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Writer's pictureArabelle Romeo

Happy as a clam...or as a lobster

My adventures this weekend were nothing like what I had expected, but I guess that’s what makes them adventure...


We had a 7 hour training run planned for Saturday morning- I wasn‘t concerned with distance, I just really wanted time on my feet. Our plan had been to go to Redtop Mountain and park the car with our cooler in it and use that as an aid station doing loops of 4 and 6 miles. Last weekend we pushed it a little too far and didn’t see the car for 15 miles and both Of us ran out of water and food...it’s just too hot in Georgia right now to not have aid at closer intervals. Friday night however, Rich read online that there was a race at Redtop on Saturday and not wanting to add two more bodies to the trail traffic we decided to run close to home on the trails behind our park. I like to have spaghetti the night before a long effort, I’ve long since gotten away from the “carb-loading” trend, but I do like pasta and knowing I’m going to be running for 7 hours the next day makes me feel good about having a big bowl of sketti in front of me. The store seems to be picked over lately for plant based options so I bought a brand of “crumbles” for the sauce that I’ve never bought before...nor will I buy it again... Those of you who have read my race reports in the past already know that I’m not shy when it comes to talking about the gritty not so glamorous details of ultrarunning, those of you who haven’t- welcome to the show :)

By 9pm Rich was throwing up and by the middle of the night my stomach started churning and gurgling...we both made multiple trips to the bathroom all night and then of course decided like any rational people that the best thing to do was just pack extra wipes in our gear and get out there and hope for the best. Our best turned out to be 11 miles. We were weak and hot and pretty miserable after 1500’ of climbing on very little food- we were just afraid to upset our stomachs further so we weren’t eating enougho. So we came home and spent the day on our latest home improvement project and got to bed early for Sunday‘s adventure.

Both of us woke up feeling much better and headed to Arrowhead Lake to visit friends who live on the lake. The plan was for our friend Jeff to lead us on a 10 mile run over the mountain and then to spend the afternoon on the lake with him and his wife on their pontoon boat.

Here’s where I had to really think about what I say to encourage others and take the proverbial dose of my own medicine. I am not a water person. At all. I don’t like to soak in bathtubs. I can’t stand sitting in a hot tub. I really do my best to avoid even showering more than 3-4 times a week. I just don’t feel comfortable in water. I’m horribly afraid to go into open water and if I can‘t see what’s in the water then it’s totally out of the question. But not Rich- he loves water. In the past he’s had jet skis. He’s vacationed on beaches most of his adult life. He loves being on boats and more than anything he likes being IN the water.

So during our 10 mile beautiful run with views I hadn’t imagined were possible right here in Cherokee County, my mind was busily trying to figure out how I was going to talk myself into getting into that lake and hanging out in the water all afternoon— and actually enjoy it. Rich would never put pressure on me to do something that made me uncomfortable, but it really meant a lot to me to be able to share an experience with him doing something I know means so much to him. While my mind was busy reconciling all this, I was taking in the sites and was even really excited at one point to see that we could actually see Fort Mountain from there- and even more excited that I recognized it!

Jeff showed us an old stable that had been abandoned and we climbed up to a spot he had found off trail with some breathtaking views...



And then the run was over and we changed clothes and headed out on the boat. I stalled a little for time by saying that I was hungry, which wasn’t totally a lieso we took the boat around the lake to see all of the beautiful houses tucked up in the woods and then found a quiet spot to drop anchor. I knew I just needed to get right in or I wouldn’t do it so chose to just jump rather than use the ladder. Those first seconds of plunging underwater and thinking “shit maybe I shouldn’t have jumped so hard“ passed pretty quickly as my head surfaced and I realized that nothing grabbed my legs or tried to eat me and I could actually see my feet kicking down in the water. Maybe it was the company, maybe it was knowing how happy it made Rich that I was having fun, and I’m sure the cold beer on such a hot day didn’t hurt, but somehow I genuinely enjoyed being in that water and stayed there floating around on a noodle for several hours. Having never been in water that long, I was unprepared for the level of prunage my hands and feet reached and I didn’t realize that sunscreen wears off in water...


So despite my lobster red sunburn, I’m happy. And I’m actually looking forward to visiting the lake again...I feel a little liberated and still a little surprised by how much I enjoyed being in that water— and I didn’t get eaten by a water monster. I'm not saying that going to start showering more often or start taking bubble baths...but it feels good to have pushed myself to do something that has always made me uncomfortable and realize at it was actually a lot of fun. ❤️

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