Saturday I skipped my long run because my ankle bone was bothering me. I also skipped out on playing soccer Saturday night in order to have the best shot at completing my run on Sunday. If you know me at all, you know that it is really difficult for me to do either of those things. But I made a deal with myself and that is how it was going to be.
Sunday morning I had to get up at 4:45am in order to get to work at the bright shiny hour of 5:30am. In case you have never been up at that hour, it really isn't shiny at all- it is actually kind of dark and hazy. But there are people who apparently need coffee at o'dark thirty on Sunday morning sooooo...off I went. After 8 hours of being on my feet and working I rushed home, arriving around 1:45pm and was out the door ready to run around 2:10pm. Devan had a soccer game at 5:20 and I knew this run was going to take a good 2.5 hours to finish!
My ankle was still tender and I wasn't 100% sure how it would feel once I started running. I figured the worse case scenario I would just head back home and call it quits if I couldn't handle it. My ankle definitely had some pain but it was tolerable as long as I kept my pace around 10-10:30 minute miles. Which was fine, I had originally planned on 9:45 or so but I wasn't going to complain as long as I could get the mileage in.
I left my house and headed across the Narrows Bridge. The wind was so intense as I ran over the bridge I could barely catch my breath. It was a side wind so I was basically zig zagging my way over the bridge and back. I remember yelling out "thank you" to the sections of the bridge that blocked the wind for a moment, allowing me to breath. At one point on the way back I actually started to feel claustrophobic and started to panic. I had to stop, face in towards the traffic and take a few calming breaths. It was REALLY tough to run in and I kept looking at my pace- I could NOT get it under 10:45 for the life of me. I just wanted to get the heck off of that bridge! Later when we drove over the bridge to Devan's soccer game the reader board said "caution- severe side winds on bridge". Uh, you could say that again!
I stopped by my house really quick around mile 7.6 or so. I refilled my water bottle with Gatorade this time, ate half of a banana, grabbed some energy chews to take with me (I took a gel around mile 5) and headed back out the door towards Wright Park. This section was less windy and more downhill so it felt pretty good. I was on the opposite side of the street from Dave's meat and produce stand as I ran past it and noticed a little boy about 10 years old or so wearing a costume. He was dressed up like a big bunch of purple grapes and was trying to get people to stop at the store. He saw me, darted across the street and started telling me I needed to go buy some grapes. He was jogging along with me at this point as I am laughing and telling him no thank you. We must have been quite a sight- me around mile 10 running along side a kid dressed up like a bunch of grapes. Awesome!
This was the longest run I have completed yet. It took me 2 hours and 32 minutes so my pace was 10:10 overall. Which is good I think considering the fact I was up early, worked 8 hours, was babying my ankle and had that crazy side wind on the bridge. I never felt like giving up, although I did feel hungry and my muscles were very tired and achy in the last mile or so. But really, can you blame them? I got home, had just enough time to wash my face off and eat some protein bites before heading to watch Devan play soccer. Jaime was with me so she drove (thank goodness) because I was practically too worn out to chew my food. Seriously, even my mouth was tired!
Today my ankle feels about the same as it did before I ran. So I guess that is good, at least I didn't make it worse. I went to yoga class this morning and it felt good to stretch my sore muscles. I may skip my run tomorrow and just do some eliptical training. I want my ankle to be 100% for my run next weekend- 16 miles!!! My marathon is 8 weeks away. Which reminds me that I should probably register for it!
I am seriously impressed! First of all, if I worked all day long regardless of where I would only be going home to take a nap not go run an insane amount of miles (especially getting up at that insane hour of a sunday morning). Secondly that bridge story would have been enough for me to go home and stay there, so your dedication is pretty much beyond amazing to me :)
ReplyDeleteYou rocked it, and were semi-conscious for the soccer game. Hope the pizza bread and cream puff thing were delish!
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