Across Fox Island bridge and back

I wanted to go a tad farther today so I headed out to the Fox Island bridge. I wanted to see the bridge itself on the route when I uploaded the GPS data to the computer so I went across the bridge and back. Generally I don't like running on the bridge as there's only a narrow sidewalk on one side and the guard rails aren't very high.

It wasn't as cold out as yesterday... Actually looking at the current temp online, maybe it was. I found my other glove before the run though, so it didn't feel as cold I guess.

I put on the iPod and listened to three ultra runner interviews / race reports from Endurance Planet including one from one of the guys that got me interested in ultra running years ago, Stan Jensen He was one of the few nice folks I met in the Palo Alto Run Club a few years ago. For the most part the club seemed to have a collective ego problem but there were a few nice people who were regulars.

In any case, good run today. I went with the hand-held Ultimate Direction water bottle with the neoprene hand strap. I like the shape of the bottle, but I'm not a fan of the nozzle. They replaced the hard plastic standard water bottle nozzles with these stretchy silicone dealies that you have to pull out with your teeth. You can't just slurp water out of them like you can with a Camelbak nozzle either. You have to squeeze the bottle pretty good to get the water to flow. The opening in the nozzle is tight enough that the bottle can't suck air back in after you drink from it to return to it's normal shape so you have to squeeze the bottle with your hand(s) to get it to pop back into form. This seems like a bad choice by UD. Or maybe I'm just not using them correctly.

I was able to wear running shorts, loose running tights, a cotton T-shirt, and a long-sleeve poly-pro shirt over it with a nylon head cap for warmth (that went in my pocket 2 miles into the run) and thin gloves (pocketed 4 miles into the run). The cotton t-shirt should have been a wicking base-layer but I couldn't find one of mine in a pinch. For shorter runs cotton is okay as I don't have time to chafe.

My route:

Across Fox Island bridge and back at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail:Share GPS tracks

I switched between running on the shoulder and on the road. My knee felt a little better when I was running on the road though. Possibly due to the stability of asphault vs. gravel, mud, and wet leaves. Knee feels okay right now, but I suspect it'll need ice and stretching later.

Just happy to get out there and run.