Summer Weather Has Arrived

The time of year has arrived when every run is timed and logged, but the time of every run is irrelevant. Summer has descended on east Tennessee, or at least the warm, humid weather that defines summer. Since I don't adapt well to exercising in heat and humidity, my outdoor running season is usually over by late June. This year I have a goal of extending my outdoor season through July or maybe later. As a result, I will probably not sign up for summer races. Instead, I will find my challenge in the process of running itself.

I haven't been writing about running recently. With an all purpose blog and limited time to write, I have been busy living and documenting birthdays and family times, events that I will treasure in the coming years. That said, I am out there about 3-4 times a week, logging in 3-5 miles with each run and I had a great 6-mile run today!

Today's run was originally planned as a 4-miler but after reviewing my running log last night, I realized that my last 6 miler was April 9th and I began wondering if I could still do 6 miles. Physically I wasn't worried, but I wasn't so sure about the mental aspect. My mind seems to be going soft on uncomfortable exercise and has started to toss in negative thoughts.

Nevertheless, I woke up focused on running this morning. Ate breakfast early, worked a little on the computer and was out on Cherokee Blvd with iPod plugged into one ear, by 9:30 A. The first loop (3 miles) went well. I kept telling my self "slow and easy" and the negative thoughts stayed away. A little over halfway into the first loop, I looked up and saw a familiar figure running toward me. Kim was getting in her morning run too. We exchanged greetings but both of us were focused on our efforts and we didn't stop to talk. Being the gracious person she always is, she shouted some compliments and encouragement, then she blew by me! (Happy Birthday Kim!!)

I kept her mostly in sight and continued to run. The sun felt intense on my back but the shade from an occasional tree and a slight breeze kept me relatively comfortable. Finally the end of the 1st loop was visible. Kim peeled off at the parking lot, she appeared to be in a hurry. I, on the other hand, circled around the grassy median and headed back for another 3 mile loop to complete a fine 6 mile run. The time was a painfully slow 1.14.16, a blistering 12.36 mmp. The second 3 mile loop felt much slower than the 1st but as I said in the first paragraph, time is irrelevant for me this time of year. Since my goal is to just keep running, I am pretty pleased with my efforts this morning!

The holiday weekend is almost here so Happy Memorial Day to all and be safe! John and I are talking about spending part of the weekend backpacking with Will, Kim and others but the electron microscope in John's lab went *kaboom@# and he is feeling much stress to get it fixed quickly. Friday's success on the microscope repair will determine if we backpack or if John will spend Memorial Day in the lab.

Congratulations Graduate!!

Friday was graduation day for John's younger son, Lee. It was a very proud day for John and also just a bit sad, the last 18 years went a little too fast for him. The following pictures speak for themselves. Congratulations Lee!

Happy Birthday Mother!

Celebration season is underway in our household. It kicked off with Mother's Day and quickly morphed into Mother's birthday. My birthday is only 12 days away , followed by Leslie's birthday five days later. Then, of course, we have Father's Day, the parents' 63rd wedding anniversary and Carol's birthday. By the time the celebrations have concluded, I have generally gained 5-6 pounds and developed a sweet tooth that takes a month to get under control...the downside of celebrating.

So with all of that said, Happy Birthday Mother! Auntie Sue and Uncle Joe showed up on Tuesday to participate in the food fest and fun, they left this morning. Below are a few photos from our celebration yesterday, a day early cause everyone was off work.

Daddy opening the yummy "Eva's to Go" caramel cake!! Thank you Eva, where ever you are, the caramel cake is incredible.

Auntie Sue and Carol. Taking a photo into the bright light makes for a dark photo.

Auntie Sue and Uncle Joe

Uncle Joe and me

Leslie and Carol

Happy Mother's Day!

We had a nice family celebration on Mother's Day including Mother's favorite lunch of Kentucky Fried Chicken takeout and a nice caramel cake from Eva's to Go. Lots of running needed to work off this meal.

Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful Mother! Below are a couple of pictures, more are posted in my Smithposts Gallery.

Haiti Run for Health 4 Mile Race Report

It's over, the 2008 Haiti Run for Health 4 Miler is in the books. I placed 3rd in my age group! I don't want to diminish my accomplishment by saying that there were only 4 women in my age group, but, there 4 women in my age group. Number 4 must have walked a lot because she came in some 6 minutes behind me. That's okay, my 3rd place finish netted the fine coffee mug in the first photo below.

I arrived in Oak Ridge about 7:20 AM, Saturday morning and followed the big orange cones around the race route to the start-finish line. Not much activity but I noticed a couple of people setting up folding tables so I stood around for a few moments and watched racers warm up along the turnpike. In a duh moment, I decided to actually read the race menu and discovered the bib pick-up was in the basement of the Catholic Church across the street. I jogged to the church, picked up my bib, stood in line for the bathroom and returned to the start line.

