Weekend camping trip

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**I wrote this post yesterday, but our internet connection at the campground wasn’t fast enough to publish it. So you get to enjoy two posts today instead.**

This weekend we went camping at a nearby campground for my birthday. Although my actual birthday was last week, we had to delay the trip until this weekend. Since we were only about 40 minutes away, we were still close to the New River State Park Trail, which is the trail where I usually do most of my long runs. I got to see a new section of trail yesterday that I hadn’t run on before.

We accessed the trail from the Allisonia/Hiwassee area, and I did my 8 mile long run. Barry came long, too, and he did his own thing. The trail was almost completely in shade, which helped a lot because it was hot and humid, and getting hotter by the minute. It was around 70 degrees and 100% humidity at the start of my run, and a little over 80, still with 100% humidity, when I finished.

 

This section of trail was really pretty. There was a trestle bridge that went over some river or creek that fed into the New River.

 

Pretty much the entire section of trail I ran on had the New River on one side and either a wall of rocks or forest on the other side. Fun fact about the New River: it is one of only two rivers in the word that runs south to north.

 

I ran an out and back 6 miles in one direction and then stopped back at the truck to refill my water bottle. Yep, approximately 20 oz of water was consumed in just 6 miles. It was humid. Once I got some more water I headed back out in the other direction for my last 2 miles. Lo and behold, less than a mile from where we parked the truck there was a porta pottie. Too bad I had already taken care of my business in the woods earlier in my run.

 

I also saw a group of Sole Sisters out biking on the trail! It was so much fun to actually see someone I knew. They had a group of 8-10 people, and I saw them just before I got to mile 6. I stopped and chatted for a couple of minutes and then went on my way. Then right at the end of my run I saw them again, headed back up the trail. How neat! I failed to get a picture, though, so here’s one from a recent 5K.
 

 

The rest of the day yesterday was spent at the campground. It was a pretty nice place. They had a pond where you can paddle boat or do some catch & release fishing. They also had two pools and four water slides, 18 hole miniature golf, and a sizable arcade. Not a bad spot for the weekend.

We spent time at the pool and went down the two large water slides on inner tubes. The first one we went down was the black one and Barry and I used a double tube. About the third turn on the way down our tube flipped and we both fell off. It wasn’t too bad, until the very end when there were speed bumps to slow you down. Those things weren’t meant for anything except an inner tube to go over.

 

After the pool we headed down to the pond and did some paddle boating. Barry decided he wasn’t a big fan of paddling, so I took us around the pond for two laps. The life vest is a good look for me, no? Goes well with my sock/shoe tan.

 

Later in the afternoon a storm rolled in, but we were able to get in a bike ride around the campground and some miniature golf in some light rain. Then we headed back to our campsite and played an hour-long game of Gin Rummy until dinner time. For dinner we roasted hot dogs over the campfire and of course dessert had to be roasting marshmallows. Both of these activities were birthday requests.

 

I’m not a big fan of chocolate, so my s’more consists of just marshmallow and graham crackers.

Hank and Scout had a good time this weekend as well. In addition to going for walks they did a little napping…

Hank napping on one of the benches at the kitchen table.

…. as well as a little sleeping.

Scout sleeping on the couch.

Can you name the other river, in addition to the New River, that flows south to north?

Do you ever go camping? What kind of trips/mini-vacations do you like to take?

Have you ever played Gin Rummy? It’s a fun card game!

How do you like your marshmallow toasted?
I like mine light brown, so that it’s crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside.

Chick Days – 16 weeks old

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The chickens are another week older and another week closer to laying their first eggs! Agnes tried out the nesting box. And by that I mean I put her in there and took a picture. She promptly jumped out and went about her business right after I snapped this photo.

Agnes is our biggest chicken and this box is the perfect size for her. They like it to be snug so that they feel like their eggs will be safe. This week I discovered a new favorite food of theirs: spinach!

“What do you have for us today???”

I didn’t know how well this would go over, because they haven’t liked the other vegetables I’ve tried. They seem to have more of a taste for fruit. However, they appear to be big fans of leafy vegetables.

We also got around to installing a “window” in the front of the chicken coop this week. This will allow for more ventilation, as well as let the chickens know when it’s time to get up since they will be able to see the sun rise.

They were very interested in their new window. It is right next to their roosting poles, and they like getting up on the poles and looking outside.

I also got a video of Agnes (the larger, white one) and Cecilia (with the crooked beak) on the roosting poles.

Barry took a picture of me holding Agnes to show how much they have grown. For comparison sake, here is one of our chicks at 2 weeks old:

And here is Agnes earlier this week. Huge change in just 14 short weeks.

We decided a “straight on” picture didn’t do her size justice so we also took one from the side. Agnes loves to be held, so she didn’t mind one bit.

Funny story- she pooped on me right after he took this picture. It got on my shirt and shorts and dripped down my leg. Lovely. Not my first time getting pooped on by a bird, though. When I was a kid I was at Chincoteague Island with my grandparents and a seagull pooped on my head. My grandma stuck my head in the sink!

On a side note, this is a blog about running and I just used the word ‘pooped’ three times in the above paragraph but wasn’t actually talking about running. How ironic.

