Long, slow and cut short...

I was going to run 11.5 miles, maybe 12. I mapped my route on Google maps. I ate a granola bar before I left. I drank some Gatorade and poured some more into my Simple Hydration bottle. I strapped on my Garmin and headed out the door.

I felt fine for the first mile or two. I was running easy at 8:30 pace. Then, I guess, my granola bar decided it wanted to let me know it was there. I felt a bit nauseous. Not bad, just a twinge. I kept running and it went away after a while, but my energy level was lower.

I decided to get my mind off my physical ills by looking around at the scenery. The wheat was golden, the trees and grass as green as green can be. One short section of the road was deeply shaded, trees lining both sides so close that from a mile away it didn't even look like the road could fit through them.

Shortly after I came out of the trees, I met up with the road before the one I'd planned to turn on. I was feeling lousy enough to change my plans and turn early. That meant a pretty nasty little climb which you can see on the elevation chart somewhere around four miles. I made it up and over that and continued on south to 1st Street which would take me east back into town.

I ran the familiar sandy surface of 1st back into town. My plan was to cut across the railroad tracks and run straight back home, but a train was blocking my way, so I ran up to the north side of town on the side streets. I was hoping to get to the crossing at Maple and Main before the train started up again, but I was not quite fast enough. The train started up again as I was running up Simpson. It crossed the tracks when I was less than a block away. I ran up to Main and stopped to rest.

Once the train was on its way, I continued on my way, following Maple until I reached 15K. That's when I gave up. I wasn't feeling all that great and I thought I'd get a longer cool down. I walked up to the church, got some water from the outside faucet, then headed home. I made it without dying, but I was dripping with sweat. I suppose the heat and humidity might have had something to do with how I felt, but I'm still blaming the granola bar since I don't usually eat before I run. (garmin data)