I'm only missing the brown patches

I'm writing to you post Thanksgiving. I've survived the calorie intake bonanza and managed to steer clear of Black Friday. Some years I wake up in the wee hours with crusty eyes to push a shopping cart around the isles of Target but this year I didn't need anything. Or so I thought. Instead, I unknowingly passed the shopping torch onto my husband who left the house and went to Wal Wart and got us a new flat screen and blue-ray player at midnight. He said all of that sh*t cost about $49. I wouldn't doubt it.

Anyway, I neglected to mention that I ran a 5K on Thanksgiving morning. In our neck of the woods, we don't give our races turkey themed names on the BIG DAY, we give them horse themed names. I live in KY and just in case you were wondering, horses and cigarettes are king. I and several thousand others ran the local Thoroughbred Classic. I might slight them for the name but it's a heck of a race really. Well put on, cool shirts, lots of spectators. THE GOAL: To pace my friend Tami to a new 5K PR which would be aiming to be under 28:56. Short story - We line up, gun goes off, we reach the .5 mile point and we're covering some serious real estate at a 8:30 pace. We finished the race in 27:27, we started as we finished, out of breath and smiling in between grabbing at our sides. High five.

Anyway, that was big for me. I'm not famous for running 8 anything. I'm famous for having a bum right knee that I'm constantly coddling like a spoiled child. I've been patting myself on the back since Thursday for a race well run.


Legacy Trail, my marathon training ground.

Fast forward to today. I could feel a long run coming on since Friday. Wait, that was yesterday. I don't know about you but I get NUTS if I don't run long in about two weeks. I just do. My mojo gets ugly and so does my attitude. I get cranky and foul. I've had such a good thing going, my speed has really picked up so I thought I would enjoy a long run with some brisk pace on the side while leaving ITB behind for once.


Nom nom nom. My name is Coy and I'm a runner, err, I mean giraffe.

The run was great, I averaged in the 9's, which, for 14 miles can officially be labeled as "impressive". Although I felt great mentally, I had a hitch in my giddy up by the time I got back to my car. My left hip felt like it belonged to an 80 year old woman and I had a headache. Damn it. Half the time I was running I kept feeling as if I was giraffe. I lumber and am awkward and although do enough to survive, am in no way sexy, like say, a cheetah.
I get from Point A to Point B and that's it.

So, from now on, if you're wondering. Yes, I probably have some sort of running ailment that will slow me down but will not break my spirit. I have a Boston Qualifying brain and heart and legs that resemble that of a giraffe, going in a million different directions than the ones they need to be.