Not a "GU" Girl - Martha

So one more fear of the unknown down... I finally visited the town of Hopkinton this weekend! Heidi's husband and son were kind enough to roll out of their beds on Sunday morning and drive us out to the starting area. Since we were on schedule to do an 18-mile run, we figured this would be a great chance to see Hopkinton, which is “conveniently” located about that distance from Heidi's house. After we passed the train station in Framingham (which already seemed about three days worth of running away from my house), I started to worry that I had bitten off a little more than I could chew…or run. The businesses began to separate and the houses were becoming sparse. The restaurants of Wellesley and Newton gave way to hot dog stands and scattered diners. I had no phone and no money. Dumb. Heidi's husband gave her twenty bucks as we crawled out of the car, so we had comfort knowing we could always call a cab if need be!

But then, as had been the case every time we started to run before, we began heading back east and talking about how great it was going to be once this run was behind us. Heidi joked that we were like the critters you trap in your yard and then drive out into the country to dump off, only to find them back in your yard making little messes the next day. I was focused on how this run was going to be long enough that I would need my “power booster food” to get me through. I decided I would “treat” myself at Mile 13 and eat my “GU”. My apologies in advance to any of you out there who work for the company that makes this stuff, but as I tore open the pretty Tri-Berry packaging, out oozed this pale green slime. I guess it was aptly named. It actually looked like it came out of a bird in the sky, if you know what I mean. I decided if I didn't eat it, I would probably be hospitalized for caloric deprivation, but maybe that would have been more pleasant in retrospect. Frankly, I think the package would have tasted better. So I guess it's back to the drawing board for me for how to eat during this thing. Heidi suggested I try Fig Newtons next time. Sounds decadent!