ORN: I was on vacation last week in the Great Smoky Mountains, so that's why you've not had that special Viking flava in your feed lately. The Missus, the Young 'Un, and I needed to get our annual fix of trees, bears, and country breakfasts. Between monsoon squalls, I managed to run twice while abroad. Not great, but I did what I could. On Monday, I ran 7.5 miles in 1:15'19"; Friday, 5 miles in 47'39". You'll note a few things about that sentence. First, I love semicolons. Second, almost a whole work week separated runs one and two. Third, what happened the FIRST plan and all that speed work? Let me explain.
Semicolons are great punctuation marks for appearing erudite but only if used correctly. Fortunately, I married an English major, so I usually do OK with them. Also, tossing around the word erudite helps you seem smart.
I didn't run nearly as much as I intended because of the rain we experienced last week. Some people say, "Oh, my lousy vacation! It rained constantly." But they exaggerate, because in truth, it only rained once or twice when they had something planned. Or maybe there were 15 minute squalls every day around lunch time. Last week, Townsend, TN, where we camped, experienced about 40 billion inches of rain. OK, my data might be a tad subjective, but when I say it rained nearly every day, that's what I mean. It rained all night and most of the day about half the time. Then, there would be an 8-12 hour stretch of dry weather, if not outright sun, that lulled us into a false sense of security. "Ah," we said to ourselves, "we can dry out our camper and all our clothes." Then, we'd drive off for a breakfast buffet only to watch another eight-hour deluge blow through and soak our crap once again. Let me try to sum up the week with a few supporting details.
- Monday, I enjoyed a great, long, early morning run, watching the sun rise over the mountains on my way back. I took it easy, speed-wise, since I was on vacation and just wanted to enjoy myself and my run. It was a pleasure. Townsend has excellent side walks along the main drag starting from where we camped and going for at least five miles. Very runner/bicycle friendly. Later that morning, it started to rain.
- Tuesday, rest day. Went hiking after the rain stopped. Then it rained some more.
- Wednesday, set my alarm with every intention of running five miles. I awoke around 5:00 discouraged by the sound of a thrashing rainstorm and turned off the alarm. We woke to a pleasant but soggy morning. That afternoon, we got another soaking.
- On Thursday, again, I had every intention of running, but once again, a light-but-steady rain dissuaded me from getting out of my warm, mostly dry sleeping bag. We went to Dollywood and enjoyed ourselves between squalls.
- Friday morning was calm but cloudy. I took the chance, laced up my go-fasters, and hit the road to do an easy five. Ten minutes into the run, the clouds burst. Still, I ran the full five even though I was squishing through ankle-deep puddles on the way back. I hoped my stuff would dry before my planned long run on Sunday.
- Saturday, rest day, and it was pretty nice. We spent another day in Dollywood and enjoyed pleasant weather in Pigeon Forge. With a low chance of precipitation in the forecast, I stupidly left my gear outside to dry. When I came back, I discovered it had rained at some point in Townsend and my gear was just as soaked as I had left it the previous morning. I poured water out of my Nikes.
- Sunday, I planned on running but my shoes & clothes were still soaked, my discouragement was crippling, and my body was sore from sleeping in the camper for a week. I wanted a hot bath, my own bed, and some dry clothes. Instead, I had a four-and-a-half hour drive ahead of me in soggy clothes and a smelly car, so I decided not to run. Blah.
All in all, it was a week of mixed success. I failed to run according to the plan, but I did run. A few years ago, I never ran on vacations. I did no speed work, but I did run my two workouts seriously and as hard as I had energy for. I could have done more and better, but that's almost always true.
Today, I needed rest so that's what I am doing. Tomorrow, I gotta get back on the plan.
