Birthday boy and 17 miles

Yesterday was my son's birthday. He's the greatest kid in the world, home from college for the summer and working the graveyard shift at the Safeway. Yesterday he worked overtime, and when he finally came home I asked if he was excited about his birthday. "I'm more excited at working 12 hours. It's a new landmark," he said.

I'd post a pic but he's asked me not to. He's at that age, doesn't want to be associated with his mother. Too funny!

Yesterday I also reached a landmark: 17.2 miles. It was glorious. I ran Nash Road, with the looonnnggg hills but also the beautfil views of the bay.

The run went well. I made sure to eat half a protein bar at mile 10 so I wouldn't bonk, and suffered a mild stomach upset during mile 11, but other than that, I felt good. My pace was great, the temps were great, there was almost no traffic and I had my groove on.

At mile 14 I saw this dude, Stephen, who has a horse and carriage company and gives rides to tourist. I ran on the road beside his horse, Ian, for a minute or two. I was running faster than the horse! Actually, the horse was going slow to give the tourist a chance to catch the views, but still.

(Sorry, dude, swiped this pic off your Facebook page, hee, hee)

And then at mile 16.5 when I was almost home, my legs began to protest. "Let's stop," they said. "Let's slow down and walk for a minute, okay?"

The rest of me felt great but my legs did NOT want to move any longer. They wanted to rest. They wanted to wade in the lagoon.

I didn't slow down or rest, but my legs were not happy and they rewarded me with a stumble that could have turned into a fall. "Ha, ha," they said. "See what happens when you don't listen to us?"

When I got home I took my first ice bath ever. I filled the bathtub with COLD water, turned on a space heater, brewed up some tea and then slowly lowered my poor skinny butt down into that hideously cold water. OMG, the brutality!

Once I became numb, it wasn't so bad. I read, I sipped tea, I talked to the cats, who sat on the closed toilet seat peering down with aloof fascination.

The ice bath worked, too. My legs were barely sore this morning. Pretty darned amazing.

Here are some pics from my Wednesday run on the Lost Lake Trail in the evening, a fantastic run (all trail runs are fantastic), no one else around by me and the dog. Awe--some!


 Next up: Mt. Marathon Race, Monday (I am SO gonna suffer, hee, hee)