking and I knew what I needed.  I was dreading it but it was the right thing to do.  I plopped my sweaty self into an ice-cold bath.  After a few seconds of uncontrollable shaking I was okay.  I can be a bit dramatic about cold temperatures, ask Ang.  But I stuck it out like a soldier and surprisingly it felt good!  I call it the torture tub. 

I ran 16 miles through rain, crowds, puddles and big bloody blisters.  Oh, for the love of running. :)  No wonder people think we're crazy.

In honor of Thanksgiving, today I am grateful for:
* Wintry Blend coffee from Trader Joe's.
* Petey, the dog we are sitting. He is quite the snuggler.
* My new pair of super sexy boots.
* A long weekend in the near future.
* The chance to run with Angela tonight.

I wish everyone a lot of love and delicious food!  Enjoy your time off and voice your gratitude, that's what it's all about.