Saturday, September 17, 2011

Tour du Tailgates

It's nearly fall in my college town, leaves are turning, temperatures are dropping, and there is excitement in the air. That can only mean one thing....long runs!! OK, Hokie football and long runs. We are home to Virginia Tech and it's a crazy football town. I love soaking up the energy but I have no desire (or patience) to stand around at a tailgate, drink all day, eat bad food, and sit around rabid (drunk) fans at the game. But I do love to run through it all!

Today I had a super easy 9-miler, with Coach looking to strike a balance between recovery from last week's half-IM and prep for the Richmond Marathon which is in 55 days (egad, I'm sorry I looked that up).  He set an upper limit for my heart rate and clearly stated I was to stay below at all times. I took advantage of this laid-back run to snap some pics. I ran at 9 am and the game is not until 4 pm though so only the hard-core folks were out already!

Part of one of the RV areas
a Marching Virginian heading to warm ups



One big advantage to running during football season is that there are pretty much porta-loos everywhere! I took advantage of one of these today. Nice!

I'm super happy that my tendonitis didn't flare up today. With the nice relaxed (slow) pace I hit, I felt like I could run for ever; the photography stops probably helped! It's not easy for me to back off on a run but it makes it a very different experience-- more like touring. Maybe I'm turning a corner and maturing as an athlete, realizing that not every run needs to be a test of mental fortitude. Nah!!!  The real explanation is that I know my best chance to run a happy healthy marathon is to stick closely to Coach's plan.

While all the crazy fans are off at the game, I'll be happily at home, hosting a sleepover for two of the boys' friends. Suits me just fine!

(I did not take this picture)