Same old tights, 21 miles, and that's about it....

Hey guys! My post about Saturday's run won't be nearly as exciting as Brent's account. (BTW, what do you think of our new headers? His is actually from a photo he took at a race I ran in while he was injured earlier this summer. He couldn't find me crossing the starting line so he was taking a lot of pics of everyone and ended up getting this guy wearing rollerblades! And he was wearing a race number, too! Crazy!)

Anyway, we started our run around 10 am at Shelby Park, downtown. This is where I did my 18 mile training run a couple of weeks ago. It's a fairly boring course, but has one of the longest trails around here so you have fewer repeats, which helps mentally. We got started around 10 am (yeah, we're not early birds!) and the temp was 32 F with a 'feels like' of 25. Ugh! I had a long sleeve tech shirt, medium running jacket, tights, shorts, and my gloves & headwrap on. It was going to be a loooonng run. I also did something that I would never recommend to anyone - I decided to run with my brand new orthotics. When I started thinking about it, my longest run to date with the Pearls had been the Memphis half the weekend before. Although I'd put about 70 miles on them, most of the runs had been 6 miles or less. I had still been wearing the Mizunos as I broke the Pearls in. I was pretty certain the wider toe box was causing the blisters, and I felt like having terrible blisters would be worse than sore arches, etc. Plus, I brought along the normal inserts and could trade them out if I needed to. A visit to the porta-potti (I hate the park gods who have closed the regular park bathrooms for the winter!! I do not wish that porta potti on anyone!!), and we were off.

We were surprised at how many cars were at the main trailhead. Right as we were headed out a group of TNT-ers were heading back in. A lot of the groups have already started training for the late April County Music Half & Full. There was a high level of camaraderie between the runners Sat morning, because it was hella cold. You were either out there because you were training for something or you're just a downright crazy runner. The TNT-ers had marked off in chalk mileage along the path, and that actually became a little fun. We'd yell at 1 mile, 1.5 mile, and so on. They must have stopped at 3 because there was no chalk markings after that. Pansies. (Just kidding.) For the first mile Brent and I chatted, but with my headwrap & headphones plugged in my ears (I still can't figure out how to get them under the headwrap with it on and my gloves on so I just stick the earbuds in before I start.....) I kept saying 'What?' so he got tired of that and we listened to our ipods instead. I had also started feeling the onset of a cold Friday night, so my ears were even more stopped up. We ticked the miles off, one after another. I'm not a fan of Gu so we diluted some Gatorade to bring. I was really pleasantly surprised at how awesome it tasted. Much easier to stomach than Gu.

Around Mile 8 we had finished our first loop. From there we did two long laps around the lake and broke out the Clif Shot Blocks. In previous weeks we'd snacked on gummis, but I thought these might also be a good alternative to Gu. Although I can't imagine eating them like candy or a snack they really weren't bad. They're pretty big so I ate them in about 3 bites because it grossed me out to put the whole thing in my mouth. It's kinda squishy, so it is easier to chew than Gummis. We tried the Strawberry. I also bought Lemon Lime & JB Sports Beans, but I didn't break them out Saturday. Between Gatorade, Clif Shots and I had exchanged my pb + bagel for oatmeal + banana I figured I was bordering on trying out TOO many new things on a given long run.

The lake was really pretty. Parts of it were frozen and the geese & ducks were just sitting on the ice. Things like that make me want to run out there and ice skate, even though I KNOW I weigh more than a duck and that the ice isn't frozen solid yet (and probably never will be). There are always a lot of people fishing there, but I've never seen anyone catch anything. It must be good, and there were a ton of people out there Sat AM. After looping the lake twice we ran past our car to exchange out our empty Fuel Belt bottles for some fulls, and we headed back to the trail. I calculated we'd finish the trail around 19 miles and then 2 more laps around the lake should do it. It really wasn't getting any warmer, even though mid-day was approaching. On our way back out on the trail the General Jackson lunch cruise went floating down the river. That was pretty cool to see through the trees! Even though the leaves are gone you still can't see much of the river on most of the course. The shrubs and various brush are still pretty tall. At one point you can see across the river to the Opry Mills mall, and man, it was PACKED! At Mile 14 the wind picked up. It really sucked, it knocked us in the face, in the gut, it was tough. Around that time the temp was 38, it felt like 30, and the winds had gone from 8 to 13 mph. Around mile 15 and some change Brent told me to go ahead, he was having leg cramps. If I had known how much excitement he was going to have I would have never taken him up on the deal!

Miles 15-17 sucked because of the cold wind, I really don't remember much about them. I did pass the guy with the dog, but he saw me and pulled the dog completely off the trail and held onto him TIGHT. It was pretty obvious to me from the way he held him that the dog was bad with people. Around Mile 18.75 I headed out of the trail and back to the lake! I was almost done! I felt great, tired, but ready to finish strong. I looped the lake once and was at 20.25. I decided to go ahead and do the smaller lake loop and then just walk back to the car as part of a cool down. I ended up about .25 mile from the car when I hit 21. My legs felt like JELLY. I think the ultrarunners keep running for days just because it's easier to keep going until you black out than it is to stop. I stumbled back to the car and Brent had just gotten back as well. He showed me his torn shorts and promised me an exciting story on the way back! No kidding! If I had known I would have left the Dazer with him!

We got home, had our traditional post long run pizza, and headed out for massages. It was heavenly! We try to go every other month but it had been longer than that this time and we both greatly needed it! I didn't fall asleep but I was pretty close. My nose was running for part of it, but I didn't care. Afterwards we did some shopping and came home to relax. Sunday was more relaxing, some house cleaning, afternoon naps, and some errands. My cold had worsened and I felt pretty crummy. Today I still feel crummy, but better. I've been fighting this cold off and on for a couple of weeks now and I'm over it. It just needs to do its thing and move on.

Here are the splits from Sat and then it's time for me to get some SLEEP!

Mile 1 - 10.34/mi
Mile 2 - 10.13
Mile 3 - 10.06
Mile 4 - 9.58
Mile 5 - 10.19
Mile 6 - 10.19
Mile 7 - 10.38
Mile 8 - 10.14
Mile 9 - 10.56
Mile 10 - 10.34
Mile 11 - 10.16
Mile 12 - 10.49
Mile 13 - 10.31
Mile 14 - 10.25
Mile 15 - 10.46
Mile 16 - 10.33
Mile 17 - 10.42
Mile 18 - 10.56
Mile 19 - 10.41
Mile 20 - 10.24
Mile 21 - 10.07
remaining .02 - 9.41 pace

I'm really happy with my splits, they're fairly consistent and right where I expect to be for the full. It's hard holding myself to that pace in the first half, I'd much rather be going around 9.30, but I don't want to bonk at the end.

Have a great night!

Rachel