WANTED FOR MURDER: ANGRY DUCK!!

Tonight was my long run.  DW and I have renegotiated the location of the long run in the schedule numerous times and yet it seems to keep showing up on Sunday night.  Sunday nights are a night when I am particularly tired and laying around and eating proverbial bon-bons seems more appropriate than hauling my butt out the door for the hardest workout of the week.  Tonight was no different and I finally got myself in gear and headed over to the Old Mission Peninsula for a run that promised good scenery for my suffer-fest.

At mile 3.75, as it has all week, my hip piped up.  Piping became trumpeting, which escalated into something like a tuba player in an echo chamber.  It did cross my mind to quit at that point but I was so grumpy from my reduced training load that making a decision took a while.  It went something like this.

Angry Duck:  Shut up hip!

Sensible Duck: That feels like an issue with the TFL or maybe piriformis.  It could be caused by lingering bruising and swelling but.... ACK!! GAK!! Help me!!

Angry Duck:  Shut up hip or the same will happen to you!!

Hip:  *gulp*

Anyhow the outcome of the debate was pretty clear and I missed my turn around by almost a mile.  On the way home, I kept pushing until I was really feeling pretty good.  The hip seemed like it wanted to complain but was too afraid.  I got to the end of the run and almost kept going the remaining distance back to the car but by then Angry Duck was appeased and Sensible Duck rose from the ashes like a web-footed phoenix.  The day you push through pain is not the day to tack on extra mileage.  I hit stop on the watch and looked up.  This is what I saw!!

I proceeded to walk back taking pictures as I went.  I have spent every July here since 2008 and every year I attempt to capture the magic of this place in pictures.  But it is like the holy grail, it is not meant to be captured so easily.  Still, I will share a few pictures that I took of the running route (after the workout was over!)  Up here, 'enjoy the journey' is an art form!!

Have a wonderful evening and always, always ENJOY THE JOURNEY!!