27,5 kilometers done. Not a bad run, after another horrible night. I’m kind of surprised my legs did so well. Sadly, I can’t say the same of my stomach. I had to play hide and seek behind a tree. Luckily I am a trail runner. Enough trees in the vicinity.
Today was the day of the Smokkel Trail Twente, but yesterday we already decided not to go. Sara was the first one to pull the plug. I still had hope to go, but Maus, our cat, had another bad day yesterday.
Running in Twente would mean being away the whole day, and we can’t leave her alone too long. I didn’t want to condemn Sara to another day on the sofa with the cat. I already did that yesterday, as I had to work.
Smokkel Trail Twente
So no Smokkel Trail. I had picked that one, because it was 27,5 kilometers long. Precisely the distance I wanted to run this weekend. But no Twente didn’t mean I couldn’t run. So last night I designed my own route on the AllTrails app; running from the Liskes to Plateaux Hageven in Belgium.
And then… night came. To prevent the cat scratching her ear open again, she sleeps on the bed with us. I’m a light sleeper. The scratching noise is enough the wake me up. Besides scratching she shakes her head all the time. That also wakes me up. She does it, at least once every half an hour…
The cat and I ended the night on the sofa, so at least Sara could sleep. I just felt more tired when I woke up, than I did before going to bed.
Short cut escape
To clear my head, I still went out for a run. I just adjusted my trail, creating 3 loops around my house, giving me the option to stop after 12 or 22 kilometer or to take a shortcut if I needed it.
I admit, I thought of using them, but I’m kind of proud I didn’t. The first loop went pretty okay, just my stomach was playing up a lot. Tension always goes to my stomach. After 15 kilometers I started to struggle. Tired legs and an even more upset stomach. But luck was with me. I was all alone in the forest, so I could play hide and seek behind a tree and get rid of whatever was upsetting my stomach.
Believe it or not, but not only my intestines felt better after that, also my legs. That is, for a couple of kilometers, because after 20 kilometers they started to protest again.
Sara is a runner
But he, Sara is a runner now and she was on her own mission today. Running 30 minutes, without stopping. She joined me for the biggest part of my last little loop. It was the little push I needed to complete my 27,5 kilometer long run.
The only thing I want now, is to lay in a hot bath, and give my legs a well deserved rest. And after that, close my eyes and sleep, sleep and sleep.
