mountain run

Yesterday I went for an awesome run. My training schedule said to do fifteen miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway, so that's what I did. Over the 7.5 miles in I gained about 900 feet in elevation.

I arrived just after 1pm, parked outside the gate (since the Parkway is closed in winter), and took off. There was some snow, but it wasn't too bad. I bought a pair of Yaktraxs the day before just in case, but the snow wasn't deep enough to use them. The run started out pretty cloudy and it was 30 degrees, but about halfway through the sun came out. It was beautiful.

Humpback Rocks ahead, around mile 6.

Look at that ice!

After a couple miles there weren't human footprints anymore. But boy did I see a lot of other prints. Lots of prints looked like dogs, so maybe they were coyotes? Deer tracks frequently went horizontally across the road. Skittish faint lines I assumed were birds. A couple tiny prints were maybe rabits? There was a good long stretch of snow with lots of tracks that led me to believe a couple coyotes were running along the road together, occasionally crossing over each other or scuffling in the snow. I thought "hey! animals like to run on the Blue Ridge Parkway too!"

But then? Then I noticed the dog/coyote-looking paws got bigger. A lot bigger. I turned around and examined the prints next to my own, and got a little scared.

I wear size 10 shoes. Those paws are big. And creepy.

That has to be a bear, right? I thought bears were supposed to hibernate?! Sheesh. So I started to make some extra noise other than my labored breathing, singing occasional songs like "Here I come around the bend! I'm running on the Parkway! Watch out, here I come!" That seemed to keep them away. I never saw any animals, thank goodness.

Overall the run felt pretty good. I need practice going up mountains and coming down long hills to help prepare me for the marathon, and this went really well. Afterwards I stretched by the car, then drove to dinner at some friends' house, where they let me shower and fed me lots of good food.

It was a good day.

mom time

Last weekend my mom came to visit me. We hung out. It was fun.

She arrived Thursday evening in the midst of snow, but the snow didn't last long. I picked her up at the airport and then we went to the grocery store, where I bought my first big stick of brussel sprouts. Then we came back to my apartment and made this delicious dinner:

The sprouts taste better than they look. Really.

This is brussel sprouts with bacon, avocado, and lime. Who would have thought? I found the recipe here. I also made butternut squash soup with apple and sweet potato.

Friday we ran errands, which included getting me a new pair of glasses. (Which I probably won't wear much because I also got contacts!!! Now I can see when I'm running and at the gym, because I never wear my glasses for those things.) We ate a Mediterranean lunch at Aromas, and we enjoyed a happy hour beer at the C&O. That evening we made dinner at home again (pasta with broccoli and lemon) and watched a movie.

I love the atmosphere at the C&O. Lots of wood and old-timey stuff.

Saturday I went for a ten mile run, then we ate lunch at the Whiskey Jar. I had a delicious beet salad and mac & cheese. Then we walked around the downtown mall a little before heading to Richmond. In Richmond we visited with Grandpa, then went out for dinner with the rest of the family before enjoying Sunni's dance performance at school. Then we drove back to Charlottesville.

Sunday we slept in, then drove west and visited a few wineries near the Blue Ridge Mountains. We liked the wines at Cardinal Point the best, enjoyed the atmosphere (and a cheese plate) at Veritas, and felt a little "eh" about Afton Mountain, though the girl who did our tasting was nice. After all that excitement we needed a nap, and then we ate dinner at Mono Loco.

Monday I ran six miles and we ran a few more errands, then we ate lunch at Revolutionary Soup and went next door to see Silver Linings Playbook. I liked it. After that we drove back to Richmond and went out with family for pho. I love pho. We spent the night in Richmond that night, and I left the next morning to get to work in Charlottesville.

I saw mom again one more time though, because I went back to Richmond Wednesday after work. Wednesday was also pie day. That morning I woke up really early, made a pie, ran eight miles in 14-degree weather, and then went to work. There were nine dessert pies and two savory pies, and I tried some of all of them.

My pie.

When I got to Richmond I ate some leftover dinner and watched TV with mom and my aunt. The next morning there was snow, so I hung out longer than I had planned and read a book. Then mom headed off to the airport to fly home and I came back to Charlottesville.

I'm glad mom got to come hang out. It was nice.

it's official

Today I saw a notice that there are only 177 registration spots left in the marathon I want to run. "Better register soon," it said. So I panicked just a little, because I wasn't planning to actually register and cough up the $90 until I had logged a few more long runs and felt more confident about my chances of not getting injured again. But wouldn't it be the worst thing ever if I felt good about running 26.2 miles up and down mountains, only to find out they had filled up? Yes, yes it would.

So I did it. I registered for my first marathon. And it's not just any marathon. If all goes well, (and I really hope it does,) on April 20 I will run the Blue Ridge Marathon, aka "America's Toughest Road Marathon."



I even went ahead and made the hotel reservation. So look out, now there are only 176 (or so) spots left. I'm so excited.