Week in Review

96 miles
25k long run in 1:46
5 doubles
4 runs with Jon G.
4 airports (BOS, ATL, BNA, PHL)
1 AFD (oops)

Despite my most valiant effort, I couldn't quite eek out triple digits this week. Actually, that's not true; I could've doubled back for a four-mile slog after my long run on Sunday, but there would be absolutely no point or purpose other than to pad the total. I was actually proud of myself for exhibiting that much self-restraint (aided by a full belly and light buzz after my boss's birthday BBQ on Sunday afternoon, but still).

That said, overall it was a solid week of training, buoyed by runs with some of my favorite people (Wil in Atlanta, occasional guest blogger Jon in Nashville) on some familiar stomping grounds like the Chattahoochee River and the Shelby Bottoms greenway. On Thursday night I was all set for a fun cross-country style race at Percy Warner Park in Nashville with Jon (newly transplanted to the area--as in, he just moved there Monday) but, alas, the typically mercurial summer weather intervened in the form of thunderstorms and torrential downpours, so it was not meant to be. Instead, we did 8x20 second strides on Friday morning and I felt quite accomplished.

Back at home on Saturday morning, I slept in delightfully late only to realize I had managed to miss the entirety of the World Championships marathon (as if I didn't already feel lazy enough). To my surprise, one of my new Italian acquaintances from my Sardinia trip took the silver medal! I "raced" against Valeria at the Chia Laguna Half-Marathon (I use that loosely, seeing as she finished over a mile ahead of me and probably did not walk four times) and I spent a bit of time with her and her family at the resort throughout the trip. She's a nice woman with an incredible story, and it was cool to see that she courageously led the entire race and pushed the pace despite the conditions, prevailing over all but one competitor for a silver medal. If that wasn't enough inspiration for my long run the next day, I don't know what is!

While there are probably no medals of any color in my immediate future, I'm happy to report that I felt stronger and fitter this week than I have any time in recent months. Slowly but surely, my fitness is coming along and I'm making progress toward a great fall season!

Read More

#conradical Week in Review

50-51 miles
14-mile long run with Emily
90 minutes of hot yoga
5 AFDs

Despite the fact that I still only logged half as many miles as a "normal" week, I do feel like I got my life back on track to a reasonable degree. As it turns out, barely running affords plenty of time for luxuries like stretching, core work and even yoga, all of which have been vigorously performed with the goal of zipping up my bridesmaid dress for Caitlin's wedding a mere two weeks from now.

Though everything about it runs contrary to the objectives I just outlined, I will admit that I had a great time at the #conradical pub crawl hosted by Terry and Carly on behalf of the BAA on Saturday. It was pretty #conradical to see everyone in civilian attire as opposed to sweaty running clothes. (As a result, I only recognized 1/3 of the faces I spoke to.) On a related note, apparently it takes more than six people with a collective total of 1000 Twitter followers to generate enough momentum for something like #conradical to start trending. But, rest assured, not for lack of trying.

OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE I LOST 50 POUNDS ON THE #CONRADICAL DIET! 




Still nothing? Damn.

Read More

13.1 Atlanta Race Results

1:23:35; 3rd place; $250
Results
Total: 15+ miles 

Realized early on in this easy run that I was in third place so decided to run a bit faster than planned and take home some cash! Note: Not endorsed or approved by my coach. Must buy him a cheese tray at Gulu Gulu tonight to apologize.

Read More

(Record High!) Week in Review

106 miles
11 runs
16-mile long run
4 days in ATL
4 AFDs

Knowing that I spent the entire weekend in Atlanta, one would assume that the title above referred to the temperatures. But no--the weather was unseasonably, unreasonably mild--and, indeed, I'm happy to report that I set a new all-time high mileage record! To be honest--and I hope via type I'm able to convey this in a way that sounds adequately incredulous and not the least bit boastful--I was actually shocked by how easy it was. I'm starting to realize something that real elite runners usually say but that I always doubt, which is that over time the accumulation of miles no longer acts as a mechanism that wears you down, but rather one that builds you up stronger from one day to the next. This summer "base" building period is literally that; the foundation upon which every day you layer another brick, until one day you step back wide-eyed and look around in awe: I built that. My summer house isn't quite finished yet, but after seven straight weeks of high mileage training (including one down week), it's well on its way. 

