I'm retired from racing. Really.

Lunch 10 with a big group- half broke off to do a workout, the other half (including me) did lake laps.  I ventured to Rolling Green trail and European Circuit trail by myself at the end.  77 deg and sunny- I need to get a hat so my head will stop getting sunburned.  I know summer here will be too hot, but the weather right now is splendidly perfect.  

I finished the first 2 months of the year with 528 miles, 127 more than ever before.  That's partially a reflection of how much easier it is to run in SC during the winter, but also bodes well for the spring/summer races. 

PM- Paris Mtn.  See if you can follow this, Barry- Lake Placid to Mountain Creek to Sulphur Springs to Brissy Ridge (hiker only) to Kanuga (upper) to Kanuga (lower) to North Lake (short) to Pipsissewa to Brissy Ridge to Sulphur Springs to Mountain Creek to Turtle Trail.  I wasn't feeling too spunky, but all the mountain bikers gave plenty of opportunity to chase and be chased.  The slow Brissy Ridge and doing most the miles after dark resulted in a very slow run- 12 miles in 1:57 with 2000 ft climb/loss.  Always enjoyable to run the trails, and the pleasant temps (58 at start, 50 at end) just topped it off.

AM- 6

Lunch- 6.5 more 

AM- Had a bit of trouble getting out of bed, but still got in a good workout before work, and even did 1 more mile of tempo than planned.  2 miles warmup, 10 miles tinman tempo (avg 6:07 pace), 1 mile cooldown.  Total 13 miles in 1:24 (6:27 avg).  I felt great during the workout, though my generally-improving PF has been hurting all day, which hasn't happened in a long time.  Hmm.

Lunch 8- the biggest race of the year in Greenville is tomorrow (Reedy River 10k), so no one wanted to run with me.

PM- Today was one of those run.  You know- the kind that are very memorable, but not particularly fun.  Occasionally enjoyable, but kind of miserable at the same time.  Running in bad weather on wet trails is more enjoyable when you have someone to commiserate with.

I had to run in the afternoon, so drove to Jones Gap State Park, my first run there.  It is right at the base of the Blue Ridge Escarpment, and the first decent mountains in SC.  The temp was 50 deg and it was raining.  Not drizzling- a steady, hard rain the whole time.  I had planned on a 20-22 mile run, and wanted to run downhill hard enough to make my legs sore.  I set off and discovered that the trail had transformed.  Instead of running on a trail, I spent the whole time running either in a stream, a pond, or a lake, or so it seemed thanks to all the water.  And that doesn't count the numerous official stream and river crossings, sometimes 10 per mile, and up to 25 feet wide and shin deep.  Yup, very wet.  The trail was very technical (mainly rocky) in places, but actually runnable for the most part- it was better than I expected.  I discovered that I could go faster up than down, due to concerns about footing on the moss-covered rocks and roots as I descended.  I was warm for a few minutes, but then started putting all my clothes on (2 shirts, fleece gloves, and ear warmers), and it still wasn't enough- definitely cold most of the run.  I was very grateful to have my visor, though, to keep rain and the abundant foilage out of my eyes. 

For some reason, I felt like I was moving moderately fast, but wasn't.  I think it was mainly due to the climbing, technicality, and especially the water.  I only ran 14.5 in 2:49 before the trails closed and I had to leave.  My average pace was a whopping 11:38, and only 2 miles were faster than 10 min pace.  Yup, one of those days.  The rangers even talked to me at both trailheads I passed, and made sure I got out ok given the solo run in treacherous conditions.  4500 ft climbing, equal descending in 14.5 miles, which is actually quite a bit.  Some steep stuff, even climbing up built-in stairs.  I guess some of the other trails climb 1600 ft in 1 mile- I wasn't crazy enough to try any of those today.

Good points- I had the whole place to myself, and it was gorgeous mountains.  Tons of waterfalls- the area is known for them.  Probably the most waterfalls I have seen since Milford Track in New Zealand (my most favorite place on earth, by the way).  And I got in a nice run on trails.  I'm sure I'll be back often... just not during a rainstorm.

One question- does running in the rain make anyone else have to stop and pee every 20 minutes? 

Lots of climbing- a few very steep ones.

I'll make sure to hit the 80 miles next week that I wanted this week.