We headed out to the mountains to run this weekend. Bob was traveling on Saturday, so we ran on Sunday. We met at the Rec center at 06:00 AM to drive out to the mountains (about 1 1/2 hours away). Casey, Toni, Denise and I were treated to a chauffeured drive by Bob- so no driving, just relaxing and giving Bob a hard time. Skyline drive was closed due to fire danger, so we had to go to an area a little north to start. Once we hit the trails we went over Knob mountain, ran along the Appalachian Trail and came back over Neighbor mountain. It was so cold at the start- but what a beautiful day! The highs were in the 50s and it stayed cool and clear all day. We had a great run with all of the usual jabs, jest, and smart comments. You have to be tough and witty to make it in this crowd!
The first mountain that we climbed had about 2.5 miles uphill at the very beginning, and we all complained like a bunch of pansies. It was a tough hike, of course we were treated to an awesome downhill on the other side. We saw a group of hikers when we got to the AT, and they told us that a park ranger had advised them not to enter the park, but they explained that they already had a camp at the park and were allowed to enter. We also asked about bear sightings, as the running group pointed out that they had spotted 2 bears on the trails last time they were out here. The hikers said that they did not see any, but heard that someone else did. We figured it is still too early for them to be out and about (hopefully). We did not see any bears, but we did get to climb another mountain. The views were incredible.....made the effort worthwhile. We treated ourselves to some Spelunker's grub and headed back to the city.
We noticed in the distance, along Skyline drive, there were (2) forest fires burning. Later on the news, we learned that the fires had destroyed about 2,000 acres and one home. Luckily, we were not near where the fires were burning. We ended up with about 21.25 mile for the day- not bad. In all, a fantastic day in the mountains with friends.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Back on the Trails in Virginia
Finally! I am back with my running group in Virginia. We met for a 20 mile run on Saturday along the Bull Run trail. It was so great to be back with the gang again and to hear about their running adventures. Considering that I had a lousy week at work- it was just what the doctor ordered. Bob, Rob, Stan, Casey, and I started out together. Stan is returning from an injury, so he fell back and did about 10-12. On our way back from a 6 mile out and back, we saw Denise and she joined us for the remainder of the run. She has been gone for a while too (but she was skiing). It was a great day and the temperatures were warming- Spring is coming! There were still some areas of the trails that were very icy and treacherous.
We decided to meet up again on Sunday for another 10 miles. I was so happy- I really need to start increasing my mileage, so this works out great for me. The only negative, I was not able to sleep in on the weekend. No worries, I spent the rest of Sunday hanging out, getting a manicure/pedicure and going to the movies. Was a great weekend. I am excited because we have decided to run in the mountains next Sunday (we will skip Saturday run- Bob is out of town).
We decided to meet up again on Sunday for another 10 miles. I was so happy- I really need to start increasing my mileage, so this works out great for me. The only negative, I was not able to sleep in on the weekend. No worries, I spent the rest of Sunday hanging out, getting a manicure/pedicure and going to the movies. Was a great weekend. I am excited because we have decided to run in the mountains next Sunday (we will skip Saturday run- Bob is out of town).
Monday, February 14, 2011
Rocky Raccoon - Volunteering and Pacing
I arrived in Houston on Thursday, due to the pending arrival of a freak snowstorm in Houston (which never actually came); on one of the last flights of the evening since Houston Intercontinental Airport was closing until sometime on Friday. I managed to move my Friday flight to Thursday evening. I spent the night at my parent's house and Bruce picked me up around lunch time to head to Huntsville.
While there was no actual snowstorm, there was an incredible amount of ice on the overpasses (and for some reason the Houston transit folks refuse to use salt to melt it) and it made travel a nightmare. We arrived in Huntsville early afternoon, and met Becky, Denise and Allen at our rented shelter. Allen explained to us that there was a problem with the shelter, as the park told him this shelter (#4) and there was a "Trail Nerd" sign out front. He went back to the park headquarters and verified that #4 was ours and told them about the sign. They said that there were no more shelters to give us and that was ours. Allen moved the sign to #5 and told Henry and Joe about the issue. Needless to say, this was not the end of that saga. We headed out to our hotel. Only to find that they did not have any power. The hotel employees explained that someone had been involved in an accident with a light pole and the power company was working on the issue. We decided to go to packet pickup and dinner location. Becky and I volunteered for a few hours at the packet pick up. We got to meet some other volunteers and racers for the next day. We enjoyed our nice pasta dinner and headed back to the hotel. The power had been restored and we all retired to our rooms to make our race day preparations. About 10 mins later Allen is in the hall- informing us that the electricity in his room went out again. They got the power up again and we all tried to relax and get some sleep.
