Before I tell you about my eventful run, I want to show you two pictures that I took. The pictures themselves aren’t great, but I loved the view I had while on my run, so I snapped them anyway. I’ll miss these fields…

I love that the tree in the background is as ready for fall as I am. It turned orange earlier than all the other trees in the field! (Look hard. You’ll see it! And yes, I’m aware that some of these trees won’t turn colors. Poor trees.)
The following started out as a status update on Facebook that kept going and going and going. Eventually it got so long I decided it was better suited for a blog post.
“Never trust “MapMyRun” when trying to get an accurate distance. Twice now I’ve used it prior to a run to get a good idea of where I can go to get a few extra miles in my run and it has estimated my distance 1/2 to 1 mile farther than I actually end up running. (I’m starting to outrun my fields.) So today, when I thought I was going to hit 7 miles, I was only at 6.5. Fortunately I figured that out early and I was able to push through that last half-mile.”
I kept writing the following, which was when I realized I needed to just write this here:
I have a funny story about today’s run: I realized 6 minutes in that I was going to need to potty before my run was over. I was trying to think about the most secluded spot on my entire run where I could hide and take care of my business.
And so I finish the story here:
I was not looking forward to that and contemplated turning around and going home. The only reason I didn’t is because the “getting out the door” process is the hardest part of running for me. Once I’ve started, I’m good-to-go. I didn’t want to have to go through that again.
As I was running to my fields, I passed a storefront I’ve passed dozens of times before, and never noticed it open. Today, however, I saw something that made me stop dead in my tracks.
A woman was sweeping the floors of a small beauty salon, and her front door was open. I backed up, stuck my head in and said, “Sprechen Sie Englisch?” Her fast reply was negative, so I asked, “Haben Sie toilette?” while giving my most pitiful face. She grinned, got the key, and walked me to the back to a bathroom obviously shared by the other commercial tenants in the building. What a blessing that bathroom break was!
I was fast, after all, my timer was running, and I think I was in and out of there in 3 minutes, including washing my hands and getting my ear buds and iPod all back in the right places. I repeatedly said, “Danke Schön,” so that she would know how thankful I was… we’ve all been in a situation like that before, though, this doesn’t normally happen to me during a run!
The rest of my run was fairly uneventful, and for that, I am grateful. My time, including my potty break, was 1:11:26. Not bad for my first-ever outdoor seven mile run.
Note to self: pee just before you leave for a run and always carry tissues with you, just in case.
Pingback: What we will miss: 14 – My fields. | thehamricks