As I waited with the other runners for the start gun (actually shout), I ran into Shirley who worked beside me at the Covenant Health Expo in March. We chatted for a few moments about her finish in the Knoxville Marathon and Boston Marathon then I moved toward the back of the group. About 20 walkers for the 2.5-mile course were behind me so I wouldn't be the last on the course.

The start "shout" occurred almost on time. This was not a chipped course and I noted it took me about 7 seconds to cross the start line. Remember I said I was in the back of the runners pack, there were only 82 runners in this race!

The first mile went well. On my training runs this week, I payed close attention to my breathing and this race pace breathing felt about the same, a little rapid but still comfortable. As I crossed the mile marker, I looked at my watch and couldn't believe it read 9:44 minutes. WTF? Too fast for me to maintain with my current level of training, I slowed the pace a bit.

The first water stop appeared shortly after mile 1. The course was a double loop and I knew I would pass this stop again, but the temperature was warming up quickly and my body was heating up even faster so I slowed and grabbed a cup. The cold water was refreshing and I happily wasted a second or two aiming the empty cup into one of the laundry baskets on the street, strategically placed for garbage. The second mile clicked off in a more reasonable 11:13 minutes.

Mile 3 included a little hill. At this point that I looked around and realized I was running next to a runner-walker (R-W). As I ran up the hill, I passed the R-W who was walking. She flew by me on the downhill, she was an incredibly fast runner. I slowed for water as we looped around the bottom section of the course again, the R-W slowed for water too and I passed her. At this point I was getting pretty hot. I tucked my short sleeves under my sports bra straps and tried not to listen to my mind, which kept telling me to walk. I don't remember what my 3 mile pace was.

The R-W was still close as we started the 4th and final mile. I was counting at this point and knew I had only 600 or so steps to the finish. I realized I was going to finish the race running and attempted to pass the R-W just before she took off in a sprint. There was no catching up. I finished in 43.15 minutes by my watch, 43.21 official time.

John usually acts as my support team and race photographer and we don't stick around for the post race festivities. Since he was getting in a bicycle workout instead of attending the race, I decided to take the opportunity to grab a snack and watch the awards. Imagine my surprise when I received an award for coming in 3rd in my age group. Second in my age group? The R-W. I talked to her after the awards and she told me she was a sprinter; she could not keep up the pace in an all out run.

All in all, this was a very good experience and I will consider signing up again next year. Many thanks to the volunteers from the Oak Ridge Track Club, who worked so hard. Everyone was encouraging and friendly and the race was well run.

John and I closed the evening with a wonderful dinner "in the country" with friends. A very pleasant evening indeed.

Pictures from the race are below:

Picture hijacked from the Oak Ridge Track Club's photo page. I am almost directly behind the guy front in the cap (next to the lady in the gray shirt who came in second)

Picture from the Oak Ridge Track Club webpage again. I am a couple of people to the right of the girl in the orange shirt and white shorts.

Start-finish line

Really bad sweaty post race self photo!

Did I Really Sign Up to Come in Last?

I have been having some running related motivation issues over the past several weeks so I decided to sign up for a race in effort to force my legs out the door. After looking at my calendar and available area runs, I selected the 4-Mile Annual Haiti Run for Health and stuffed my registration form in the mail box. The cause is good and the mileage is different for me.

Here is an interesting point. Participation in this race has been dropping over the past few years. Last year the total number of registrants was 74. Based on LY race results, it is probable that I will come in last. So the question is, when the gun goes off at 8:00 AM next Saturday, can I run fast enough to come in 2nd to last? What a goal!

This is my running week in review so far (yikes!). I quit early on Friday's run. Started feeling funny, it didn't go away so I decided to stop. Feel fine today...go figure.

Tuesday
2.1 miles outside, 23.36 minutes, 11.12 mmp (hills)

Thursday
4.0 miles treadmill, 43.30 minutes, 10.83 mmp :-)
Strength training 35 minutes

Friday
3.5 miles outside, 41.22 minutes, 11.77 mmp (hills)

In my non-running life, Daddy and I planted a pot garden on his patio this week. Besides a couple of tropical flowering plants, we potted a couple of tomato plants. I also planted my pot garden, which includes sweet basil, spicy basil, cilantro, thyme, Italian parsley, 3 heirloom tomatoes and one regular. I also have mint and sage that come up in their pots year after year. Below are a few pictures of Daddy's plants.

