Sunday, June 7, 2009

"Train"ing Run and other stuff

Signing up for 11.3 miles at today's "Train"ing Run may not have been the smartest idea, given the fact that the last time I ran more than 5 miles was 3 weeks ago, and that's when I injured my foot. But I'd had 4 painless runs this week (instead of keeping my runs to 4 days a week according to this post, I felt like I had to keep testing my feet to see if they were really painless, so I ran 5 miles on Thursday and 3 miles on Friday, bringing the total to 5 days this week). Besides, this was a non-competitive event, and I could always drop off "the train".

The entire towpath is 34.1 miles and 2 runners were actually running the entire distance twice, once in each direction, starting at 10 pm Friday night. 68.2 miles!

Saturday morning, I took the bus at Johnson Park with a few others to Amwell Road Station and waited for the rest of the "train" to join us from the other stations. I started at 9:08 am and joined the 9:30 pace group, not wanting to push myself; I got to run with a few others and we ambled along slowly, talking about everything under the sun. The emphasis was more on having fun. The goal was for everyone to reach the park at the same time, at 11 am. Everyone ended up doing their own thing, though, and I fell back with a few others toward the end, reaching a little after 11 (the important thing is, my feet did not hurt at all. Yay!). The picnic was fun; I met a lot of new people and felt lucky to be part of this diverse group. When the picnic was in full swing, with the delicious smell of burgers and sausages in the air, the 68-mile runners arrived, and we all gave them a rousing applause. They had run through the night (it was pouring for most of the night) and were finally home. The event was very well-organized and we all had a blast.

Later, taking advantage of the lovely weather, DH and I played volleyball with a few friends. It has been ages since I've played volleyball and we left with reddish, swollen and sore arms. Our friends stayed for dinner and I cooked up french onion soup (with vegetable broth, instead of beef broth) and 3-bean stew, a modified version of hearty 4-bean stew.

Simple fare, but deserves mention, considering how long it's been since I've flaunted my culinary creations.
Thankfully, the pleasant weather lasted through the weekend, so I went for a little swim at the community pool this afternoon (I've been spoiled by the heated pool at the gym and the cold water sent a shiver through me...but it was so much better to be gazing at the sky, trees and birds as opposed to the blank white ceiling), then sat out on the patio till dark, with my book Fires in the Dark (spectacular read, by the way; I will post a review as soon as I can get to it). It's going to be another rainy week, but I'll gladly take it, as long as I get a few more beautiful, sunny weekends like this.
Have a great week!

19 comments:

Heather C said...

Thats a fun idea! meeting up and foood after a run?? Good stuff :)

and Wow, way to bust out that distance, that's awesome!

Lindsay said...

sounds like a fun run and group atmosphere always helps. hope the foot is still feeling ok after the jump in mileage!

Marlene said...

That sounds like such a fun event and YAY for no pain!

chris mcpeake said...

got to love the bean stew .. yummy.
looks like your feet are getting back to normal. congrats on the run

Mel-2nd Chances said...

glad your foot has been cooperating, great job!! 68 miles! I can't even fathom that :)

Aileen said...

Good work on the miles, and more importantly, yay for your foot not hurting!

And now I'm hungry...

Tammy said...

Sounds like a very fun way to spend the day!

Great job on the distance!

X-Country2 said...

I need to plan feasts like that after all my physical activities! Yum.

Cindy said...

sounds like a cool run! and i love love french onion soup. i always smell like onions for a day after making it, but it's worth it.

Amy said...

Oh that sounds like fun!

(loooove volleyball. My arms get sore, too, after not playing for awhile!)

J said...

Sounds like a super fun time! Great job on the run and I am glad you didnt have any pain! i can't believe those runners ran 68 miles! That is a long way!

Heather said...

Fun weekend - glad you were able to have a pain free run!

Unknown said...

Great job with the run! Glad to hear that the foot has been pain free for you. That really does sound like a great event, especially since everyone can choose their own distances.

Irene said...

I'm glad your feet didn't hurt! It makes all the difference!

Abby said...

What a cool way to stage a race/training run! Sounds like you've got a great community of runners up there.

Erica said...

That run sounds like a lot of fun- glad you made it through with no pain! Very exciting. Great looking stew too- hearty and warming :)

Aron said...

ohhh that sounds like a lot of fun! and yay no pain!

Beth said...

Yahoo for no foot pain, good company and good food. Sounds like a lot of fun!

Felice Devine said...

Yay -- glad you foot didn't hurt! It sounds like a really fun event. And the food looks gooooooood!