I left for Macon, Ga Friday afternoon after work to visit my girlfriend and to do some hill training and get some elevation change. I visited once before last summer, but I didn't get a chance to run as much due to fear of hurting myself and procrastination of the hills. I've been running the Savannah Talmadge bridge once a week for about a month now and it wasn't enough hill training, I was also going to the gym and doing hill climbs on the treadmill, but nothing is better than running outside and feeling the weather and wind against your body. I have to say just from driving around Friday afternoon in Macon I was intimidated by some the hills, which are more like slopes going up and down different roads. These were the only hills I have ever experienced, due to the fact I live in Savannah, Ga on an Island to where the elevation gain of my runs go from 4ft to sometimes 20ft according to my Garmin. The last 2 runs I have done started at 400ft and gained 740-760ft. (You can check my last 2 runs of 13.1 miles at the link I'll provide at the bottom of this blog.) The feel of running up and down hills and roads that continue to keep going up and up is such a different feeling. It's more of a challenge to oneself to make it to the top without quitting. I will be honest and say it was a challenge for sure, There were moments indeed where I felt like I couldn't go anymore. On Saturday I ran 13.15 miles from my girlfriends apartment to downtown Macon around downtown and back. It was a great site, I've heard from many runners especially marathoners that the best way to see a new city is to run it. This is very true, you have a new territory to explore and just by thinking that I kept myself going, because you never knew what was around the corner. I found hills that were very steep and just decided to turn off route and charge up them. I found a beautiful cathedral that was on top of High Street and it was indeed a "High" street. I saw the entire cathedral from the downtown area so decided to make that my destination.
After running for almost an hour and half I was getting pretty beat from using my energy to charge up random spots downtown. I had assumed I hadn't fueled properly and the fact that my Camelbak was almost empty and the water in it was extremely to warm to drink. It was making me more sick feeling trying to hydrate with hot water. (The body absorbs cold water faster and also produces a slight physiological cooling effect rather than drinking warm water.) I decided to pause my workout and walk a little downtown to try and find somewhere to get a cold bottle of Gatorade and water. This weekend in Macon was also the annual cherry blossom festival so downtown was packed with people and a lot of closed roads. It was hard trying to find my way around due to I was pretty much a tourist to this place and all the vendors at the festival were serving sodas and tea and the lines were to long to stand and wait. I decided after leaving the festival grounds if I find a main road there is bound to be a gas station or cafe close, well I was wrong! I had to stop and ask a police officer where I could get something to drink and he pointed me back to the festival and said there a lot of vendors serving sodas. I just said "thanks" and jogged back towards downtown when on the way I spotted a Greek flag hanging outside a cafe. I just saw the flag and thought it was a sign, joking with myself I figured why not go some Greeks and have them serve me some water and electrolytes. After buying a bottle of water and Sunny D I took my last Honey Stinger energy gel and started back home. It was very eventful run and I got to see a city that I've always heard isn't the greatest, But I enjoyed what it had to offer. Great hill climbs, nice trails, and beautiful scenery. Something different from my ordinary.
The next day, Sunday, I decided to go for a trail run since the 50 mile endurance challenge I'll be doing is going to be on trails and I need the training. Luckily there was a 7 mile trail 3 miles from the apartments I was staying, So a 3 mile warm up would've been perfect. I ended up passing the turn for the road the trail was on, Thanks to my running "high". I ended up going 1.5 miles out of my way before telling myself "I think I may have passed it?" I turned around and started running back at slow conserved pace so I would have energy for the trails. I finally found the road and the warm up ended up being 6 miles. I got to the entrance of the trail and stared up my camera so I could video tape the trail run and look back at it one day. This trail was very nice had a lot of climbs and vertical sections as well as downhill sections. I ran 5 miles of the trail and then popped back out on the road where I would run back home. I went out for an easy 10 and ended up doing another 13.11 miles. I feel great due to the fact I ran 2 half marathons in 2 days and at elevations I was not used to. If anything I have gained strength from these runs, which I know I have. The hills I experienced this weekend are nothing compared to what I will be running in October, but I am confident in my training and I will continue to run hills and do a lot of hill work at the gym until the weekend of the race. I am going for an easy 6 mile recovery this afternoon in Macon and will return to Savannah Tuesday to rest and then continue my training on Wed.
This is the results and map of Saturdays run- Saturday Long run in Macon
This is the results and map of Sundays run- Sunday Long run in Macon (pig Trails)
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