OO Run ... eh.

I was supposed to wake up early this morning and make the drive over to one of the metroparks on the river, preferably Providence, but that just didn't happen. I was up late again last night and my cell phone alarm this morning was received with a glare and knocking it off my nightstand. Probably shouldn't do that, stupid Blackberry was expensive and already pretty beat up, but oh well.

If not for my dad, I probably wouldn't have gotten in a run at all today. But, dad chose to be his normal obnoxious self. He decided to "clean" upstairs (which he NEVER does) even though mom and I had just done it the other night! That wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't started humming. Anyone who knows my dad knows that he hums all the time ... and that he can't carry a tune in a 5-gallon bucket. After about 15 minutes of blasting my stereo to drown him out, I'd had enough. I needed to get out of the house. So ... off to Oak Openings I went.

Since I didn't find the code word for OO yet this week, I made a detour to enter the park from the Jeffers Road entrance so I could stop at the horse rider's center and find the white easel. Luckily, it was right by the windmill and I could read it from the car. Then, I made my way up to Mallard Lake, my usual trailhead of choice.

Frist, I ran the Dune Trail (Red) and that went pretty well. I somehow ended up on the all-purpose trail to start, but I just followed it until it met the Dune Trail. As usual, I had to walk the dune face and ridge. That loose sand just kills me. I wasn't tired at the end of it, though I didn't feel great either, so I decided to take off on another trail. Stupidly, I went for the Ferns and Lakes Trail (Blue) which happens to be one of the longer and rougher trails for that trailhead. I ended up walking most of it with smaller stretches of running. I just could seem to regulate my breath or even attempt to keep a constant pace. Even my walking was slower than normal. At least I got in 4.73 miles.

I guess I just have to shake off today's run (even the encounter with a snake ... *shudder*) and mentally prepare myself for the next one. It was a learning experience in listening to my body.