True Life: I Went Running and Got Lost

hungryrunner:

Sooo, let’s talk a little bit about how I was planning on running a 5.5 mile loop today, but ended up getting completely and totally lost and clocked in almost 7 miles instead. Whoops! I definitely should have thought about the fact that I have absolutely no sense of direction before I set out on a new trail that, about every 500 yards or so, branches out into new paths that lead in every which direction.

Actually, that part was kind of nice at the beginning of the run because I wasn’t at all paying attention to the time or distance since I was preoccupied with trying to figure out which way I needed to go in order to get back to the starting point. Obviously that didn’t work out, though, because about 3.5 miles in I finally realized I was not running in a loop and figured out that I needed to turn around and go back the way I came if I wanted to ever see civilization again. To give you a hint at how much of a sense of direction I have… I also got lost after I turned around and tried to run the same route back. Thank goodness I had my iPhone and I was able to pretend to know how to use a compass!

Despite getting quite sidetracked, it was actually an awesome run. I felt great, maintained my goal of keeping under a 10-minute-mile pace, and the scenery was beautiful, so I can’t really complain. The whole ordeal might have also taken me a bit longer because I stopped to snap some photos to share!

I love this trail because all the locals take their horses out on it. I waved to this guy and said, “Beautiful horse!” and he tipped his cowboy-ish hat to me. Dammit! I want a horse and a cowboy-ish hat!

I got to run along this super swerve-y boardwalk that runs over a marsh, which made me feel like I was in a video game. (Bonus points for not falling into the swamp!)

And, nothing can ever beat running along the water! (I’d prefer the ocean, but lakes are cool too!)

Observations at 4:30AM

- Five minutes after making my first cup of coffee: how did that huge puddle of milk get on the counter?

- No one will ever have to know that I just unlocked my own car but tried to get into my sister’s.

- Driving in complete darkness: where the F is the hole on the lid to this cup of coffee!?

- Wow, driving would be so much more enjoyable if there were always NO ONE else on the road.

- No one can see me! Why is switching lanes without using directionals so much more fun than switching lanes and having to signal?

- Oh my god, opening a public facility and being the only one inside for 15 minutes is absolutely TERRIFYING. WHAT WAS THAT NOISE?

- 5:20 AM: Where did all my coffee go? Somebody… Anybody… More coffee NOW, please! I beg of you!