Some gross things only happen to me.

Yesterday I worked an early shift in Mandeville (across Lake Ponchartrain) and decided that, since I was already over there, I would go for a run on the Mandeville Lakefront along the seawall.

So I packed my gym bag and changed in the bathroom before heading to the lake. It was hot out, and I realized that I hadn't filled up my water bottle. It was about 1/2 full and I had an hour drive back home. About a mile in I stopped to stretch and eyed the lake thirstily. Here I was, all hot and thirsty already, and there was this huge body of water just feet away! I know I shouldn't drink lake water - the lake is polluted and can be brackish, and is probably host to a variety of parasites. But it was SO hot! I tiptoed down some seawall stairs and slurped up a little handful of water. Ahhh! I resumed my run - then stopped short in about 3 yards. Less than ten feet from my little drink there was a dead dog floating in the lake. It had obviously been dead for awhile and was starting to decompose. I'm not joking. I couldn't see it when I got a drink because of the position of the stairs.
YUMMY!
In better news: My friend Steve who came over for lunch after the Crescent City Classic talked my into weaning myself off my knee strap. He pointed out that relying on the strap prevents development of muscles that keep your patella tracking correctly. So yesterday I left the strap off and I was surprised that it wasn't too painful. This morning it is a little sore but I think I'll skip it again on today's run. I'll let you know about my progress with that.