Coffee, Doughnuts and Long Runs

I'm up before the rooster to get ready for a long run this morning. Now I know for those hard core marathon and ultra marathon types, my little 12 miles does not constitute as a long run in your books, but for a track guy like myself, anything over 10 miles is an odyssey. According to my students, anything over 400 meters is a cross continental trek! So I guess it just depends on perspective. But one thing is for certain, whether it is 10, 12, 15 or 20, anything over an hour, the old body reacts differently than it does to a quick 6 or 7 mile run. For me that means my digestive tract kicks into hyper-overdrive and wants to purge itself of any unused animal carcass left floating around in the intestines. If I was going to run in some secluded area with plenty of bush to duck into, no problem, but this morning's run will be mostly in town and people tend to frown upon public dumping of toxic waste materials, so it is imperative that I dispose properly of any discarded rectal refuse before hand. Plus, I would like to finish the run with both socks.

Hence, the coffee. What a wonderful miracle drug those Turkish goat herders discovered all those centuries ago. Not only does it perk you up and give you that burst of energy to kick start the day, it has this incredible liquid drano affect on my internal piping that allows everything to flow smoothly, allowing me to step confidently out into the world with a light bounce in my stride as I greet the sunrise! In other words, thank goodness I don't have to worry about squeezing while looking for a discreet place to drop a load. Ahhh, the joys of being a runner.

Some mornings though, the French Roast needs a little helping hand. As a carnivore, yes I am a proud consumer of animal flesh, especially when grilled over an open flame, I need a little extra, extra boost to get the system firing on all eight, so I have to make a little jaunt down the block to the local Donut Factory. Nothing like a little fried flour, eggs and yeast to grease the pipes and sugar to flick the switch to the afterburners. Thus, this morning's blog, with Spring Break in full force, the BBQ has been roaring and well, lets just say, I have probably consumed at least three small pets and a water buffalo worth of red meat and I need to clear the system before the morning task of hitting the pavement. So I am off to make my 75 cent pharmaceutical purchase at the Donut Factory in order to make amy sacrificial offering to the porcelain god and then lace up and head out the door. Hopefully, both socks will remain intact.

As always, stay healthy, keep running, and if I see you out on the road this morning, it will be with a light bounce thinking of the post run doughnut and coffee that will be just for the plain old fun of consuming something delicious.