Great day yesterday in the "Great Smokey Mountains." It was my second longest run of the year @ 11.5 miles. A mild 50 degrees and overcast. It did climb to 54 degrees by the end. I arrived an hour and a half later than expected due to the traffic. It seems that every vacationer in the United States decided to go to the Smokey's this weekend for the fall colors. My normal 1.5 hours of driving turned out to be 3 hours!! The 11 mile loop is closed to cars until 10 am for bikes, hikers, and runners. I didn't arrive until 11am, then I drove for another 20 minutes trying to find a parking spot.
The run went great, but there were so many vehicles on the loop that I was dodging cars "left and right" and often I had to stop to walk around cars. I turned my ankle twice; very minor - no pain whatsoever; while running through brush. Besides the cars, I really can't complain much because I had so much fun! I finished with a slow time compared to last - 11.5 miles in 2:11:15 (11:24 avg.) It did seem that there were more, steeper hills this time around. LOL!! Even though the cars were-a-plenty, the supportive people made it very enjoyable. I have found my favorite running place. The fall colors were nearly at their peak and the roaming wildlife is great.( Minus the Bears). I did get to see an Elk up close. It got to within 100 feet, which I have to say was scary as hell..hahaha They are huge!!! I sorta positioned my body behind a tree until he went the other direction..
Sadly, I brought my digital camera and forgot the damn memory card for it. No pictures!!
That sucked! After the run, I met up with my coworkers for some good grillin.. Nothing like a fat, fattening, juicy hotdog after a run. No guilt at all..
Congratulations to Shosh for running her 2nd half marathon in 7 days and a new PR! OMG! *jaw drops* You read that correctly 2 in 1 week!!!
Joy set a new PR in Atlantic City half marathon in a 20mph headwind! Then she went to work her 12 hour hospital shift!
Congrats to Lisa for knocking out the relay leg of the Baltimore marathon.
Morgan ran her first ever marathon in Kansas City. Pretty amazing gal, great story to tell!
Last one, "my man" Matt ran his first 5K ever!
3 years ago
6 Comments:
Sheesh Dave, all your blogger friends are out there making headlines..and you're just out there jogging along, cavorting with Smokey and the Elk??? Glad you had fun. That's the main thing. Well, that and making some time for running. I'm gonna be up with the Big Folks soon. Thanks for showing how fun it can be.
It sounds like you have a ton of scenery to keep your mind off of actually running. :-)
Thanks for the shout out. It was an amazing experience to do two in a week but not something that I recommend...I am pooped.
Booooo on no memory card. Next time check before you leave the house LOL.
I am impressed that you were able to have so much fun in spite of the traffic and crowds. You truly are a runner. Nicely done.
You are in such a great geography for running....much nicer than 'suburbia' ha ha.
We should start calling you by and Indian Name 'Dave: Runs-With-Elks' ha ha!
Good job on the mileage though...I am continually impressed!
Glad you had a good run. The wildlife part sounds cool, scary, but very cool!
Awww - thanks, Dave! I think the shift actually helped my leg recovery. It was a steady but not crazy shift, so even though I was on my feet some, it kept everything nice & loose. Sooo tired though.
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