It took just about 2 hours and 45 minutes. And we made the very stupid mistake of not bringing any food or fuel besides our collective 30 ounces of water. And on top of that, this was our first morning run, so besides a few bites of some homemade granola, we hadn't eaten since the night before. I think this made a huge impact on how we both felt. A litte bite of something would have been really fantastic at about mile 9 or 10. I also have reason to believe that this oversight led to a little case of the grumpies for us both. Believe it or not, 14 mile runs aren't all fun and games. There are definitely times when I want to kick J's foot from behind (you know, when you kick a foot just as it's being lifted to take a step and then the that leg kind of shoots up really fast and it looks quite hilarious) and I'm sure he feels the same way. But we're both pretty understanding of the fact that our snappiness is most likely a reaction to the exhaustion that we're experiencing.
Some of you millions of readers out there might not know that Jamie is a scientist in all moments. One of Jamie's signature moves while on a run is to distract himself by exploring the world around him, investigating his surroundings. Sometimes this means he slows down unexpectedly and squints his eyes at some random insect or animal and then says something like "huh, I wonder if grass hoppers come out more during certain times of the day or if they're just plentiful on this trail."
One move that he's been pulling lately is to grab the apples off of crab apple trees while we're running under them so that he can take a bite of one.
And I don't think he realizes that when he does this and I'm running behind him, he also pulls the branch down right on my head while simultaneously slowing his pace drastically. What this means is that I have to duck suddenly and try to dart out of the way and then run into him like we're tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum. But these quirky things that Jamie does while on long runs are what keep him moving and loving the run, and I dig that. And I know that when he asks me stuff like "what would you do if there was an alligator in that pond?" (my answer was "wrangle it, duh") he's just trying to keep me in the game. Good running partner, he is.
We also had a testy little moment when I was complaining about having to pee and needing to find a spot along the trail to do so. Jamie was running in front of me and said something that I couldn't hear or understand and was pointing to something. This is how it went down from my point of view:
[Jamie and Rachel are beginning the trail section of their run. It's quite flat with long, dry grasses on either side of the path. The sun is behind them and they are running towards a small pond with a little cluster of trees.]
J: (Pointing with his left hand to something far away) Mumble mumble pee mumble mmmmmuble lake muble mum when mummmmmble.
R: (Brow furrowed, scanning the area for pee spot) What?
J: (A little louder, pointing more vigorously) Mumble mumble mumble blah blah when mmmmumble pee mumble grumble...!
R: (Pretty much just giving up the attempt at understanding what J's saying) What?! I really can't hear you back here!
J: (Turns head slightly to the left, annoyed, now pointing violently) WHEN YOU GOT TO PEE!
R: (Now more confused than ever....was that a question or a fragmented sentence...??) Oh...ok! I'm just going to pee right here! (Really not sure what just happened or what J was trying to say this whole time.)
Clearly, long runs are not all glamourous and lovey-dovey. No sir-ey. It's serious business out there.
We were both considerably sore after that run, and we spent the rest of the day rewarding ourselves. First we had breakfast at Le Peep (it's the next best thing to breakfast in bed), followed by a little beer tasting at New Belgium in Ft. Collins. Thanks to my parents (and originally my mom's previous employer), we had a gift certificate for on night at La Quinta (classiest joint around)
in Loveland and a gift certificate for a chef's tasting menu and wine pairing at a lovely little restaurant called Chimney Park. So after New Belgium, we took a nice nap and a dip in the hot tub at La Quinta. And then Jamie put on his best pair of Chucks and a Polo and we headed to dinner. Which was delightful, to say the least. I realize this is a blog about training, but I'm also a foodie, so I have to satisfy that side of myself because this is my blog, after all, and so I can type whatever my little heart desires. Neither Jamie nor myself have ever had the pleasure of partaking in a chef's tasting menu or wine pairing. It was four courses paired with four wines, and we each had a different dish for each course. So we split everything to ensure we got the most out of the evening. Chad was a very informative server and made us feel relaxed and taken care of. So "holla!" to Chad. I'll spare the details of every individual dish, but you should rest assured that it was a perfect ending to a very enjoyable day.
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