7-mile runs and other scary things.

I have always had a mental hang up on 7-mile runs. I don't know why. Maybe because it is guaranteed to be a run lasting longer than an hour (for me, not you, fast people). Maybe because it's more than half of a half marathon. Maybe because it's only a little over half of a half marathon. Who knows. All I have to say is that if I was not running with a group, I would have not gotten up to do this on my own today. I Stress Ate yesterday. The damage included a Payday, Graeter's ice cream, Chinese food. Carb-load, whoop, whoop!

Pre-run: grande iced vanilla latte from Sbux. Full sugar, full fat. None of that "light" BS.
Apple Pie Larabar.

While waiting for the run to start, Inappropriate Guy was doing bounce stretches and leering at everyone and talking about how fine all the ladies were looking today. Awkward. Except (Oh, Snap!!) I nursed on only one side this morning, so one boob was notably smaller than the other! Who feels awkward, now, Dude? Oh, still me? Oh.

Then, we were off. There were plenty of sidewalks (yay!) and plenty of people in the group who refused to use them (yay, more room for me!). This one lady seriously was so far away from the sidewalk that she was running on the white line that divided the turn lane from the straight lane. Why? Explain this to me. It would really ruin your day if you got hit by a bus, and it would ruin my day to see that happen to you.

Today was my first run using a water bottle with a hand strap. Of course, it happened to be 20-degrees cooler than it has been so I didn't drink more than a few sips while out. It's Nathan brand, has a big enough pouch for my iPhone and a single key and fob. There was not room for any Clif chews, so I put them in my top. A permanent tab labeled "ID" has all my info so I didn't need my license. My only complaint is it was too loose and too difficult to tighten mid-run with tired, sweaty hands. I think a one-handed tightening system would be ideal.

Mid-run fuel: two cran-raspberry Clif Chews that had been opened for a week and water. The texture of the old chews was awful. Please, Clif: make individually wrapped pairs of these instead of a sleeve of six!

When I got back to the store, the Garmin said 6.8 so I added a little more.

My pre- and mid-run fuel was not a winning combo. Probably the raw bar and (oh, yeah) the old Clif Chews.

7.07 miles in 1:09
1. 10:08
2. 10.01
3. 9:38
4. 9:47
5. 9:25
6: 10:10
7: 9:27

I'm $15 away from raising $300 for RunMS! Anybody wanna help make it an even 3? Pop on over: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=7607542&pg=personal&fr_id=17869

THANKS!!!