Tuesday, June 1, 2010

FTW! Crawling Over the Finish Line

I get these little obsessions every once in a while.

For a while it was Jeeps. Or cephalopods as pets. Digital SLRs is still pretty high on the list, along with new boots for hiking. And my Kindle.

Sometimes, it is just a phase. And sometimes, I have a new hobby.

Earlier this year, I decided I wanted to RUN! I read Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall. I was convinced I should be a runner, maybe a barefoot runner, and I would become an ultra-marathoner in the next year or so. I even bought toe shoes.

While I was in the throws of this particular idea, I decided I would start training for the Bolder-Boulder for real this time. I went to a physical therapist who specializes in helping people run without injury and improving form and efficiency. Everything was going awesome.

I was so confident, I then signed up for a crazy 200 mile relay race at the end of the summer, and convinced a friend she wanted to go, too.

Then... life happened.

About a month and a half ago, I was feeling pretty good about the chances of running a 10K in under an hour. I had just completed a workout of sets, and gone about 5 miles in about 50 minutes.

And I stopped training.

I don't know what the hell. It isn't that I didn't want to go. I just didn't.

Before I knew it, Memorial Day weekend was here, and I was going to run 6.2 miles. A month and a half ago, I thought I could do it in 45 minutes. Now I was hoping for under an hour. Maybe.

I kept telling myself I did the race last year in an hour and twelve minutes. I didn't train last year at all. I can shave twelve minutes. Totally. Probably.

THE AWESOME RACE THAT TRIED TO KILL ME:


Monday Morning: Race Day

Hmm... It is 6:30 in the morning. It is possible I shouldn't have used beer to carb load last night. There is a line for the bus. Also, I have to pee.

Monday Morning (a little later): The Race Begins

The line for the bus took forever. With that, and waiting in line at the porto-poties, I miss my wave. Whatever. Gonna run, now!

Monday Morning (slightly later than that): I'm a Winner!

My friend and I take off. We are going strong, going fast, feeling good. Damn, I am so gonna beat my brother, first time EVER!

Monday Morning (still pretty close to the beginning): WTF?

Not a kilometer in, HOLY CRAP! MY KNEE HURTS! WTF!


Monday Morning (why isn't it over yet?):

We walk fast. My friend is awesome and stays back with injured me. Hurts a lot to run, doesn't hurt much walking, just a little. I walk faster than some of the joggers. But I am walking. I hate that I can't run. Seriously. I want to RUN. And I CAN'T. I'M A FAILURE!

Monday (is it still) Morning (?): The Finish Line

I run the last bit in the stadium, blinding pain. But it's fun. And I get through the end. I didn't even visibly limp!

Monday Afternoon: The Recovery of my Pride

They gave us free beer at the end. And water. And soda. And soy milk.

Fuck it, I had fun.


Anyway. I finished the Bolder-Boulder in 1 hour and 20 minutes, mostly walking. I kinda failed, but it was a fun day. Gotta get my knee in shape for the relay in August. And my brother has me convinced I should run a half-marathon in Tucson in December.

OK, fine. It isn't a phase. Now I just gotta stop hurting myself.

3 comments:

PudMonkey said...

Yeah, I was totally in a running phase at the beginning of last summer, doing like 5-6 miles/day. I felt good, which is surprising since I really don't enjoy running all that much. I think it was the ipod that made the difference. Anyways, then I found out I was pregnant, and apparently, running is bad for itty bitty fetuses. I've been meaning to get back to it. We even got a jogging stroller to put the no-longer itty bitty former fetus in. So far it still hasn't happened.

Daniel said...

Beat your brother, HA!
Well, you'll have another chance if you come to Tucson at the end of the year.
I just did a 15k trail run in Flagstaff last weekend. It was insane! First, the elevation is at about 8,000 ft, so I was gasping within the first mile. Second, the trail was hilly and bad footing. We were jumping over logs and rocks; going up and down really steep hills; and people were falling and stumbling everywhere.
I somehow managed to finish -- it was really tough on me but fun!
How's your knee doing?

Leauxra said...

My knee only hurt that day, so I think I might actually survive. Started running in the mornings again, and getting better.

Unfortunately, it looks like my relay race is going to be insane. We are three people short, so I am going to end up running 20 miles in a 24 hour period. I am slightly concerned.