Rain, Rain go away

Usually, I enjoy the rain; it provides a cool relief to the Southeast's smothering heat. Yesterday, was no exception, but excess is not always welcome.

Yesterday, we battled our way up through the respective counties until we reached Clayton, GA. There, we went to the Black Rock State Park to do a good (some good climbing) around 8 mile trail (we added some distance for the nice lookout - minus the chicken plant view). It has some good climbing in several places without the pain or the distance of the Coosa. Enjoyable! But, the rain; the rain. It rained the whole time; no break. Fortunately, we had forest canopy cover & limited exposure, so it was tolerable, but the trails had become small creeks. Our feet were wet; the gore tex could not provide a barrier to the wetness. We were loud sloshing slow runners (many slippery roots & rocks).

But, overall it was enjoyable. We were out there for about 2 hrs (grendel needs water Breaks) and the waterfalls & rivers were rushing. Really spectacular & a rare view in these times of drought.

But, I think I am ready for a little blue sky even if for 5 minutes.

Looking forward to some days off

A week from tomorrow I will be a betrothed woman. I will wear the rings and be committed. To celebrate, i am taking off a week to plan, be busy & get my nails done (already done the hair). And, I will have more time to run & Grendel will be with me.

I will spend most of the week before the wedding in Greenville, SC, which is one of my favorite cities in which to run. The roads are hilly; there is an awesome state park, and you can take off any in any direction (in several parts of town) and find a challenging 10 mile + route where you can browse the soft houses and large trees. I miss my long runs there.

But, today, I will still be in Gainesville, so I will have my usual long pavement day, which begins with the friend & chatter. After she leaves, I will take off again to really help me relax for the weekend, so I can rest tomorrow and be prepared for a long trail run on Sunday.

I like the weekends...

Getting back into the "run" of things

Keeping in optimal trail running shape has been difficult this summer notwithstanding the usual longer nights.

My weeks are full of pavement; I am getting married in a week (lots of stress there); i caught a flu bug (no i am not sure if it was H1N1; i got better quickly), and I stopped running for a while. Now, I feel out of shape, and I have a gnarly 18 miler north of Asheville to finish (maybe) in November (the weekend after my birthday). I will need to step up the miles on the weekends.

Fridays I enjoy long runs with other Gainesvillians - again on pavement, but the comraderies is enjoyable; people are out walking in the park, and we chatter chatter. But, I sometimes will be out running for around 2 hours if I can... Saturday I rest, and Sunday I hit the hills.

Slow recovery; slow recovery -

Attacks on trails

Recently, another woman was attacked this time - on the Suwanee trail.

http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=223120

News such as this and hearing about other attacks on trails in North Georgia have kept me close to home and on the pavement (not saying it is always safe, but....).

I attended undergraduate university in Colorado, and I don't remember tales such as this. Maybe my memory is limited to the good times, but I would run by myself often. My main fear was lions...

I guess bring mace? To other women who read this - what do you do to increase your safety?

On weekends, I have my trusty pup (actually i am considering adopting another dog to increase safety) who I know provides an extra set of eyes and ears. On the weekends, I know I am more relaxed and enjoying the run in contrast to after work runs when I am tense...

Maybe some more trail runners will move to Gainesville...

New Schedule for new marathon on the horizon

Trying to develop a new schedule; have a new marathon to do in February 2010 - the Black Mountain Marathon.

Sundays: long trail run
Mondays: mellow recovery run
Tuesday: (goal - really want to do speedwork on a track)
Wed: off
Thurs: long trail day
Friday: long pavement day
Sat: off

I hope to implement this schedule after 9/26 - after I get married. I am taking next week off from work to really get ready for the wedding. I think there will be some long runs during the week because I know during that weekend, I won't have any time to run.

Run some miles for me; the next week & 1/2 is going to be stressful leading up towards the wedding!!

Sickness, the sickness

Not sure what grabbed a hold of me on Thursday and pulled me into bed, but I know it was fierce. It brought pains to the arms and legs, exhaustion, and a massive headache. I did not move for 2 days.

On the third day, the fever broke, and it was replaced with a head cold, which was accompanied by a cough. Not a faint - light of heart - cough, but a deep and painful cough, which left me wondering what part of my lungs were coming up.

I have not run since last wednesday, and the thought of forcing my lungs to work any harder has kept me away from the running shoes. I have taught a yoga class and lifted some weights, which have kept me sane, but helped with the exhaustion, so at night - there is no reading; only sleeping.

All of this was preceded by a glorious weekend in western NC above 5000 feet...