After being sick for 5 days, I was feeling better and didn't want to disappoint my friend, so I went on the "Road Kill Run." I was also looking forward to finally getting in my marathon after training all winter and getting snowed out of Myrtle Beach in February.
We'd made medals for the end of the run. They were faux fur/feathers neckbands with a sheep on the bottom that has tire marks across it. On the back we wrote "ROAD KILL RUN" Hope Mills to Lumberton, May 31, 2010. I chose a sheep because one of the first runs we'd gone on out in the country was the time the sheep charged out of his driveway and down the road after us. We've never actually seen a dead sheep on the roadside....YET.
We started out early because the weather was going to be hot and humid. We set out at 5:20 with headlamps on. The sun was just starting to come out, and we were treated to a most wonderful sunrise. The roads were empty except for the newspaper lady. Mr. rode behind us and carried out water/gatorade/gu, etc... he also took pictures of us. He made a compilation page of some of the pix. RAD said she'd try and post it here for me since I can't figure out how to do it. 
At mile 6.8, we were at my friend's house (I'll call her Wyatt Earp), and we took a potty break. The break ended up being long, which was nice at the time, but just made the run longer in the end.
We headed back out to finish the run, and saw the sun rise up as the moon was also up. It was a visual treat to see, and neat to be doing it among the wheat and corn fields. At mile 13, Wyatt Earp said her knee (on the outside) was bothering her, and she might need to stop. We tried switching sides of the road, hoping a different incline would help, but by mile 14, she had to throw in the towel and stop. My heart just broke for her, because I knew this was such a big goal for her and it was so hard to stop. It's her first injury and since I've been there too, I know it's so disappointing. I told her that injuries are often just as much a part of running as actually running is. They will help us be stronger, better runners in the long run, but they disappoint us so much when they come.
She encouraged us to go on without her, and she called her husband to come pick her up. So MR and I went on our way. It was a long way without her. MR was there, but it's not easy to talk to him when we're on a road with no shoulder and he's on a bike. Traffic was picking up as was the heat & humidity. There were some nice stretches of shade, but too many stretches of sun. I got hot and cranky. Poor MR, I grouched at him to be quiet when he was singing along to his music and I was trying to focus on the rhythm of my running. The last 10+ miles are on a road called "Ten Mile Road." It's just a long road. It seemed like it would never end.
I took GU breaks every 5 miles, and water/gatorade breaks every 2.5 in between. I'd just find a spot of tree shade and walk around in the shade while I took a quick break. At one of the spots, there were 2 large trees in someone's front yard, right along the roadside. As I was walking and drinking, I read on the trees these signs "NO TRESPASSING..Violaters Will Be Shot," and "TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT Survivors Will Be Shot Twice." I made sure I stayed close to the road the rest ot the stop. I could just imagine the old man sitting there inside the house with his shotgun trained on MR and I.
Around mile 24, I finally got to see the troll head on the tricycle. I'd been waiting to see it. I know he got pix of it, but I don't think they're in the collage. I'll have to get the pix up another way. Mile 25 was the break down and cry wishing it was over already mile. There was one point, when I was running on the white line of the road but refused to move over to the dirt...I thought, "fine...if they hit me, then I won't have to finish." I was in a bad place then.
But I finished. It was terribly slow, and in hindsight, I would have been better off just stopping at mile 14 with Wyatt Earp, but I never claimed to be logical about running. Wyatt Earp and her husband were waiting just after the 26.2, at the end of Ten Mile Road. I cramped up all over, stretched as best as I could, then hopped (haha) into the truck and we all went out for lunch at the yummiest little restaurant in Lumberton.
Two days later...I still can't get up or down from a seat without wincing in pain. Can go upstairs slowly, downstairs...still creates a great amount of pain. Just really sore all over. Kind of like last week when I was sick, only this time, I've got a good excuse! | 