Saturday, followed by the "Week in REVIEW!!!" So, first - Saturday's run.I was on-deck for a 9 mile run according to the Training Plan. It was brutally hot, but I found the idea of running on the treadmill for an hour and a half to sound like a punishment for criminals - so I chose to head outside. I filled up my trusty water bottle - and headed out!
The first obvious statement - is that it was hot. My trusty water bottle became warm in no time - yet still remained the greatest thing in the world. The run itself was mildly painful (my Achilles tendon has been bothering me, and being a regular Einstein - I didn't think of using my KT tape until monday morning), but VERY interesting. I ran by the Binghamton court-house, and saw a bunch of people holding up protest signs - something I did NOT expect to see, especially on a Saturday! (Plus, protesters are usually in front of the federal court house.) I turned around, pulled out my cell phone and snapped a picture.
[caption id="attachment_554" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="This picture was much more interesting 30 seconds before, when they all had their signs up still and weren't yelling at me!"]
[/caption]It turns out that they weren't actual protestors (which explains why each sign was VERY different,) but were filming a video for YouTube. They began yelling at me, telling me I couldn't film it (but did invite me to be IN the video), etc. etc. etc. I let them know I was just a runner that took pictures of interesting things as I ran (he asked for a card, I had to repeat that I was just a runner.) Interesting experience none the less.
Then - a mile later I turned onto the Tompkins Street Bridge, and watched a guy jump off of it. Now, it didn't look like a suicide attempt (and would have been a really poor one if it was), as he was wearing cut offs and sneakers - while talking to his friend (before jumping) whom didn't seem concerned. As I wasn't expecting it - I didn't get a picture of the Jumper.
[caption id="attachment_555" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Just after the jumper... Jumped. His friend and a passer-by looking down at him in the water and yelling."]
[/caption]After witnessing this extreme example of Genius at work, I continued on with my run - and saw flashing lights from all around. 3 Binghamton Police cars arrived in less than 5 minutes. (This struck me as truly remarkable as a car accident, home break-in or assault on your child takes them 15-20 minutes to show up.)
[caption id="attachment_556" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Binghamton's Finest - showing up promptly (never saw that before!) and talking with the Jumper"]
[/caption]The rest of the run was much more un-eventful compared to the first 3 miles. (Yes, all this within the first three miles.) My buddy Zach was kind enough to refill my water bottle at the 3(ish) mile marker, and I then headed up into some neighborhoods in Vestal to get to 9 miles before arriving at my wife's car (we left it at her work-place on friday). Well, I had mapped the whole run out on MapMyRun, but didn't write anything down. So... I kinda got lost.
[caption id="attachment_557" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="She let me get quite close before taking off!"]
[/caption]The advantage (some times) of getting lost, is that you might get to see some interesting things. In the middle of a neighborhood - between two houses - The doe shown above was just watching me run. I got as close as I could to take a picture, but due to the cell-phone camera, it looks like I was much further away.
I did luck out though. Despite getting lost, I ended up at Binghamton University (this was on my plan) - just in a different place/distance than I planned. My water bottle had become empty just before seeing the deer above around 6.5 miles into the run, so I was pleased to be on campus. They have water fountains after all! So, over to the athletic fields - and I found one right where I had hoped - next to the refreshment stand! Of course, it was turned off (GRRRR!!!!!) so it did me NO good what so ever. It seems when school is not in session, they try to conserve water. Yay for conservation! BOO for no water on a hot day! I was tired and thirsty - so I cut across the field toward my wife's work-place. The over-all run ended up being 8.8 miles.
My wonderful wife had left a bottle of water in the car, un-opened. I found out that really hot water, can still be one of the most wonderful things in the world!
Mile 1: 9:11
Mile 2: 9:14
Mile 3:10:11 (bridge jumper in this mile)
Mile 4: 9:59 (Thank you for the water Zach!)
Mile 5: 9:08
Mile 6: 9:43
Mile 7:10:30 (DEER!)
Mile 8:10:05 (MUST HAVE WATER!!!!)
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