Day 33: Evansville, IN, to Louisville, KY (Thursday, July 17)
Distance traveled: 104 miles
Personal running distance today: 8
Total personal miles to-date: 207.5 miles
Today's dedications: Jane DeMarke, Julie Christianson and Christy Jones
My running buddy: Danielle
Weather: Sunny, 80s
We woke up at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Evansville to another incredible meal. Breakfast was too yummy, and our hosts continued to be so kind and attentive to anything we needed. After we circled up, our main host, Pam, wanted to run the first 2 miles with us. Almost the whole team set out from the church to run on some nice country roads together.
It was really cool to run with a woman who is so dedicated to 4K. They loved hosting the run last year at the church, and they did a fabulous job once again this year. We felt so spoiled and so appreciated. I can't thank them enough! Also, if you're interested in seeing the news clip from their local news, click here... You may see/hear a familiar face/voice!
After we ran 2 miles with Pam, we gassed our vans and headed out to find our route for the day. Both teams had planned to run together on a lovely stretch of road through the Hoosier National Forest. I was particularly excited because I knew our trail featured a great big lake in the middle of it that I planned on jumping into as soon as we were done.
Distance traveled: 104 miles
Personal running distance today: 8
Total personal miles to-date: 207.5 miles
Today's dedications: Jane DeMarke, Julie Christianson and Christy Jones
My running buddy: Danielle
Weather: Sunny, 80s
We woke up at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Evansville to another incredible meal. Breakfast was too yummy, and our hosts continued to be so kind and attentive to anything we needed. After we circled up, our main host, Pam, wanted to run the first 2 miles with us. Almost the whole team set out from the church to run on some nice country roads together.
It was really cool to run with a woman who is so dedicated to 4K. They loved hosting the run last year at the church, and they did a fabulous job once again this year. We felt so spoiled and so appreciated. I can't thank them enough! Also, if you're interested in seeing the news clip from their local news, click here... You may see/hear a familiar face/voice!
After we ran 2 miles with Pam, we gassed our vans and headed out to find our route for the day. Both teams had planned to run together on a lovely stretch of road through the Hoosier National Forest. I was particularly excited because I knew our trail featured a great big lake in the middle of it that I planned on jumping into as soon as we were done.
Today I ran with Danielle and I actually felt really great. Maybe it was because Danielle is so FUN, but my hip wasn't hurting me nearly as bad as it usually does. There were even a few giant hills that we killed together. I have a feeling my hip won't be appreciating me after that, but it felt great today. Also, look how much we love each other:
Once both teams had finished up their miles, we regrouped and split into a group to go swimming in Patoka Lake and a group to head on to the host. We found a really nice beach to swim from and had so much fun being normal people swimming in a lake. I have definitely missed my lake trips this summer, so I felt very at home! Although I must say, no lake can be as clean as Bull Shoals...can't wait to be home in that in a couple weeks!
We headed to the YMCA in Louisville after we swam and dried off. We stayed on the 4th floor of the building in a big room all together. I was SO excited because I got an INCREDIBLE amount of mail and packages with our last mail drop here! I must extend a huge thank you to the Gios and Maggie for the fantastic care packages, and another huge thank you to Brewer, Melanie, Stephen, Jenny, and Grammy and Papa for the wonderful letters of encouragement!!! It was great to go out with a bang on this last mail drop.
For dinner tonight, a local Jimmy John's had donated a lot of meat subs, so the vegetarians ventured to Chipotle to get some burritos we could eat. It was on 4th Street, which is a popular venue for bars and shops.
The rest of the night was spent relaxing in the YMCA. That night, Alex, my co-director, thought it would be a great chance to teach me about weights/lifting. You see, we had this deal with one another for this summer. I would teach him about sports (and beer) since I am an expert on both, and he would teach me about weight lifting. Since we stayed at the YMCA, which gave us free access to their gym, tonight was the perfect night for it.
We did some chest exercises and I actually don't think I'll be able to lift my arms tomorrow. They're already in pain, so I'm terrified to see what they'll feel like tomorrow. But, I must say, I am quite proud of myself for giving it a shot. I've never been a person to do any upper body workouts, so maybe this can start a new trend for me! ...maybe.
