The Salt Capital of the Confederacy

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The 4 mile tempo run I had planned for today didn’t happen. I ended up having a long day at work and got home as the sun was setting. I prefer not to run in the dark around here (there are no street lights), plus I’m scared of the dark anyway. So I did a level 3 30 day shred workout. I will just push all my runs by one day, and do my tempo run tomorrow. Sometimes work really gets in the way of my running.

Photo from the Run the Edge Facebook page, which I found through Deb Runs

Today I worked in the lovely town of Saltville, the “Salt Capital of the Confederacy” as the sign will have you know:

Here’s a view of the town from the mountain overlook you pass on your way into town:

That area on the left with the water is a park area that has a bunch of paved paths. You can’t quite tell, but it’s kind of green-tinted because the water is really briney there. Every time I drive through Saltville I want to stop and go for a run at this park. That really wouldn’t work out, though, since I usually either wear flats or steel toe boots for work. Neither of those are exactly ideal for running.

Hopefully someday I’ll get a chance to run there, though. Every time I see a trail when I’m out driving or traveling I always want to go run on it. If there’s no sign saying what park it is, I find a nearby intersection and use Google maps to figure out where the trail starts. Just last week when I drove to NorfolkI saw the High Bridge State Park Trail that ran parallel to Route 460. I was tempted to stop on my way home last Wednesday to do a run on this trail, but I ended up leaving Norfolktoo late in the afternoon.

Do you run in the dark? If so do you use a head lamp? Do you ever go for a run by yourself in the dark (early morning or night)?

Do you seek out trails when you see them from the road while driving? Does seeing a trail/bike path make you want to go for a run?
 
 
 

Washing workout clothes

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It’s starting to look like spring! The birds are out and the flowers are starting to bloom. Maybe I can put my running tights away for the year?? *knock on wood* Now that I say it looks like spring, we’ll get another snow storm…. This pretty much sums up Virginia weather:

Borrowed from Real Food for Fuel

This evening after work I went for a 3 mile run. I did an out and back on the roads around our house at a comfortably hard pace, which ended up being 9:32/mile pace. I actually didn’t have any dog incidents! I got barked at by at least 8 dogs, but they were all either fenced in, tied out in the yard, or had an invisible fence. That last one I wasn’t so sure of, but then he stopped about 5 feet from the road. My legs, particularly my hamstrings and glutes, were sore today. I guess I worked hard during yesterday’s 30 day shred workout!

I noticed when I put on my long sleeve shirt, which was washed on Saturday afternoon, that it still kind of smelled. It definitely didn’t smell like dirty laundry, but it had a faint “I’ve been sweat in” smell. I don’t do anything special for my workout clothes, they just get washed like everything else. But apparently the normal wash cycle/normal detergent isn’t cutting it. I think I may need to consider other options, though.

And just for fun, this is what happens when a dog this size (72 pounds):

And a dog this size (125 pounds):

Go after the same toy that is in the back of this crate:

Right after I snapped this picture the bigger dog, Hank, panicked because he realized he couldn’t turn around. But then he did turn around and got out. Crisis averted.

Are you having some warmer springtime weather?

Do you do anything special to wash your workout clothes?

 

The long run and your weekend

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This morning I started my day with a level 2 30 Day Shred workout. Next week I plan to go back up to level 3, and then will probably continue to do the level 3 workout in the future.

As I was driving during work today, I got to thinking about my weekend. I had a really enjoyable weekend and I was trying to pinpoint why that was. Barry and I enjoyed a low-key weekend at home, both of us were off work, and it was very relaxing. While those are all great things, I still didn’t feel like that was the main reason. And then I thought of Saturday’s long run.

The run went really well, I felt great, and I loved being back at an old trail. I think this definitely contributed to the enjoyable weekend. Which got me thinking. Does my long run dictate my weekend? I’m not talking about a time commitment, because we all know we’ve based our weekend plans on when we’ll get our long run done.  I’m talking about the quality of my long run dictating how the rest of my weekend will go.

Happy Runner

Sad Runner

I haven’t paid attention to it in the past, but I’m pretty sure there have been bad weekends that started off with a tough or less-than-ideal long run. Is it possible that I allow one two hour chunk of my Saturday morning affect the rest of my weekend? Absolutely. That Saturday morning long run is kind of the kick off to my weekend, so I think this makes sense. It sets the tone.

The strange thing is I don’t think races have the same negative effect on my weekend. Sure, when I run a PR it bolsters the excitement of the weekend (especially if Barry also PR’s!). And if I’m on pace to run a PR and then the race comes up short (ahem.. 2012 Drumstick Dash 5K that was 2.88 miles. I’m still bitter…) I’m not happy and I will continue to talk about it months later.

