Dress Rehersal, Part Deux

After 19 miles of walking yesterday, I was wondering how much I would have left today to do some more miles. In less than two weeks, I need to have enough left in the tank to do 20 miles three days in a row. So how I would be feeling today would be a good indication. I woke up not nearly as sore and stiff as I expected. I had a little more left heel pain than usual after walking so far Saturday, but it was tolerable. Today, newlyweds Mike and Amber joined me so I would have company, and so I therefore would not need to engage every passing runner in conversation. It was another beautiful summer day, and a good day to be healthy, alive, and moving. The fact that it is the 10th anniversary of a truly terrible day in our country's history was sobering, though. I saw a number of runners decked out in red, white, and blue, or with little American flags.

I selected one of my favorite Team in Training routes - the 10 miler out and back to the Pony Pasture on the James River. We cut it a bit short and ended up doing a shade under 9 miles. All three of us had had long days yesterday - 15 miles running for Amber and Mike. They are training for the Richmond Marathon together on the Sports Backers Training Team (not to be confused with Team in Training). I felt pretty good, with tolerable soreness and no trouble moving along for the 9 miles. If I had needed to do 11 more? Well, I imagine I would have sucked it up and done it, because two weeks from today, I'll be walking my third 20 mile day in a row!

Crossing the James River on the "Nickel Bridge." This bridge has the most impressive collection of spiders that I have ever seen! See here and here for a couple of nice hikes I have done that start or end at this point.



Amber and Mike got married in May in an absolutely beautiful beach wedding in her native state of North Carolina. My wife and I agreed that Amber was one of the prettiest brides we had ever seen and wore one of the most beautiful dresses.


This "five fingers" style of running shoe, worn without socks, looks uncomfortable to me. But Mike says they are not bad on short runs. I have heard from my foot doctor that while these should not be worn exclusively, they can be good to wear for some training.


I like seeing active people out and about early weekend mornings. These folks are part of the Richmond Marathon Training Team:

Sportsbackers sure do deluxe water stops for their teams. This enthusiastic crew let us partake of refreshment along our return trip:


While I cooled my sore heel after getting home, my cat decided that ice water has more than one concurrent use!