Running strangeness....

This post is going to be about running and somethings I have seen this week while running.

I am sure by now all of my 5 readers know that I like to run. If you are not aware...I LIKE TO RUN! :) Anyway, I took a break from running after the half marathon in January. I pulled something in my hamstring and it just took forever to feel right. Then there were some attacks on the trails I like running on and I got a little freaked. For a while I was running on the shoulder of the street if the trail was too far off the road or it was not a busy area. Well, I had some aches and pains I would like to attribute to that. Not really the street, the shoulders are asphalt and much better to run on than the concrete of the trails, but the slight slant was giving me a problem. I am talking hip pain, ankle pain, foot pain, AND knee pain. Needless to say, I am back on the trails!!! The weeks I spent on the shoulder altered my running form. That is also not a good thing for my aches and pains. I read somewhere that if you run at a faster pace you end up having correct form. I have found that to be true! So, I have been killing myself in this heat and humidity to run faster. I am almost back to the correct form at my slower pace, but I have to think about it....just what I want to be doing when I run! I have found that I turn one foot in and one foot out. It results in plantar fasciitis in one foot and outside bone pain in the other. Now aren't you glad you know that???

There is one path I run a lot. I chose to do it Monday because I forgot the sensor that plugs into my ipod. It keeps track of my time, pace, and distance. I ran this one path because I knew how far it was. Then I set the stopwatch on my ipod. There is a pond...actually there are several. On the path next to this one pond there is always big chunks of pond mud. I have often wondered how it got there. By the time I run by the sun has been up a while and it is mostly dried up, but I am still curious. Sometimes when I run I hear something plop into the water....I have never seen what plopped. Monday I saw it. It was the biggest turtle I have ever seen. Well, I remember one December my mom took us to the beach to celebrate being done with school for the semester (that is a whole different post) and we saw this horse sized sea turtle on the shore, but it was dead. Anyway, this turtle very quickly plopped into the water and the sound of the plop was the same sound I have been hearing all along. Let's just say that turtle easily weighs more than Hannah!!!!

That was Monday....I went for a run again on Tuesday. I know that is surprising to you. I got about a mile and a half into my run and started smelling this funny smell. I knew what it was, just didn't expect it. Then I looked over and saw this old....hear me folks-OLD--lady walking her dog and smoking a joint. Seriously!!! It was a big fat one too (the joint, not the old lady or her dog). I have never see such a thing in my life...the old lady on the jogging trail part! I ran by two walkers who had just passed and they agreed that the old lady was indeed walking her dog and smoking a joint. We were all shocked. I went on my way just laughing. I even stopped to text in my facebook status update about it cause you know I can't stay away from facebook for long!

Wednesday was a little less exciting....I think. The trails were pretty crowded today. I am not sure why because it was HOT. I am running by a pond...not the same pond from the Monday paragraph...I see this lady running jogging barefoot. I smiled and she smiled back. Mostly I was stunned and just didn't know what to think. I know some hard-core runner run barefoot, but she was obviously not one of those. She was portly. She was also wearing capris and a cami and NO support up top for her girlies....remember she was portly! My thought was ouch, ouch, and ouch! I need good shoes, good socks, clothes that don't rub (sometimes body glide helps too), my hair out of my face, and support....very good support. If I don't have all of those things.....OUCH! I just can't imagine running like that...any of that.

So what is in store for tomorrow???? Hopefully no drugs or nakedness.... I must say though, it has given me a laugh while I am running. With the heat coming on a laugh is a good thing!