19 Miles in The Rain

It drizzled on and off all day Saturday and the next morning came a few heavy
showers. Mission Peak must be muddy as hell and after one glass of water and
three bananas, I went on the good old Alameda Creek Trail. I needed a long run
to prepare for an event.

61-year-young L signed up on a Marin Headlands 100 miler early December and I
was supposed to pace him at night. "You will get a different perspective." he
promised. Now that the race was canceled, he insisted that we run a quarter of it,
one 25-mile loop, in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area next weekend.

"We don't even have to drive that far." I suggested.
"But we do!" was his reply on Slack.

Heavy dark clouds hung low and the sun was no where to be seen. The rain was
light and few people ventured out on the trail. Those who did were minding
their next steps. The squirrels and woodpeckers were going about their own
businesses as if nothing was happening. A flock of wild turkeys were taking a
stroll in a park, males and females engrossed in their merry courting game. No
one paid attention to me.

I tried to keep a leisurely pace at five steps breathing in and six out. My
glutes effortlessly propelled me forward and I never ran out of breath. The
right foot, though, still hurt. Recovery was faster and much better as a result
of my daily stretching. The fascia under the foot, however, showed no sign
of letting up. 

The chilly rain and crisp air cooled my run the same way cold water felt more 
comfortable once I warmed up in a swimming pool. I never needed to stop to drink 
or eat. That one glass of water carried me all the way. The joint and foot pains
slowed me down in the last two miles but I could have done a few more. Overall,
it was a pleasant run.

Back home, I enjoyed a cold shower, half a can of Spam in the name of sodium, 
lots of almonds for magnesium, one liang of the hard liqor Er Guo Tou, and glass
after glass of hot lemon water.

[7grizzly]

回复 '暖冬cool夏' 的评论 : Thanks, 暖冬, for reading and liking. Writing felt more like painting in that paragraph.

As for straining oneself, you know my philosophy. I don't want to stay in the comfort zone, fearing that my territory being slowly but surely taken away by age. Instead, I'd like to fight back in some way to expand my domain. So I would go out and stress myself, not too much, regularly. A simple goal is to run 100 miles someday in my 70s, e.g.

Thank you again. You just gave me an idea for another post. Good Luck!

[暖冬cool夏]

I like the fourth paragraph a lot. Of course:))
Never strain yourself, if 25-mile-run is too much,especially when you have foot pain, then don't force yourself. Take care!