Watermelon or chicken wings?

My workouts this week got totally flung around because of the Pork Chop Trot last Saturday, the day of the week when I usually schedule my long run. I had today off work and was trying to decide whether I should knock out my training plan's long run today or wait until tomorrow. I checked the weather yesterday and saw that the low last night was supposed to be around 68, compared to tonight's 73. A temperature in the 68 degree range both makes for a more pleasant outing and allows for a later start. Voila! The decision was practically made for me!

I chose one of my favorite long run routes, a big loop that cuts through the U of M and downtown Minneapolis. I crossed the river at the Hennepin Avenue bridge, which I haven't run along in quite awhile.

Here's a view of the Mighty Mississippi:

And all along the river's walkway, there were tiny statues of little animals, like this guy, who I quite liked:

No speed records were broken this morning, but the run was pretty nice, and I was even happier with my decision to do the run today when the sun went behind the clouds for the second half. I botched my fueling plan a little bit by heading out later than usual, I think, a tiny mistake compounded when a drinking fountain I was counting on was not in order.

I got to refill my little bottles on my fuel belt soon enough and everything was fine, but you know you're getting into the later miles of a long run when anything and everything starts to sound appetizing. I was listening to a podcast in which the hosts tied together an anecdote involving pie and seltzer water, and I thought, "Ooh, that sounds tasty." I mean, I can't even remember the rest of the story. I just remember pie and seltzer water.

Then I ran by this sign, and even that seemed like a great idea!

But all's well that ends well - and no, the run didn't end early because I stopped to eat 50 chicken wings (luckily). (Please chime in with a comment if you think I dropped the ball by not stopping for the wings, by the way!) I was no more than 17 seconds into recovery mode when I had watermelon, mint and lime juice in the blender for another smoothie, which hit the spot better than chicken. I think this was my longest run since training for Chicago last summer, and I'm happy it's in the books.