Thar's Blisters In Them Thar Hills!!

Well today is Saturday and I certainly would have liked to join all of you for dinner at the Mac last night and the run today. We made it up to the lake house here in Kentucky about 11:30pm last night (late start leaving Madison) then up at 7am to get ready for the run. But where to run? Mom-in-law reported a high school about five miles down the road. So, I ask my wife to get up and go with me in case I break an ankle or pass out and no one will know I'm alive. Of course she was thrilled (not!).

So we get to this high school and sure enough a great track just like at Ridgeland and Madison Central. It was a nice cool 69 degrees and I was doing great! I discovered a new interval for me that seems to work. I ran 100 steps and walked 100 steps. I did my first mile in 12:36! (down from the usual 14-15 range). Then two miles came in at 26:15 (down from the 30 minutes). Things are going along quite nicely.....my wife is sitting there saying encouraging things like "wow, when you started, I was walking as fast as you were running!" and "my, you've gotten faster!"

As the sun started getting higher and clouds moving out, the temp was rising to 84 degrees and mile three and four started slowing down, but I did my four miles in 56:51 (down from the usual 1hour and 3-4 minutes!). I was stoked!! I was actually making good time and feeling good doing it. (Must have been the nice even track.....). Then, all of a sudden, all of these buses and cars started pulling in and unloading. I stopped to get some water and talk to one man. Wouldn't you just know it? They were having a county wide track meet today (they are still in school up here).

So they directed me to a park with a 'nice 2-mile route' another 5 miles down the road, so we hop in the car and off we go. (it was nice getting a 10 minute ride in the air conditioner). I hop out and stretch some more, and think, 'just three times around and I'll have 10". OH MY GOD!!!!!! The dreaded hills I was worried about, came out to bite me!! At one point on the trail, at the top of one of my 'smaller hills' I looked out onto the park and the top of some trees! If you've ever been to Gatlinburg or Pigeon forge, think hills like that!

Needless to say, I could only walk the trails and run the flat spots. I couldn't even run down or I might lose control of myself and start collecting things on the roll.....Anyway, the hills both up and down proved to be too much for my feet and I'm now the proud parent of several toe blisters. I could only make it back to the car after two laps thus only getting in 8 miles instead of ten. I hope to go back to that park this week and take some pics to post to prove I'm not lying. If anyone from this area runs in Chicago, they will fly! I will gladly take the small hill routes back home. My quads, my glutes, and my toe blisters will thank me for it........:-)