It was perhaps fitting that I came to this realization while spending the weekend in Atlanta, working and running and spending time with my bestie Brooke. After all, the ATL is where this now world-famous, critically-acclaimed blog got its start, way back in the summer of 2008. Back then I was just beginning to dabble in "serious" running and had enlisted Jeff to coach me in my first ever marathon training block. Before the Olympic Trials, before the All-American honors, before Queens, there was my then-ambitious goal of trying to break three hours at the Marine Corps Marathon--which, for the record, I failed to do, dropping out at mile 20 due to stomach problems. I was just learning the running vernacular, discovering what it felt like to "double" (also part of the vernacular) and feeling like hot stuff for nailing mile repeats at 6-minute pace. This weekend, as I cruised around some of my old familiar streets and running routes, I marveled at how far I've come. Six minutes is now my target marathon pace, and it doesn't scare me.  

It is interesting, if purely coincidental, that this trip and that pivotal summer both occurred during the Olympics. Four years ago I wouldn't have considered qualifying for the 2012 Trials, much less placing in the top 50. Who knows how much I can accomplish between now and Rio? I am not a dreamer but a realist, and I know I have zero chance of ever making an Olympic team. But do I think that at the next Olympic Trials I'll be able to toe the line with more experience, more confidence and the ability to mix it up with the nation's best? I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't. And sometimes all it takes is a reminder of where you've been to reinforce your commitment to where you're going.

Read More

Publix Georgia Half-Marathon

~8 min. w/u
Target: Finish top 3
Actual: 1:19:59; 4th place
Results
Total: 14 miles


PGM Finish Line

I didn't decide to run this race until about 12 hours before go time. Until that point, I'd assumed that I'd be too exhausted from working the expo and too busy on race day to even fit in a short run, much less actually toe the official starting line. But by Saturday afternoon, my spirits buoyed by the encouragement of my coworkers and a pleasantly disaster-free event, I started to reconsider. In previous years, any time in the 1:22 range was plenty fast to land in the money. If I could wake up early to set up our booth, run the race as a workout and take home a bit of money for my efforts, then go straight back to work, why not give it a go??

As you can see from the above results, it was clearly not that simple today. Not only did I underestimate the infamous Atlanta hills and my own exhaustion from a long week of crazy expo hours, but I also drastically underestimated this year's competition. The women's winner ran an eye-popping 1:14--which, given the elevation profile of what was unequivocally the hilliest course I've ever run, is nothing short of astonishing--and she was trailed by Risper Gesabwa, the winner of the USRS 13.1 National Championship in Miami a few weekends ago, and Justyna Mudy, who most recently bested me by three minutes en route to winning 13.1 Dallas in the fall. I finished a woeful fourth, over two minutes slower than my personal best and practically the same pace I split through halfway in the Trials marathon a few months ago. To put it mildly, this was not my best performance.

Not that it matters, but I definitely noticed some conflicting splits on the race clocks that led me to believe the course may have been a bit long or at least mismarked. First of all, let me preface this by saying that I will never, ever be someone who says, "Well, my Garmin measured the course to be 3.1782 miles instead of 3.1, so technically my 5k time should have been 18:32.63 instead of the official time of 18:41." One reason I will never say this is because I don't actually own a Garmin. Another reason is I always maintain that a certified course has been measured multiple times by a highly trained team of people actually paid to do such things, so any discrepancy in distance measurement likely lies with the runner. Furthermore, everyone is running the same distance anyway so why the hell does it matter. That said, today's time/split discrepancies were a bit discouraging simply because they lulled me into thinking I was only moderately sucking, only to prove just a few minutes later that I was, in fact, sucking quite terribly. Allow me to illustrate with a few splits that I remember. Again, these are splits from the official race clock, not from my own watch or GPS device:

Mile 3: 17:35--clearly well under 6:00 pace despite some crazy early hills
Mile 4: 23:35--ditto the above
Mile 8: 47:45--still under 6:00 and feeling better thanks to a long-awaited downhill section
Mile 10: 59:30--sweet! Looks like I'll comfortably break 1:19. Not my best, but not bad all things considered
Mile 11: 66:xx--uhhh, what? I know this mile is uphill, but I guarantee I did not split close to 7 minutes
Mile 12: 73:xx--wait a second...are you telling me I'm barely going to break 1:20?!
Mile 13: 79:20--yup, looks like that's what's about to happen


Finally almost finished!

