I gave blood on Wednesday. I wasn't going to do it, but it was an eagle project for one of my varsity scouts and he needed as many donors as he could get. I didn't do a double red donation like last time, so I should be able to recover more quickly. I figure this should help my fitness level eventually. Shouldn't my muscles be sending more signals that they need more oxygen which, in turn, with continued consistent training, should result in building a more efficient delivery system by the time my red cell count is back to normal? Anyway, I was a bit slow today, but not much. It certainly wasn't the full 1 minute per mile slower that I experienced last time. I did have a higher heart rate and it was difficult to keep the tempo up after only two miles. I ran a different route this time. It was an old route with a little variation in the middle and end to stretch it out a little past 8 miles. It included a drop at first, followed by a long steady climb and then finishing slightly downhill for the last two miles. Ankle was a little wonky today. I also still have that long, straight pinch in my hamstring and butt. I think I did it stretching, but not sure. It feels better to stretch it and it doesn't bother me much as I run, but it hurts the rest of the day and makes it difficult to get up out of a car. Could it be high hamstring tendinopathy? A car drove towards me and then swerved away at the last second. I was just about to try to jump out the way while thinking I wouldn't make it. This seems to happen every six months or so. Last time it was some girl in a BMW suv who was laughing, though she didn't get mearly as close as this car did. I didn't see the driver this time. I don't know if it was intentional or if the driver was texting or dialing and then looked up just in time. Really scary. Is this criminal activity? Isn't it the same thing as jokingly pointing a gun at someone? Speaking of scary, this is the ad that is showing on my blog entry page right now: 
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