I <3 Bryson City, NC

As I mentioned in my previous post, we went to Bryson City, NC over the weekend for a family reunion. It. Was. Gorgeous. That is an understatement. I absolutely fell in love with it. We arrived at the Nantahala Village around 1 am on Friday. I stayed up and had a glass of wine and talked to my dad for about 45 minutes and then crashed on an airbed in the common area of the cabin. When I picked my head up the next morning the first thing I saw was sliding glass doors that led to a patio that contained a small hot tub and rocking chairs and beyond that I saw bright green trees and mountains. That's a good way to start the day. We did some reunion activities that day and just hung around. The next day my dad woke me up to tell me that a bunch of the family was going for a run and that if I was a serious runner I'd get up out of bed and run with them. As much as I was enjoying my beauty sleep, I was looking forward to running in new territory, so I got up and got dressed. It was raining so we waited a bit for it to slow down. About 20 minutes later we headed out despite a steady drizzle. I wasn't the youngest but was by far the most fledgling runner in the group. Fortunately, I managed to hang with the rest of them at a comfortable pace. The first part of the run was down a HUGE hill and it took extreme concentration and coordination on my part not to lose my balance and go tumbling down the hill like a runaway tumbleweed. The road snaked through the cabins and trees, down to the horse stables, complete with fresh piles of manure dotting the way. After a few more minutes the cabins disappeared, the road got a bit rougher and the only thing to see were huge, gorgeous green trees. The soft cool rain and unusual scenery were welcome changes and served as distractions that allowed me to feel nothing but awe and happiness. I'm not sure whether it was the rain, the company, the scenery, or likely a combination of all three but it was the best run I've had in a very long time. We ran for about 40 minutes, taking a few walking breaks after particularly hilly portions of the trail or when we were figuring out where to go. I was completely whooped toward the end but had no shin pain whatsoever. After the run we went back to the cabin and some of the family was going for a walk so I grabbed a quick drink and headed out with them. The run had been so energizing! After that it was time to grab some food and head out for whitewater rafting.

The rafts held 6 people plus the guide and our raft consisted of me, Dave, my dad, his wife Michelle, and my sister and brother in law. The Nantahala is a class 2-3 river, which translated to a very calm ride with about 3 small rapids at various parts. The frigid 45 degree water served as an unnecessary wake up call and since I was at the helm with my sister, I got more than my fair share of it. The combination of the cold water and warmer weather created an eerie but beautiful blanket of mist on the river. I'd never seen anything like it. I expected to do a lot more paddling during our trip but since it was so calm, Isaac, our guide did the majority of the work. Isaac is a musician and is a guide part time and his wife is a massage therapist, yoga instructor and trail guide. When he said that I thought, "No fair, I wanna do that!!" Nevermind the fact that I have absolutely no training or qualifications for any one of those but I can't think of anything that sounds more fun than living in such a beautiful place and doing those jobs. (sigh) Oh well. Maybe one day.

We got back to The Boro around 11am on Sunday and immediately took naps. We'd stayed up late the night before, talking to my aunt and uncle about the marathon. They are both experienced marathoners and were doing a fantastic job of reassuring me that I will be fine and will absolutely finish the marathon and that the most important thing is to just have fun. Everything they said was just what I needed to hear as I've been second-guessing this challenge for a few weeks now.

Between naps and laundry and watching baseball, I skipped my long run on Sunday. Monday I got on the elliptical for 30 minutes and followed it up with 30 minutes of yoga and some hand weights. Tuesday was a lazy day and I was in a shit mood so I didn't do anything. Yesterday I did 3.1 in just under 32 minutes. Then I walked with Kim and some of her coworkers. We did 4 miles on the trail. Oddly enough, while I felt great after running, the walking did something to upset my hips and make them sore. Today has not been successful. I ran a mile on the tread and felt like I needed to stretch my legs so I stopped to stretch. My shins hurt a bit so I thought maybe I could do some yoga and then try to run the remaining 2 miles. As I was doing the 2nd friggin warm up pose I felt a weird pain in my wrist and had to stop. I'm making dinner for Kim and Jeff and am hoping that I have the energy and discipline to run later tonight. I feel like such a failure for only doing a friggin mile. Oy!

Tomorrow the plan is to run early and then, joy of all joys, start the moving process. Yay! We move into our own apt tomorrow. I am super psyched about it. I can't wait to have a pool again - although it will be odd only being able to use it for a couple more months. Living in FL my whole life meant being able to use the pool almost year round. I guess I was spoiled. I hope the move goes well. Tomorrow Jeff is going to help me and then Saturday Dave and I have a Uhaul rented but no helpers b/c everyone has to work. Whatever we don't get done Saturday will be done Sunday when we have back-up. I hope it doesn't take too long to get everything unpacked. At least I have plenty of time to dedicate to the process. :)

I better start dinner - chicken and dumplings. Mmmmmmmm. Except I feel like a jackass b/c Kim doesn't like dumplings. They're friggin biscuits swimming in chicken broth! What's not to like?! I guess I should have done more research prior to planning/shopping for this meal. I'm hoping she at least likes the chocolate trifle for dessert. Brownies and pudding and cool whip, oh my!