12 MILES -- 1:42:11 >> 12 Miles of *BRRRR*

Temperatures here in the Pacific Northwest - or at least in my neighborhood - will not get above 39 degrees today. I took a very lazy approach to getting out there today. Slept in until 7 am, leisurely ate breakfast, snuggled with the husband and dog, watched an episode of Ugly Betty and played on the computer. I didn't hit the cement until 11:30. Ha!

I am a brilliant morning runner. The earlier the better. I am bursting with physical energy, I love the quiet streets on the weekends, and I always feel GREAT! I am not a great evening runner...or afternoon for that matter. My run was mid day, full of cars and spending too many minutes to count waiting at stop lights (a problem I don't usually have at 7 am on a Saturday morning). I figured by sleeping and resting this morning, my physical energy would be the same if not better. Nope. Not so much.

I had already mentally psyched myself out at mile 7, thinking if I just cut across east a few blocks, I would be a mile away from home. But I kept plodding along and continued my run south for the loop, knowing I would regret cheating myself out of a decent long run, and one that is pretty short! [Larissa, get your act together!] At mile 6 I felt a pebble rolling around under my left foot...btw, the top of my left foot is fine! By changing up the lacing, I feel nothing. I don't think my lacing is a proper technique, but I will get that coaching tomorrow. I digress...So I stopped and went through the process of unlacing, pulling shoe off, and shaking out the stone. Didn't see it. Put shoe back on and got another block. Still there. Dang! It's in my SOCK. Go through process again. Brrr, it's 35 degrees out and my feet are curling up like salt on a slug. Smartwool socks back on and I plug away. The next two miles are rolling hills and I was just not feeling it. I had also planned to take an energy gel at exactly an hour in, knowing the gel will kick in at 1.2 hours, when I will need it to get back. Meanwhile, I couldn't feel my ass. I wasn't sure if this was muscle soreness or due to the frigid winter-like temperatures. I am betting on snow again post-Thanksgiving. I digress again!

Let me tell you about the energy gel I tried...Chocolate #9, an agave chocolate delight. organic agave sweetened, glycemic index of 46. Ingredients are organic agave, breakfast cocoa processed with alkali. That's it! But the best is how delicious it is. Like a treat for running long distances! It tastes like the dark Belgium chocolate cream inside Godiva's chocolates. YUMMY!!

About two and a half miles later, the energy kicked in and I finished strong. It was a good run.