We arrived on Saturday and spent the day playing outside on the playground and around the campsite. We met Grammy, Gramps, Aunt Julie and cousin Christopher. It was so much fun to watch Emry explore and analyze everything. She was so excited to be outside that she didn't ever take a nap that day. Late in the afternoon, we took a hike to the nature center where we met up with my nemesis...
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| This is what I looked like before the attack... |
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| This was my reaction, although you can't see the stain on the back of my pants! |
For dinner that night, everyone had the usual camping fare - chili, hot dogs and s'mores. Normally I'd partake in the same meal, but I didn't want to try to run a marathon with that sitting in my stomach. I settled for something a little "lighter." Emry had a great time helping to start the fire and throwing sticks in it. She also dug right into the s'mores...
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| This is the obligatory messy-s'moreface picture |
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| Meanwhile, Whitney just sat back and looked cute in her little hat |
After a pretty sleepless night(Whitney did not sleep well in the pack 'n play and she kept everyone up all night. But seeing how much the girls enjoyed the outdoors was totally worth the price of one sleepless night), we woke up to a beautiful late-summer morning. It was cool, and a thin fog covered the landscape. I put in a couple of warmup miles by running from our campsite to the starting point for the race. Right off the bat, I saw three dear off the side of the road, then the route took me took down by the lake. The sun was just coming up, which illuminated a hazy fog covering the lake, and it made a breathtaking sight. It was the perfect start to what would be a great day.
This was my first trail marathon, and I'm really glad I did it. I learned a lot about trail running and it provided some great experience for the trail run I'm doing in October. The course winded its way along the hiking trails around the entire park. It was mostly shaded and had beautiful scenery the entire way. One loop was 14k, and Aunt Julie participated in the 14k as part of her training for the Evansville Half Marathon. All of the marathoners repeated the same 14k-loop three times, so were allowed to have a "drop bag" at the start/finish area. We were able to store food/drinks in our drop bag if we wanted something in addition to what was offered at the aid stations.
Toward the end of the first loop, I developed a cramp in my right foot. I'd never gotten a cramp there before, and it had me concerned. Running became more and more difficult, and the cramp started to become painful. I stopped to stretch it out, which helped a little...but the pain was still persistent. In my "drop bag" I had a bottle of pedialyte. I'd heard of endurance runners using it as quick way to replenish electrolytes. When I finished the first loop, I chugged down some pedialyte, ate 1/2 a banana and did some more stretching. Within half mile, the cramp had vanished! Pedialyte is my new best friend!
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| Getting some advice from my running coach while refueling at my "drop bag" |
About 1/2 way around the second loop, I caught up with a grizzly trail running/ultramarathoning veteran from Alabama named Tom. Tom looked to be in his late 40's, had long stringy hair, and had a sweet tattoo on his shoulder of a wolf howling at the moon...which told me "this guy was legit." Tom was training for the JFK 50mi Ultra in November. His longest training run for the JFK at that point had only been 15mi. He just happened to see this marathon online, so he entered it on a whim.
Tom told some really cool stories about his ultramarthoning heyday in the 1980's. He had run ultramarathon races all over the world, including a multiday race in Czechoslovakia where they ran the equivalent of one marathon a day for 10 straight days! Tom kept me entertained with his running experiences for several miles and shared some great trail running tips with me. But before long, I needed to press on to keep up with my goal pace. I thanked Tom for all his tales and advice, and unfortunately had to scurry on ahead.
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| Taking off down the trail for my last loop |
Being a trail marathon, there wasn't any crowd to keep the runners motivated. There were a couple of the runners family members and some volunteers at the aid stations, but that was all. The lonesome course provided a perfect opportunity to connect with the nature that surrounded me. While I endured the third loop, I tried to take in all the beauty and the gifts God has given us. What a wonderful world He gave us to enjoy!
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| Posing for some pictures while waiting for dad to finish |
Coming around the last turn out of the woods, I realized that my family made up about 1/2 of the "crowd." How lucky I am to have such loving people in my life! It was such a great opportunity to be able to incorporate this race into a fun family weekend. Who needs a big crowd for motivation when you have this waiting for you at the finish line...
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| "Run daddy! Faster!!" |
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