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Category: Running

  • Trail of Tears!

    Trail of Tears!



    7 mile race on ‘Trail of Tears’ trail.
    It was supposed to rain a bit today morning but the weather appeared just fine. Diane was right on time, 6:00 am at my apartment. We met John and Keith on the way by Target. Subha was on her way but later decided to meet us at I-24. John and Keith hopped into Diane’s car and we headed straight to “Tears of Trail”.
    The weather was around 36, but it wasn’t snowing or raining though. We could see lot of waterfalls on the way which looked like it was raining somewhere. We started talking about the number of marathons and ultras each of us have run. What to say about John and Keith, two awesome people. Great runners. Keith has been running and winning a lot of races and scoring lots of points. John has run 20 some marathon and ultras. I could just sit and listen to their stories all day. We had some insightful conversation about lot of things. I was amazed at how knowledgeable and yet humble John and Keith were. I’ve got a lot to learn from all of them.
    Took a couple of stops at rest area and also caught Subha on our way.  After about three hours of drive we reached the race spot. There was lot of runners already running around, stretching and warming up. While the others went to pick up their T-Shirt, I was roaming around looking at the ‘Trail of Tears’ visitor center (The history behind the name was very painful). After  getting out of the visitor center I stepped out to warm-up and there were lots of folks giving weird looks at my VFF. I don’t blame them though. I was acting like I was the ambassador for VFF explaining about the shoe. Just hoping that it doesn’t hurt during the race. While everyone took off at the start line I decided to run slow along with Subha and Harish.
    Mile 1 was rough. A steep climb with an elevation change of 800m-1100mts. We pretty much walked until 1.5 miles. After a while, I went ahead with the race. 
    The weather was kinda cold with occasional snowflakes but otherwise it was fine. Picked up a bit of pace at mile 3. I was literally sweating by this time and the occasional chill wind was feeling Heaven! My VFF was feeling great too. I could see an evident change in my posture. Since it had no thick soles, it was making loud noise while running on asphalt which got the attention of other runners but it felt great though.
    Crossed the finish line at 1:05:48 and as usual I didn’t reset my Garmin! Didn’t feel any pain or shin splint which is a good thing. We were so glad when Subha and Harish crossed the finish line. They both finished their first race. Yay! Hogged some hot dogs, Oreos, oranges, apple and finally some soda. It’s bad stuff, I know.
     
    When you are in the company of great folks, time just flies by and in no time we reached Nashville. My first Tennessee State Park running tour was really good. Time for a hot shower and a pool game tonight! w00t!
  • Running in the snow!

    Running in the snow!

    It was snowing all Friday and until Saturday early morning. Gossssh!! It was so gorgeous outside.  Looks like we are going to get lot of snow this weekend. Sweet! I love when it snows. w00t!!  A good five inch snow I believe. I dragged myself out of the bed to go for my run in the gym. A crazy idea struck me. Why not run in the snow today. I have never done that before though I know a lot of runners do. Okie dokie. Let’s do it. Got dressed up in layers and wore my Hi-Tec trek shoes. Good time to put the ‘Weather proof’ feature of the shoe to test. This is how it looks like:

     
     


    It was freezing cold. The snow hasn’t got hard yet so it wasn’t slippery as I expected. Is it really a good idea to run in this snow? I walked till the entrance of the apartment pondering and then just decided to run. I always remember the rule for running on the road, “Run against the traffic”.  I decided to run till Percy Priest Dam and back. That’s a good 4 mile run. I didn’t want to push hard during my first snow run. Roads were in very bad condition and black ice was just starting to show up.  People were very cautious while driving, so I am safe. Couple of them gave me pitiful looks like I am one homeless kid running in the snow. Some gave the “Such a weirdo” glance. Running in the snow was worse than running in the sand, I guess. Breathing cold air was hurting my lungs initially but after the second mile I was just fine and was enjoying my run by now.
    I reached the dam and stopped for a while to catch some breath. Man, it was really cold though It felt very good to be out in the snow. There were lots of people outside that I expected. Many stopped by to click pictures by the dam. 

     
     

    Ran further down the road for half hour and got back to where the dam’s gate opens up. There were lot more people down there having fun snow tubing down the frozen road. They were using inflated tubes, planks, packaging box and anything they could get their hands on to snow tube down the road. It was fun watching them. Wish I had one with me, anyhow I decided to turn back.

    “How long have you been running”, a stranger popped that question. Three miles so far and two more miles to go, I replied.  It was Kelly and Susan. She said that’s crazy and I just nodded my head. We struck a conversation. Who I am, where I am from and where do I work etc, etc. When I told them about my work place they mentioned a couple of people and I was surprised when they mentioned “Diane Taylor”. Yes, its my colleague, Diane who has run overt 75 marathons.  “What a small world”! We were talking for a couple more minutes about our upcoming races, exchanged our FB Id’s and then I started my run towards home. [Susan, don’t forget my ID :)]. Clicked couple of pictures on my way back. Isn’t it pretty?

     
      
     

    A good half hour run and I was home in one piece. My Hi-Tec running shoes really stood up to the test in keeping my feet warm.  It does hurt a lot to run in the snow especially while breathing. Nevertheless I had a very good time and enjoyed my first experience running in the snow. Time for a hot shower and yummy soup.