WTF? A Parade for Me?

We'll get to that in a moment.

I decided to make today the day for my long run instead of the typical Sunday run. My schedule got messed up and I never got much sleep yesterday.
I started out today with 12 miles in mind. I ran my typical rural route since it is always a peaceful run.
I actually saw two other runners going the opposite direction when I got to Mt. Pickerington. Kind of a rarity to see other runners out. There were however a lot of cyclists out enjoying a day off for Labor Day.
I got about 8 miles into my run and decided to pull over in the shade and take a rest. I whipped out my baggie of S! Caps and just then a County Sheriff rounded the corner. He slowed down and looked at me. Not sure what he was thinking. I guess I wasn't suspicious enough to bother, so he went on.
I choked down a second Lemon Lime GU, and off I went.
I got into down town Pickerington and noticed a lot of people congregating along the streets. I asked some guy about it and he said there was a parade about to start.
I went onto the town square where I had planned on filling up my water bottle. I finished with that and went onto the home stretch of my run.
I had only one lace to run because the sidewalks were filled with 100's of people. I started laughing my ass off as some people were cheering me on. I yelled at this one lady, and asked was all this for me?
I went on and felt a little embarrassed as the parade route went on for about another 3 miles.
I heard some people yelling "Hey Nick" -Must have been neighbors.

I think this is where I realized, I bit off more than I could chew for this run. I was very tired and I started to walk too much. I had done well up until that point without walking at all. I figured that the day before I hadn't eaten properly which is why I felt really sluggish toward the end.
I did finish out the run and ended up with 12 miles on the dot.

Totals: 12 Miles

Avg HR: 175, Max HR: 193