Call me foolish, call me committed, call me crazy, call me stubborn, but I just decided that I needed to run the course and finish my commitment. There was one other ulterior motive, which I will mention in my next post :).
So, just to give a not so brief update on the run, I did do most of it by myself. A friend ran the first 3 or 4 miles with me, but she decided that she did not feel well enough to run with me, so after some encouragement and a warning against creeps, she returned to the parking lot by "the shortest route possible."
The first five miles felt really good. The second five miles felt okay; in fact, I think I ran a bit faster where I could on the second 5 miles, and the last 5 miles went okay. Mentally I did fine the whole time, but I did have to take a few rest breaks on the last 5 miles and definitely hiked the steep section on McKay Hollow Trail. The course was still very clearly marked with flags and caution tape at all the major intersections, so finding my way was quite easy.
Trail running has cured me of the stubborn mindset that I used to have: I used to believe that if I had to stop and walk then I didn't "really" run the mileage. Now, I am not at all ashamed to say that I hiked the steep uphill parts of Panther Knob, Warpath Ridge, Natural Well, and McKay Hollow. In fact, I don't think I could have run all of the trail. Overall, I finished in just under 4 hours- a 45 minute improvement over our first "run/hike" through.
Below is a list of my "random thoughts" as I ran. Running allows for a lot of those- especially running by myself.
- Squirrels are very noisy.
- Hammer gel goo is the nastiest thing I've ever put into my mouth while exercising. Including bugs.
- I'm glad the trail is so well marked- I don't remember going this direction last time.
- uh-oh. I'm pretty sure my blister protection just moved.
- Squirrels are probably the loudest animals in these woods. They sound even louder than deer.
- I hope I see some deer.
- I hope I don't run out of water.
- yep. I definitely have blisters. or the skin has just worn away right there.
- I like cliff shot blocks. much yummier than Hammer gel.
- God, please help me finish X like 1000!
- I hope it doesn't get dark while I'm out here.
- It's a nice day.
- The flowers are quite pretty.
- The biggest casualty from today is probably going to be poison ivy- it's everywhere!
- Do these trails ever dry?
- At some point, Gloria, you might just want to give up going around the puddles and just run through the mud.
- I can't believe I rappelled into Natural Well- what were we thinking?
- oh look- deer!
The Nasty Stuff from the Run
Some decent, although a bit too chewy running snacks:
Some really yummy running food:
The offending blister area- this is after some recovery time. . .
If you look closely. both my second toes are discolored and bruised . . .
Mud from the trails. . .
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