Running and Traveling and Really Bad Hotel Rooms.

Due to circumstances beyond my control resulting in the fact that my oldest sister owes me big time, I ended up having to drive my mother back to Alabama this weekend.  Now, I think we all realize that going to Alabama and back isn't exactly pleasant a weekend trip.  I drove my mother to her house, stayed for 10 minutes, and then turned around and came back.

My sister owes me a pedicure for every state through which I had to drive (of which there were 5).

Anyway, all this driving put a serious crimp in my running plans.  I had to rearrange some things, doing my 14 mile long run during the week rather than on the weekend.  Since our Illinois spring has been locked in a box and nailed shut so it cannot spring forth, the weather for that run was rather crappy.  Cold, wet, and...like a winter run.  I was dressed for winter, even--balaclava, hat, gloves, and two layers of clothes.

It sucked.  But my splits didn't (well, they did at the start but not at the beginning):

Those winds were cold and a LOT stronger than 8 mph.  Try more like 12-14 mph.  I had wind rage something fierce.

I was pleasantly surprised by that 9:40 split at the end.  I was feeling pretty good, even though I realized later that night that I had a nice blister between my last two toes on my left foot.  Looks like I'll have to bust out the Vaseline if I wear my Brooks Glycerins on my next long run (or go buy a size 9.5). 

On the first day of my trip down south I cross-trained and hit the bike for 45 minutes at our hotel in Clarksville, TN.  We stayed at the Quality Inn Exit 4, and it should be sued for false advertising--it was far from "quality."  About the only thing that was quality was the exercise bike I was on and the fact that the bed didn't have bedbugs.  It should be called the "Waiting Inn," because that's what we did a lot of--waited to check in, waited to be seated in the restaurant, waited for the food, waited for 10 minutes to check out (at the end of which I just slammed down the keys on the counter and walked out because I was fed up with 3 people behind the counter and only one person checking people out).  And you have to love a hotel that makes the safety of its guests its lowest priority:

Loose and missing two screws, which pretty much describes the entire place.

The above picture was why, on my drive back through, I drive an extra hour to stay at the Drury Inn in Paducah, KY.  Clean, safe, and has an awesome fitness center.  I used the treadmill there, which was all sorts of awesome, to do some mile repeats with a 200m recovery between each because I simply cannot do an 8.5 mile tempo any longer.  Thankfully Law & Order (which is the only thing on at 6 AM on a Sunday on TV that interests me) was on, so my mind was preoccupied from the suffering.  Afterwards I enjoyed some awesome post-run oatmeal from the breakfast bar, which kept me full for my 6 hour drive back to my own home which contains my own oatmeal.

Tomorrow is the official start to my taper, and it starts with some cross-training.  Hopefully I will be able to keep the decreasing mileage (and decreasing food intake) under control.  What will be the hardest for me these last two weeks?  Not doing any heavy weight training.  I guess I'll  just have to punch the husband instead to keep the ol' arms in shape.