Run #44: 3 Great Ideas

So I suck at blogging apparently. I let life get in the way super easily and have a hard time making time. But I do really want to be able to look back at this process and read about all the fun, pain, fights, and encouragement Mihkel and I went through to get through the finish line. So here I am, back to the blog to catch y'all up on where things are and how our last run went.

On Saturday Mihkel and I had three great ideas: 1) Sleep in a little. 2) Run at Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield on the amazing trails they have there. 3) Give recovery ice baths a shot. Here are the results:

1) This went off without a hitch. I love my sleep.

2) Kennesaw Mountain is amazing. The trails take you around key points in the Battle of Kennesaw. This is where the battle for Atlanta really started. It was outstanding to see the Confederate built earthworks that have been there since 1864. There were huge dirt mounds surrounding the cannons that the South built to defend against the coming onslaught of the Union.

Aside from being historical significant and beautiful, Kennesaw Mountain is also, well...a mountain. This was the first trail run we have ever done. It was tough! Very very tough! Our pace was well below what we do on the road and the attention to detail required to get through a run on the trails is a little tougher than we had thought. I think we both went through a few low points and there was a moment around mile 13 that I really didn't think we would finish. But, as you can see below, we did...

Best running partner ever!

Mentally it was a little tougher since we had to pay attention much more than usual to things like foot placement and watching for rocks and horse shit that we also ended up paying more attention to "OMG, my ankles are killing me right now!"

I think we jumped into trail running a little bit too deep for our own good. Completely my fault, of course.

Also though, it was gorgeous out. People are nice on trails. We passed a very friendly guy a couple times going the opposite way on the loops. He gave us directions once and then the next time we cheered him as he cheered us on. The third, we had a brief exchange on our distances that day (he was knocking out 20). Plus, we saw 8 deer, a raccoon, a squirrel and a few hallucinated bears/cougars/honey badgers (around mile 14).

Ewwww! But we frikken EARNED it!!

The verdict? We are definitely trail running again....but maybe a little less distance.

3) On the recommendation of some awesome and talented runners that I've been fortunate to connect with on the Runner's World marathoners forum Mihkel and I decided to give ice baths a shot. It was a little tough, but with the aid of some whiskey (for me) and some malt beverage (for Mihkel) as well as each other's company and a little Arrested Development made it tolerable and today, I feel much much better than usual. 

Mihkel approves of this technique

Dual purpose ice: Whiskey and anti-inflammatory

Aside from realizing I need to clean the grout in my bathtub, I also realized that the cold feels amaaaaazing. So I think I will definitely be doing this more often.

It has been an amazing week of running and today's off day was very much needed. Tomorrow is a little Hot Yoga and then a good week leading up to our trail 10K this weekend.

Happy Running to you all!