My VERY LONG RUN---23 Miles DONE

 I got up at 4:30 this morning. It was still pitch dark. I had a 20ish mile run on my docket to do this morning so I had gone to sleep very early so I could start running very early. I had my coffee, a little breakfast and took off in the dark. I had my headlamp. Here is a picture of the B-line bridge soon after I started. I had some new podcasts on my mp3 player but decided not to play them while it was dark out so I could be alert. Also not play the  ones about ghosts until it was light outside. I was already kind of nervous in the darkness.

 The town was dark and quiet as I ran through the streets. It felt like I was the only one awake...maybe I was. I soon was able to ditch my headlamp after this point as light began to rise in the sky.  I ran on campus and up through the arboretum. It was a perfect temperature this morning...just cool enough to be comfy and no humidity.

      When I got to Griffy the woods were dark still but alive with noise. As I ran I saw two screech owls alight on a branch. They were big...either fighting or getting ready to mate I couldn't tell which. They flew on before I could snap a picture though. I thought I might have heard a deer in there too but couldn't see at that point.

 I just have always liked this mailbox that looks like a tractor. Someone spent a lot of time on it! It is interesting to see what kind of things people do. I got a text here from a friend asking how much more I had to do and I said I was going to run up to Old State Road 37 and turn around. What I ended up doing instead was getting to Old State Road 37 and decided to run along the road down to cascades park and then take that back. 
      Here was the scene as I got to the causeway of what had formerly been lake Griffy but now was Meadow Griffy after they drained it. Very pretty...here you can see the mist coming up off the ground.

I love the peace I feel out at griffy. It is just so joyous to be in the presence of natural beauty and be all alone in it. I decided now I could put on my podcasts. I started listening to one called Mysteries Abound which I had 4 different segments of it. It is all about ghosts, mysteries and paranormal things with some factoids thrown in there........like how we spend a total of 2% of our day with our eyes closed due to blinking.

Here is a church that I find at the end of Hinkle road when I turned onto Bethel lane. I always liked the look of this little church. It has a graveyard as well. I just think it looks so country-fied. I am also a sucker for old things. I was feeling good physically too.

1. My heel wasn't hurting
2. My heartrate was staying in range without me having to slow down too much which means i was running efficiently.
3. It was so nice and cool I didn't feel overheated
4. I had made sure to bring my hydration pack so I had a liter and a half or water. I hydrated often.
5. Here I decided to take some calories in with a shot blok.




                                                                                                              I always take  a picture of this barn. It looked so picturesque this morning. I was at this point also listening to Trail Runner Nation podcast which I enjoy...it was all about "Why people run". I know why I run. It makes me feel happy!!

 Here are some lovely flowers I found along the roadway. The first ones of course are daisies...one of my favorite flowers after roses. The one on the right I am not sure what kind they are but I love purple!

 I got down to cascades a little after 8:15. By now I had been running for 3 hours. WOW! I love this ballpark. It is a nice one...and all surrounded by trees. Some day I will catch a game here. I like baseball.

8:30am: double espresso break. I was getting tired so I decided to use a caffeine pick-me-up to get me through the next hour or so of running. Double espresso...I don't mess with the syrupy messes or caramel stuff. I would rather eat my calories rather than drinking them. And I LOVE espresso!

So after that brief break I continued on down the street to catch the B-line again. I had had a Molly Ables spotting pre-Sbux so that was a pick me up as well. I felt like I got a *third?* wind so was feeling active and energetic again. I think besides the coffee it was also the realization that I had conquered already a very hefty distance of running and was still feeling okay. I LOVE that feeling!! So empowering! After a big long run I feel like I could do anything I put my mind to.

9:00 am: Got to Rail Trail to start the final leg of my journey. It was heating up a bit more now so it was nice to be in a covered and shaded environment. By now my legs were tired but not hurting so that was good. I was listening to a podcast now about weird Australian monsters that was recorded in Brisbane, Australia. I reminded myself to tell my friend Jan, who lives there, about it. I had another friend sighting at this point: Shelly and Mariluz who gave me a high five as we passed each other.

And now I arrived at the pretty Church Lane bridge. I love this old bridge. It is so picturesque. I snapped a picture and then turned to go down the Clear Creek trail. I wanted to stay in the shade but running a leg of Clear Creek was part of my plan and I am pretty serious about my plans when it's an important run.
  I ran down Clear Creek to Rockport road and turned around. A weird thing had happened at this leg of the run: I had stopped feeling my legs. They were numb like someone had pumped them full of novacaine and my torso was just kind of floating along. Weirdness. It didn't worry me....just felt unusual. I guess by now I was getting pretty darn tired. It was 9:30 by the time I turned around. I had been running now for 4 hours straight.

SO That's the whole run! I finished 23 miles in 4:41 something. I got home, made more coffee, showered, iced my knees and now am prepped to get my trekking class written out and done. I feel like a superhero for running all that way!!!!!!!!!