So much for that idea.

With all of the good intentions in the world, I thought I'd just bat out another 15-20 miles today. Boy was kidding myself. I woke up hacking away as always. I'd tossed back some cough medicine before bed so that I could actually sleep, but it has worn off by the time I awoke. I took some more and contemplated how the morning was going to turn out.

I went through all the motions of getting ready for a long run. Gatorade, bloks, updated podcast list, carmex, bodyglide, chafeguard, thick-bottomed socks. Check, check, check. I was all set.

I think that subconsciously I knew this wasn't going to happen all along. Maybe that's why I took another dose of cough medicine right before I left. The route I planned involved running into the city, down the river and up around and back by Watertown, coming home from the west. Another clue that this wasn't going to happen might have come from the fact that I didn't actually mapmyrun the route. It was a tentative route in my head. The mileage guestimated. Almost as if I didn't figure it warranted taking time to calculate since I wasn't going to last that long anyway. Inspiration, but nothing solid.

So how far did I make it? To the gym, my friends. The gym. That's 4 miles if I round up. I came over the bridge, made the right turn down towards the river, swung past the tennis courts and came to a halt. My toes hurt. I felt kinda shitty. I started coughing. I popped my second cough drop of the run. I was covered in a cold sweat. Ew. It was over. I walked the walk of shame back to the gym. Where one of the trainers asked if I'd walked the Walk for Hunger since I was wearing my hydration belt. Stony stare. I'm a long distance runner, not a philanthropist.

I ended up swimming for 45 minutes instead where I managed refrain from coughing too noticeably in pool - although the childrens swim teacher did keep casting me suspicious glances. I don't have swine flu!

After the swim and some weights, I jogged to the bus station. My lazy butt took the bus a half mile, then I jogged the rest of the way to the grocery store. I was feeling pretty good at that point. I might have just run home if I hadn't wanted to pick up more Gatorade drink mix. I'm really obsessed with the stuff. I swear, half my caloric intake is from Gatorade mix these days. It's just so goooooooood. Frost Glacier Freeze. Cool Blue. Mmmm.

Oh, so I was also wrong about the chafeguard saving my toes. I'm going to moleskin wrap them this week and pop a pad on the other side of my right big toe. It's all hard and calloused which hurts when I land for impact. My poor feet!