Compromised/Pineapple Fields Forever

Ride (Saturday)
time- 1:37
distance- 17.49

Run (Sunday)
time- 1:37
distance- 9.02

I bought the worst Gatorskin tires ever made. Seriously, I have had more flats since I put on my flat-resistant tires than I ever had before. And yesterday was the epitome of that.
I noticed the softness right after I passed Haleiwa, only a few miles in to my ride and really before too much riding had been done. The whole start of my ride is about four and a half miles of flatish, then down Pineapple we go. So no, I hadn't done much yet. With softness suspected I did a light bounce test and yep, that's the rim donking on the ground. Really? Brand new tube? Expletive.
Pulled over, did the full check of the tube and rim and tire looking for the culprit. Picked some glass slivers out. (Rant- Throwing your empties out the window is a bullshit thing to do. I know the regressive, neanderthal lump of WalMart leftovers that you call a brain gets tickled by the crashy smashy noise, but it really fucking sucks for those of us who also use the road. Knock. It. Off. End Rant.) Threw a new tube in there when I was as sure as I could be that nothing detrimental to my inflation levels remained.
Back tire went flat again right before the top of Pupukea. My spare tube was already in the back tire. My only spare. Expletiveexpletiveexpletive.
Lucky for me Diesel and his wife had just finished a hike nearby and were able to pick me up, saving my bacon. I even somehow got a cookie out of the deal.
I've decided there must be a problem with the tube itself, because its always the back tire and it happens way too often. A sliver too small to see, a design flaw poking holes but not sharp enough for the finger sweep test to find. So today I got to go buy a new tire. Yay! Luckily, I'm a teacher in Hawaii, a state which respects the teaching profession to such a degree that we get paid, when adjusted for cost of living, at the top of national teaching scale. (Correction:Wait, I just reread that last sentence and there is a small error- It should have read, "when adjusted for cost of living, at the bottom, dead last, 50 out of 50 of the national teaching scale". Sorry for the mistake.)
I also added a hydration system to the bike which will help guarantee I'm not drying out during the Honu. Yes, I realize the irony of talking about a new thing I just bought after complaining about my lack of funds due to the disrespectful pay scale of Hawaii teachers, but I didn't really buy my new Profile Design Aquacell, my wonderful sponsor did. I again would like to thank Background Profiles for all their help, there is so much I'm able to have and do that wouldn't be possible without you.

Aero-ish!

Yes, I did cut the straws before I left. Otherwise they would still be in my nose.

Who needs a special bracket? I got rubber bands!

My run was smooth and solid. I was concerned leaving the house that my AT issues were going to flare up again but a controlled pace seemed to manage it. I'm still not 100% healed, the left AT will act up but the pain level stays around a 2, so its no reason to stop.
Normally, I run along the side of the road. I've always noticed a dirt track running just over a hump right in the pineapple fields (what? You though Pineapple Hill was just a clever name?). So today after passing Dole (The pineapple company) I hopped over the hump and did the next mile and a half in the fields. Such a nice change of scenery by simply moving a few feet to the left. On one side, fields of little pineapple, and on the other, a bump then the road. No more running where the asphalt meets the grass for Dirtbag. I'm using this new course all the time.
I took a short photo break to get an artsy picture of little baby pineapples, turned around at the 4.5mi point, and headed back. The last time I ran nine miles I walked two or three times I think. Today I only walked once, up the steepest part of the run which isn't really all that steep but I was kind of tired so leave me alone. No physical issues until the final quarter mile when suddenly my feet really started to hurt. Like, oh yeah, these are minimalist shoes and I'm on pavement hurt. But it went away as soon as I stopped. Left calf threatened to cramp up a few times too and as I sit here I can still feel it being too tight. Foam roller in five.

Ohhh, artsy!

I should also mention that today was the North Short marathon and the Grey took third in his age group with just under a 3:40 finish. Go Team Dirtbag!