Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Wrapping up the long training runs

I just checked the calendar and counted. 19 days (18.5 if you want to get particularly technical) until my 2nd half marathon. Just a little under 3 weeks left in my training.
Actually, I finished my half marathon training plan already but had to make some adjustments since I was further out from my race and the training plan I was following was for less time. Makes sense, no!? Anyway, I ran my last really long run on Sunday.

My friend, Terri, was nice enough to invite me to the local Fleet Feet run in beautiful Cades Cove, TN this weekend. She even swung by my house to pick me up so we could carpool. Score! It was a beautiful day. My training plan called for only 9 miles but the running loops in the Cove are for 4, 8 or 11 miles. I didn't want to cheat myself on miles, obviously so I knew I was not going to run the 4 and 8 was still to few. Why not go for 11 since I am still far enough from the race to taper even less?

So, that's what we did. Terri had 18 miles on her training plan. She's training for the Marine Corps Marathon! She's so awesome. Since I am no where near ready to increase my mileage like that she agreed to do the first 11 with me and at the drop off she would continue on to get her last 7 miles in.

I was feeling pretty well at the start of our run. We agreed to not go too fast. When I glanced at my Garmin we were around 10 min miles, maybe a bit less on some downhills. We did not immediately take walk breaks and ran I believe until 2 miles or the first big uphill before I was ready for a walk break. I probably would not have needed one had it not been for the hills. Cades Cove is no joke, folks!

I knew around 3.5-4 miles I was going to have one small problem. My stomach began to talk or maybe it was not so much my stomach but it's underlying tubes! haha Needless to say, I had an issue. I tried my best to keep going and even knew where the potties were. So at 5 miles I told my friend I may need to stop at the potties then my stomach hit hard. I had to actually stop.in.my.tracks. Stop. Ugh.

I found a spot in the woods and my friend was helpful. That's about all I can say about the situation! I am thankful for sure. And let me add that running + tummy issues = real crappy situation.

We did stop at the potty where I cleaned up, refueled and refocused. We were on our way again within a few minutes. The back side of the Cove is a tough run (for me). The uphills are even more brutal than the first half. I tried my hardest to maintain a good pace. We agreed to take walk breaks at each mile. My goal was to just run. I tried my best to tackle the hills but I admit that I only went as far up as I could before walking. My quads were dying.

I'm pretty sure we were fairly slow on the last half and that always makes me feel bad for those running with me. Terri already told me that since she was running 18 for the day she wanted to go slow. I was glad but had secretly hoped to be a bit faster than slow. Makes sense? We ended up at almost just barely 11 miles in a bit over 2 hours.

At mile 5.5, after my little accident, I forgot to restart Mr. G. Oops! I knew looking down at it for the next .65 miles something was not going right. haha But I was more caught up with the fact that 50 bazillion people had stopped their cars along BOTH sides of the ONE way road in the Cove and were out taking pictures, looking up in a tree! Yes, people THOSE ARE bear cubs! And let me also remind you that their mama should not be too far away from them. People are indeed nuts. Terri and I did NOT stop, but kept running and made note of the insane people. Of course, I am sure at least one of them thought WE were the crazies. What? Out there RUNNING this loop on foot rather than traveling by car and all. haha

We also saw lots of deer and turkey along our way. If you're in the area and are a runner you should definitely run the Cades Cove loop. I'm not sure that there is ever a bad time to run it..as far as seasons go. This was my 3rd or 4th time running and I can say that each time has been a different experience, even with the minor blip this trip, it is still a fantastic place to run. I'm glad to have wrapped up my double digit training runs with this awesome run. I feel ready to tackle another 13.1!!!

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