So as you can see, somewhere between the 10 and 11 mile markers, something shifted. I spoke to several people afterward who verified that the same thing happened to them. One possibility (and obviously the one I would like to believe) is that the latter part of the course was a bit long. A second, more likely scenario is that some of the previous mile markers were actually marked a bit early, which led me to think I was running faster than I actually was. Either way, I gave it my all out there but was no match for the course or the competition. Still, I'm glad to have been afforded the opportunity to 1) run today; 2) run through some of my favorite old neighborhoods in one of my favorite old cities; 3) run a few miles with Jordan before dropping him off at the bus stop (I'll let him tell you more about that); and 4) finish out the day by selling tons of Karhu and Craft gear with the great folks from Big Peach Running Co.! An extremely successful weekend more than makes up for a lackluster run today, and it's hard to argue with the prospect of spending a beautiful Sunday morning in Centennial Park. No complaints here.


Lots of action in the Karhu and Craft tent


Spectacular view of downtown Atlanta and the post-race party
in Centennial Olympic Park

Read More

Back in the ATL

25 min. w/u
Target: 5x2 mins. w/2 mins. jog, getting faster
Actual: Above
20 min. c/d
Total: 9+ miles

I'm back in my former stomping grounds to work 13.1 this weekend and kicked things off with a slumber party at Brooke's. Since I was already downtown, I decided to execute this little mini-workout at one of my all-time favorite training surfaces, the Active Oval in Piedmont Park. Back in the olden days when this blog (and my stab at becoming a serious runner) was in its infancy, I toiled through many a hard effort at the AO. It's hard to beat a flat, gravel half-mile training surface surrounded by skyscrapers right smack dab in the middle of Midtown. As I trotted along today, it was fun to think of some workouts from the summer of 2008 when I really thought I was getting in shape, realizing how far I've progressed since then. I would love nothing more than to come back in a few years and feel the same way about where I am right now! I may be on the doorstep of 30, but I sincerely believe there are many more years of improvement ahead of me. Thanks, AO, for reminding me of this today.

Read More

Injury Update/Week in Review

50 miles
3 hours elliptical
2 days off
4 days in ATL
40 hours at home before my next trip

Well, as you can probably surmise from the above stats, my injury did not fade away into oblivion this week as I so fervently hoped. I was deliriously optimistic after an almost pain-free run with Jordan on Monday, but then on Tuesday morning my leg had reverted back almost completely to where it was before I'd taken last weekend off. This resulted in me cross-training on Wednesday and Thursday, which led to a great trail run in Atlanta on Friday, which produced a so-so run on Saturday...and you get the idea. Suffice it to say that significant progress is not being made.

All of this leads naturally and logically to the bright idea of taking some definitive extended time off. By that I mean a week or maybe even two. Earth-shattering, I know. Truth be told, as much as I abhor the idea, this is probably the best two-week period of the entire year to do so. I've got a crazy busy work schedule coming up, the Trials are a full five months away and all I'll be missing in the meantime (other than next weekend's planned 13.1 Minneapolis with Caitlin) is more hot and humid weather. Such a simple decision, right?

Except, of course, it isn't so simple for a stubborn, high-achieving runner like myself. As I was telling my massage therapist Byran while he firmly kneaded somewhere between two and 20 fingers into my calf muscle earlier this afternoon, it's so difficult to discern when a small, seemingly insignificant pain or tightness is going to recede within a few days and when it will slowly and almost imperceptibly metastasize into a full-blown injury. If I took days off every time some part of my body felt sore or tight I'd have most likely picked up a different sport by now. Clearly, however, I managed to let this little niggle turn into the latter scenario, and it's obvious that until I'm able to completely shake this ailment there's no point in half-assing my training just to have numbers on the board.

