Well now…that was a HORRIBLE run but something pretty AMAZING happened (make sure to read all the way through…I promise it’s worth it)!!!
My plan was to run 6-7 miles on the Canal Path because it’s nice and flat…similar to the race course for the ARC Half Marathon. The first 2 miles were pretty damn good…then I started having issues staying focused. My pacing was on track where I wanted it to be, but I was having trouble mentally pushing myself through running. This included many stops in the shade. My guess was dehydration as I had experienced something like this before, but my heart rate was staying in the upper 170’s which can be considered low for me. With it being the canal trail what you run out you have to run back. At the 3 mile mark I was seriously considering turning around (I should have) but I pushed through to 3.5 miles because then it would be 7 miles for the return. Something kept pushing me to keep going on the trail (I was definitely hoping a water fountain would be at the next park) and I got out to the next park…no drinking fountain…and rested some. The idea of running 4 miles back was absolutely horrible in my mind and if I had my phone I would have called my girlfriend to come get me quite honestly, but the reality is I am so thankful I didn’t. When I started to head back I was running and hopped over a white cloth in the trail. I sort of laughed to myself thinking about it being money for whatever reason. I continued up not even a tenth of a mile and there in the middle of the path was a $20 bill!!! Stopped me dead in my tracks!!! I absolutely wondered if it was some sort of a trick…maybe someone was hiding in the bushes or something…I actually called out just to see if anyone maybe would answer, but ended up picking up the $20 and putting in my pocket and continued running. I think I know who it belongs to in terms of the couple that I passed on the trail, but of course there was no way to get it back to them because I had watched them pull out of the parking lot at the park I turned around at. I continued running (and walking) and was thinking about that $20 in my pocket, not what I could spend it on, but just thinking about it, feeling bad for the person who lost it, but also feeling excited in some way for finding it, and then it hit me…DONATE it to Frannie’s Fanny Packs!!! I would be pretty upset if I lost $20 (who wouldn’t be), but $20 is what each Fanny Pack basically costs!!! Seems a bit more like FATE to me!! So to the person who lost the $20 on the Erie Canal Trail this afternoon, I am sorry, but I THANK YOU for being able to provide a Fanny Pack to a cancer patient in need.
As for the rest of the run, well it was really more of a walk. I also want to mention that the miles I logged today (running or walking) were in memory of Martha Papworth O’Neill who passed away in 2010 of a rare form of Kidney Cancer. There was a walk/run held in her honor yesterday that I could not make it to, but these miles were for her and FFP.