Destination Lake Merritt, Sore Calves and Very Tired Feet

There is no try, only do...or don't. As in, so much for that mid week post. Have no fear, dear reader, I still ran twice this work week. I took two days off prior to my long run today. I may try to do that more often as I think it gives my legs a good chance to rest up and store up much needed glycogen. 

I set out this morning to run 15 miles. Surprisingly, even though I went to bed by 10:30 last night, I still slept through pretty close to 9 a.m. this morning. I fueled up with oatmeal cooked in one part soy milk and one part water and cinnamon. Topped it of with flax seeds, crystallized ginger, goji berries and raw sunflower seeds. I also had an orange. Hubby came out with me for the usual 3.2 mile loop. He was burping like crazy! It was fairly funny but I'm sure it was not all that comfortable for him. We came home after the loop because he was done and I needed a bathroom break. I also had a Trader Joe's dried fruit bar (so yummy!!) and geared up for next 12 miles. 

I headed out an followed our bus route to the lake. Turns out it is only 3.25 miles or thereabouts. It was a gorgeous day out and the lake was crowded with all sorts of humanity and aviary life. I was running at a good clip for myself. I actually passed other runners! I was surprised to see that there was a bird sanctuary at the lake. Of course, I ended up slowing to a walk so I could check all the birdies. There was one birdie who must have been a ugly duckling. S/he looked like the unfortunate offspring of a drunken midnight tryst between a mallard duck and a seagull. Poor thing. Of course I fell in love with it and wanted to take it home with me. I'm sure Biggums and Logan would have been stoked. 

Happily, I found a water fountain. I went through my Gatorade remarkably quickly. I had been keeping my eye out for a fountain but I was despairing. I kept wanting to ask a passerby but every time I thought about it, there was always a man nearby. Knowing how guys think, I was afraid that they would think a strange woman asking them a perfectly innocent question regarding the location of liquid sustenance would be akin to a direct invitation for a rendez-vous in the bushes nearby. However, facing an imminent situation of a personal drought, I broke down when  friendly male walker smiled at me. Fortunately, the interaction was all on the up and up and there no weird vibes from either party. Doubly fortunate, the water fountain ended up being right around the corner. Hallelujah! I would remain hydrated and soldier on.

All right, after two lake loops, I headed home. That last 5K was ROUGH. At every street light my calves cried out to me and my feet were barkin'. Finally I got back to my hood and decided to check on my mileage. I had already run over 15 miles and I was still at least three quarters of a mile from home and omigod I was in pain. So, I whipped out the celly and implored Dear Hubby to come rescue me. Thankfully, we have a good relationship and he was wearing his shining armor so I was in luck. He came and picked me up and saved me from at least 15 minutes of feeling Ariel after she gets her much desired feet. 

When all is said and done, I ran a little over 16 miles. Oops! I think I will be sore tomorrow.