Spring flowers are coming to an end in my gardens. Below are some of the last things to bloom until the daylilies burst on the scene in a couple of weeks.

Jack in the Pulpit

Iris

Blue Columbine

Prom Night!

Saturday night was prom night for South Doyle High School. John's son, Lee, was suited up and ready to go. We don't often see him dressed up so this was a real shutter opp for John!

Running Downtown

Another beautiful day in Knoxville. The decision to run this morning was easy, but I really didn't want to run hills so my best option was to head downtown and run riverside on Neyland Drive. Neyland Drive is a mostly flat 5-mile out and back with a couple of options to add mileage. I varied the route and came up with a nice 5.5 mile run.

Henley Street Bridge and the Tennessee River

Knoxville Riverfront. The Three Rivers Ramble red caboose is visible on the right . Neyland Stadium, home of the University of Tennessee Volunteers is in the middle of the photo. Behind the stadium, barely visible on the left, is the arena and home to Tennessee's winning Ladies and Men's Basketball teams.

The Canadian Geese are back. Before long the geese and their babies will be stopping traffic on Neyland Drive as they cross the road from one feeding ground to another.

I have a nice variety of wildflowers in bloom in my garden. Above is the Foam Flower and the Dwarf Crested Iris (Tennessee State flower). Unfortunately, dandelions are in full bloom too.

Variegated Solomon Seal

Dwarf Crested Iris

Tuesday Workout
Run: 5.5 miles, 63 minutes, 11.45 mmp
Strength Training: 30 minutes

Maude's Crack and No Business Backpack

We had a great backpack! In spite of Saturday's early rain and gloom, the weather front had moved out and the sun was shining by the time we hit the trail. The temperature remained very comfortable for the entire trip.

The trailhead was located somewhere in the maze of gravel forest roads that wind deep into the Big South Fork. We started hiking near Terry Cemetery on a relatively flat trail along the Big South Fork plateau.

At the trailhead. From left, Kim, John, Ed and Steve.

Me, starting down Maude's Crack

Within the first mile, we hit Maude's Crack, our passageway down to No Business valley. Many mountain landmarks are named by (for) past residents and Maude's Crack is no exception. The generally accepted story is that the crack was named for Minnie Maude Roysdon who, after her house burned down, used the crack to travel between her homestead and the temporary rock shelter that she and her husband lived in during reconstruction.

A recent Knoxville News Sentinel article by Morgan Simmons, says "being in Maude's Crack is not unlike being in a cave. The footing is muddy and slick, and the gradient is nearly vertical." Boy, amen to that! The opening in the rock formation was barely wide enough for us to get through wearing our internal frame packs. We absolutely could not turn sideways. Steve, who was shouldering an external frame pack, had to carry it in his hands because the frame was too wide.

I put my camera over my shoulder and took this picture of John. You can barely see the light behind him where the crack begins.

Will (in front) and Kim preparing to exit out of the crack. I, for one, was really happy to be out!

We continued on the trail for a while and finally stopped on the river banks of the Big South Fork River to enjoy lunch amidst the wildflowers.

Kim and Will enjoying lunch

Giant Yellow Trillium

Woodland Violet

My favorite flower is the violet. As a child I use to make bouquets from violets in the yard. These days, I wait as long as possible before spring mowing so I can enjoy the rich purple blooms (yes, I have a yard full of violets).

This is a piece of foundation from one of the homesteads that once dotted the No Business Creek community. The rugged mountain community consisted of a homes, a small store and a post office. Mail was delivered by a postman on horse back. The name of the community is rumored to come from the often heard comment "we have No Business being down here."

Steve headed up the trail (actually he is turned around looking backward), We have just crossed No Business Creek for the 3rd or 4th time.

John and me in camp, under the tarp. At 4:00 PM, just as we pitched our tents and set up the tarp, it started raining again. It rained for a while then quit before bedtime. We stayed nice and dry.
Our tent along No Business Creek. We were camped just on the other side of another home site in the No Business Creek Community.

Sunday morning, John made a fine breakfast of sweet potato pancakes and bacon. The bacon was the precooked variety so we has no refrigeration issues. Yummy!

Our hike out included a stop at the Boyette homestead. The Boyette home was the last one in valley and on one of the nicest tracts of land in the community.

Ed sitting on the Boyette homestead foundation. Rocks from the foundation, pieces of rock wall and the incredible chimney are the only remnants of a life once lived here.

Ahhhh!

Trail to the Boyette homestead

Additional photos are located here: http://smithposts.smugmug.com/gallery/4763353_PTkUZ#282420521_qYSoi

and here: http://picasaweb.google.com/theskeltonview/NoBusinessCreekBackpackApril19202008