A Noteworthy Run

I had a noteworthy 16-mile training run yesterday.

When I got to the lake well before dawn, I used the portapotty, and then discovered I’d locked my key in my car. With my phone. And all my gear. It was still dark, and my car was the only one in this lot . . . except for a cop car at the far end.

I walked over to ask if the officer could call a locksmith for me, and he looked at me solemnly and said, “No.” Then his face lit up and he said he could actually help me because he recently bought a Slim Jim kit since so many people ask if he can help them get into their cars. And he hadn’t gotten to use it yet and was kind of excited to try.

As we went to my car, I wondered if maaaybe I should have pulled off the Black Lives Matter decal, but it was still pretty dark, so it went unnoticed or unmentioned. I was going to offer to get my ID from the trunk to prove it’s my car (there were a few other runners in the area), but he never asked, and I finally got to start my run. Thanks, DPD!

All of this happened, by the way, with a high surge of anxiety that wouldn’t dissipate for at least 5 miles.

I had been SO looking forward to the forecasted low 50s weather, but it ended up in the low 60s instead. I kept wondering “wtf?” as I passed so many people in sweatshirts while I was basically sweating my tits off.

The run itself was wholly unremarkable . . . except that it wasn’t nearly as torturous as I’d expected! My Vibram FiveFingers just weren’t working for me for more than about 10 miles, so my long runs in recent weeks have all been epic suffer-fests. Yesterday I had on a new pair of Asics, and I’d finally figured out how to lace them to give my toes enough space to spread and keep my heels from slipping.

There was an official half marathon happening on the trail that day, and I arrived before it began, had no trouble parking, finished after it ended, and faced no delays on my drive home. What luck!

I also packed myself an icy cold, post-run egg nog in the car. It was awesome: 10/10 recommend. (I’m so clever) I had a 90-minute massage that afternoon and felt pretty good on this morning’s 2.5-mile recovery run. Who’da thunk?

And then I realized the marathon is just over a month away, and holy crap, that’s kinda scary.

Well, I’m already chowing down on chocolate, trying to suppress the election anxiety, so let’s just roll the marathon nerves in there too. I'm sure it will all be fine.