Its the little things that you don’t notice at first that get you about running in a foreign city.

But anyway. First let me say that I got somewhere between 10-15 miles in today. I know its at least 10 because my GPS didn’t register until I was a mile or two (?) away from the hotel, and I saw 10 on the readout before it died. I don’t know how far it was after that point because, well, it ran out of juice and, as I mentioned, my charger is not happy right now. Hmph.

Anyway, I ran West over to the narrow-guage railroad, and then headed up the trail paralleling it. I knew that I was short on juice, and figured that this way I could easily find my way home. Well, a few (?) miles into the run, I lost the trail. I mean, I was on the trail, and I saw where the tracks went, but the trail wandered off and failed to parallel them like the map showed.

I spent a good 10 minutes looking one side and the other, and couldn’t find it, so I eventually gave up and headed South. I went past the point that I started and out onto the roads, heading towards the Elbe. I knew that not many people in Dresden/Radebeul ran (which is bizzare to me, its friggin’ perfect for it) but on my way South I had one guy ask me if I was lost (kind, but I wasn’t) and another fellow ask an odd question. I was trying to find the best way down, and I asked a byciclist which way to the Elbe, and he stopped and said, “Oh, well, you know, its almost 1 kilometer!” I mean, I was all decked out in (sweaty) running gear…

I guess its because a ton of runners in Austin are distance hounds, and I’ve grown to think of anything under say 8 miles as a “short” run. Still, it surprised me. I did make it down to the Elbe, and ran along there for some time (my GPS had died by then), finally making it back up to my hotel for what was probably a 12-13 mile jaunt.

Oh, and the little things? I’ve grown out of the habit of carrying water on my long runs. First, there are tons of public supported waterstops in Austin. Second, there are water fountains. Third, I tuck a couple of bucks into my shorts and there’s always a convenience store with a nice cool Powerade waiting for me. In Radebeul, on an unseasonably warm Sunday, there were none of these things.

So I did about a half marathon’s distance, in the hills (mostly), in 75 degree sunny weather, with no fluids. Real smart. Afterwards I drank about 1 litre of mango/orange mineral water (hey, it was cold) and lots of beer this afternoon. Yeah, that’ll make up for it. I ran about a 9:00 pace, even in the hills, but with lots of pauses for good views or weird backtracking because I lost a trail.

Current plans have me running again in Radebeul on Tuesday and Thursday, although I might sneak in a Wednesday run as well. Then on Friday I go to England, where I’ll be… hmm… running? Although possibly not until Sunday, maybe Saturday morning at the earliest. It’ll be my first real vacation in quite some time, and I plan on taking full advantage.

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