I was very wary of whether I would run the half marathon on Saturday or not – the weather was showing for snow (and… everything shuts down in MD for snow. Strike that – a HINT of snow) and I was SUPER tired. The parks service was in charge of shutting down the race, since runners who sign up for a January half are crazy anyway and will run in anything.
So I woke up at 7 and called the number, and the race was still on, and it was gray and cold but no snow falling so I got dressed and ate a good breakfast of oatmeal and walked out the door. And then it snowed. Lightly.
I have never seen so many bumper stickers for triathlons or extreme marathons or “toenails are for wussies” in one place before… and I worked for an athletic wear company that sponsors Olympians! But, clearly, only the masochists would be out for this. This run was on the canal, starting at Carderock and going to Fletcher’s boathouse, and back. Beautiful views of the engorged river, easy flat and pretty.
So the race began and it was 16 degrees out. And by mile 4 my eyelashes were frozen. And by mile 6 my hat was frozen to my head. Around the 6th mile my back started bothering me, so I took it easy, and went slower. At this point, the snow was an inch or so thick and the beautiful view of the Potomac river had entirely disappeared behind a wall of falling snow. I had found a few groups of run-walkers to pace which was a good decision. On my way back from the out-and-back, around mile 9.5 I think, I started noticing a point on the back of my leg that felt different- as in – I could feel it, as opposed to the rest of my legs being COMPLETELY NUMB. And I started to worry that I hit a nerve, since it was at the exact location that the sciatic firsts give “warning pains”. So again, I slowed, and worried. I took a walk break and determined it was, actually, chaffing, and I was okay except for the EXTREME aches in my hips that were beginning to make an appearance.
I crossed the finish line at the 2:08 mark, with the online results showing a one minute difference from the clock and the chip times, so I ran under 10 minute miles! I got a finishers medal, and a t-shirt that is way too large, and EXTRA brownie points for being crazy. By the time I shuffled back to my car, I could not feel my fingers AT ALL, there were four inches of snow on the ground, and more coming down in sheets. So I made my way to the co-op and hung out with the brother for a while (I never get enough time with him!) and changed clothes (his manager made me sit in front of a heater because I was shivering.. for an hour). I got home right when the roommate did and we spent the rest of the day there!
Sometime during the end of the first of my marathon of movies we realized the heat was out in the house. We could see our breath. It was cold. I had three layers of fleece on and we turned on the oven, at risk of killing ourselves of gas inhalation. Finally it was fixed, I watched another movie, and ran out for wine and bacon. We watched ANOTHER movie, I drank MORE wine, and watched a few bad television shows, and collapsed. Around 3 pm I realized my hips were still in pain, and iced them. I have never experienced “hip pain” before so this is interesting. I planned on running into work this morning, but I doubted the sidewalks would be shoveled (they weren’t) and I fall at the thought of ice, and my left hip is wonky now! I walked to the metro, of course, and a few blocks in the pain transferred down from my hip to my left quad, and has faded since. I plan on a long yoga session tonight (I swear I’ll make myself do it!) focusing on lengthening the hip flexors and hope that works enough for a run into work tomorrow.
Next challenge: this weekend’s 18 miler!
No comments:
Post a Comment