Runday: Killing Two Birds With One Stone

I had a blast last night at my kids' school's annual Trivia Night and Auction. Not only was it a fun night, but it has enabled the school PTO to eliminate door-to-door fundraising - no cookie dough, wrapping paper, or anything else to hit people up for money for, so it's a win-win! I also drank too much wine. My husband, who came to the church where the event was held straight from work, had to drive me home and leave his truck behind. Today I came up with the great idea to run the five miles to retrieve the truck. I have had two sick kids this week and only got to run once on Tuesday, so I was really grateful I got to leave the kids with Jason and get some exercise!

I am currently in the middle of two weeks in which I am going grain-free in an attempt to "detox" and regain healthy eating habits (I may go into detail about that in a different post). I was a bit nervous about attempting a longer run without the benefit of fueling with oatmeal or a bowl of cereal for breakfast. I had two eggs scrambled with spinach and cottage cheese, followed by an orange so that I was at least getting some sugar. I then headed out the door with last night's makeup still smeared on my face.

The nice thing about running to get the truck is that I got to take a route I would never get to do otherwise. A new route is always exciting! However, a long stretch of my run was on kind of a back road, without the benefit of sidewalks or even a paved shoulder in places. I was forced to run in the loose gravel and grass at times, which was really mushy from all the snow we've had lately. This was probably my most dangerous run. Milburn Road is also quite hilly, something I've never noticed while driving on it in the comfort of my van!

It was bright and sunny, albeit cold and a bit breezier than I like when the temperature is barely above freezing. My toes were numb during at least the first half, but I still ended up ditching my gloves and head wrap by mile three, and ultimately unzipped my fleece vest.

My concerns about not being adequately fueled were unfounded. It was a good run! I was already into it when I realized I forgot to time myself, but there will be other runs on other days when I can track my pace.