Observations and questions from a day on the run...

I spent a lot of time driving today.  I had business meetings in Pigeon Forge and Townsend and scheduled them specifically on the same day so I could just get through them all at once.  So, I spent a lot of time in the car...
I discovered that the Knife Museum in Sevierville is really, really busy.  I have no idea why.  What is the importance and significance of a Knife Museum.  Are knives really that popular???
Traffic going to Pigeon Forge is crazy.  Just crazy.  If you plan to visit, plan some extra time for traffic.  Does anyone work?  Are all of those folks on vacation?
I couldn't find a drive through Starbucks in Pigeon Forge.  There could have been one but I could not find it.  In a touristy place like PF, there should be 2 or 3 drive through Starbucks.  Luckily, I found a fabulous little coffee shop in Townsend at Trillium Cove to serve up a Latte with sugar free Vanilla Syrup (don't make fun...I hate coffee and this is the only way I can drink it).
I took Wears Valley Road from PF to Townsend.  Why is it that a guy passed me on a double yellow line when I was driving 45 (the speed limit) only to get behind the other 5 cars in front of us?  He didn't pass anyone else.  I wonder if my running sticker was offensive?   And, why did the guy in the SUV in front of me feel the need to pass a car in a blind curve only to get behind 3 other cars?  Why would someone do that?  Where did they think they were going?  Just wondering.
There are a LOT of motorcycles heading to and from the mountains.  I hope they are all careful on The Dragon.
There were a LOT of Mazda Miata's (spelling?) heading to and from the mountains.  A lot.  Really.
Alcoa Highway heading back to K-town was soooo busy.  Where is everyone going?
The meetings were fantastic and I got a lot accomplished today.  Now, on to the next event tonight.  Maybe I will see some fun things there. :)

Battling the Heat - who is winning?

As most all of my friends and family know, I have been battling issues with my hip and glutes since April.  This week, I felt like I turned a corner and have had great turns.  I started wearing my power steps again which seemingly were making all the difference in the world.  That is why I didn't think an 8 mile run was out of reach.
Alas, I forgot about the heat and humidity.  Although I drank a ton of water and sports drink yesterday, it wasn't enough.  Silly summer.
Our run started at 7 am and the temperature reading from the car was 76 degrees.  There was fog and no sun.  Perfect.
Early into the run, I was out of breath and struggling a bit.  By 3.75, my hip was sore so we stopped so I could stretch.  Every run this week had been good so what was up this morning?  We stopped for water around 4 to 4.5 miles and went on.  By the 6th mile, I realized my problem.  I was super dehydrated.  My head hurt, I didn't have a lot of saliva (admittedly, I am a spitter when I run so no saliva is rare), and my hip was still sore.  We decided to make the run only 7 miles.
Whew.  7.1 miles officially on the books.  In late March, I was running 20 miles with no problems and having the best time ever.  Now, I am super pumped about my 7.1 miles.
Today's lesson?  No one is immune to the heat.  I make a conscience effort to stay well hydrated, eat right, avoid the heat and humidity, and all the things that go into having good runs.  But today I battled the heat and I think we tied.  I didn't go as far as I wanted but I probably should have set my route so that I could have stopped sooner if need be.  We'll see what happens tomorrow in this war with the heat.
Be careful out there.  No one is immune to the heat and humidity.  Listen to your body and slow the pace or shorten the workout.  I speak from experience about listening to my body and the consequences when you don't which is a whole other post for a later time...
See you on the roads.

Another day in the life!

I have no idea if anyone will ever read this or care but here we go.  I am a wife to an awesome husband, a mother to a beautiful son, a runner, and the Managing Director for the Knoxville Track Club.  I am a certified group exercise instructor and have taught at local gyms since 2002.  I am incredibly lucky.  I've recently come back from vacation where I had a great opportunity to spend time with my husband and my son without the interruptions of daily life.  I have decided to spend less time multi-tasking and working on one thing at a time.  We'll see how that goes for me.  

My job is very challenging but also very satisfying.  I work in an industry in which I can watch people achieve their goals or fall a bit short and then try again.  I meet people everyday who have great stories about running or walking and why they do what they do.  It is awesome.  I am also ultimately responsible for the planning and execution of events and the safety and satisfaction of 1000s each year (close to 7500 last year just counting road races).  Everyone isn't always happy and folks can have a lot to say about the color of shirt or what they ate post race.  I take every comment and suggestion into consideration and I work with great volunteers on the board and committees to make each race better.

That is a little background.  Now, if you have a weak stomach, stop reading and call it a day.

Most everyone knows that I have been having hip and glute problems for the last few months.  I have decided to get serious about rehab and strengthening those muscles so that my running begins improving again.

My plan on Monday was to run in the morning and then go to the gym in the  afternoon with Jackson. I ate a sensible, light lunch and held off on that extra cup of coffee so I would be ready for my afternoon workout.  I picked up Jackson and we ran a couple of errands.  We were done way quicker than expected so I headed home. 

Feeling a little defeated and frustrated that my afternoon workout wasn't going to happen as planned, I started emptying the dishwasher.  Jackson was pushing the racks in and out and I kept asking him to stop it.  After several times of smiling at me and blatantly ignoring my request, I moved to take his hand and get him away from the dishwasher.  When I got his hand, I could smell it.  And then, I could see it....all down his leg...

I grabbed a diaper and wipes and towel and went to the family room to change him when I could see more of it...all over the hardwood floor.  I realized pretty quickly that there was no way to get this diaper off without a volcano of an explosion so we took it to the bathtub.  Gross.  Just gross.  There are no words.  I call it poopapocolypse (say that three times fast!) and this was the worst - ever.

When Jackson was 6 weeks old, we had this type of explosion with our friend Cindi at McMillan's.  The gracious employee at the store allowed us to use an entire roll of paper towels to clean the baby, car seat, and Cindi.  Today was way worse.

The lesson for Monday?  There was obviously a reason why I didn't make it to the gym that afternoon.  I can only imagine how traumatic that would have been for everyone if we had been there.  We would have been totally unprepared.

He had another incident in the bath that night.  Not as bad but needless to say that the tub needed a clorox scrubbing before we could let Jackson in there again.  

Life is funny.  You get curveballs all the time and you wonder why things can't just work out like you wanted them to...I think they work out exactly as planned.  We don't always see the lesson in the moments and sometimes it takes only a few hours to figure them out and sometimes days, months, or even years.  There is always a lesson and I hope I have the patience and wisdom to see them and then pass them on to Jackson.