Cades Cove running

I just LOVE running in Cades Cove. It's even better when you can share it with someone who has never been there.

When we arrived, it was an absolutely spectacular 53 degrees out. I was SO happy about that. I was running a few minutes late, but quickly found a good parking spot, rushed over to the store for a quick bathroom stop before we headed out, shed a layer and grabbed my hydration pack, then hurried to meet my teammate at the gate.

She was anxiously watching for me, and her nervousness was apparent. Her husband was there on his bike, and he planned to circle around and check on us as we went. We headed out at a good, steady, slower pace.

The cove was, as always, beautiful this morning. We had a wonderful run, with great conversation, and enjoyed the impromptu check-ins from her husband. We didn't see any animals at all, which is weird for me in Cades Cove. Her husband let us know we had just run right by a bear, and later shared pictures. Go figure.

We easily did the first couple of miles. When we turned on Hyatt Lane, I noticed my legs were not happy with the change in terrain. The lane is gravel instead of asphalt. We stayed in the middle of the road as much as possible and kept rolling. 3 miles down. Then 4. I celebrated with her on passing her longest run distance. Around the same time, I felt the nerve pain start. I also felt that same spot on my leg. I tried to ignore it. After all, no matter what, I have to keep going. We're still 3 miles from the exit of the loop and there are no cars. Either I sit here until 10:30 waiting, or I just keep going and hope for the best.

From mile 4-5 was rough. It was a lot slower than the first 4. I could tell it was getting difficult for her too. But then, after we'd turned back onto the asphalt and reached 5, the excitement over the 5th mile must have unlocked another round of adrenaline, because she was ready to go. We picked up the pace. We hit 6 miles and she just outright stopped running and said, "Done!" I laughed, congratulated her on the accomplishment, we kept walking and talking, and suddenly she says, "I think I can do 7." I asked if she was sure and then we started running again. We took it easy on the up and down hills, and walked up most of the bigger hills. But when we hit mile 7, she was so excited, and so was I. It is always so much fun to watch others accomplish goals they never imagined they could do. Before we started, she was skeptical she could reach 5 miles, much less 6. But then, by the time we finished, we'd gone 7.5 miles, with most of those miles running. I couldn't have been prouder of her. She almost doubled her longest distance!

By the time I got to my car, I knew I had a problem. My leg was hurting so incredibly bad. I stopped at a local store I knew just outside of the park, and got a couple of ice packs and attached them to my leg with some extra layers of clothing in my car. I drove home icing my leg.

As soon as I got home I stretched, showered, stretched more, and iced again. By this evening, I knew this was more serious than I'd thought. I wanted to cry and throw a temper tantrum, but I knew that wouldn't help and would likely just cause the other medical crap to start. So I stayed calm and just kept doing everything I knew to alleviate the pain. At the same time, I started feeling some pain in my lower back. I just wanted to throw up a white flag and surrender. My race is in two weeks! I cannot be injured. I cannot start having issues. Not now. Why? Why can I not just have one race where I'm not injured or sick? Why can't I have just one race where I can enjoy it and not be in pain the entire time?

I'm going to take some Aleve, go to bed, and hope this all goes away overnight.