A Horse with No Rider/Volunteering/Loser at the gym/Loser at the gym again

I ran 29.9 miles last week.  I guess I should have added it up sooner so I could go one more tenth and change the tens digit!  Sunday I ran 10 after my race on Saturday. I wasn't tired at all. I got up and ran earlier than usual since I was volunteering in a race more than an hour away and needed to be there on time.  As I was running in my third mile I heard a lot of noise and suddenly a horse was running past me. The problem is this horse had no rider.  I am not a horse fan and they scare me a fair amount, especially on their own. But he didn't seem real comforted by me either.  (Full disclosure - it was a pretty small horse, for all I know it was  a large pony but it still startled me.)  The rest of the run was less eventful. I felt good about my pace and the time went by quickly. Once home I barely had time to stretch and shower before I headed off.

It took a long time to get to the race. The location was changed from previous years and even farther away.  I got there on time and helped with registration.  Man do people have bad handwriting.  It was hard to read what they had written to transfer it to the bib!  Then I got to be one of two clickers at the finish.  This was an easy job except it was majorly freezing out.  I had not brought all the warm clothes I might have because I hurried so.  I managed though as I have had volunteers out in some pretty cold temperatures for me!  I also helped to clean up some after but was anxious to get going as my son was home and I wanted to get there!

The birthday shopping I talked about in my last post was for my son's birthday which is Thursday.  Head on over to his blog and wish him a happy birthday if you want!  Become a follower of his blog!  He is my April Fools baby although I wasn't feeling too funny or  playing many jokes the day he was born!

Monday I worked out at the gym. I wasn't looking forward to it.  It was a long day at school, no fun penguin eggs to divert us, and the treadmill is rarely something I look forward to.  I got my clothes changed, grabbed my Ipod and discovered I had not packed my headphones! Can you say "Oh No however did you complete that workout on the treadmill with no Ipod to use in a gym that has no tv???" Well, it wasn't easy and if I wasn't such a goal oriented person I probably would have packed up and just headed for home. But I got the job done.  Even though I didn't have a great workout I ran into a couple people I hadn't talked with in a long time and had a couple of great conversations (kids applying for college, moving away from home, upcoming vacation) so I left in quite a good mood!

Tuesday I worked out again at the gym.  I had my Ipod. I had my headphones.  BUT my Ipod had been on apparently and the battery was gone!!!  Hello??? Again no Ipod???? So I did my tempo run with no music. I worked hard hard hard. I wanted to give up and stop but I didn't!!! Yeah me!

Christina at Lazy Bones Running posed the question about what is the most interesting thing you have seen on a run.  I already wrote about my riderless horse on Sunday.  The question reminded me about a run on the Outer Banks a year ago. I was up early running on a stretch of beach that was pretty deserted. When I looked toward the sand dunes I saw a man doing yoga - naked!  He was pretty hidden except from early morning runners who like to take in all the sights a beach has to offer.