NOLA Week 4: Whew!

Distance: 15.02 miles
Time: 2 hrs 56 mins 27secs
Route: BAFB Base Trail (starting at the museum this time)
Number of Ninja Rolls: 0

I had to add that little bit in there. No ninjas today! Whew! :) The morning started off pretty chilly: 30 degrees at 6:15am. The difference between today and last week is that there was absolutely no wind. I'll take it! I was pretty pumped for this run. I knew that there would be pain involved because of last week, but I was mentally ready for the run, if not physically.

I started at the museum and was happy that I started where I did. The trail runs along the road, so when it's dark, I don't need to use the LED light that I have. By the time I hit the ALS compound, the was slowly beginning to rise. I forgot how beautiful the sunrises are on base. I went ahead and did my two loops around ALS, so that way I wouldn't have to run the loop on the way back. I knew that I wouldn't want to do it on the way back, so it was kind of a preemptive thing.

I felt pretty good. I hit Cullen Park and shot my first Gu (Mandarin Orange). It had caffeine in it and it was the first time I'd used one with caffeine. I instantly felt the energy, so that was pretty cool. I kept going past Fam Camp and around the bend. I reached the bridge right before the big ugly hill before the shoppette and was happy that I didn't have to go up the hill. The bridge was my turn around! I was still feeling pretty good at this point. I shot another Gu at mile 10 (Vanilla Gingerbread...yum!). I looked down at Mark's Garmin and I couldn't find any of the info. I was so frustrated that I stopped and hit the timer on my watch (very thankful that I had worn it on my other wrist). Unfortunately, this little snafu kind of deflated me and I started to get really tired.

When I made it to the ALS compound, I was immensely grateful that I had already run the loop. My right hip and ankle started to ache pretty good, thanks to the fall from last week. My running buddy, Jenn, is out of commission for the next 2-8 weeks, as she rehabs her knee and hip, so I was on my own. I missed her company and conversation. By this point, I only had about 2.5 miles remaining. I ran along the flightline, and was very happy to hit the static displays. The funny thing is that there was music coming from the flightline (could have been from the airplanes as well), that wafted over to the museum. I heard a bunch of Christmas carols for my last mile in. It was really fun!

All told, it was a very good run. I was mentally in the game, even if I was super tired physically. My body held up pretty well until the 13 mile mark, and even then, it wasn't that bad. Week 4 is done and in the books. On to 16 miles next week!