Running. I have been running and have actually done a few races. I did the Greensboro City Senior Games (I still choke on that word, senior) and managed to pull out 3 first places and 1 second place. I am honored to represent Greensboro at the State Games in September. I will have only 4 days to recover from my 24 hour ultra before my first event in the North Carolina Senior Games. This should be interesting. I am hoping to hit 100 miles in September. Let's hope my legs feel the same way. I also had a girls get away weekend in May for the Running of the Vines 10k in Dobson, NC. I was lucky enough to win first overall female and reconnect with one of my Winston-Salem running friends, Allison. This photo was taken at some point after the race and it embodies what running does for me: friendships and connections. This photo makes me smile every time I see it.
If you follow this blog you know my quest is to run the year with at least 2016 miles in 2016. I signed up with a virtual challenge called Run the Edge 2016 Challenge. For more information, here is the link: www.runtheyear2016.com
I slipped a little behind during my father's illness, but I am catching up! In fact, I achieved this on July 4th:
I have 2 ultra races (Hinson Lake 24 hour & Crooked Road 24 Hour) so I feel confident I will achieve my goal of finishing the 2016 miles in 2016.
I also began one of my bucket list items this past weekend. It will probably take me 10-12 years, but I want to hike the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine.....all 2189.1 miles of it. As of Sunday, I have 2180.5 to go. Dan indulged me and hiked 12.7 miles with me. The section of the AT trail I hiked was only 8.6 miles, but you have to start somewhere! We did not encounter half of the number of hikers I anticipated for a holiday weekend and was blown away by the vistas. We started at the Grayson Highlands Park in SW Virginia. Of course I wore my Lululemon gear to stay cool.
My camera has a timer which has been great on hikes where we encounter no one for hours!
This is the Wise Shelter. I still cannot imagine me camping in one of these, but maybe. Just maybe. I would need a good friend to drag along for THIS adventure.
Speaking of adventures....look what we ran into on the AT Trail! Yup. This is a Longhorn. In the middle of the AT trail. I was petrified it was going to charge us! When it finally meandered off the path, I started running and told Dan that I just had to be faster than him (LOL). I am still not sure he saw the humor in it.
One of the delightful run-ins on the trail was with the horses! We saw at least 2 dozen horses in a number of areas on our hike. Some of them were tame enough to let me pet them. This was fun!
I leave you with my thought for the day by Karim Seddiks:
DOUBT KILLS MORE DREAMS THAN FAILURE
Go dream......and run!!!
