Yowza!

Well. After hours of moping around the house, watching Jerry McGuire, etc., and debating whether the embarrassment of wearing the water belt was going to be worthwhile for the ease of carrying water and clif blox, I did make it out. Ultimately, as dumb as I felt with the thing pinching my pudge and looking generally dorky, I'm glad I brought it. My philosophy these days about such things -- pudge-pinching proper running gear, jiggly bits on display, etc.-- is that it's necessary if I'm ever going to be less pudgy than I am today. Also, running with proper gear is really a much more enjoyable experience than trying to trudge through my tough training schedule without the right things.

About an hour before I left, I had a hearty lunch of lots of romaine lettuce, a sunshine burger, salsa, a few crackers, and some hummus that was pretty much frozen because my family's fridge is going crazy because it's mostly empty. (The fam is on vacation and they took most of their food with them.)

It took me forever to get out the door, and as soon as I turned off our street onto the main road I realized I had forgotten the watch part of my heart rate monitor. I thought about going back, but decided it was probably for the best. So I did 8 miles and have no clue how fast I went or what my heart rate was. I think I probably run a little slower without the watch, but I was able to go for longer and didn't get frustrated with the fact that the HRM part has a dying battery and sometimes doesn't work. I just plodded from one mile marker to the next and didn't give too much thought to how long it was taking. I didn't get a parking ticket, so presumably the entire trek including warmup and a short walk between my car and the trail all took less than 2 hours.
I did manage to snap a few photos out on the trail. It was overcast and windy and felt as if it could downpour at any moment, but so far it still hasn't.

One mile down -- I ran from the 4 mi mark to 8 mi and back.
Turnaround point! I hit a second wind not long before this, so I was feeling great.
Heading back -- more uphill parts, bit of a struggle. I walked for about a quarter mile when I hit the 4 1/2 mile mark while I ate a couple of clif blox. I thought these might be too sticky or unpleasant to eat, but they were not bad at all and gave me a pretty good energy boost. I do prefer running nutrition stuff with caffeine, but as long as I can get a little sugar in me while I do a long run I'm fine.
The end! I walked most of the last half-mile because my hip flexors were really feeling strained. I think I could've made it the rest of the way jogging, but I didn't want to push it.

Chafing, yuck! I didn't notice the blood on my shirt until I got to the gas station on the way home. I was totally embarrassed but I really needed to put gas in the car, so I got out and fueled up anyway, doing my best to cross my arms so that the bloodstain wouldn't be obvious. I have oozy, icky chafe marks all along the top of my sports bra, similar to what happened last week. Yeck. Must get some runner's lube before my next longer run, but that won't be until September! (Probably -- I suppose it is possible that I'll do a long one on vacation, but I'm lucky if I exercise at all, really.)

Bloodied but blissful in the kitchen once I got home.
Post-run snackeroo. These mini clif bars are kind of terrific, though they are very mini. I bought a box of them to bring on vacation, along with loads of larabars, trail mix, and other goodies so that I can keep the budget manageable and cope if I end up someplace not vegetarian-friendly.

The bad thing about an afternoon run is that then the day is kind of over. It's now 6 pm and even though I feel great about finishing the run, I haven't actually done any of the other crap on my to-do list. I am going to start packing for my trip tonight, and must finish up some other business. And tomorrow I'm hopefully getting my dress tailored for the wedding I'm attending next weekend! It's a super cute dress so I really hope the tailoring works out because it presently looks a bit too much like a nightgown at the bottom. I think if it were cocktail-length it would work.

Now, I'm off to see if any of my veggies I bought this week are usable -- I have been so frustrated with everything getting frozen!