Well. I did it.
In all honesty, I think the "Straddle Run" (SR), is a pretty brilliant idea. It probably does play a bit to the person who's stressed for time, but it adds another dimension to the Marcothon Challenge that isn't present in running every day around the same time. I was probably mentally bad mouthing it because I was scared to admit that I wasn't sure if I could do it.
Come Friday night, I think I was scared. I know I was nervous. Trying to find reasons why, "if I only do Friday's run, I can always do Saturday's during the day," instead of staying with the group and finishing what was started. Also, I was a bit unsure because most all of the group are much stronger and faster runners.
I decided to do something a bit different. I left early. Parked the car a bit away from the meeting place and ran there so I could cut it short if not feeling up to it and still meeting all the requirements for Day 20 of Marco. I was early. Will and I were got there almost simultaneously and introduced ourselves. (This group is great. Even meeting someone the first time because you have the bond of running with them makes it very easy to dive into conversation).
Shortly after that everyone started arriving. I gave Tabitha grief for hauling me into Marco, but I should be thanking her for it. It's not killing me so it has to be making me stronger. Joel had run 5+ miles already, just to get there and was ready for more. Eric B. had a couple of beers already, just to get there and was ready for more.
Consensus was it was great weather for a run. I think we were comparing it to the really hard conditions we've had in the last week and a half.
11:30 sharp +Jeffry Archer cracked the whip and we were off. It was a little bit foggy and the air had a bite as we started moving. The fast group broke fast. After the first corner I don't think I saw them again until after part one. Tabitha, Pam, Jenn, and Jeffry were keeping me company. We were not concerned about pace, just having fun and getting the miles in. A little past the 1 mile point it started to get interesting. We started to hit patches of black ice. Nothing major, just enough to have one of us shout out the occasional "whoa". Dealt with that off and on, mostly off for the next 2 miles until we got to the 5th Quarter for our run break beers (& water).
I was still toying with the idea of going home. Had my beer and then decided, I would get my Saturday miles out of the way too. This was fun. Crazy, but fun.
12:20 - Jeffry had us off and running the reverse route again. I was chilled. Very chilled. I love wicking clothes, but having wet cooling sweat in your clothes and then heading out into just above freezing temperatures makes it very interesting. Jeffry suggested that I turn around soon if I was too cold. Told him I'd warm up and kept going. I think the second half was much quieter than the first. We had a much easier pace and that proved to be a good thing. We hit much bigger patches of black ice and I had to walk for just a stretch until the road was back under my shoes.
Jeffry - Thank you for the company on the run. Made it very easy and was a great time.
Tabitha - Thank you for inviting me to this madness. Learning a few things.
Everyone else - Thank you for humbling me and showing me how it's done. It's a blast!
Day 20 -
RAN 3.38 MI ON 12/20/13
DISTANCE
3.38mi
DURATION
37:07
AVG PACE
10:59
KCAL
811
Day 21 -
RAN 3.02 MI ON 12/21/13
DISTANCE
3.02mi
DURATION
34:40
AVG PACE
11:29
KCAL
733
