Running is hard enough at home but when I am out of town it definitely takes extra effort. First I was at my dad's house outside of Asheville, NC for a week and then visiting friends in Chattanooga, TN for a week. I am not the kind of person that just goes with the flow.....I am neurotic about my running schedule. (This is a confession, I am not bragging!) I have found a nice 5-6 mile loop at near my dad's house that is relatively flat to run. So for the week I was there I managed one tempo, one easy, and one long run in that location. It is beautiful, dirt road, mountain view, fields, streams, cows....an enjoyable change of scenery.
Next Chattanooga: hills are an issue here as well. Ran once from a friends house while she watched one of the boys and the other one napped at another friend's house (oh yeah, husband is at home). Ran for about 3 miles on a highway I had driven on probably a thousand times and thought was mostly flat. WRONG!!! It was like a roller coaster. I decided my life is more important than a run on a highway with a speed limit of 55, no sidewalk, and consistant rolling hills. So I decided to run on some cross country trails. Ran there a little longer than expected (wrong turns, bad signage) but all in all I survived the run.
Needing to do a long run that weekend a friend's husband and I decided to do a 10.2 mile trail race. Background - I have never raced or even run trails......gulp. But I mean it is only 10.2 miles, I have done that many times, shouldn't be too hard, right? Maybe I will just slow my time a little....like a 9 or 9:30 minute mile. Famous last words! I finished in 2:00:46. Seriously. 11:51 minute miles. I didn't think the race would ever be over....There were crazy steep places you had to walk, the "Rock Garden" which I didn't think would ever end, and all the while no mile markers letting you know how far until it was over. But I finally finished. I won't underestimate trail running any more!
Now how am I going to rebuild my broken spirit??
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