A mood-swing-filled twenty miler.

After our crazy weekend of many friends in our tiny home (just how I like it!), there was one casualty.

My blender didn’t survive the margarita madness. We had to go blender shopping on Sunday night so I could make my post-run recovery smoothie on Monday. We ended up with a Ninja system– which was pretty expensive but should last a long time and it does a REALLY good job. I also found a few blogs that show great Ninja recipes, like energy chews and ice cream and all sorts of delicious ideas. 🙂 On the way home from Target, we saw an Almond Tree van on the highway. What are the odds of that? Brian sped up so we could wave at Jon and Kristi.
We made shakes on Sunday night to try out the new machine, and then I hit the hay to rest for Monday’s run.
I started the day with coffee and my usual breakfast of Greek yogurt, fruit, agave, nuts, and chia.

I was feeling a little apprehensive about this run, but for no good reason. It was sprinkling a little in the early morning, but by about 10, the weather took a turn for the better, and I headed out around noon. I took a slightly hilly route out just north of town, along the river. My plan was to do two 10 mile out-and-backs, and stop at home in between to fill up my water. Unfortunately, the explorer in me had a different idea, and when I got to my five mile turnaround, I kept going. It was a beautiful route…

…a good mix of gravel and pavement…

…exposed tree roots…

…and little waterfalls! Can you blame me for not wanting to turn around? It wasn’t until the road ended at 7.3 miles that I caved. Of course, I ran out of water about 10 miles in, and I was also being chased by a hornet. As it turns out, when I get dehydrated, I turn into cranky Heidi. I started thinking that maybe I’d just take a few big gulps of the river… And the Wisconsin river up here is pretty gross. I paddle in it all the time, and swim occasionally, but it is definitely not drinkable. With that longer route, I knew I’d have to fill up at home, then head out for a 5.4 out-and-back, and I was so crabby that I knew I wouldn’t go back out if I stopped at home. My only logical option was to skip my house and take my turning-salty-and-starting-to-cramp body to the park for water instead. What happened next was only slightly short of embarrassing.
When I give my black lab unlimited water, she drinks until she pukes. That’s practically what happened at the water fountain. I drank 20 oz of water, then filled up both of my 10 oz bottles for the remaining 5ish miles. I didn’t puke, but my first half mile after that was done with all that water sloshing around in my stomach. Whoops.
I headed on a more traveled route and saw my friend Lee, who hollered at me, and I was encouraged. I also thought about jewelry for a mile or so. 🙂 The last five miles were a lot slower than the first fifteen, but I got the miles in and learned a valuable lesson.