Well, woke up this morning and yes I was sore from chopping kindling the day before. I woke up and felt tight in my shoulders and at first couldn’t think why. Then I remembered.

 

After a leisurely breakfast and some adjustments to my running playlist I set off for my long run of the week. I was supposed to do 16 today but did 14 since I missed two runs this week due to sickness. Another journey half marathon plus day.

 

I ran from our lake to another lake seven miles away, out and back, on a primitive dirt road. My mother had some trepidation of me running this route by myself as sometimes bears are spotted on this road. She also knew that no one would be driving on the road so if something happened we are out of cellphone land and I would be alone basically in the woods. I told her the run would take between three and four hours and she could at anytime check on me via ATV.

 

She held off until I was almost three hours into the run. I was just over two miles away from camp finishing out the run. I heard the roar of the ATV coming down the road; she asked if everything was ok, I nodded, and she turned around to head back to camp. It made me laugh a little. Although at that point my legs were getting tired. The last two miles were definitely the slowest and the hardest today, mentally more than anything else, knowing I was that close to home.

 

 
But, Mom wasn’t the star of this run. No, it was the deer flies that swarmed me the entire time. They hurt when they sting too!! I swear they made me run faster today as every time I slowed down they reminded me they were there on my back ready to eat me alive. At certain points, I turned around to look behind me to see at least 50 flies behind me. I swear an EPB was put out that I was running and all flies must converge on me at once!
 

Middle of Nowhere, Adirondacks, NY

Mileage: 14 Miles

Time: 3:28.12