With that in mind, it's fortunate that I'll be far too busy within the coming days to dwell on my current situation. As I mentioned above, my work and travel schedule for the next few weeks is going to be intense--and this coming from the girl who considers waking up with little idea of what day it is or what city she's in to be a fairly normal occurrence. After returning home from Atlanta on Saturday night I've got just over a day and a half at home before embarking on an eight-day trip to Boston (for meetings at our corporate office) and Minneapolis (for 13.1). I'll then be home for one full day before taking the world's quickest trip to Texas on Wednesday and Thursday of next week. From an injury perspective, this is actually good news because the frequency of hotel stays means I'll likely have access to an elliptical machine should I make the (smart) decision to take some time off from running. Many years of training have convinced me that there's little fitness gain achieved by cross-training during injury, but for me the benefits are just as much mental and emotional as they are physical.

Unfortunately for my tens of adoring fans, a break from running will most likely also mean a break from gracing you with my trademark wit and charm. I know, I know, the idea is almost unthinkable. If you don't hear from me for a few days, please do try to soldier on. And if you do hear from me, it will be to share the joyous news that my leg has taken a turn for the better. Let's hope that comes sooner than later. Until then, run a few miles on my behalf!

Read More

(Down) Week in Review

61-62 miles
1 double
1 day off
3 days in ATL
4 AFDs

If ever there existed weather which necessitated a down week, we just endured it. Good grief. Last weekend's unusually mild temperatures turned out to be a sick and twisted joke, lulling us into a false sense of comfort and then BAM!--we're right back on the very threshold of hell. There was a moment on Wednesday morning just after Jordan and I had finished a sweltering, stifling "easy" run at the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta, a moment when we stood breathlessly panting next to my car while literally wringing out a deluge of sweat from our shorts, after which I looked Jordan dead in the eye and said: "Do not ever, under any circumstances, for any reason, ever let me complain about winter again. And if I do, remind me of this day."

So.

With that being said, the week's training wasn't entirely bad. Mostly that was due to the company of friends, in particular my former CRC teammate Stephanie "Pezz" Pezzullo. Pezz moved to Flagstaff about six months ago to pursue her goals as a steeplechase Olympic hopeful and has enjoyed a very promising year. Within the past month alone she qualified for the finals of the steeplechase at USATF Outdoor Nationals and finished as the one of the top Americans in both the Boilermaker 15k and the Peachtree 10k, her first road 10k ever. Lucky for me she's back in Charlotte for a visit, and it's been great to catch up with her on a few runs this weekend. If a fraction of her speed happens to rub off on me along the way I definitely won't complain.

Looking ahead to next week, there is--spoiler alert!--quite a bit of travel on my agenda. Tomorrow I'm headed to NYC for a Craft wear test run at New York Running Company and a few store visits, then Tuesday I'll train it to Boston for a few days up at Karhu and Craft HQ. I can only hope the weather will be slightly more tolerable in the Northeast or else my high mileage goal for the week might be overly ambitious. Either way I doubt that any workouts will happen until I return to Charlotte due to travel and work commitments, but I plan on bumping the miles up to "normal" again beginning tomorrow.

Speaking of Craft, I would be remiss if I didn't close out this entry by offering a shout-out to Andy and Frank Schleck and the entire Team Leopard Trek crew for an amazing performance at this year's Tour de France! I could not be more proud to have them representing our brand and showing everyone that Craft's performance apparel is truly the best in the world. Allez allez allez!

Read More

Summer Preview Workout

3.5 mile w/u
Target: 4 mile tempo @5:50 pace, 1 mile jog, 6x1 min. surges
Actual: 5:34, 5:52, 5:58, 3:00 (for .5), 1.5 mile jog, 6x1 min. surges
1 mile c/d
Total: 11.5 miles

Unfortunately the title of this post refers to the unseasonably warm weather that awaited me for this Sunday afternoon workout in Atlanta. Never mind that a week ago I was slogging through 30 degrees and freezing rain in Central Park; when I pulled into the Chattahoochee River parking lot at 1pm today I was greeted with bright sunshine and a muggy 82-degree temperature reading. One could argue that I shouldn't have put this off until the hottest part of the day, but I sort of didn't have a choice. Sort of.

