I was scheduled to do 12 miles last weekend - but was feeling pretty worn out from a week of traveling. Jill was running a race the next day, so she was only doing the first part of the run. The stars had aligned for me to blow off the long run! Hey, it was a taper week, I'm supposed to be taking it easy! Plan for the day was to head out for half of the run and then turn back on my own.
Saturday morning rolled around and we met up with the Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA). This group has all sorts of programs and trainings available for runners of all levels. I found the group that was going to be running a 10:30 pace, and after some inspirational words and tips from the group's leader - we were all off on our way.
First, the trail we were on was part of the forest reserve system in Chicago (Cook Country, if we're being technical here). There are a bunch of these park areas that basically natural plots of land all around the city. There are multiple trails all marked with different colors that runners, walkers, bikers, etc can enjoy. (there is some foreshadowing in this paragraph)
The group I was with consisted of about 8 runners who had been training together for the Chicago Marathon, like my cousin. Some were first time runners, some had completed many races, but everyone was bound by a common goal. After a mile or two, I noticed one of the runners had a "2009 Chicago Marathon" shirt on. I asked him if he did that race, as that was the year I participated in the race. We got to talking and before I knew it, we were at the 5 mile mark. I had planned on turning around after about 3 miles, but lost track of time. I wished everyone good luck on their race in 2 weeks and turned around, making my way back to the start (sort of).
Running on a trail is great, because it's quiet and you don't have to watch for cars. What isn't so great is that it can all look alike. I came to a fork in the path and decided to make a right. Seemed reasonable. I thought the markings were for a path I was on. Onward! After a while, I found myself trying to convince myself that I was on the right trail and everything looked familiar. It didn't. The big tip off was when I came to a sign that said "end of trail". Uh, oh.I was out on a train I had never been on, with no water, and no idea where I needed to go. I slowed down, and tried to sort out where I was. Luckily - not to far into my jog back from the dead-end, I found a map. I was able to confirm I went in the complete opposite direction from where I needed to be. After sorting out my path, still not 100% sure and still without water, I took it easy and made my way back onto the correct trail, eventually finding the water station which confirmed I was back on track. Right behind me arrived the group I was running with initially, and I was greeted with questions of "what happened?!" and "did you take a nap or something?". I told them to story of getting lost, and joined them for the last part of the run.
It ended up being a great run, and running with a group really pushed me to keep up my pace the whole time. It was like having runner peer pressure. There was no way I was going to be the guy who started walking! Now, if you're not feeling great - it's perfectly fine and advisable to slow down - but a lot of the time, it's laziness that slows me down. I did my first marathon training with a group from Team in Training, and after last Saturday's adventure in the woods, I remembered how much fun it was to run with a group and how a group can really push you to do your best.
Moral of the story - don't blow off long runs. 1. It's only going to hurt you on race day and 2. Karma will catch up with you and ensure you make a wrong turn.
Drive slow
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