The Long Run That Wasn't

Yesterday was to be another 11 mile long run. My plan is to stick with 11 miles for a while so my body can adapt. Besides, I am training for a half in October. I think I have plenty of time to get my miles where they need to be for that race. Anyway, I decided to check out the Oklahoma River trails that cut east-west through the middle of Oklahoma City. One side is a 7 mile trail and the other side is 6. The great part is there is no cross traffic--just bikers, runners, and walkers. I had never been out there before but I thought it would be a welcome break from Mitch Park, where I do most of my outdoor running. Mitch Park has a 2.8 mile loop which I have to do 4 times to get the 11 miles in. So, to keep from getting bored, I was off to the River.

I got out there a little before 7 AM and already the humidity was kickin. I parked at the end of the 7 mile trail and figure I would just turn around at the 5.5 mile point, ala Yuri Gallegos. So I start my run. No big deal. As continue to run, I realize that there are no runners. A lot of bikers and a few walkers, but None. I start to think this is a little odd. Barely a few miles into my run, I start to feel really weak, tired, and hot. I realize that I am running west to east...right in to the rising sun. There is no shade of any kind. Just me running straight into the blazing sun, hoping I don't keel over. I couldn't finish the run. I was dying. I turned around, walking many many times. It was awful. At least with my Mitch Park loop, there is some spots with shade, I turn in different directions, etc. I think I will stay away from the Oklahoma River trails for a while. Maybe I will come back in the winter.

Enough about my crappy run. The Japan trip is back on. You may recall me talking about this a few weeks ago. Last time, I was set to leave on a Monday for 2 weeks in Japan. But, on the Friday before, I get a call telling me that the project had pushed. Well, it is back on, but this time I will only be gone for about a week. I only have to visit one site (I was set to do 2 sites last time) in Yokosuka (near Yokohama). I had a quick trip to 3 locations last November--Yokosuka, Okinawa and Guam; there was so little time for any site seeing due to our schedule. Also, the trip in November was right before I started running again. My hope is to combine the site seeing with the running this time around. I started doing some research online, looking for a local race the weekend I am there. Can't really find anything of use so I e-mailed a few people living over there (bloggers and such) asking for help in finding a race. If I can't find one or it proves to difficult to get registered, I will stay a night in Tokyo before heading to Yokosuka and run the routes found in this article. And yeah, I sent an e-mail to the guy mentioned in the article, even though it is from a few years ago. Where as last time I was dreading going back, this time I am pretty excited. I will keep you posted.

Until next time.