This morning I woke up at an almost reasonable hour and headed out for a quick 18 mile jaunt around O-town with my trusty bike pacer The Brunette. Don't worry, I totally warned her that it would take awhile and she had the option to head home whenever she felt like it...
We set off in the direction of the new pedestrian bridge I wanted to run on and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise on a cloudless, perfect day. The bridge was still "closed" but a cone is not a very worthy obstacle so I remedied the situation easily enough and across we went. It was just as pretty as I thought it would be and we both enjoyed the view. Once across we headed in the direction of my beloved Cady Way Trail and logged a little over 2 miles before hopping into Baldwin Park for a scenic run around Lake Baldwin. Runners were out in full force and along the way we ran into some strange signage... Then as we were stopped to Gu some volunteers approached us with information. We were so confused until we rounded the dog park and came up on a whole organized event. That's when we ran past a bench with chalk and instructions to leave a message... so we did!
After that it was impossible not to have a smile on our faces; it was a perfect day, we had left inspiring messages in our wake and Barnie's was just up the street! We pit stopped for me and caffeine stopped for her before finishing up the final stretch.
As we brought it home we passed another runner who accused her of "cheating" and I think we giggled about that for a good 5 minutes, just goes to show you everything is hilarious after hours of running/bike pacing. When we finally made it home we both agreed we couldn't believe how quickly the time had passed, the morning had felt like a normal morning training run only with an extra 10 miles added! LOL!
We set off in the direction of the new pedestrian bridge I wanted to run on and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise on a cloudless, perfect day. The bridge was still "closed" but a cone is not a very worthy obstacle so I remedied the situation easily enough and across we went. It was just as pretty as I thought it would be and we both enjoyed the view. Once across we headed in the direction of my beloved Cady Way Trail and logged a little over 2 miles before hopping into Baldwin Park for a scenic run around Lake Baldwin. Runners were out in full force and along the way we ran into some strange signage... Then as we were stopped to Gu some volunteers approached us with information. We were so confused until we rounded the dog park and came up on a whole organized event. That's when we ran past a bench with chalk and instructions to leave a message... so we did!
The Brunette represented for OperationBeautiful.com and struck a Bikram Yoga Pose
And I opted for some confidence boosting
After that it was impossible not to have a smile on our faces; it was a perfect day, we had left inspiring messages in our wake and Barnie's was just up the street! We pit stopped for me and caffeine stopped for her before finishing up the final stretch.As we brought it home we passed another runner who accused her of "cheating" and I think we giggled about that for a good 5 minutes, just goes to show you everything is hilarious after hours of running/bike pacing. When we finally made it home we both agreed we couldn't believe how quickly the time had passed, the morning had felt like a normal morning training run only with an extra 10 miles added! LOL!
Lots of fun in store for the rest of the weekend round here, I hope ya'll have a great one as well! LOTS of exciting stuff happening this coming week so stay tuned for some fun posts! Best of luck to all my Surf City runners, especially Muddy Runner who is running his FIRST marathon!!! So excited for him! Catch ya'll on the flipside!!!
45 comments:
What a great friend to pace you for 18 MILES! You are a lucky, lucky runner. Great job on another awesome long run. I am SO FREAKIN' JEALOUS of your sunny, cloudless skies! We are buried in approximately 198 feet of snow, here in DC.
I agree with the above commenter! That's awesome that she came along for 18 whole miles! I need to find someone like that!!
Looks SO NICE and beautiful there. Meanwhile on my 13-miler this morning I was bundled up with two long-sleeve shirts, pants, gloves, winter socks and a toque! Haha
Very jealous of your bare arms, sunny skies, and perfect weather. Lucky that you have a great pacer too, I suppose I could recruit one of my sisters but I doubt they'd last that long!
I, too, am extremely jealous of your sunny skies! Here in UT, it's cloudy, cold, and depressing!
Great job on your "quick" 18 miles! Have a great weekend!
Where can I get me one of these awesome Brunette pacers? How lucky you are! : )
ahhh...so...jealous...of...your...shorts...and...tank....top!!!!!! :-) i ran 18 miles today too, the "feels like" temp was only 5 degrees. glad the weather was so nice for you! and yes, that's not a sign you see everyday!
*shorts and tank top.
You are a rock star! I love runs you can get lost in and forget what you are actually doing.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
How great that you have a friend to pace you on the bike! I love the pictures, and I'm insanely jealous you are out running in shorts and a tank top. I obviously didn't move far enough South when I migrated from New England to SC, haha
Great run girl! I bet that was a rather odd thing to come upon. A suicide prevention rally? I've never heard of anything like that, but if it helps even one person, then I guess it is all worth it!
