Training for 11/29/18

I spent all morning at an assignment for work. The local school system hosted a bunch of people from other school systems to see in action a new teaching strategy they started last year. The visit was capped off by a catered lunch. I guess they were trying to show off the Eastern Shore, because the stars were crab cakes and Smith Island cake, two of my all-time favorites. There was a bunch of other stuff too. I ate everything but the mashed potatoes, and the only reason I didn’t eat them too is because I think mashed potatoes are almost the most disgusting food on the planet. The only thing worse is mashed potatoes with gravy.

All that is to say I was uncomfortably full when I left, and I wasn’t so sure my run this afternoon was going to happen!

Then I got home. At lunch, I had been talking to a woman about our sick old dogs and the messes they make. Coincidentally, Pepper had been absolutely destroying the utility room with his ass while I was gone. It was everywhere, and the way the dog poop smell had seeped out and permeated the entire house, it seemed like he’d done it as soon as Clark and I had left this morning.

I had to clean that up, which just put me in a bad mood. And my stomach was still loudly questioning why I’d put an entire slice of Smith Island cake in it. Running was looking less and less likely.

It wasn’t long until it was getting close to the latest I could go out and get it done before sunset. It was still pretty cold today too, which was making it harder to want to leave. And what if Pepper pooped again and I had to clean that up for the second time in the same day?

Well, guess what. I actually put on my running clothes and went out and ran a lap around the 5.5-mile loop. I was supposed to do four 800-meter repeats, but I skipped them and just did a steady pace that turned out to be an 8:40/mile average. Surprisingly, I didn’t even have any digestive problems.

I felt a lot better after that. And when I got home, Pepper had not taken a second dump, so I still felt good about it.

It still smells like dog poop in here though, even with three different Christmas-scented candles burning. I mean, to the point I searched the room to see if there was an entire turd I’d missed hidden under the washer or something. Nothing. It was just that impressive of a mess.