My quick Atlanta trip began around 3pm yesterday afternoon when I trekked down I-85 for my friends Jennie's and Leo's going away party. Leo just finished up chiropractic school so the duo is off to Ohio, their home state, to begin their careers. Our friend and Jennie's now-former employer Genie Beaver from West Stride hosted the soiree, which was filled with laughter and great conversation and the occasional tear-inducing toast. I'd planned all along to crash at Jennie and Leo's because, well, that's what I do--right up until the minute I learned that their U-Haul was literally loaded up and ready for their 7am departure this morning! Fortunately Genie and her husband Todd graciously offered to host me at their home, an offer I readily accepted as I didn't really have a Plan B secured. By the time the party and ensuing cleanup wound down and we were settled in for a few SNL skits, it was almost 1am. 1am?! I didn't even make it to 11pm last weekend and I was in NYC! So, needless to say, after this shockingly uncharacteristic late night none of us were in any hurry to wake up on Sunday. I lounged in the guest bedroom until the indulgent hour of 8:30am before rising to greet kiddos Sylvia and Carlyn...then I drank a cup of coffee...then another cup...then Todd made pancakes...then another cup...aaaand next thing I knew it was past noon and I was still in my PJs. Sigh. Would that the run could've magically completed itself. Instead I reluctantly changed clothes--read: put on a sports bra--and bid my wonderful hosts adieu. So, that's my compelling justification for waiting until the afternoon to run. Take it or leave it.

Once I negotiated my way into a parking spot in the overcrowded lot, the time for procrastination was over. After warming up with one loop around the dirt I came to the sobering realization that the weather was definitely going to factor into my performance. Instead of running another dirt loop for my tempo portion, I opted to branch off onto Columns Drive, a completely flat five mile out-and-back residential street that branches off from the river's other parking lot. With its wide bike lanes and smooth asphalt, I deemed it a better venue for attempting a fast run than the exceptionally crowded river loop. Minus a steady influx of cyclists, it would be relatively free of pedestrians and other obstructions and was also well-marked with reliable mile markers. If this tempo was going to happen, it was going to happen out there.

From the first step I could tell I was running too fast. The wind was at my back and I was unsure of myself, doubting the moderate effort level that my body required to produce a 5:50 mile. I came through the first mile in 5:34 breathing heavily, annoyed at my rookie pacing mistake. I made a conscious effort to back off for mile two but the generous tailwind made moderation difficult even despite my rapidly fatiguing legs. I split 5:52 and knew I would enjoy another half mile with the breeze at my back before making a wide U-turn at the traffic signal and crossing to the opposite side of the road. As soon as I did, the wind and penetrating sunlight hit me like a ton of bricks. Combined with the accumulation of lactic acid from starting out waaaay too fast (current 5k race pace, anyone?), I knew things were going south in a hurry. When I split 3:00 for the first half of the final mile, lungs burning and breath ragged and legs practically sprinting, I knew it was time to shut it down. I jogged the final stretch of Columns and counted down the minutes until I reached the parking lot and its promised water fountains. After several minutes of rest and what felt like several gallons of refreshing agua, I was ready to hit the dirt once again. Spurred on in equal parts by my frustration at the truncated tempo and my overwhelming desire to finish the run, I pushed pretty hard on the surges. By this point I was in no small danger of overheating, but I sought the shaded treeline as much as possible and vowed to rehydrate like crazy as soon as I was done. In the end I should've probably run another mile or two, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I finished off with some drills and stretches and a huge bottle of water in the parking lot before departing for the nearest smoothie purveyor. If these are the conditions I have to look forward to in the coming months, my body better get ready to do a better job of adapting than it did today. Perhaps my system is just shocked and bewildered that the conditions seem to have skipped straight from winter to summer with no refreshing spring grace period. Regardless, it's time to HTFU. If you don't know what it means, just read Jordan's socks.

