I ran north from 100th South so I could see where the connection is to get back to the Jordan River Parkway. Google maps showed the connection to be about 8300 South. The person I talked with a few days ago said the connection wasn't far from 90th South and that I should look for a break in the fence. He said there were commercial buildings, and that the connector was immediately after the buildings. When I got to the connector, a mailbox exactly across the street said 8310. There is a locked gate that blocks the connection, but there is an opening next to the gate so people and bikes can get on or off of the connector. There is a big sign about 100 yards from the street welcoming people to the Midvale portion of the Jordan River Parkway. I went toward the river until I reached 50 minutes, and then I turned around and headed back. My goal was a medium run of 100 minutes. This was my first time to run in Midvale. I started in South Jordan City, ran through sections of West Jordan and Sandy and then into Midvale.
I had noticed that after I'd gone about 30 minutes, my head started to hurt, especially around my mouth. As I continued towards the connector near 8300 South, the stiffness in my jaw got worse; it felt like my whole head was swollen and that my jaw and cheeks were in the center of the problem. After I turned around, I got back to 700 West, but I walked most of the mile back to 9000 South, because my head/jaw hurt too much for me to run. I felt weak and hungry, and I began to wonder if I would have to call my wife and have her pick me up and take me to the emergency room at a local hospital. I thought to myself that in 40 years of running, nothing like this had ever happened to me. Today was the first time this summer that I used my Fuel Belt, and I wondered if there were bacteria of some kind in the bottles. As I walked towards 9000 South, I passed a commercial building that had big rocks in front for landscaping, and I stopped for a couple of minutes and sat on one of the rocks to rest.
I continued walking, and a little jogging, to 9000 South and then down 700 West to the Sandy golf course. I sat on a bench for several minutes, realizing I still had a mile to go, and I wondered how I would make it. My jaw was stiff, and I couldn't hold my head up and look ahead of me. I hung my head and looked at my feet. I left the bench and continued walking south. I don't know why, but for some reason I took my sun glasses off, and presto, the pain in my head started decreasing. Within a couple of minutes, the pain was gone, and I felt fine. I looked at the glasses and noticed they weren't my regular glasses. They were sun glasses I got at a running Expo several years ago when I ran the Salt Lake City Half-marathon. I realized the glasses were too small for me and were putting pressure on my head. The glasses fit me when I got them and wore them during the half marathon, but they either had shrunk or my head had gotten larger, because they didn't fit me this morning. I held the glasses in my hand and ran/walked the last 3/4 mile to my car. It was a big relief to know that I wasn't getting lock jaw or something, and I enjoyed that last 3/4 mile.
Note: I took 12 minutes longer than I had planned to complete the 5 miles because of the walking I did.
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