Running is a glamorous sport

I had a weekend full of running! I think I almost ran for 5 hours this weekend, which sounds pretty nuts (even to me). So who is ready for some pictures of blood and blisters?

Saturday

Alyssa and her friend Lily (aka my 50K running crew) got up super early in Baltimore and drove down to my neck of the woods for another trail run adventure! After packing up the entire back of my Matrix with coolers of water and snacks, we headed out to the park with the 7.5 mile trail loop. Seriously the best part of trail running is the snacks. People would look at you funny if you stopped and had a cookie during a marathon, but that's a normal thing for trail runs!

We had perfect weather, it was sunny and 72 and the trails were nice and dry. I wore my gaitors for the first time, but I forgot to take a picture. I'm mad, but they are so dorky and make me look like Scrooge McDuck. Two local runners met us at the park and it was fun to have such a good group of people together for a run!

I took my first tumble around mile 2.5 after I tripped on a tree root while trying to talk and run at the same time. Everyone laughed because my first reaction when I fell was to hit "Pause" on my Garmin. :) There was only a little blood, but I should probably plan on carrying Bandaids with me for the 50K!

Trail running: The key to beach-ready legs

 Alyssa and Lily fell too, but I think I won for biggest bruises and blood amount. My knees actually had swollen lumps on them, so I really wished I had waited until later to fall. I got my wish and fell again at mile 19ish. No picture for those wounds, mostly because I slid and scratched up the back of my left leg and I couldn't take a picture of that.

Key things I learned on this run:

• Always carry more water than you think you might want. Nothing is worse than not having water when you need it!
• The more you eat during the breaks, the better you feel running.
• Salt tablets are pretty awesome.
• You can actually chafe until you bleed.

Yes, you read that right, chafing until bleeding. I will never wear loose shorts for trail running again. I need to invest in some Spandex-y type shorts! Also, Butt Paste really helps with chafing. Not that I know. Who would put baby diaper cream on their thighs and then admit it on the internet? Not this girl.

Also, let's welcome my latest addition to my blister family:

Hot

So, we ran the whole 21.6 miles in 4:15 minutes, which is about a 12 min pace, but pace doesn't really matter for trail running and trust me, we weren't taking it easy. We did end up walking a portion of the last loop, but I think that happened because we didn't walk at all for the first two loops. Most trail running experts recommend a run/walk combo and we didn't do that. It's hard to switch from the road running mindset to the trail running mindset!

After the trail run, I took an ice bath and then limped around the rest of the day until Jeff finally came home! :)

Sunday

My first Mother's Day! Somehow the baby managed to get me flowers, a card, AND Swiss chocolates. Isn't she advanced?

So pretty

Exotic chocolate!

Well, if you insist...

Faith made sure I enjoyed Mother's Day to the fullest by getting me up at 5:15am so I can have more Mother's Day to enjoy. As a consequence, I took a nap when Faith took her nap at 8am. It was pretty wonderful. After I woke up and had a second breakfast (completely normal, right?), I went out for a 4 mile run (35 min, 8:59 average pace). The first mile was pretty painful, but once I warmed up it actually wasn't so bad. I normally hate the run the day after a long run, but maybe I'm getting used to it.

Jeff had to go to a group meeting for a class he's taking (he's getting a second master's degree), so Faith and I hung out this afternoon.

I'll figure this out

I bet I can get this outlet cover off faster than you in about 2 months

After Jeff got home, we ordered pizza (woohoo for not cooking!) and caught up on DVR shows. Pretty much a perfect Mother's Day. :) Also, Jeff is taking today off, so it's still like the weekend!

Also, I totally spaced out on picking a winner for the Nathan Sports Catalyst tablets on Friday, so I picked one last night. According to Random.org, comment #3 is the winner, which is Brian! Hopefully those tablets will inspire him to sign up a race longer than a 5K :P