well, nobody will be able to accuse me of taking the easy route. i decided for some strange reason this morning that i wanted to make the 21 km hike down the very hilly Blackhead Rd. to Cape Spear, the Eastern-most point of North America. (and of course, the equally hilly 21 km hike back home).
so off i went with two bottles of gatorade in hand. by 5k, i was already sore and ready for a short stretch and pee break. the first major hill came at 7k, the climb above the city into Shea Heights, home of Harold Druken, one of only a few Newfoundlanders to have made the NHL.
unlike my previous runs out here, the roads were quite full of tourist traffic (it's in a rather isolated part of the province).
i arrived at Cape Spear 2 hr and 16 minutes into the run, which was about what i had hoped for. hills are rough on the knees and i had to go really slow to not cause any serious muscle damage
. i also knew i had to run back, plus hope to recover in time for 29 more runs this month!
once at Cape Spear, i walked around and did the tourist thing. they have a lighthouse and a git store that was actually open (seasonal) so i had a little look around. my souvenir was going to be three bottles of glacier spring water.. lol a nice bonus, given that i was already running out of gatorade.
among the tourists contained a bus load of young ignorant men from Ontario who were sporting rubgy team jackets. several of them took notice of my feminine running attire and hurled insults at me from afar. they also yelled insults at me on the way home from their bus. it's sad that young men like these have been raised to be rude and immature. clearly no class. it's incidents like this that make me feel glad to be here in Newfoundland, where folks are a lot more tolerant and accepting of diversity.
anyway, after a 45 minute break at Cape Spear, i was back on the road heading home. The road was still painted with km markings from the infamous Cape to Cabot race, that was run last October. It's great to have km markings on the road to let you know where you are and how far you have to go.
there are a couple of really nasty long hills, at the 2k and 6-8k mark specifically, that slowed me down to a walk at times.
by the 30k mark, i was exhausted and took note that i had been running for 3 hr 27 minutes.
after a short water break, i slowed down the pace and comfortable jogged back into the city, where i stopped in for a bagel and coffee at tim hortons, before finishing the jaunt thru the city to get back home.
exactly 6 hr and 30 seconds after leaving, i was back home, having run 42.2 k in a total of 4.45.34 running time.
exhausted and ready for a rest, i was frustrated to learn that i had misread the swimming schedule (i actually wanted to go for a swim tonight but it was too late - oh well, rest is probably a good thing!).
well, that's 2 marathons in 2 days. incredibly, the knees are not all that bad. i definitely feel confident that there will be a 3rd marathon tomorrow. this will be the first time ever i have done 3 in a row (and think, i actually wanna do 31 in a row?!?!)
the weather was 57 degrees and cloudy/misty. today, perfect for running, and tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same. in addition to the run, tomorrow will be a busy day. i am determined to get over for a swim (i promised myself that the running would not interfere with my swims, at least not too often). it is also Pride parade day here in St. John's, so i may opt to head downtown for that, especially since there is a BBQ afterwards!
until next time,
Jennifer
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