On the running menu tonight...

For starters, I went with a light jog through the neighborhood. Whetted my appetite with a slight incline for the first mile, then got a nice dose of downhill for the next 2-1/4 miles.

I underestimated how long it would take for the party to arrive at the Running Room Clubhouse for the second course. I thought the reservation was for 6PM. Turns out it was not for another 30 minutes. I thought about leaving, thinking about the time that was being wasted waiting, mentally calculating when I would actually get home. Instead, had a drink of water by the shoe bar, then a Clif shot of espresso love, just to pass the time while making small talk.

As the rest of the guests arrived, we were told that we'd have a buffet tonight -- a 2K warmup run, followed by a side dish of tempo (another 2K, and since Garmin didn't show up for this round, I couldn't even guess what my pace was), and then we'd end off with a 2K recovery.

Well, still hungry when I returned to the clubhouse, which is good because I had another 3 miles to log. Swigged some blue Gatorade, then set out for a second helping of solo running. The sun had long since set, but there was a gentle breeze and no sign of the severe thunderstorms the weatherman had predicted.

Ran much slower in the third leg of this outing. Kind of tired now, but spirits are still somewhat up there. I ran 3.75mi, some of it on the deserted beachside boardwalk. Walked the last 1/2-mile home. Uphill. Sat in some cold water for 10 minutes. Without ice. Almost manageable, and I didn't cry this time.

Seriously famished after what turned out to be a 3-1/2 hour session. I definitely hadn't expected to be out that long. Two hours max -- and that was being over generous. Good thing CMan was on dinner duty -- he made us steak, baked potato and corn. And some onion rings for good measure.



And I had this beauty of a strawberry cupcake for dessert.












Total distance, excluding the walk: 10.7mi.