Vacation Running at Smith Mountain Lake

We managed to get out of the city this weekend, and had an amazing time at Smith Mountain Lake!  The weather was beautiful and I even got in a long run.  I did; however, skip two runs this week, one being because I had a head-cold and the other being because my one-year-old son caught my cold and kept my wife and I up all night at the lake.  Despite me recovering from a cold, and my wife and son later catching my cold, we still came back from the lake feeling recharged, revitalized, and connected to the countryside.  My wife and I enjoy Arlington, but an occasional escape from the busy streets, construction cranes, and business suits is much needed.  We were both reminded of how much we enjoy the slow pace of life that we once had.  Perhaps we'll find ourselves settling down in a small Midwest or Southwest town in a few years :-)

 We had some most gracious friends that allowed us to stay with them at their house on the lake.  Sitting out on the balcony with an ice cold beer listening to the critters just makes you say, "Ahhhhhh."  They also took us out on their boat, which was a great way to see the lake.  Smith Mountain Lake has ~500 miles of coastline to give you an idea of how big it is.  They even took us out to see the famous "What About Bob?" house.  Although they claim to be at Lake Winapasaki in upstate New York in the movie, they're actually right here at Smith Mountain Lake.  Crazy!  I love that movie! :-)

                             

It's had a few renovations over the past 30 years, but you can definitely still recognize the house, especially the balcony and staircase they walk down in the birthday scene near the end of the movie.  I really wanted to go and dive off the dock where the father was teaching his son how to dive in the movie and dropped him into the water, but I guess I wouldn't like it if I owned that house and someone pulled up in their boat and jumped off my dock...or maybe they'd think it was funny.  Who knows.  I didn't try it.

Me sporting an awesome farmer's tan!

The view from the dock of the house at which we were staying.

Last week's running was a bit of a mixed bag.  All of the runs that I did felt pretty good, and I had decent paces throughout the week.  My 12-miler went far better this week than last week.  Maybe it was the change of scenery, the extra day of rest since I took Thursday off, or the cooler temperatures, but I ran this 12 miles at a much faster pace and it was through rolling hills.  I don't have any idea of the total elevation gain/loss but it was a hell of a lot more than the perfectly flat Mount Vernon Trail on which I usually run.  Even though I was 12 miles short of my weekly mileage goal, I'm happy with my runs for the week.

Last Weeks Running Summary:

Monday:       Off
Tuesday:       6.01 miles; 55:45; avg. pace 9:17
Wednesday:  6.00 miles; 55:20; avg. pace 9:13
Thursday:      Off
Friday:          Off
Saturday:      12.12 miles; 1:56:50; avg. pace 9:38
Sunday:        Off

Total Mileage: 24.13 miles
Total Time: 3:47:55
Avg. Pace: 9:27

Happy Running!