Two days after running 20 miles on the mountain trails with Paul, I am running with Margaret! I am absolutely thrilled that she has agreed to meet with me for a run! She is an experienced ultra runner and has run several ultra races including some 100 mile races and in several states. I am extremely humbled that she would even agree to run with a "newbie" such as myself. I am also a little nervous about my speed in comparison to hers because I never want to slow anyone else down, but also I am excited as I know I'll get a great run in today and will enjoy trying hard to keep up.
It doesn't take long to realize that I am breathing hard. I cannot stand that it takes me 2-4 miles for that heavy breathing to quit. It's not bothersome as I don't think it hinders my ability to run. I just don't like the sound as it makes me think I am out of shape! However, I notice as we are climbing some hills that I cannot even hear Margaret breathing and worry a bit that I am holding her back. She assures me that she is not worried about pace and that she needs to get some climbs in. I am also surprised at myself that I feel as good as I do for having run as much as I have in the last 10 days including 2 long trail runs prior to today. I'm really feeling pushed to run as much as I can in March to make up for the training time I lost in Feb. due to my minor injury and little pains.
Running with Margaret was very good for me. She shared a lot of her running stories and experiences as well as her training. I was truly impressed and in awe! I asked her as many burning questions that I could think of and truly felt privileged that she was so willing to answer my questions which really helped a lot! She really gave me some great advice!
When we get up to Springer Mountain there are some hikers sitting there. It's also very buggy, and I am being eaten alive! I eat my PB&J and Margaret has a snack. A hiker is showing me a map of the BMT. He makes some sort of comment about us "jogging". I cringe as I do not like being called a jogger. I am a runner! However, I am not about to correct him, but I have a feeling that his comment is probably not going to set well with Margaret! LOL I am laughing to myself about this because in my mind, only NON-runners will call running "jogging". Sure enough, Margaret corrects the poor hiker and informs him that this is called "trail running"!
We run down hill and Margaret is pacing. She is hopping across those rocks like they are nothing! My downhill pace is not that much better than my uphill pace..LOL I am too cautious on the downhill. My upper body works really hard to "hold me back" on the downhill. I need to learn to just let go.
We run to the Hike Inn, and she is kind enough to show me around the place. The Hike Inn is fabulous! They accept donations for their yummy treats! I just eat my own snack there because wouldn't you know that I left my spare cash on the kitchen counter top and my sweet husband thought it was community property and took my cash that morning! Ha! Anyways, even though I KNEW I'd be back, I didn't feel right about accepting their snacks without a donation. We hang out at the Hike Inn briefly and resume our run.
The leaves are not fully bloomed and it's getting hot, but I am ok because I am cold natured and prefer heat over cold. However, Margaret says she is pretty hot because she hasn't had a chance to acclimate to the heat. The winter turned to Spring, and it got hot fast and far above normal average temperatures for this time of year . I can relate to how she must feel because I go through this every winter. When the humidity and heat die down, I really suffer in the winter both mentally and physically. It takes me a long time to adjust to the cold. Once I am dressed in a few layers and have run the first 1/2 mile, than I am ok. But, GEEZ do I hate running bundled up!
Before I know it, the run has ended. We ran 16.3 miles under 4.5 hours, and that's my fastest average pace to date for this trail. I feel really good and wish that we could have gone farther. But, I am always wishing to run farther when the run has ended! When I get into my car, I am surprised to see that the thermometer says 80 degrees! I make a mental note that this is just good training for my upcoming Jewel 50k race as it will likely be hot that day too.
It was a great run, and I so enjoyed Margaret's company and her time to drive up to run with me. It was truly a thrill for me to have this opportunity, and I am happy that she says she will run again with me sometime! YAY!
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