The next morning, as we arrived at the shelter- there were some angry Trail Nerds headed our way. They were upset that we has moved their sign- Allen and Bruce explained the issue and that the park headquarters had directed us to take this shelter. They said that they paid for (2) shelters and only had one. We offered the use of our shelter for anything that they needed. We agreed to share and everyone was fine with the solution. We certainly hope that they were refunded the money for the shelter that they did not get to use. There were no hard feelings, and we even shared the same area around the start/finish area.
Allen took off first, and Denise and Bruce got to wait around for a while. They used this time to use the restroom and make their last minute preparations. Becky and I saw them off and we started our duties at the start/finish area with organizing drop bags. I do not think that the other volunteers were quite ready for our "level" of organization, but we soon had everyone on board. We had a great time with the other volunteers. I had so much fun that I did not want to leave. I finally left to get some rest before assuming my pacing duties. I was not able to sleep, but I laid around for a while. I got back in time to see Bruce finish. He looked great at the end- all of that extra mileage paid off. Marilyn and I got him back to the hotel and delivered some McDonalds for him and headed back to the park. We were all sitting around talking, and we did not expect Denise for another 30 minutes. We are all bundled up, sitting in our chairs, when Denise casually walks up and announces that she finished. We all jumped up and congratulated her. We were so embarrassed that we were not there when she came across the line. She finished her first 50 miler and made it look easy. She looked great- she did not look like she had run 50 miles. She told us that she wanted to wait for Allen. A little while later, Allen came across and announced that he was "done." We tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted that he knew it was time to throw in the towel. Sometimes you have to be smart and listen to your body- if it is not your day, it is just not your day. We all headed to Ihop for the traditional after-Rocky meal and then got some sleep.
Since I was not able to run Saturday, I went to the park early to run 20 miles before my flight on Sunday. I volunteered to take down course markings for a portion of the course and then continued my run. I also was an unofficial sweeper for the course. After leaving the last aid stop, I started seeing a lot of 100 milers struggling to finish. I stopped and talked to each asking if they needed anything, but most said that they were fine. I ran across Misty (From Minnesota) about 3 miles from the finish, she was finishing her first 100 miler and she was struggling. I offered to help her to make it in before the cut off. We walked and I talked and tried to cheer her up when I could. We then picked up Joshua (From Tennessee) who had been with Misty all night. I pushed, cajoled and tried to motivate these two to keep up their walking pace and make it to the end. They both made it to the finish in 29:47. I am so happy for them both and all of the RR finishers this year. I had a wonderful time and look forward to other volunteering duties....
While there was no actual snowstorm, there was an incredible amount of ice on the overpasses (and for some reason the Houston transit folks refuse to use salt to melt it) and it made travel a nightmare. We arrived in Huntsville early afternoon, and met Becky, Denise and Allen at our rented shelter. Allen explained to us that there was a problem with the shelter, as the park told him this shelter (#4) and there was a "Trail Nerd" sign out front. He went back to the park headquarters and verified that #4 was ours and told them about the sign. They said that there were no more shelters to give us and that was ours. Allen moved the sign to #5 and told Henry and Joe about the issue. Needless to say, this was not the end of that saga. We headed out to our hotel. Only to find that they did not have any power. The hotel employees explained that someone had been involved in an accident with a light pole and the power company was working on the issue. We decided to go to packet pickup and dinner location. Becky and I volunteered for a few hours at the packet pick up. We got to meet some other volunteers and racers for the next day. We enjoyed our nice pasta dinner and headed back to the hotel. The power had been restored and we all retired to our rooms to make our race day preparations. About 10 mins later Allen is in the hall- informing us that the electricity in his room went out again. They got the power up again and we all tried to relax and get some sleep.
The next morning, as we arrived at the shelter- there were some angry Trail Nerds headed our way. They were upset that we has moved their sign- Allen and Bruce explained the issue and that the park headquarters had directed us to take this shelter. They said that they paid for (2) shelters and only had one. We offered the use of our shelter for anything that they needed. We agreed to share and everyone was fine with the solution. We certainly hope that they were refunded the money for the shelter that they did not get to use. There were no hard feelings, and we even shared the same area around the start/finish area.
