Escape Into the Woods: #Long Run #Sliding Board #Snow

Maybe now that my long runs are finished, it will finally stop snowing. As has been the case ALL winter (really, since December), whenever I do a long run, it is quickly followed by a huge snowfall. This is good and bad. Good because the snow comes after the long run, and bad because the last thing I want to do after running 20-30 miles is haul out the shovel.
This is how beautiful it looked on Saturday, when the temperature was 61 degrees and only the last bit of snow remained:

This is what it looks like today, just two days later:

I would swear it was April Fool's Day rather than St. Patrick's Day. But then again, it should come as no surprise, since this has been the MO this winter.
But its okay, since I finished my last long run, and have just the HAT run to complete before I head to Umstead!!! I finally feel like I can say it out loud, since it looks like it is really going to happen! For so long I just kept waiting for something to derail my plan, but it has been strangely calm and steady. Last week I tested my mental capacity as well as my legs by planning a 30 mile route that included some trails but more roads, and then went out by myself and finished it! Running for six and a half hours with no aid stations and no company proved to me that I am tough enough to just keep going and moving forward - the last piece in the puzzle to up my confidence for what I am about to do.

And this past Saturday, I was treated to a delightful 20 miler with a sweet friend who made the miles fly, treated me to some gorgeous scenery of my favorite mountains, and even took me by way of an historic wooden sliding board. Of course we diverted from the route long enough to take a slick ride down the polished boards! So fun!

Waxed wood + running tights = super fast!

Probably should have cropped out the graffiti on this one

So now the tapering begins. I will still run one last 50K, but after all this time on the road, I am so looking forward to a day of purely trails in the company of my friends. And then I will spend two weeks resting, eating, and obsessively planning and packing.