another one bites the dust

I am just a posting fool this week, huh? I guess I have lots to say! (and unfortunately lose track of the time my 4 year old is parked in front of Nick Jr.)

So the prep for the 11 mile run was well worth it. We took it a bit slower (average (9:30 on my Garmin). I guess we get gabbing (or in the Peg speed vacuum) and don't realize how fast we go. I felt great, just a little bit tired towards the end (I guess running 1 hour 40 minutes does that to you). Switched it up to a PowerBar Gel instead of GU. MUCH better. I had the chocolate flavor and it DID taste a bit like chocolate frosting...with a chemical twist. Not bad, though.

But, these long runs are never without event. We had the first fall of the season. And, wouldn'tcha know...it was me.

So we are speeding up Old 27 (the 4 lane highway we all sort of freak out running on) and turn on Dill Road, the quiet side street our water is parked on. Remember a few weeks back and our water incident? That was on Dill Road too.

I don't think I want to run on Dill Road anymore.

Anyway, as we turn onto the side street, this dog come flying out of nowhere. He is a Golden Retriever, so you know it's not Cujo or anything, but nonetheless a bit alarming when barrelling right at you. The owner is yelling for him to come home and he is NOT having any of that. I picture the dog thinking "OH BOY! OH BOY! We are going on a RUN! OH BOY! OH BOY!" as he wedges himself between Peg and me.

After that, "Non-Cujo" and I have a little dance. And at the end of this dance, there is no romantic kiss...just me kissing the road. "Non-Cujo" gets in front of me and I lose my footing. Then I am in slow motion. You know that slow motion feeling where you know you have no control over the situation at hand? It reminds me of every time my kids get hurt. Anyway, I know I am going down and I feel my ankle turn in the process. In that split second I am a little concerned about twisting my ankle, but much more concerned that my new Athleta capris will get ripped. So I put my hands down (hard) and then my knees follow, avoiding landing on my ankle. I stumble back up oh-so-gracefully and I am sure the view from the back was quite a sight. Immediately I scan the damage to the pants. Not ripped! Whoo hooo! Now, I can't say that for the palms of my hands or my knees. But at least I am still intact.

Thankfully our water stop was a few feet away and I can catch my breath and wash the gravel out of my road rash. We make it through the rest of the run incident free. I showed my "boo-boo" to Sam and he nursed me back with a little TLC and a Transformers bandaid.

Next week we bump it up to 12 miles and if I have anything to do with the route, Dill Road will not be a part of it!