In other chicken news, unrelated to my chickens, my in-laws sent me this clipping they saw in a magazine:

Diapers for chickens so that they can be kept inside? Nope. I draw the line at dogs.

Have you ever been pooped on by a bird or other animal?

What do you think about the chicken diapers?

Who am I??

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First off, thanks for all of your input about bathroom breaks and running in the heat on Wednesday. Y’all gave me a lot to think about, and some ideas on how to try and address the problem. Also, it looks like we’re all road tripping to the Manitou Incline. Sweet! I’ll see y’all there!

You will not believe what I did this morning. I got up and went for a 3 mile run BEFORE work. Crazy, right? Who am I? It was definitely cooler out than it is during the day (68 degrees), but since I ran in the morning I got to deal with 100% humidity. It was also really foggy/hazy outside.

The road to nowhere

I saw that white Pitbull I have told y’all about before that has “attacked” me in the past. By attacked I mean he has chased me down the road and jumped up on my back with his front paws while barking and growling. Not sure if that counts or not, but either way I avoid him. I snapped a quick picture before turning around to head the other direction.

He almost looks friendly in this picture, and I think it also looks like he’s tied. But he has been loose in the past and trust me, he’s not so friendly looking when he’s running after you with his teeth bared.

I felt alright on my run this morning. The last time I ran in the morning on a week day I felt really low on energy. By the way that run doesn’t count like today’s counts because I didn’t have to work that day. Anyway, that last time I didn’t eat before I ran and I only had a few sips of water. Today I also didn’t eat, but I drank a big glass of water, which is what Deb says she does before running during the week in the morning. It worked out pretty well for me! Now if I can just get my digestive system to behave.

Overall I really enjoyed running in the morning before work. It was kind of exhilarating, which sounds dumb, but it’s true. I may have to throw in a pre-work run here and there in the future.

Do you prefer running/working out in the morning, afternoon, or night?

Is your workout time dictated by your schedule, or is it just the time you prefer to work out?

Could you handle the incline?

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I first found out about the Manitou Incline, in Manitou Springs, Colorado, in a Runner’s World article from last year. Ironically enough, I read about it while sitting on the runway waiting for my plane to depart after spending a week in Denver. I probably wouldn’t have been able to go to the incline, but it was ironic that I was reading about it as I was in the process of leaving Colorado.

The Manitou Incline is a one-mile climb lined with railroad ties. People flock there every day to climb, and often attempt to run, the incline. It used to be illegal, which didn’t matter to incline users, who used it for over 20 years illegally. But as of February 1st of this year, it is legal!

The incline has an average grade of 41% and a maximum grade of 68%. The record for fastest run up the trail is 17 minutes. The average time it takes to hike up the trail is 45 minutes. There was a really neat graph in the RW article comparing the Newton Hills of Boston to the Incline, and it made Boston’s hills look like speed bumps…. but I can’t find it, so you’ll have to use your imagination.

The incline has its roots as a former cable car railway, which was used to carry materials to pipeline construction on Pikes Peak. But the rails were removed in 1990.

In the Runner’s World article it said that as you climb, you look up and think you are almost to the top. But then you find that it is actually a false summit and there is still roughly 1/4 of a mile to go!

The one mile trail climbs 2,000 vertical feet. Once you get to the top you can enjoy the view while you catch your breath and revel in your accomplishment. Then you have to make it back down without tripping!

Had you heard of the Incline before now?

Who’s taking a road trip to Manitou Springs to climb the incline with me!?



I finally made my decision!

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Just a heads up that this post is a whole lot of random. But that’s the way most of my posts are, so I’m sure you’re not surprised. I am nicknaming today my “triple 3” day. Why’s that? Because it is day three of week 3 of marathon training, and I had 3 miles on the schedule today. I decided to go run around town, since I am getting bored of doing all of my weekday runs on the roads around our house. It went well and I enjoyed the change in scenery. The scenery itself wasn’t too bad, either.

Let’s talk about bathroom breaks for a minute. I think I have had to stop for at least one bathroom break on every single run I’ve done since July 1. I don’t know what is going on. I haven’t changed my diet, so I don’t think that’s the culprit. The only thing I can figure is the recent increase in temperature.
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I finally made a decision on my treadmill. On Monday I put in my order for a NordicTrack C900!!!

When it came down to it, I chose this one over the ProForm because of the extra cushioning it has. No shin splints for me!

Now the question is this: When my beloved new treadmill (never thought I’d use ‘beloved’ and ‘treadmill’ in the same sentence…) arrives, should I name it? My personal car is named “Hey Car” and my work car is named “Willis”, so I’m thinking my treadmill is also going to need a name.

In case you missed it: Jordan Hasay ran 31:46 in the 10,000 meters (a 20 second PR!), meeting the B standard, and will be heading to Moscow for the World Championships.

She was only 1.42 seconds off of the A standard. The World Championships are in August and this will be Hasay’s first time competing in them!

What should I name my treadmill?

Do you have a name for your car? What is it?

Has anyone else noticed a correlation in bathroom breaks and the increase in temperature?

"I've opted for fun in this lifetime." -Jerry Garcia