8 Miles in Interlaken

I started out this morning for my 8-mile run at 5:30am. I changed my routine--by using new headphones and also carrying a small, 12 oz. bottle of Gatorade (so that I could have a fluid stop without actually having to put something out ahead of time on my route)--so, of course, I forgot to start my watch. I remembered about 10 minutes into the run, I think, so I started it then but my finish time of 1:41 minutes is approximate. In any event, I was slow.

Since it's enjoyable and scenic, Braman mapped out a route for me to maximize my time running along the lake. This also means, however, that I have to run downhill for about 3 miles and then uphill, mostly gradually, for about the same. It was refreshing to see new sights and to experience roads, that I had previously only driven on, in a new way.

Most of the houses that I run by along the lake are fancy and old or fancy and new with manicured lawns and matching boathouses. There is one older house set back from the road with a small, attractive sign hanging on a post by the driveway that reads "Avalon Farm, Chester White and Yorkshire Swine". Since the front is planted with a privacy hedge, I could only see a glimpse of the place but, if they really are raising pigs there, they have done a fantastic job of eliminating all pig odors. I couldn't find anything online about them but maybe I'll see if I can get some more information from my friends at the post office. Lake frontage used for pig breeding is definitely unusual.

The 4-mile mark was exactly at the point where I had to leave the lake road and turn left back up towards home. I stopped at this corner for a minute or two, opened my Gatorade bottle and drank a little. I probably should have practiced walking while drinking since I think that's what I'm going to do at marathon water stops but I didn't. I'll have to do that next week.

Partially because I could actually see something (the first 45 minutes of my run were in pitch blackness or just-dawning light) and probably because I hadn't run most of this way before, I found the uphill return more interesting than the way down.

What did I see?

• A few wild apple trees, growing close together and close to the road with the weedy wildflowers, just outside a wire farm fence.
  
  
• A barn-like building tucked into the woods the roof of which was covered in solar panels. There were four vans parked around it (only one with license plates and one which was very tiny, old and European looking) so I spent some time wondering if people live there and what it was like inside.
  
  
• A pond with honking geese. The pond had a few regular ducks, some white geese and then some unusual black geese and some white and brown geese. The brown and white geese looked like English setters (like the male Orange Belton English Setters on this page) and I actually stopped and then backed up to get a better look at them. I haven't had any luck identifying them. The black ones looked to me like Pacific Brant geese per the picture on this page but they'd be pretty far from home if they were. Maybe I'll have to look for a goose identification book...
  
  
• A deep gorge that I crossed over on the road. I could hear the water traveling in it but couldn't see it very well and, when I went to take a closer look, found that there were some portions of the road with no protective barrier. The idea of slipping and falling made me decidedly uneasy since it looked like a very long way down. But it WAS interesting.
  
  
• Lots of agricultural sites--fields of corn, soybeans, animals in fields--but only a few that were proud enough to post signs with names, including George Farm and Persoon Dairy (both New York State Dairies of Distinction), and two separate tracts of grapevines for Lucas Vineyards and Cayuga Creek Vineyards, respectively.
  
  
• A wild pear tree hanging over the road. I was tempted to pick a pear even though they were too small and I don't even like pears.
  

As I felt my skin being rubbed raw under the neckline of my sports bra, I remembered that I forgot to put Body Glide on this morning. And my feet, though padded in brand-new Thorlo running socks, felt a little sore when I was running and then very sore afterwards. My left foot, particularly, has bothered me throughout the day today so I think I might need to do something about it.

So, another 8 miles down. I might take tomorrow off depending on how my foot feels.