Read More

Publix Georgia Marathon Weekend

Before I get into the details of the weekend, allow me to present a brief outline of my work schedule:

Wednesday
10am to 4pm: Drive to Birmingham, AL
5pm to 8pm: First Annual Karhu Madness Extravaganza @Trak Shak
8pm to 12am: Drive to Atlanta

Thursday
8am to 6pm: Expo setup @Georgia Dome

Friday
8am to 12pm: Expo setup/prep
12pm to 7pm: Expo

Saturday
6am to 9am: Karhu 5k and "Beat the Bear" promo
10am to 6pm: Expo
6pm to 9pm: Booth teardown
9pm to 10pm: Delivery of booth to finish area in Centennial Park

Sunday
6am to 2pm: Finish line festival

So, given the above, you shouldn't be too surprised to learn that my weekend didn't involve a whole lot of running. This was largely due to the all-encompassing work schedule, but in truth my low mileage (I think I topped out around 35, but it's too pathetic a number to seriously add up) can also be attributed to a sore left knee/IT band. I think last weekend's double race effort may have been too much too soon after the marathon, and unfortunately I'm paying the price this week. The worst part is, had my knee been a non-issue, I had every intention of racing the half-marathon on Sunday and contending for the $1000 prize purse. Part of me hoped the winner would run a ridiculously fast time, something so absurdly out of reach that I wouldn't have been able to compete on my best day, but unfortunately the first place time of 1:21:55 was not particularly remarkable. (That said, my buddy Leo deserves a shout-out for winning the men's race by a full seven minutes in 66:53 on an extremely hilly course. He may not have that Trials qualifier yet, but I have no doubt he'll achieve it within the coming months.) Instead of racing, I played things uncharacteristically safe and took both Saturday and Sunday off from running. On Sunday afternoon I hit the hotel gym for core and elliptical, but Saturday was completely free of exercise (minus, you know, 14 hours of working on my feet and what not).


My badass electric acupuncture treatment on Tuesday night,
courtesy of the one and only Dr. Greenapple

Fortunately, the overall craziness of the weekend kept me so busy that I hardly had a free moment to think about my running (or lack thereof). The 20,000+ participant Publix Georgia Marathon is the largest event that Craft and Karhu has sponsored to date, and I am thrilled to report that it was a huge success. More importantly than the copious amount of footwear and apparel we sold is the brand awareness and publicity that we delivered to the Atlanta market and to the Southeast in general. Our booth was jam packed from open to close both days and I lost count of the positive comments we received from customers and other exhibitors. The "Beat the Bear" promotion also went swimmingly, as our bear ran just over 20 minutes and beat nine competitors in the 5k. He also spent several hours roaming the expo and posing for photos with children--or, as was the case on more than one occasion, causing them to scream and/or cry and/or run in the opposite direction--and by the end of the weekend the Karhu Bear had endeared himself as the most popular mammal of the entire event!


The bear meets a few of his biggest littlest fans


Bearing down the home stretch of the 5k


The bear was on Comcast Sports South!

So, after such a busy and exhausting weekend, I'll indulge in a full 48 hours at home before embarking on another adventure. Next up: NYC City Sports run club in Central Park on Wednesday night, then a few days in Boston/Beverly with the corporate gang before returning home for this weekend's CRC 100x5k world record attempt. Aaaaand go.

Read More

Road Trip: ATL

Sunday: 15.5-16 miles @Kennesaw Mtn. National Battlefield Park
Saturday PM: 8-8.5 miles @Chattahoochee River trails
Saturday AM: 8 miles w/West Stride training group

Twas an epic road trip weekend for Jordan and myself. The destination: Atlanta. The objective: Craft and Karhu wear test run at West Stride. The payoff: Hanging out with friends and knocking out some great runs.

It started Friday afternoon, when Jordan and I loaded up Felix the "sport wagon" and set off in the southbound direction on I-85. We didn't have anything on the agenda for Friday but needed to be up bright and early for a Craft and Karhu wear test run at West Stride on Saturday morning. After a brief stop in Greenville we arrived in Atlanta just in time to grab some dinner and call it an early night.

