Long Run Thursday: Turkeys and Herron and Deer, Oh My!

This run had it's ups and downs and I did not run the whole route. I'm okay with that, surprisingly. My mileage schedule got all screwed up and I skipped on off week where I should have had one. I actually ran about 10 of these miles and walked the rest, but I did 12 miles on an elliptical on Tuesday. No worries.

My first error, and probably the fatal one, was that I started out way too fast. And when I hit the glorious down hill portion of this run, I kept going too fast. It was also on the down hill part of life that my right leg/hip/ham string started to hurt. It's not a bone thing. I'm a muscle thing that gives new meaning to the phrase "tight ass". I can't explain it except to say it just feels like my leg isn't in the right place. Boo.

The second error, although not too regrettable, was thinking I could actually run on Pike Island. I did actually run all the way around it, but it clearly wasn't ready for runners. Pike Island is lovely and I highly recommend it. That said, they must have been re-grading or re-doing some of the trails. The trails were abnormally uneven (even for nature, I could tell those bumps weren't supposed to be there) which made my leg even less happy.

The third error, and ultimately the death nail in the coffin, was trying to gun it up the big hill by Ft Snelling. I did actually manage to run a while after that but it was never the same. So I walked the rest of the way home. The only thing that makes my leg feel better is running up on my toes. Walking didn't feel good but it started to calm down later in the day.

In addition to the above chaos, I had a panic attack while running (see my comment about gunning it up the hill; it was right after that) which I haven't had since last marathon season. I say boo. Still, today I got to see a great new place to run and have a relatively good run for being at this time. And I learned that even on 14-mile runs, I need to slow the hell down. (It's sick when marathoners start to think 'oh, it's only a little 14-miler'.)

Here's m wildlife count for the run:

• Squirrels: I almost tripped over a pair of squirrels that were either mating or fighting. I think if it's this time of year it would be fighting but who can say for sure. Anyways the tried to trip me.
  


• Rabbits: every where, even little babies.


• Blue Heron: I scared one on Pike Island and I got to watch it fly away down river. I also saw one sitting in the mist along the creek. My favorite birds.


• Cranes: What are the big white birds that look like cranes (Ibis?) that live in the same places and do the same things at Blue Heron? I saw a bunch of those too.


• Deer: the welcome party of Pike Island. They're stealthy but they let me get pretty close. They had babies too.


• Turkey Lurkey: yes, I did see a boatload of wild Turkey. Pop question: a group of wild Turkeys is called a what? ('Rafter' if you trust the internet.) The turkey babies are the cutest. Yes, even cuter than the bunnies. I have no idea why.