But if I have a bad race, I just kind of move on with a “you’ll get ’em next time” attitude. I may feel down about the race, but I usually keep that to myself, and still enjoy the rest of my weekend.

Smiling, despite having just run a PW.
Partly because I’m happy to be with friends.

I’m not sure why I don’t have the same approach when it comes to my long run, but it definitely has a strong effect on the rest of my weekend.

Does your long run dictate your mood for the weekend?

What day do you typically do your long run?

How do you handle a race that doesn’t go as planned?

USNS Comfort

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HAPPY EASTER!!!
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On Wednesday I had a meeting for work on the Naval Base in Norfolk, VA. At the end of our meeting we had the opportunity to tour the USNS Comfort, one of the U.S. Navy’s hospital ships. It has been used to provide relief after disasters such as Haiti, and also provides on-site emergency care for U.S. combatants in a time of war. It has been deployed during Operation Desert Storm, as well as to New York during the terrorist attacks in 2001. It has also served as an afloat trauma center in the Persian Gulf during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Comfort has also been used for missions, including three Continuing Promise missions in 2007, 2009, and 2011. Continuing Promise is a humanitarian civic assistance mission that has mainly served the Central America region. This involves providing medical and dental care, both on and off the Comfort, including surgeries that take place on board the ship. It also provides civil assistance (including public health training, veterinary services, and engineering education) to the host nations visited during the mission.

This is the helicopter control tower. The Comfort has a flight deck that can handle the world’s largest military helicopters.

The Continuing Promise missions demonstrate the Navy’s ability to be a global force for good, while building relationships with host nations and the non-governmental organizations that assist with the mission. The ship itself is operated by Merchant Marines. The medical folks on board are made up of Naval medical personnel who work side-by-side with civilians from non-governmental organizations (Johns Hopkins, Project Hope, Samaritan’s Feet, World Vets, Operation Smile, etc.).

Most of the parts of the ship we toured resembled a traditional hospital. However, there were other parts that very much reminded you that you were on board a ship. For example, this is the CT machine that they use to evaluate patients.

Looks pretty much like a normal hospital, right? It mostly did, except for the straps here and there to hold equipment down and in place while the ship is moving. The surgical area also looked very much like a hospital.

 
 
If you look closely under the instrument table, you will notice a notch on the floor. This is where they can chain equipment (such as beds, tables, etc.) that are on wheels to the floor to keep them from moving during travel. That’s one of the subtle differences that reminded you that you were on a ship. They also had a minor surgery area, where up to 12 surgeries can take place simultaneously.
 
 
And then there’s the pediatric ward, which I thought looked much more like sleeping quarters than a ward in a hospital.
 
 
 
They’re set up like bunk beds, and there were over 300 beds in this ward. Less critical patients use a ladder to get to the top bunks. There were spots for IV bags to be hung and nurse call buttons. The ship also included a very large ICU, complete with beds equipped with air mattresses to help prevent bed sores (when the skin breaks down from patients laying in one spot with pressure on a particular area). The beds also alarmed if the patient tried to get out of bed. When the ship responded to the disaster in Haiti, they had a special “quiet” section of the ICU sectioned off where patients who had lost limbs woke up from surgery.
 
 
Other areas outside of the hospital portion look more like a typical ship. This wall of payphones is where members of the crew can call home.
 
 
 
However, it costs $2 to connect and then $0.45/minute after that. The ship also has internet capabilities, although it cannot support the bandwidth for crew to use Skype. But it does allow members of the crew to be able to send emails home. We were unable to tour the galley or berthing areas (living quarters) because there are currently Naval personnel and Merchant Marines who live and work on the ship.
 
The ship is 894 feet long, and 106 feet wide. It fits through the Panama Canal by one foot! It has a max speed of 17.5 knots (about 20 mph).
 
USNS Comfort transits the Panama Canal during CP 2011.
(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Eric C. Tretter/RELEASED)
 
The USNS Comfort was set to deploy for Continuing Promise 2013, but that was recently canceled due to budget limitations imposed by sequestration. However, you can still check out the Continuing Promise Facebook page to see pictures from past missions. In 2011 they visited Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and Peru.
 
CP 2011 in Guatemala
Photo from the Continuing Promise Facebook page
The content shared in this post came from information shared during our tour of the USNS Comfort and the Continuing Promise Facebook page maintained by the U.S. Navy. 





