Vacation Exercise

George and I have returned from a surprisingly active vacation in Winston-Salem! On Saturday, I got up early and hit the hotel fitness center's treadmill and ended up running 10.31 miles in 2:28:09, a 14:21 pace. For me, that's pretty good! I did more running than walking, instead of doing my usual walk 1/run 1 minute for long runs, because I was in a hurry to finish the 10 miles on my marathon training schedule. I ended up overshooting the 10 miles because I ended up doing the running in segments. (First I had to make a pit stop, then the treadmill would only go 65 minutes, then my paper training log slid off the ledge on the treadmill and got caught in the little red "stop" cord, which made the treadmill stop after 4 minutes and change, stuff like that.)

After that, my legs were pretty tired, but George and I set off for Pilot Mountain State Park. There, we started down an easy path with several scenic overlooks (and chances to rest!). When we came upon a sign for another trail, a "moderate" 0.8 mile loop, George was eager, so I agreed. On THAT trail, we came across yet another trail sign that marked a 2-mile "strenuous" trail. George was beside himself to do it, saying he wanted some strenuous exercise like I'd already had, and he wanted me to come along. I balked in a major way, but finally agreed to go along. Boy, was it strenuous! I thought I was in decent shape, but learned a lot about my legs and 10-mile runs followed by hiking. I was pretty uncomfortable by the end of the hike, and was thankful for an offer of water from another hiker along the trail. I was glad to make it to the end, and learned something about my mental as well as physical stamina.

I didn't get up early to exercise yesterday morning, but George and I visited Old Salem in Winston-Salem yesterday afternoon, and though it entailed more walking, it was informative and delightful, really. My legs and whole body were still tired from Saturday, but I'm glad I did it.

This morning, still in Winston-Salem, I got up early and headed out for a run, but my legs just didn't have it in them. I tried several times to get going, but it just wasn't in the cards. I ended up walking 2.54 miles in 50 minutes around part of the Wake Forest University campus. I'll try running again tomorrow.