Drink and Run

I was not sure of the long run today. I caught flu and didn't
run or swim for the whole week but that's only the physical
side. Being proven less than bullet-proof had broken my
heart and destroyed morale ;-) Anyway, after such a slack-off,
I feared physical torture and bad performance and, for a
moment, forgot the fun.

I did have something new to try, i.e., to carry a 0.5-liter
water bottle during the run. Dehydration had been on the
radar for a while. I needed to face it.

The "river storm" as KQED called it yesterday boosted the
creek. The water was murky and fast and I ran along with it.
The sky was cloudy, the air fresh, and the paved trail washed
clean. I saw new and old faces on the trail. My mind was at
ease and the fun was back.

Drinking while running was anything but, though, and one gulp
of water nearly choked me. I had to stop. Nor could I drink
much each time if I didn't want the Garmin to pause. If
drinking was hard, I wonder how Scott Jurek managed to have 
square meals while racing. It would take some time for these
skills. I stopped 8 times to finish the bottle. (3 bottles should be
enough for 26 miles.) I didn't feel a huge difference from
drinking at the water fountains as I did in the past but
each sip of water was heavenly ;-)

My ITBS didn't come but the PF's still here.

Overall, 11 miles at 8:42.