I Got Schooled During My 18 Mile Run Today!

It was a gorgeous day on Lookout Mountain, the sun was strong, and good temperatures, ranging between 19 – 30 degrees.  There were not that many cyclists due to the snow, but the unicycle guy showed up half way through my first lap.  He was flying with maybe 5 minute mile up hill pace.  The wheel on his uni was huge; I would guess 36” or so.  I didn’t get a shot of him this time, he surprised me from behind. 

GREAT STORY, I GOT SCHOOLED:  There were a handful of runners and I ran with a few to pass the time.  After running one lap up, 4.6 miles with 1250’ of gain, I turned around and headed back down for exactly a mile.  *I checked my data after the fact.  I saw a guy running and asked if I could run with him.  Since, I can never plan my runs ahead of time, I generally run alone – not by choice.  He said “sure”, but in a way like if you can keep up.  OK, I held on for a while, but I just couldn’t keep up.  Here is my excuse or excuses,  I was tired from the first lap, also ran 26 miles the day before, and did I mention he was flying.  After checking the data, I was running just under a 7 minute mile up hill and I couldn’t keep up with him, damn.  I didn’t expect that.   Then, I turned around and saw another runner coming, she was flying too, but I wasn’t going to let a second runner kick my butt.  She did not want me to beat her, that was for sure, but every push she made to pull away, I matched it.  It was killing me though.  She was tough, really tough, and looked like she was in her early 20’s or so.  After getting to the top, it was best to run on my own, since I had 12+ miles more to go.   I  headed back down and to do it all over again, yup one more lap, but not as fast.  It was a fun run. 

It was a beautiful day!!!