A strange group on a strange run

Today run was noteworthy in that many of the regulars were missing, a few members who rarely make it on Saturday's showed up, and we got lost (or at least disoriented) too many times.

I was later than usual arriving, and was worried that the group might start without me. I found a parking spot and ran to the Lock 29 entrance gate where we gather before the runs, but no one was there. I checked my watch, and it was right at 8:00 AM, so I was sure they hadn't left yet (we always leave a few minutes later than 8:00.) Eventually, runners began arriving, surprisingly including Daisy Duc and e-speed, making a very rare appearance together. It was the smallest group since the worst of the mid-winter blizzard runs. Someone mentioned that there was a Veritcal Runner sponsored race in Hudson. I assume most of the missing regulars where there, including Steve Hawthorne.

So, with many of the regulars missing, and with the addition of Daisy and e-speed, we started out at a slow pace. It was a very warm, very humid morning, and within a few minutes, sweat was dripping from us, especially Daisy. No...wait a minute, that was just her water bottle leaking. ;-) Once we picked up the pace a bit, and got into the hilly and muddy parts of the run, the heat and humidity made it a very tough morning. I took off my shirt after three or four miles, in part to cool off and also to use as a swatter against the particularly pesky deer flies that harassed us all morning.



Steve chose to follow some unfamiliar paths, and as a result, there were four or five comical moments where we were unsure of where we were or which way to go. We did some backtracking, and some second guessing, and lost Steve momentarily, but eventually, 13.25 miles and 2 hours and 9 minutes later, we made it back to Lock 29. Here is a satellite image of the route.

That run was a tough one, and by the end I was done in. I had a bottle of Endurox R4 in the car, and I drank it down fast. Respect to e-speed for running strong for the last mile, coming up from behind and blowing past me. I rinsed off, put on a dry pair of shorts, said good-bye to the group and headed home. I've been eating since: a Dutch pancake which is basically a pie shell with a mixture of vegetables and cheese, about a quart of water, a tuna salad sandwich, some cheese and crackers, a beer, and various snack foods.