I'm getting ready to head to bed because I'm so exhausted from the day, but I'm looking forward to whatever adventure our rest day tomorrow holds.
Day 34: REST DAY - Louisville, KY (Friday, July 18)
Weather: Overcase, drizzly, 60s
Sleeping in until 9 a.m. today was a huge treat for us. I felt so well-rested! Well...I at least felt rested, which is good enough on 4K. I spent most of the day today writing in my teammates' notebooks. We started a fun activity where everyone bought a composition notebook and put their name on the front of it. Then, each member of the team signs a note/letter/message in it. However, the catch is that nobody can read their notebooks until the night before we all run into Baltimore together. It'll be a great way to remember each other and the trip. I signed probably 8-10 notebooks today while I was just hanging out in the YMCA.
I went to do laundry with a group of teammates around 3:00. One of my Mizzou friends, Melissa, who goes to University of Louisville now for grad school, picked me up from the laundromat and showed me around town! We had an incredible dinner at Ramsi's Cafe which had a ton of neat menu items and a very cool atmosphere.
After dinner, Melissa showed me around Louisville. It's a pretty awesome city, and the riverfront seemed like a cool place to hang out. I wish the weather would have been a little nicer today, I probably would have explored more. I almost regret not going to the Louisville Slugger Museum though; I think I would have loved it! However, I was glad Melissa could give me the grand tour of the town.
For dinner tonight, a local Jimmy John's had donated a lot of meat subs, so the vegetarians ventured to Chipotle to get some burritos we could eat. It was on 4th Street, which is a popular venue for bars and shops.
The rest of the night was spent relaxing in the YMCA. That night, Alex, my co-director, thought it would be a great chance to teach me about weights/lifting. You see, we had this deal with one another for this summer. I would teach him about sports (and beer) since I am an expert on both, and he would teach me about weight lifting. Since we stayed at the YMCA, which gave us free access to their gym, tonight was the perfect night for it.
We did some chest exercises and I actually don't think I'll be able to lift my arms tomorrow. They're already in pain, so I'm terrified to see what they'll feel like tomorrow. But, I must say, I am quite proud of myself for giving it a shot. I've never been a person to do any upper body workouts, so maybe this can start a new trend for me! ...maybe.
I'm getting ready to head to bed because I'm so exhausted from the day, but I'm looking forward to whatever adventure our rest day tomorrow holds.
Day 34: REST DAY - Louisville, KY (Friday, July 18)
Weather: Overcase, drizzly, 60s
Sleeping in until 9 a.m. today was a huge treat for us. I felt so well-rested! Well...I at least felt rested, which is good enough on 4K. I spent most of the day today writing in my teammates' notebooks. We started a fun activity where everyone bought a composition notebook and put their name on the front of it. Then, each member of the team signs a note/letter/message in it. However, the catch is that nobody can read their notebooks until the night before we all run into Baltimore together. It'll be a great way to remember each other and the trip. I signed probably 8-10 notebooks today while I was just hanging out in the YMCA.
I went to do laundry with a group of teammates around 3:00. One of my Mizzou friends, Melissa, who goes to University of Louisville now for grad school, picked me up from the laundromat and showed me around town! We had an incredible dinner at Ramsi's Cafe which had a ton of neat menu items and a very cool atmosphere.
After dinner, Melissa showed me around Louisville. It's a pretty awesome city, and the riverfront seemed like a cool place to hang out. I wish the weather would have been a little nicer today, I probably would have explored more. I almost regret not going to the Louisville Slugger Museum though; I think I would have loved it! However, I was glad Melissa could give me the grand tour of the town.
I headed back to the YMCA after our exploration of the city to relax. I wrote in a few more teammate notebooks and worked on some postcards. We had some nice team bonding down in the lobby of the YMCA pretty late. Eventually, I was exhausted and am heading to bed now around 11:30 ish. Tomorrow we're making our way east to Lexington, KY. It's another short day, so I'm excited!
Run happy,
Natalie
Run happy,
Natalie