Saturday was the day of opportunity, despite the weather.

Started with the idea of running the perimeter of the township I live in, about 30 miles, mostly roads/sidewalks. Meant to do this for several years now, doubt anyone has ever done this....

Windy, cool, rained periodically. Felt sluggish from the start. After an hour, stopped at Wal-Greens to get sports drink and snacks. The clerks regarded me with raised brows.....

Felt better, but running in the chilly rain, and against traffic, was demoralizing...

After 90 minutes, stopped for a pit stop near a horse/bridle trail. The dirt trail looked less miserable....so I bailed on the "Town Perimeter Run" and went off-road.

Commenced on a odyssey taking me through 4 different townships/suburbs, some of the highlights (or lowlights) being a snack stop at another drugstore containing perplexed customers, cursing at park water fountains that hadn't been turned on yet, stopping to rest on a log, only to wake up minutes later laying on it....

When your feet are already wet, you tend to stop avoiding mud puddles. Hope against blisters.

There were many times I considered cutting it short and trudging home. However, this is what I came out here for. Be miserable, suffer through it, and be tougher for it.

Don't like how you feel? Just keep going, in an hour you may feel differently...

Occasionally the dark clouds would give way to a peek of sunshine, I would try to catch some with my hands, before the opening disappeared, and the rain returned.

Running for hours (or run/jog/walk/repeat...), you go through strange phases. In one minute, you want to quit, the next you see a hawk fly over, a nice view of the river, or a deer crosses the path, and the pain and exhaustion disappear......I felt better after 5.5 hours than I did at 2.5 hours. Weird.

You become very mindful of the water and snacks/food you are carrying, and where you may obtain more. You enter the "survival zone".

Went off the trail at one point to climp out of the small valley to see the view over the trees. Very rewarding, and the break I took while enjoying the scenery didn't hurt either.

At seven hours, I finally reached a busy road that took me home in 3 or 4 miles. The home-stretch. Cars and trucks rushed past a struggling & sodden runner.

Dorothy (of Oz)said it best - "There's no place like home"