what not to do the week before a marathon.. if you trip easily..

Georgia International Olympic Mountain Bike course. My daughter is participating in the Boo Rama horse show at the Georgia International Horse Park this weekend. She came in 3rd place (out of about 15) in all 4 of her events today! After her last event, I headed for the trails. This time, unlike others, I followed the signs for the bike path/no horses. The first mile was so easy that I wondered how this could possibly be the Olympic course. Then I realized that that must have been the "warm-up" portion because the following miles were more challenging. I'm sure bikers take the ramp in this picture, but I chose to leap over the fallen tree instead.

There were only a few bikers on the trail and they politely warned me that they were approaching from behind so I jumped off the trail to let them pass. I felt strong as I ran and took 30 second walk breaks every 5-7 minutes depending on the terrain and my breathing. Just shy of 2 miles I tripped and fell. I didn't bother to look at the damage.. just got up and continued along the path paying closer attention to the trail obstacles in hopes of not tripping again. I can't afford a serious injury a week before my marathon.. 4.27 miles was the loop. I assessed the damage at the car. Hopefully this is just surficial scrapes rather than more significant damage since I have a marathon to run in 7 days. I posted on Facebook and Daily Mile: note to self (aka trail tripper) NO MORE TRAIL RUNS until AFTER your marathon :-P  (But I somehow doubt I can stick to that since I am now a trail addict.) Please wish me safe trail travels instead..

Oscar warned me before he left for Colombia to please be careful.. He didn't want me to injure myself before my marathon. Obviously he knows me too well.. Today is his birthday and I miss him more than I thought I would. Hope he is having a fabulous time with his family and friends!

ready

Bring on the marathon! Most of my miles during the past few months have been on trails. I decided that my last long run before my marathon should probably be on the road to better simulate race conditions. I ran at Mountain Park Park with the strategy that I plan to use on race day. At every 5 minutes took a 30 second walk break. At every 4 miles (~45 minutes) ate half a clif bar and drank about 6 oz of gatorade plus water. Except for the chafing, this was an amazing run! Guess all those trail miles paid off since I felt strong the entire run. I used to walk the minor hills here, but now they are easy to run. Woohoo!

zen run

I love how the trail looks different every time that I run it! Today was a rainy run and the bright red leaves of fall approaching caught my eye on this section of the trail today. It was much more gorgeous than this photo could possibly portray. Maybe because I was in the moment, smelling the fresh scent of rain and mud, feeling the cool drips of rain on my skin, hearing the leaves rustling lightly. Zen running at its best!

dirty girls have more fun

At least this time I tripped and slid in mud rather than doing too much damage. It was actually kind of fun! Today was my longest trail run ever. I had planned for an easy 5-miler; I normally do my long runs on Sunday. But I was feeling great and had enough snacks and water in the car, so I decided early on to shift gears and listen to my body and turn this 5-miler into the 15-mile long run that I had on schedule for tomorrow. Best decision ever! At 5 miles I returned to the car, had a snack and drank water. I run a 2.5 mile loop at Yellow River Park trails, so every 2.5 miles I stopped by the car for another small snack and gulp of water. Fueling was perfect! By the end, I felt I could easily run more, but my knee was starting to hurt a little so I didn't want to push it. Dirty girls have more fun!

rattlesnake.. thanks for the warning instead of the strike

Take a close look.. a very close look.. what neither of us see in the image was the rattlesnake that was half-way up this trail climb. I had a work meeting at Sweetwater Creek State Park today and went for a trail run afterwards. I decided to go a different route than I did last year. I loved the first mile or so. The trail thinned and I wondered if it was a true trail but decided to continue forward. Then I came to a steep incline and wasn't sure if it was a trail "dead end" or only for the hard-core. I was tempted to turn around but decided to be adventurous and climb. It was steep so I went slowly, grabbing branches/trees to keep me from slipping. About half-way up I reached for a small tree, near its base, and heard the rattle of a rattlesnake. I glanced to my left and there it was.. within inches of my hand.. I'm so grateful that it warned me instead of biting me!

If you've read any of my previous posts you may surmise that trail runs can be dangerous. Trips, lyme disease, insect stings, rattlesnakes.. Yet the trails are also where I find nirvana. I'll trade a boring/safe run for a trail any day. New adventures keep my life interesting.

stinger fast

Fastest pace on this trail ever! Progress.. sweet progress.. I purposely ran this one fast. I didn't push too hard, but my goal was to beat my previous fastest pace on this trail route. I left my phone in the car on purpose and only carried my key in shorts pocket and Garmin 310XT in my hand (since my dog at the wrist band). I was stung by some flying insect on my lower right calf during the first mile but kept going. I kept my eye on the trail and the "virtual partner" rather than the pace and kept seeing the "time ahead" increasing until that last steep uphill. I walked up it and noted that I lost 40 seconds, but gained 20 of it back before the cut-off to return to car. I ran two loops and was amazed at overall pace (75 seconds/mile faster than my previous best), especially since I didn't think I was pushing too hard. Woohoo!

impromptu 5K

Spontaneity ROCKS! My original plan was for a long run this morning, but last night Lisa called and asked if I would run the Duluth Fall Festival 5K with her. I'd much rather run with a friend than do a long run alone, so it didn't take much to twist my arm. She hasn't been running as much as I have so we went at her pace. I had so much fun running with her!

Lisa's daughter and her friend (who both run cross country) came in 2nd and 3rd in their age group! We all left happy and plotting out our next adventure. Another 5K? Adventure Racing? Triathlon? The sky's the limit..

limbo contest?

So who wants to join me in a limbo contest on the Yellow River Park trail? The storms of last night left two downed trees along the paths. Thankfully a mountain biker coming in the opposite direction warned me as we passed or I might have slammed right into it since it was just after a turn. I love how the trail looks different every time that I run it! Fun 5 miles this morning!

Coosa Trail

I need a new goal.. I'm tired of training for marathons.. I love trail running and started contemplating my first Ultra. I don't necessarily want to run the ultra distance, but I learned about a nearby 30K/50K trail race that will be two weeks after my marathon and I thought that if I treated my marathon as a "training run" instead of a race, that maybe I could do a 50K two weeks later. The Duncan Ridge Trail 50K/30K held a "training run" today. My hair colorist's boyfriend is in the band Skid Row; I went to their concert last night and stayed out way too late.. Had a great time, but just couldn't get up 3 hours later to drive to Vogel State Park for the training run start. Yet I was determined to check out the trail before registering for the race, so I drove up and ran a section of the trail alone. OMG! There is no way I will be able to run this 50K two months from now. This was a hike, not a run, and the first few miles of the race are nowhere near as steep as later sections of the race. Glad I tested it out before registering! Am still contemplating registering for the 30K for the adventure, but the 50K is totally out of my current ability range.

Tallulah Falls

I've driven past Tallulah Gorge State Park almost monthly this year when I travel to/from one of my work projects. I've kept saying that one day I will stop here and go for a run.. I'm usually traveling with co-workers and haven't had a chance, but today I was driving back to Atlanta alone. I stopped at the park and ran the North Rim Trail in my brand new Brooks Cascadia 6 trail shoes (that I LOVE). The North Rim Trail was more of a walking path for visitors than a real trail for runners/hikers, so I was a little disappointed, but enjoyed the view. Will have to check out the High Bluff Trail next time. And since I name all of my running shoes, my new Cascadia trail shoes are now named "Tallulah".