Another strong long run for the books and I’ll take it any time I can get it. I would like to thank Mother Nature for giving us another beautiful day to run. Overcast, no humidity, upper 50’s lower 60’s. But I’d like to ask Mother Nature to keep her acorns and attack geese to herself. I missed getting hit in the head with one and my friend had the unfortunate luck to step on on one and wipe out. It’s a good thing that Carrie’s bad ass because she took the wipe out like a champ, despite spraining her ankle, busting up her knee and elbow, and braking her Garmin <gasp!>.

The coach and one of my friends had ice packs and a first aid kit, so they were able to patch her up. We had a runner who was a doctor onsite to check out her elbow, which blew up to the size of a melon (I’m exaggerating, but it was really gruesome). All in all, I think she’ll be okay. Some time with R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression, elevation) and she’ll be ready for the Richmond Marathon.

Her accidental spill made me realize that I didn’t have a good runner’s first aid kit in my car. So, on my to do list is to buy a kit and add the following: KT Tape* (which would’ve been a great way to secure the ice bags on Carrie’s elbow, knee, and ankle), ice packs, extra gauze and Telfa pads.

*EDIT 9/28: Per my friend’s suggestion “KT Tape is too expensive to use to secure ice! Keep an ACE wrap in your bag, and basic (cheap) athletic tape. Plus, after running, you’d never be able to get KTT to stick anyway.” (Thanks Sunny! Great advice)

Then we had the geese. They were actually funny as they “ran” beside us for a little bit until Kenny decided to yell at them. Then it was on! You can see below that we picked up our pace to get away from them.

Anyway, acorns and geese aside, here are the stats:

1. 11:24
2. 11:38
3. 11:26
4. 10:42 (GU 1)
5. 11:03
6. 10:45 <—– Running from attack geese
7. 10:30 (GU 2)
8. 9:58 <—- Trying to catch up to my friends
9. 10:40
10. 11:00
11. 10:29
12. 10:36

My GU’s. I figured I’d show a visual of what I actually consume just for the heck of it.

All in all, we had a very good run. Felt great, excellent company, what more can I ask for. We either shortened or skipped our scheduled water breaks and kept our pace on the faster end. Stopped for a quick stretch on the way back and finished strong.

I have to thank my friends for allowing me to give in to my neurosis and running with me run until MY Garmin says 12.0, even though theirs hit first. And for putting up with me taking their pictures when they are injured, running, stretching, eating, etc so that I can share it on my blog. They put up with a lot running with me. They are very good friends. They are my sole sisters.

Next run, tomorrow Run Wild for Autism 5K Race.