Scott was in NYC for the week, so I started Monday by taking him to the Cornell bus really early, coming home to get the kids ready for school before starting what turned into a rather busy exercise day. I grabbed a quick hike with Kathey, and later a 20 miler with Lynn, before concluding with what was actually on the training plan - an evening run during Xander's last soccer practice.
Tuesday was a rainy, very busy day which was perfect for a planned rest day. By Wednesday I was running very low on sleep (something I really struggle with when Scott is away)! Not in any mood to run, I was really grateful that Christina and I made plans the day before to do a timed run. We took it easy as she was recovering from a sinus infection, and it was a great way to get out and catch up with a good friend. Later that day I hit the bike in my FLRTC tri suit. I had time for a quick 14 mile ride (same length as the tri distance) and I took my Waterburg route that approximates the hill on the Cayuga Lake Tri course. I felt completely unworthy of this great suit, as I'm not a fast biker, but it was amazingly comfortable. I had a perfect ride that was pretty zippy for me too. I tried to take a picture of myself in the mirror, with no luck!
Thursday was the last day of Pre-School with graduation later that evening. I had a lot of things to do between those two things, and while in the middle tasks, I headed out to check the mail. I forgot to check the door (it was locked) and I didn't have my phone. My parents weren't home, I couldn't get in touch with Scott's parents and no one else has a key. After hanging out with my friend and neighbor, Jackie, on her porch for awhile (using her phone) I got in touch with Scott who reached his mom and she let me back in. Jackie told me it was the universe telling me to relax and slow down! My training plan called for a 1:15-1:30 which I almost skipped because of lack of time, BUT it was beautiful out and I knew I'd be happier if I got a run of any distance in. I raced to the Rim Trail and enjoyed a 50 minute run! I felt so much better after this and while a bit bummed I couldn't do the entire length, I was grateful. Later that night, after a mere 14 hours of sleep for the week, I squeezed in a few minutes of yoga before I picked Scott up at Cornell.
Friday was another crazy day, but I got some Skier's Edge time in the day, a little bit of yoga and we capped things off with our Friday night Bodypump class! Saturday was the big 22 miler! It is supposed to be a fall back week to 16, but both Jenny and I are both traveling next weekend, so 22 it was! We met at Island Fitness and headed up the Black Diamond Trail. The low grade hill actually felt quite nice, and we kept a pretty comfortable pace until we hit the crazy mucky part of the trail. When we finally emerged from the woods and swampy trail, Jenny looked at her legs and saw they were bleeding. Then she looked at mine and said "you are bleeding too!" We had our first war wounds! Our feet weren't too bad, just a little wet. We only just taken out extra socks out of our packs (from our potential river crossing run 3 weeks ago)! Scott and Elizabeth met us at the overlook of Taughannock with chips and m&ms at mile 9, and Christina joined us for the next 3-5 miles. We enjoyed our roving Aid Station before starting down the hill for our first time around the rim. Christina had fresh legs and Jenny and I were really dragging when we hit the uphill. We walked/ran/walked up the hill and then got into a groove again as it started to level off. We had arrived later than planned at the overlook, so Christina needed to head home after one loop. We said goodbye and Jenny and I continued on for loop 2. The 2nd time up the stairs we just hiked. We can't even call this power hiking, just hiking. Scott and the kids were going to meet us at mile 14 before we headed back onto the Black Diamond trail. Scott hid behind a tree and scared me badly when he jumped out. They gave us more food and I knew my stomach was going to be a problem when the salt and vinegar chips tasted terrible. I had a few m&ms hoping that the sugar and peanuts would help, but started the next section of the run feeling pretty lousy. We had decided to avoid the mucky part of the trail and hit the road for just a bit to get around it. The road was a gradual uphill and it was sunny, so we found ourselves walking just a bit of it before picking our feet back up and running. The last 8 miles on the Black Diamond were pretty uneventful. We settled back into a groove and enjoyed seeing our average pace fall. The big stones underfoot became less frequent, and with that we were a bit happier. I had a pretty close to major fall, but caught myself on a pricker bush! Another cut, but no fall. We finished strong, and I headed home for my planned evening date with Scott. An hour later, my stomach was still not ready for food, but I managed to eat a little bit and we enjoyed some nice quality time together.
Sunday calls for a timed run while pushing the pace a bit to simulate the last miles of the race. After waffling about whether to run at all today because my legs were tired, and feeling guilty about missing much of yesterday with the family, I finally decided to go. But, after playing Chess with Xander and begging him to join me for yoga on the deck, I felt good enough to go. The kids were at the neighborhood trampoline and I decided to brave the rim. It was sunny and hot, so the road (while tempting) wasn't that appealing. It turns out I loved this run. Sometimes when I'm feeling really tired I do my best running solo. I pushed myself hard and because it wasn't a long run, I really enjoyed the scenery and was grateful to be able to run again after feeling so tired from the 22 just 12 hours prior. Except for one uphill stretch that I should have run more of, I had a pretty solid pace for this, and it was definitely a good simulation of the last miles of a race.