The Long and Winding Road of a Weekend

Very little of what I expected actually happened this weekend. That is not a bad thing it's just a fact.

I had the day off work on Friday to go to the doctor for my treadmill test. That was planned and I'm happy to say all is well and doc was happy to clear me for any and all activity after that. I was so excited after that I accepted an invitation to join Misery Loves Company on a trail run on Saturday. I spent the rest of the day running errands and odd tasks "knowing" that after the trail run Saturday I would be wanting to lay low until my shift at Back on My Feet 20 in 24 with Tootsie from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

HA! Goes to show what I 'know'. On Friday afternoon we received messages that BoMF and the City decided it was best to cancel Saturday and make the event a 12 hour run on Sunday only from 7 am to 7 pm. The weather was awful all week and was expected to peak on Saturday with severe thunderstorms rolling through in the evening. I think it was a wise decision but there are some comments floating around FB that there is more to this than what is being said since this event has always taken place in hot, humid weather. It's summer in July after all. I don't recall the severe thunderstorm, high wind threat in past year though. As it turned out the storms did roll through around 10 or so shutting down the Electric Run 5k and delaying the start of the Taylor Swift concert at the Linc.

So back to Friday afternoon, now BoMF was scrambling for volunteers because the event was originally scheduled end 10 am Sunday. We received a message cancelling all volunteer assignments and asking for new ones for Sunday only. I signed up for 6:30 a.m. to Noon.

On Saturday morning the alarm went off for Dave at 4:30 a.m. I reset for 5:45 and tried to go back to sleep. I couldn't I kept thinking about how much I have not run in 2 1/2 months and how Pete rated the trail run for Saturday a 7 (out of 10). I knew what he meant as it was one long climb from the creek up to Forge Mountain Drive and then they were going to continue on the Horseshoe Trail from there. At my best running shape a 7 for the trail runners is at least 9 for me. They are awesome and always wait every few miles for folks like me to catch up. But in my current (lack of) condition and given the temps were 90 in the shade with close to humidity in the 80s and 90s as well I was having serious second thoughts about putting them and me through that. So I didn't go. I should have gone out anyway and arrived there at 7:30 - well after they left - and did my own time on the mountain. I'm not sure why I didn't.

I am now 0-2 on things I expected for the weekend.

Well the day turned into an exercise in laziness from there. I'm happy to say I survived and on the plus side did not eat my way through boredom. I read - a lot! - and surfed the net for all kinds of odd stuff. Nothing exciting to report there but it's something I enjoy doing. As a kid I spent hours in the library doing the same thing. I have earned (and am quite proud) of my dork status.

Somewhere on Friday the BoMF race was cancelled completely so I did not need to go there on Sunday. Instead I went to Hildacy Farm Preserve for a walk. The preserve is 2 miles from my house tucked in along Crum Creek on the "east" side of 252. Not sure that  252 run true north south hence the quotes. What a nice surprise this was. The preserve backs up the Green Bank Farm and between the two places there are about 3-4 miles of grass and dirt trails. I will definitely be going back here to run. It's so close to home there is no excuse. It is also very pretty and peaceful and would not be a bother to retrace the trails for a longer run too.

Note to family - I think we have outgrown the playground and believe an after dinner walk through the preserve would make a great way to end our Canadian Thanksgiving festivities. We do not have to go the full 3-4 miles although if you eat enough it's probably a good idea. Somebody remind me of this in October! :)