I ended up getting out of bed around 7:30, throwing on an average 80 degree weather outfit and was on the trail by 8:00. Soon after starting my first mile, I was stopped by a 50+ year old female, who I initially thought was trying being friendly, but ended up insulting me instead.
First, she asked me if I lived around the area. When I answered yes, she proceeded in telling me how she has lived here for over 15 years and that I was dressed too skimpy.
I was STUNNED. I did not know how to respond to the comment. I simply stared at her, said "okay," and continued forward. This left such a bad taste in my mouth. I was wearing Under Armour, not Victoria's Secret lingerie. I don't think what I was wearing was considered "sexy" or "slutty" by a long shot, yet she made me feel like I was breaking some unwritten rule of trail apparel in her neck of the woods.
What would drive someone to interrupt an individual's workout just to voice that they were under dressed? Call me a feminist, but I have never seen anyone approach a shirtless man while he was working out to say "You're dressed too skimpy." Why can't a woman receive the same freedom? I was not topless!
ANYWAY, enough about mean ol' ladies...
The plan was to do 10 miles and I sincerely thought that I would do just that. It was a little humid and a bit too hot for my liking. However, once I hit one of the downhill slopes, the temperature felt like it dropped 10 degrees and a breeze kicked in. So, like most long run days, I thought "Why not keep going?!"
I ended up doing 13.1 miles.
I tried to be more considerate of my heart rate during the first half. I thought the temps were going to kill me; however, once I reached the 5 mile mark and felt the cool breeze, my heart rate did end up slowing and I was able to focus on picking up my pace. I was actually able to get some of my miles under 9 minutes. That is a time frame I have not seen since the Nick Adenhart 5K. I guess my rest days paid off.
And the river was beautiful today so it really helped me push through...
Overall, I feel pretty good after my run today. I don't feel nearly as exhausted as I have in the previous weeks, but the goal is still to remain between 35-40 miles/week till the end of August. My week ended around 38 this time. Not too bad!
Well, have a great Saturday everyone!
Have you ever been negatively critiqued on your choice of workout clothing?
How was the weather on your run today? Did you go longer/shorter than anticipated?
Cool video clip! If I had that scenery to run with, I could easily give into a few extra miles too. Unfortunately, I can only wave to my neighbors so many times before it's obnoxious.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I am really thankful I have the C&O Canal so close to where I live. It stretches over 150 miles (I've only run about 30 miles of the path myself), but it has so much history and beauty. If you are ever in MD near the Potomac River, you definitely need to run a part of it. I don't think you'd regret it.
DeleteI AM in MD actually! I'll make sure to do a drive-to-run there soon :)
DeleteThat's awesome! Maybe we will run into each other at a race. I see that you are doing the Baltimore Running Festival. I wanted to but I'm already signed up for a half in Waynesboro, PA. Maybe next year :)
DeleteIn response to that mean old lady:
ReplyDeleteIf you got it, flaunt it. I agree with you on the feminist front. No one would give a shirtless man a second thought.
I think plenty of women would agree! Why should we sweat ourselves to death just to keep from offending a select few? I'm not subjecting myself to that discomfort just because someone thinks I'm not properly covered.
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