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chattahoochee national recreation area

June 24, 2011 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Run

Comments:
i was a little nervous about today's long run. i just don't run this long usually, so it was kinda weird. i decided i didn't want to run on the roads, but made the decision to run at the park along the chattahoochee river, which i later found out is called cochran shoals. anyways, the trail is crushed gravel and sand, and mostly flat, so i thought it would be good for a long run. there's a 5k loop with markers every quarter that i've run on before, so i thought i'd just run it four times, or maybe go up into the trails on the side.
i started out at a comfortable pace, which turned out to be 6:40 and settled in for the first 5k (about 20:36), as i was finishing the first 5k, i saw a guy running a similar pace, with pretty good form. i knew 13 alone would be boring, so i caught up to him and asked to run with him. as it turned out he's a massage therapist for the florida state track and cross country team. and his 10k PR, which i only found out after looking him up online, is 29:48! we chatted about the last night's prelims, and the 10k, other running trails, and running stuff in general. after about 20 minutes, he went home, and i was alone again. i decided to try the trails, thinking it'd just be for a few miles, and then i'd come back to the flat. i ended up spending the majority of my run in there, getting lost multiple times, completely disoriented, then when i finally recognized a trail marker i had passed earlier, i realized that i was going the opposite direction that i wanted. i turned around and ran, hoping that i'd emerge from the woods eventually. i saw sunlight in the distance and it was a trailhead. i escaped the wilderness about 1:20 in, and felt an overwhelming sense of relief and joy that carried me back to my car.
exhausted, i streched along the riverfront while drinking a gatorade.