And I Ran. I Ran So Far Away.

Yesterday was a success! The run started at Lake Hefner at the tiny peninsulas known as Stars and Stripes Park. That is apparently where the track that goes around the lake begins, ends, and laughs at your weak, pathetic human body.

From the point marked on the map, we began running on a tiny road heading westward. The road would otherwise have been a sidewalk, but there were painted median markers so obviously it’s a road, a tiny road made for a once great race of Shriners that have all but died out that is now used for recreational running and cycling.

In total we jogged about three miles (4.828032km). Well, truth be told, there was some walking mixed in. The stagger between jogging and walking was three minutes jogging and one minute running, so 25% of the journey was walking. With that in mind, the jog really was 2.25 miles (3.621024km) with .75 miles (1.207008km) of walking. We did not see the sea monster, unfortunately.

I ran in my Vibram Sprints and they held up quite well. I didn’t really have any doubts on the matter, but I had never ran that distance in them before. They definitely feel more secure than my Classics simply because of the top strap. A problem with my Classics that I’ve come across while doing any running or through normal wear is that they are more prone to getting dirt and dust inside than the Sprints. Running that way is not as fun as you might think. The Sprints “hug” the bottom of my foot better, keeping out most of that granular business.

I can’t say that I was totally ready for the distance that was jogged. There were a couple of one minute walk breaks that lasted more than a minute, but coming from not running in an admittedly long time to going three miles I feel pretty good about the whole experience. My calves at the end of the trek felt like they were going to explode, but in a good way. I am feeling a little soreness right now as this is written, so I doubt that I will be going again for a couple of days just to make sure I haven’t overdone anything (and also because it’s supposed to snow tomorrow; I hate Oklahoma sometimes). In the end, though, it was pretty great, and stage one of Operation Sexy Calves is complete!