Sounds like so much fun! If 18 miles is ever fun. So jealous of your weather. Ours is not that nice.
Did you test out the new bra?
Wtg on the 18 miles! Got out myself this morning with a friend for a 5k to enjoy this gorgeous Florida weather!! Gotta love getting out there and chatting your way through the miles. :)
Perhaps if seven Floridians took uyp running every day there would be less suicide.
shorts? Really. Are you flaunting it? ;-)
Great 18 miles.
ahhh i love operation beautiful!!! and i love that you did it with side walk chalk! great run! im jealous of your warm weather and ur running outfit!! i had to bundle up today!
Yay for long runs, smiles, and a friend to run/bike with! :-) HUGS!
MY BF used to bike with me on training runs and she used to get comments on occasion..
LOL! How funny are you to cross a closed bridge.
I am TEMPTED to grab some chalk and write some inspirational messages on the trails.. I love that idea.
I swear you find the most random stuff on your runs! Love it!
--Harold
myworldthruthelens.blogspot.com
Wow! Awesome 18 mile run. I love the messages (and nice pose by The Brunette)!
Another one who is soooo jealous of your temps!
Remember when I told you we had 17 inches of snow...well right now it is at 22! Now would be a good time for a trip to O-town :)
Great run, and it sounds like it was great fun with a friend.
Sounds pretty perfect! Love the inspirational messages. :)
That is SO AWESOME! Love your chalk messages! Congrats on a great run. You kick butt, Redhead!
18-miles, done and done! sounds like you breezed right through it, of course ;) also looks *much* more enjoyable than the 30 inches of snow we got dumped on us up here!! UGH - i want that sunshine!!
hope you're enjoying the rest of the weekend! xo
i'm pulling you over for speeding.
love the chalk messages, though the signage was a little random and grim. why didn't you do your own one legged pose? c'mon everyone can do that in the middle of an 18 miler.
i love when josh bikes with me on long runs (though rare these days). so nice to have water/gu supplies available and not have to carry them.
cheating? HA! ridic. so jealous of the weather!!
so glad you found an organized event with all that weirdness otherwise...well that would just be freaky!
Awesome your biking friend helped pass the time on your long run; that's so helpful! Nice run there lady!!!
Sounds like a fun & inspirational run! I love the pics and the messages you left!
I just found this really cool application for cell phones at BMI active.
I will email you and tell you how well it works.
I'm going right now to try it out!
Great photos! Looks like a beautiful day! Send me some sunshine!! Great job on the 18 miler! Having a buddy for the run is always fun!
Oh- I'm so jealous! I'm buried under 30 inches of snow with more on the way on Tuesday. No running outside for me for a little while.
What a fun way to run 18 miles! You got quite the friend there, hold on to her! I love your operation beautiful photos : )
OMG, I miss that sunshine. And I miss you too, girlie. Sad face. But it sounds like it was a super fun long run! Isn't it the bestest to have an awesome bike pacer keep you company? ;) Love your chalk messages, btw!
What a happy long run! And nice biceps :)
Oh, the feeling of the weather being rubbed in my face...is awesome... So mean, girl, you know we got over two feet of snow.
And You need a time out for crossing a "closed" bridge. ok 30 secs, missy!
wait...why are you reading this? Aren't you supposed to be in time out...back over there, missy.
maybe next time, you'll be better behaved...
Good job on the run!
I don't think I'd be able to bike pace you...I'm too clutsy and would probably run into you....just a thought I had!
Shorts and a tank... I am so freakin' jealous! Sounds like an awesome run! Love the chalk messages!
Isn't it incredible to just go out and run an 18-miler like it's NOTHING?
I was wondering why there was stuff written on the ground... most of it had washed away by the time I got out there, but there were some remnants. Anyhoo, glad you had a great run. I can't wait to read your race recaps.
I love reading about your runs! You are Super Woman!
I wish I could run 18 miles right now. Way to rock it and you are going to break 4 easily. Can't wait to read about it! PS- I'm jealous of your warm weather
Standing bow pulling pose - my favorite posture :) I get excited when I see Bikram yogis/runners but I digress. Did you just use "quick" and "18 mile" in the same sentence? Atalanta shines on you, chica. Can't wait to get on your level :)
p.s. thanks so much for your kind words on my bloggie blog. I definitely enjoyed Miami - even with mid-race disaster and all. When I start training for Chicago, I'll remember to feed off of your ' quick 18m' energy.
great 18M rockstar! get ready to have a great marathon!!!
Here's what my chalk message would say during an 18 miler:
"FML"
I think I would get some good laughs out of passing runners!
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