A long run on the Huckleberry Trail

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As the title indicates, today I did my long run up on the Huckleberry Trail. I felt like a 13 mile long run justified the 40 minute drive to and from Christiansburg. The Huckleberry is a paved trail just shy of 6 miles that runs from Christiansburg to Blacksburg. It is used by walkers, runners, dog walkers, and cyclists. I used to run on this trail for almost every run when I was in school and for the first two years after I graduated. One thing I really miss about this trail is getting to see all the people out and about on a Saturday morning. It’s really enjoyable just seeing everyone and getting to say hi or good morning.

The trail I normally run on at home is the Dora Trail. It is a 2.5 mile trail that starts in downtown Pulaski and connects to the New River State Park Trail. The Dora trail is paved for 0.8 miles and then the rest of it, as well as the state park trail, is crushed gravel. The area is not as populated as the Blacksburg/Christiansburg area, so I usually see a lot less people. Sometimes I don’t see anyone the whole time during a long run. The state park trail also gets use from horseback riders, so we have to watch out for the horses (and their poop).

I also do most of my long runs, whether they’re on the Huckleberry or the Dora, with my running buddy Kim. We ran together on the Huckleberry Trail until Barry and I moved to Pulaski. Conveniently, Kim and her husband happen to be building a house in Pulaski, so now we do most of our long runs on the Dora Trail, which works out nicely. Since they’re building their house here it means we can be life long running buddies! 🙂 However, Kim is out of town this weekend. Boo. Barry came with me today, but we did our long runs separately.

Now that you understand the significance of the Huckleberry Trail, you will understand why I loved every step of my long run today. In general I had one of those really great runs that we dream of, and I think being back on my old trail and seeing so many people really gave me a boost. There’s something to be said about running on a trail that you know every curve and hill by heart.
 
 

Distance- 13.12 miles
Time- 2:17:16
Pace- 10:28/mile
Calories- 1495

As I first started out I was a bit chilly. It was around 33 degrees at the start and I was in shorts and a long sleeve technical shirt. I also felt kind of sluggish for the first mile. But after that I started to feel better and really just enjoyed being back on the trail.

I cruised through the first half of my run and got down to the Blacksburg Library at 6.5 miles. I stopped for a quick bathroom break and to refill my water bottle at the library. I also ate two shot blocks at this point. Then I got back to it.

View of campus from the trail. I love that place.

As I started back up the trail, I passed the memorial for a police officer who was killed on the trail. The first day of class my freshman year a prisoner being treated at the hospital escaped and they had a manhunt in the area for him. Corporal Sutphin found him on the trail, but sadly the prisoner shot and killed him. They apprehended the prisoner 8 hours later and he eventually was sentenced to death. There was a temporary memorial until this was put in place, along with a tree and another plaque.

I continued to feel great through miles 7 and 8, like I was just on top of the world. But miles 8-10 were a little tougher. This is where I went back through the rolling hills that the trail has, and my legs started to feel fatigued. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t still loving every second of being on this trail, because I was.

I stopped and ate two more shot blocks at mile 10 (and dropped my other 2 in the dirt, which I wasn’t happy about….) and kept plugging along. From there I just took it 1 mile at a time until I was back to my starting point at the trail head in Christiansburg. At the end it had warmed up to 46 degrees (it is beautiful outside today!!), but I was still comfortable in my shorts and long sleeve.  


If I could have given the trail a hug at the end of my run I would have. Thanks for a great run, Huckleberry! I miss you.

Barry snapped this picture of me halfway through mile 12, headed for home.

Once our long runs were in the books we did two quick errands and then grabbed some Chick-fil-a for lunch. I love their chargrilled chicken sandwich.
 
 
They were also handing out free samples, like they seem to do every time I’ve been there. Today was ice cream and cookies. I grabbed a vanilla ice cream sample to go. Seriously, this was the perfect size of ice cream for me and I really enjoyed it. It was a nice way to top off a great run.
 
 
Today’s long run was a great way to cap off my peak week in training before Blue Ridge. The next two weeks I will decrease my mileage. I also have two races coming up over the next two weekends, but I do not actually plan to race either one of them. They will both be for fun!
 
Do you have a trail that you love?
 
Have you ever been to Chick-fil-a? What’s your favorite thing to get?
The Chargrilled chicken sandwich and a lemonade!
 
Do you ever run races just for fun or as training runs?
I used to run every race aiming for a PR, but in the past year I’ve started embracing running races as training runs or even just for fun. It’s a great way to break up the monotony of training for a long distance race. 
 
 

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