Month: February 2014

The Joy Of It All

The Joy Of It All

People say things to me all the time like “I don’t run unless something is chasing me” or “I only run when it’s time for supper.” I really don’t know what to say to them because I was them, I had no clue!

This has been a particularly long, hard week on me. Three 24 hour shifts, monthly in service, class two nights, some personal things…. you name it. It seems that everything is just happening at once and I’m getting jerked in every direction all at once. Then I get to that time of escape.

Tuesday was squeezing in a run between training and class at Bristol Motor Speedway and Whitetop Road. At first I was concentrating on events and stresses and time and breathing but then it happened! Suddenly I wasn’t stressing, wasn’t worrying. I was transformed! Everything melted away, the weight was gone and I was free. Thursday it happened again, this Continue reading The Joy Of It All

Finding the Wall

Today I found yet another place that seemed to be uphill in every direction, Camp Tom Howard Road along South Holston Lake to Little Oak Camp Ground. It is full of steep climbs and drops and it kicked my butt! I was feeling good on the run out despite the climbs and really thought I had it. I felt the wall around 8 miles but kept pushing, at 9.4 miles I hit it and around mile 10 the wall decided to jump up and down on me. I recovered enough to finish at a limping jog but this route humbled me. I ended up running for 10 of the 11 miles, walking for 1 mile and yes when the wall came down on me I puked once. There was 3,168 feet of climbing which means exactly .6 miles of vertical climb and decent! I think I will have to try this place again in a week or so and see if I can get the better of it. I know this is only going to make me stronger with the Oak Barrel Half Marathon fast approaching.