FUBAR

I frankly could not think of a better term to describe today's effort than this common military acronym. The vulgarity of it is equally proportional to the appropriateness of its usage. This run was disastrous.
It wasn't the heat, dehydration, or even muscular soreness which devalued the run. It was the route itself! We were running on a trail which, ironically, my mother and I discovered on my way to the house of the girl I was dating at the time. It was, on the surface, a pristine route-shaded and county maintained. It took a year for me to actually run the trail and boy, was I in for a shock!
On paper (or rather the map provided a the trailhead) there appears to be only two possible trails which are reasonably distanced and interconnected. However, the map neglected several minor cut offs, a fire road, and a whole other trail! Augment the relative uselessness of the only directional material available with the (excuse the necessary vulgarity) piss-pour markings and you have yourself the perfect recipe for FUBAR a la distance runner.
So, needless to say, my intended 7 mile progression run went completely out the window. Thankfully, my workouts usually come with some sort of contingency plan; in case events like this unfold.
So, my 7 mile progression transformed into a 45 minute hard effort. Which then turned into 45 minutes of "how the heck do I get back to the parking lot?" Oh well. It certainly isn't the first time unforeseeable events scratched my running schedule. And it won't be the last. All the planning and consideration can't compete with the universe's endemic chaos. At least I got in the proper mileage.
All in all, I find myself frankly unconcerned with any potential impact this little screw-up will have. I feel I am already in really good shape as is. And while I may be angered and frustrated at today's circumstance, I recognize that there is still plenty of training ahead to correct this lost opportunity.

The Workout: 7 mile pickup. Basically, start controlled the accelerate at the end. (Trail had other plans).
The purpose: To help my body become accustomed to the effort of starting controlled and accelerating so it becomes a feasible race strategy.
Quote of the Workout: "Ahah! I've found the way out!" *Five minutes later* "F@&k, nevermind."