Saturday morning dawned crisp and cold--quite the relief, as I'd only brought Zero and Zero Extreme base layers for wear testing and it was 80 degrees up until Friday! The gang at West Stride was expecting 50-75 people for the run, which meant that Jordan and I pulled out all the stops by setting up a tent, table, flag and samples in the parking lot. There was a flurry of activity when the wear test samples were brought out, and within minutes I'd handed out every piece in the box. The run through the affluent surrounding neighborhoods was a lot of fun and I heard tons of positive feedback about the Craft base layers--a few people even asked to buy the shirts that were on their backs! Always a good sign when people are that excited about the product.

In the early afternoon Jordan and I paid a visit to Fleet Feet John's Creek, our partner for 13.1 Atlanta, before driving back to midtown to meet my friend Jennie for a photography session. In addition to working at West Stride, training for the next Olympic Trials and earning a massage therapy license, Jennie is also an accomplished photographer (check out her site here). Apparently she is helping shoot for an Atlanta running calendar and was in need of some super hot girls (myself, obviously, and her friend Kyla) to run for some photos. I don't know whether or not we fit the bill, but we did get honked at eight different times by men who appeared to be of all ages and ethnic persuasions, so I consider that a victory any day of the week.


A less technical section of the Chattahoochee River trails

Next on tap after my supermodel shoot was a trail run with JSK at the Chattahoochee River. Jordan has been here with me once before but we barely made it up into the technical trails, so today was a special treat. The weather could not have been better for a run, and the sound of autumn leaves crunching under our feet supplied the perfect soundtrack for our afternoon miles. Having not been on trails for a while I found myself quite timid on some of the more technical sections, which meant that every few minutes Jordan would gap me by about 50 meters before feeling guilty and stopping to wait. This sequence was repeated at least half a dozen times before he grew exasperated with the tortoise and left me to fend for myself. By the time we made it back to the parking lot the sun was dipping below the horizon and I was thoroughly exhausted--and, of course, hungry. We hadn't eaten a proper meal all day and I was ready to tear something up. Fortunately we'd made plans to rendezvous with Jennie and her husband Leo for a fun night out at Antico, an authentic local pizza place. The menu is stark and simple and they import all their ingredients from Italy, which means they close up shop each night when they run out of provisions. The coolest part is they make the food while you watch (the limited selection of table seating is located literally in the middle of their kitchen). Oh, and it's BYOB and BYOD (dessert). How can you not love that? And, just in case there was any doubt, let me confirm that the pizza was amazing and the atmosphere was loud and boisterous, just like I imagine a real Italian pizzeria would be. We left feeling full and tired and ready to crash early.


A map of our Sunday run--we went from the Visitor Center
to Kolb Farm and back

Sunday morning saw us returning once more to West Stride for a staff meeting/clinic, which wrapped up around 10:30. From there it was time to conquer the mountain--Kennesaw Mountain, that is, a spot just north of Atlanta with miles and miles of glorious wooded trails. I'd only planned on putting in 12 or so miles, but about 30 minutes in Coach Jordan decided I must be feeling peppy (not sure what part of my labored breathing and heavy footfalls offered that indication) and encouraged me to keep going. Since he wasn't dropping me every two minutes like yesterday I decided to take him up on it and continue to the eight-mile mark at Kolb Farm. The trails were hopping with runners, walkers, horseback riders and even the occasional costume (several times we passed a guy wearing a full body skeleton suit who unbeknownst to me was actually my friend Kate's husband). My quads and hammies were throbbing at the turnaround point, already fatigued from an hour of undulating trails, but from there I had no alternative but to return from whence I came. The final 20 minutes were incredibly tough--I'm too lazy to look it up now, but I don't think I've run two hours more than a time or two in the past year--but I still managed to enjoy the serene beauty of the trails and the gorgeous autumn weather. Nature could not have delivered a better morning, and despite my aching body I had a blast exploring new terrain with Jordan. What a perfect end to our weekend road trip.


Beautiful Kennesaw Mtn. trails

Read More