Strava

I ran 18.5 miles earlier today, Halloween. Before that I did 50 assisted pullups, 40 with 45 lbs of assistance, 10 with 52.5 lbs. I didn’t do any pullups last week and it showed when I tried to climb over this past weekend at First Ascent. I also did 100 sit ups and 25 push ups (I meant to do 50 before running but ran out of time – luckily I remembered to do them when I started this entry!) Once again, not having done pushups, I felt pretty weak. I will need to consistently do them to gain strength.

I actually left work at a reasonable time to make it to Monday night’s group run on time. Along the way, I saw some children (and a few adults) trick or treating along Cherokee Street. A guy in front of one business offered me some gummy bears but I didn’t take them.

Later, I heard several fire trucks blaring their sirens as they barreled down Chippewa Street. I definitely make sure to get out of the way. A few minutes later I saw (and smelled) where they stopped, certainly not wanting to stick around for long I hurried down the street to Big River Running.

Today’s group was small, there were a total of 4 of us. One person turned back early, planning to do 3 miles instead of the 7 the rest of us did. Another runner was scheduled to do a 12 mile workout at speeds ranging from 8 min per mile at the beginning to under 7 min by the end. He was talking about his running plan for the week, which included over 70 miles as the peak week before his upcoming marathon in Philadelphia, and a half marathon race in Indianapolis at the end of the week. Definitely a busy week/month for him!

We were pretty lucky, not having to wait at the first few traffic lights, but the luck didn’t last. There were several cars who didn’t see us running and we had to duck out of the way to avoid getting hit. Next time I will have to bring my headlight, especially after daylight savings time ends. I heard that daylight savings was supposed to be phased out this year, but learned that the bill passed in the US Senate but not the House of Representatives. Hopefully they will figure it out someday.

After I finished the 7 miles I ran about 1 more with the guy with the 12 mile plan, increasing our pace to just under 7 min/mile. As he turned around and I continued in the opposite direction, I realized I really had to use the restroom. I had to go a few miles/20 min earlier but kinda ignored it. This time I couldn’t ignore it anymore, so I ran even faster. I considered running to my house since it was only about 1 mile out of the way but I knew if I went in I might know go back out. Instead, I ran to the Schnuck’s grocery store. I practically sprinted through the door and tried to look casual as I passed the security guard, making a bee line straight to the bathroom. It only had one toilet but thankfully I was relieved to find nobody else was there.

Afterwards, I pursued the wares & tares and examined the deals & steals. Most were overpriced but I did find a cherry turnover that was 60% off, so I bought that. It is kind of a way to support the store for being open and letting me use the restroom without having to pay for it. However, if I didn’t find this cheap deal, I probably would have left.

Next I ran around Tower Grove Park. Normally I would have gotten groceries from the Ruler Foods but this week I decided to try Walmart+ that came with Daniel’s credit card. Hopefully the groceries will be reasonable priced and good so I don’t have to walk/run with 20 lb bags again. Tower Grove Park was a bit spooky, with fog eerily illuminated by the sodium orange street lights. At times it was hard to see the trail but luckily I made it back without tripping.

After running a 3 mile lap around the park, I returned home. I passed a surprisingly calm small gray cat, several houses with groups gathering around a front yard bonfire, and a street closed off for a Halloween block party. Several houses had unattended bowls of candy out, and while tempting, I refrained from taking any. Instead I ate some rice and veggies with my cherry turnover, a sweet and super healthy Halloween treat.