Sunday - Last Day

We met at 6:15 AM to drive out to the trail again for a 2-hour run. It was 36 degrees when we started. The weather was definitely not kind to us at camp, but it worked out just fine with proper layering.

My stomach hurt before we started and I thought I'd have nothing left, so was surprised when I kept up with the guys on the 1-mile descent. I'm good at running down hill. I settled into a steady pace and ran with Chris for awhile. He stopped to use nature's bathroom and I kept on by myself. I reached the waterfall bridge where we turned last time and peed for the umpteenth time in nature's bathroom (at least I had some tree cover unlike the many times I went on the bike course - so what if they see my butt, right?).

When I came out of the woods, I saw the others and thought they'd follow me as I headed up another trail (my kind of trail with roots and such), but they didn't. I was having a good time, but decided that running on the trail by myself was pretty stupid, so I turned around. By the time I reached the bottom of the 1-mile hill, my legs were still okay, but my stomach was sour. One more pit stop in the woods for me and then I then power walked up the hill to finish the 10+ miles.

There was an optional swim after, but all the Cleveland folks wanted to get on the road us included. We hurriedly got ready and were on the road by 10:15 AM. I was a woman on a mission and managed to limit the bathroom stops and be very efficient whenever we did stop. Paula's great at sticking to a plan, so we rolled into my driveway 8 hours and 45 minutes after we started.

I was so glad to be home and my husband was a sight for sore, tired eyes. He prepared a lovely meal and we spent some time chatting before heading up to bed. It was great to sleep in my own bed!

Now, I'm done with my story of camp. I think I'm ready for the Ironman race now. I'm grateful that I was able to spend some time getting to know the course. Now, we'll just see how it goes come race day!