14 miles

Today ends my second week of training for the Kona Marathon.  I had a pleasant, early morning 14-mile run, marred by only one minor mishap.  Around mile 11 or so, I felt something fly into my mouth. This in and of itself, is sadly, not very unusual on a long run.  In fact, I'm fairly sure each runner around the world accidentally consumes on average, somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 tiny bugs/gnats a year. If you're a runner and disagree- please, speak now or forever hold your peace.  (But you know all know its true.)

So anyhow, after I detected the foreign object in my mouth, I attempted to cough/gag it up.  But since it was already too far back in my throat, I had to do what countless other runners (and hookers) do each day- close my eyes and swallow. And unfortunately for me, I chose to do this exactly one second too late, because I swear, I think the tiny little bastard bit BIT the inside of my throat.  Because it stung.

And yes, if you're counting, this would be my second exotic bite of the year...the first being my near-disembowelment from an angry ostrich back in January.

Here's the lesson learned today (so go on, get a pen...)- Bugs, while a great source of protein for countless tribes across the African continent, are not ideal fuel for a run.  They will bite your throat and are essentially, a total waste of caloric consumption.


You are welcome.
~Jolene