Slop 'n stomp

Seujan and I puddle-stomped our way through today's long run in the pouring rain...she slummed it and ran slow today, so we actually ran together most of the 10.1 miles. We went from Greenlake, through Ravenna Park, past Husky stadium, and to through the Arboretum...then back the same way. Lots of trails and puddles and kind of fun. We were smart enough not to drive near Husky stadium within a couple hours of the 12:30 kickoff of today's football game and running through the neighborhood gave us an up close view (and smell) of the throngs of purple-clad tailgaters and their culinary creations. Nothing like barbeque grills humming along at 10:30 a.m. Now I am the first to admit that the triathlon world is a bit of a (kind of odd perhaps to some people) subculture...but tailgating football fans, now there's a subculture worthy of wonder. I mean, we had to go out in the pouring rain and slop through the mud to do our long run, but those wackos were out in the wet and cold cooking chili on propane burners and getting drunk before noon...and paying a lot of money for tickets and parking to do it...when they all appeared to be the kind of people with heated homes, fully functioning kitchens, and televisions with instant replay that could enable one to actually enjoy a football game. I will vouch for just how enjoyable that experience is because after a shower and lunch, I turned on the Husky game and promptly fell asleep on the warm dry floor in front of the TV while Seujan finished her book in the bathtub.

I had not run in a week and prior to today's run, my hip was down to just a small ache and close to normal...that was shot within the first mile of the run as it hurt right away and hasn't stopped. We went on a home improvement shopping trip this afternoon (anyone interested in booking a tour of our spare bathroom to admire the new shelving, please contact Seujan for an appointment)...and I limped around Home Depot and Target looking for escalators and elevators like a garden variety American.

It's likely that I will hamster through the week and won't run much or at all before the Seattle Half next Sunday.

Long run:
10.1 miles
1:40:12
Avg HR = 140