Early bird gets the… sunrise
Well, it was a weekend full of sunrises.
This weekend felt like a perfect cap to what felt like a good, solid week of running. Ever have those weeks? They’re the best! I didn’t have any major struggle days, and I feel like I’m starting to get more comfortable in the heat an humidity. I know it’s going to get much worse, but for now, I’m enjoying it!
Saturday morning started with a very early hike up Stone Mountain with the Trail Sisters Atlanta group. It was my first time joining them for any events, and I’m so glad I did! It was fun to meet some new people and to have some accountability for actually getting out of bed that early! Every time I plan an early morning thing, I always dread the early wake up, 4:30am always punches me right in the face. But it’s ALWAYS worth it.
Every single time. And Saturday was no different.
We met in the dark at the base of the mountain and hiked up together (while maintaining responsible social distancing of course). We arrived at the summit just in time to watch the sunrise, which was so pretty on such a lovely clear morning. The low clouds settling between the hills gave a really cool effect in addition to watching the sun peek up over the horizon and turn the sky pretty pinks and oranges. There’s just something cool about waking up and having already hiked up a mountain before the sun is in the sky.
We hung out on the summit for a bit, chatted, enjoyed the views, and I ate my breakfast (a tortilla with rice and avocado). Mmm…. :)
After hiking down, Allison (the reigning Georgia Loop Queen) and I ran around the base of the mountain on the Cherokee trail. I’ve never been on that trail, and it was so nice! We had really fun time running and chatting and soaking in the day. I ended up turning it into my long run day (20 miles) and was so surprised that I actually felt really good the whole time.
I experimented some more with the Roctane situation, and put some in a separate flask from my water. Turns out, that was the key! It worked. I felt strong, not overwhelmingly thirsty, and when I sprinkled in some Sport Beans here and there, it made for great run!
Sunday was a different day and a different sunrise. It was Father’s Day, obvi, so Tim, Harper and I got up early (again) and drove to Kennesaw Mountain. We wanted a sunrise hike to celebrate the day, and they had never been to Kennesaw so it was the perfect in-town spot! We were running a little late, so we had to kinda book it the one mile up to the top, at least as fast as 8 year old legs can book it up a mile-long steep climb. Full disclosure, I always struggle with not slipping into “ultrarunner mode” and have to remember it’s not a race. I’m not racing an 8 year old. She did great, and we made it just in time! It was a beautiful morning, and such a fun way to spend time celebrating a great dad. :)
Afterwards, we came home and had bloody’s, because what holiday or any plain ol’ regular Sunday, is complete without bloody mary’s? They were amazing as usual, and really put the cherry (albeit spicy) on top of our morning.
Side note: Congrats to everyone who ran the inaugural Mid-State Mile this weekend put on by one of my favorite trail ladies, Becca Jones (no relation). She put on a five-star event as her debut into race directing, and the videos and stories coming from the weekend are incredibly inspiring. Look it up on the Facebook page and save some of those feels for your own tough moments out on the trail.
I hope everyone had a great week and cheers to a new week of running and training hard!
