the road goes on forever...

March 28, 2024

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Location:

Tallahassee,FL,United States

Member Since:

Jun 24, 2008

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Local Elite

Running Accomplishments:

PRs:

Mile- 5:27 Breakfast on the Track, August '09
5k- 18:59 (6:07)  Tails and Trails, May '09 (And two more times! GRR!)

8k- 33:08 (6:39) Sweetheart 8k, Feb '11

10k- 41:38 (6:42) TRBC, March '09

15k- 1:02:46 (6:44) Lake Caroline 15k, Nov '08

Half Marathon- 1:36:58 (7:24) Hoover Dam Half, Oct '09

Marathon- 3:37:16 (8:17) Mississippi Coast Marathon, Nov '08

Short-Term Running Goals:

Help my knees help me.

Long-Term Running Goals:


Personal:

Moving to Knoxville this summer. Hooray for being in a place with a running community! 

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
New Balance 903 (Orange) Lifetime Miles: 63.00
Red Flats Lifetime Miles: 44.88
Brooks Salmon Lifetime Miles: 304.65
Brooks Black Lifetime Miles: 131.30
Brooks Baby Blue Lifetime Miles: 116.25
Newtons Lifetime Miles: 0.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

I wish when I typed in my mileage in addition to "slow miles" and "fast miles" there were "running scared miles" because between races and runs like today I seem to have a lot of those. I think today I clocked about 3 or 4 scared miles. 

Today's run started off warm, but great. I went with a group of people doing a long run on some trails I have never run on. They were doing 15, and although I know I can do 15, I also know I shouldn't, since my mileage the past two weeks were only ~18 miles. So I decided to come out and do their first 5 with them, and then turn around for a 10 miler.

The first five were enjoyable, ignoring the flies that kept biting me and trying to fly up my nose even with the layers and layers of bug spray I put on, as recommended by Nancy.  I played close attention to all turns so I could find my way back but I was still worried, as I have a horrible sense of direction.  

 So I turn around and naturally pick up pace, since it is more boring on your own I just kind of wanted to get done. At this time (around 9am) the heat index was already in the mid-90s. Then comes a decision... one trail where I really didn't know which way to turn. I turn left and go about 1/2 mile and it started to not look at all familiar. So I decide to head back and check out the other way. I go the other way and it seems a little more right. But then another decision... another right or left... this time I choose right, since left didn't work for me last time. The trails are all beginning to look the same and I really start freaking out. I kept thinking, what would happen if I get lost. Even if I have to add a 1/2 hour to my run, I could be in serious trouble due to lack of fitness and the extreme heat.  I figured I needed to just go with it, or go back to where I know the trail was right and just wait for everyone else.  I kept going and I was about 1/2 a mile away from a panic attack and tears when a biker was coming from the other direction. He was probably overwhelmed with my excitement to see him, and I asked him if I am headed towards the Crump Road entrance. He said he had no idea, but if I cross a street I will be on gravel. I said, "Great, that's where I need to be!!" And thanked him and kept heading straight, When I got to where I really knew where I was going I had gotten to my ten mile mark so I decided to walk my way in.  There were a few other turns but I was pretty sure I was going the right way. Around 9 minutes I started to get really nervous because I knew within the next few minutes I would either be at the car, or have to turn around and try something else. When I saw the hill that leads to the parking I through my arms up in victory. By the time I finished the heat index was 100. I can't believe everyone else is still running... gross!!!

Moral of the story: I will never run on trails I don't know when I know I will end up being on my own. If for some reason I do this to myself again, I will take a fuel belt with water, gatorade, and my eell phone. I haven't gotten that confused when running for about 7 years when my friends and I got really lost in the woods and actually had to knock on doors and get someone to drive us to the car. Scary and no fun! 

New Brooks Blue Miles: 10.00
Comments
From Barry on Sun, Jun 21, 2009 at 17:46:39 from 67.60.189.215

What a run for you this morning. I am willing to bet that you were really thirsty by the time you were done. How was your pace?

From rockness18 on Sun, Jun 21, 2009 at 20:32:51 from 69.183.233.238

Glad you're ok...I grew up in FL and have no idea how you can stay committed in such a brutal climate. Baseball was my thing...90 feet at a time. Keep up the good work and watch out for those "buggy, muggy" trails. btw- sorry to say, "Go Gators!"

From Nevels on Mon, Jun 22, 2009 at 12:44:57 from 131.204.15.93

Quite and adventure...

It reminds me of a training run I did for the Mt. Mist a couple of years ago. It was only my second year of running the race, and I hadn't been on the trails in quite a while. We were running the second half of the course, and I started with a group of guys who knew their way around pretty well, but after an hour or so of running, I fell behind on a relatively technical section of trail and lost track of them. I lost about 15 or 20 more minutes after taking a wrong turn and not realizing it for a mile or so, and at that point I knew there was no catching up to the other guys. I managed to stay on course from vague memory until the last 10k. I made a huge descent, but then somehow got lost down in a valley. I took at least one more wrong turn and was thoroughly lost. At that point I just ran on the trail I was on until I heard a traffic, and the trail dumped me out on a road at the base of the mountain. Unfortunately for me, we were all parked at the top, so I decided to stay on the road and head back up the mountain.

The group I was with said that they kept going back into the park and seeing my truck in the parking lot for an hour or two after everyone else was done, all the while wondering where I was.

After talking with several folks (who know the trails very well) about where I turned, to this day, none of us has a clue where I went...

From Kelsey on Mon, Jun 22, 2009 at 15:47:18 from 128.186.154.139

Barry, I honestly have no idea. I know I picked it up while I was scared just because I wanted to get out of there. I wish I was wearing my GPS just to see it, I bet a graph of my speed would show my emotions!

Rockness, that last comment doesn't even deserve a response. :)

Nevels, yours sounds way worse than mine, just because I know your run was more intense. It's pretty scary when you start thinking, "what if I never make it out of here." A little dramatic maybe, but still scary. I just really wanted to get out before people had to come back and look for me, I am sure you understand the feeling. This is why I stick to the streets, they have names!

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