Allen took off first, and Denise and Bruce got to wait around for a while. They used this time to use the restroom and make their last minute preparations. Becky and I saw them off and we started our duties at the start/finish area with organizing drop bags. I do not think that the other volunteers were quite ready for our "level" of organization, but we soon had everyone on board. We had a great time with the other volunteers. I had so much fun that I did not want to leave. I finally left to get some rest before assuming my pacing duties. I was not able to sleep, but I laid around for a while. I got back in time to see Bruce finish. He looked great at the end- all of that extra mileage paid off. Marilyn and I got him back to the hotel and delivered some McDonalds for him and headed back to the park. We were all sitting around talking, and we did not expect Denise for another 30 minutes. We are all bundled up, sitting in our chairs, when Denise casually walks up and announces that she finished. We all jumped up and congratulated her. We were so embarrassed that we were not there when she came across the line. She finished her first 50 miler and made it look easy. She looked great- she did not look like she had run 50 miles. She told us that she wanted to wait for Allen. A little while later, Allen came across and announced that he was "done." We tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted that he knew it was time to throw in the towel. Sometimes you have to be smart and listen to your body- if it is not your day, it is just not your day. We all headed to Ihop for the traditional after-Rocky meal and then got some sleep.
Since I was not able to run Saturday, I went to the park early to run 20 miles before my flight on Sunday. I volunteered to take down course markings for a portion of the course and then continued my run. I also was an unofficial sweeper for the course. After leaving the last aid stop, I started seeing a lot of 100 milers struggling to finish. I stopped and talked to each asking if they needed anything, but most said that they were fine. I ran across Misty (From Minnesota) about 3 miles from the finish, she was finishing her first 100 miler and she was struggling. I offered to help her to make it in before the cut off. We walked and I talked and tried to cheer her up when I could. We then picked up Joshua (From Tennessee) who had been with Misty all night. I pushed, cajoled and tried to motivate these two to keep up their walking pace and make it to the end. They both made it to the finish in 29:47. I am so happy for them both and all of the RR finishers this year. I had a wonderful time and look forward to other volunteering duties....
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Vacation + Alcohol = Very Little Training
I went home to Houston to go on a cruise vacation. We left Galveston on Sunday, January 23, 2011. It was my Mom's 60th birthday and we treated her and my Dad to a cruise. We had a wonderful time in the Caribbean and Mexico. Unfortunately, there was not a lot of training on the cruise- at least not for me. There was a lot of eating and drinking, but not much running. (Bruce did better than I did- he did 10 miles on Saturday, I just did not want to run 10 miles on the treadmill.)
I managed to run 20 miles (on the street--uggghhhh) on the Sunday before we left. I ran 5-6 miles here and there, but did not log significant mileage. I was planning to run long again on Sunday, January 30, 2011- the day we returned. Between unpacking, repacking (to head back to Virginia), spending some time with my doggies, and doing laundry, I was exhausted. Ok, so no long run this week- no big deal. I will be back on track in no time.
I am pacing Allen the last 40 miles of the Rocky Raccoon 100 this weekend. Bruce and Denise are running the 50 miler- so I get to see them too. I am volunteering for the race in the first 8 or so hours, then catching a little rest and pacing Allen for 40. We are going to have so much fun! It is going to be a blast- I have to think of some clever things to say to keep Allen interested in conversation. Other friends are planning to come out and help with crewing- it is going to be a reunion!
I managed to run 20 miles (on the street--uggghhhh) on the Sunday before we left. I ran 5-6 miles here and there, but did not log significant mileage. I was planning to run long again on Sunday, January 30, 2011- the day we returned. Between unpacking, repacking (to head back to Virginia), spending some time with my doggies, and doing laundry, I was exhausted. Ok, so no long run this week- no big deal. I will be back on track in no time.
I am pacing Allen the last 40 miles of the Rocky Raccoon 100 this weekend. Bruce and Denise are running the 50 miler- so I get to see them too. I am volunteering for the race in the first 8 or so hours, then catching a little rest and pacing Allen for 40. We are going to have so much fun! It is going to be a blast- I have to think of some clever things to say to keep Allen interested in conversation. Other friends are planning to come out and help with crewing- it is going to be a reunion!
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