W & OD Trail in Virginia

I'm almost ready for my marathon. Only two weeks to go. This last weekend I ran/limped/walked 24 miles (I was only supposed to go 23 but I'll get to that part soon). The best part of the five and a half hours was the scenery. I was on the W & OD Trail in Virginia and it was beautiful! I saw orchards, scenic barns, llamas, cows, horses, rivers, over bridges, through tunnels and in ravines and up hills. I wish we had something like that near us! I couldn't get over how clean the path was also- they must have come through earlier and blew all the leaves off the trail because it was near pristine condition!

Next time we visit I intend to run it again but I will be better prepared for it. This time I didn't realize how hard I had pushed myself the day before (it was Black Friday and I had shopped 'til I dropped - while wearing high heeled boots all day). I also wasn't getting enough sleep since I lost my ear plugs and my dear husband snores- a lot & loudly.

Anyway, I got going and halfway through I was worn out and blamed it on dehydration. I got off the trail at mile 12 and got a bottle of water at a quaint grocery store in Paeonian Springs (I started in Ashburn, VA). That little detour added the extra mile in my run but I needed the water so badly it was worth it. I slowed down quite a bit after that. I should have had more than just the one bottle I was so dehydrated. My muscles started cramping and I got charlie horses in both my calves and I couldn't run through them. I had to stop and stretch and massage the pain away until I could bear to start running again. It was so bad it took me an extra hour to finish from what it should have taken me. I would have cried if I'd had any tears but I was so dehydrated I couldn't!

The other lesson was that I desparately needed new running shoes. I had known my shoes were getting too worn out but I didn't realize how bad they were until later that day when I could barely walk because my ankle and feet hurt so badly. I got new shoes later that day at the Nike Outlet and am trying to get them broken in before the race on Dec.13. I used my in-laws' hot tub and soaked in my own tub today too and my muscles aren't as sore now. My ankle doesn't hurt anymore either. This weekend is a short run- just 10k and then I will be taking it easy for the big day!