What a Weekend

Wow. I sit here on Monday afternoon still in shell-shock over the weekend events. First there was the attempt to run/walk 20 miles that ended up being more of a death march at the end, and then there was the 107 mile bike ride that was, dare I say it....a piece of cake???

First the run. My plan was to run 2 hrs with Kevin and Dan and then run/walk an additional hour, with a desired goal of covering 20 miles. I hadn't had a chance to run with these guys in a long time and I was really excited to run with them. Not only do I really like these guys a lot but I knew they would not pressure me to run faster than I wanted to. So I was really looking forward to running with them.

The surprising part is that I started faster than I thought I would and faster than they thought I would too. This was good in that I realized I haven't slowed down as much as I thought I had but the bad part is that it probably contributed to the onset of fatigue at about mile 10 for me. In other words, I probably should've started slower.

But honestly, I think I was just happy to be running with friends again. I've been either running solo (which I do enjoy at times) or with Marshall (which I also enjoy). But I hadn't run with these guys nor had I done the "Brenda route" since last spring so I was just happy, plain and simple, and eager to go.

Unfortunately, my hip starting hurting really bad and that always makes me shorten my stride. I was really disappointed that it was hurting so badly because in the last 3 weeks it had been relatively fine. Bummer. Time to re-group. I almost called it quits when we got near the turn-off point to go back to the car but Dan suggested I turn right, which would prevent me from going back to the car. This was a really good idea because it helped me to keep going. Kevin went back to the car for more fluid and then he was going to catch me and run with me through Jo Jo.

I turned right and shuffled along for another mile or so. My legs, hip, and feet were killing me. These were familiar pains - I had felt them on many a long run but they usually didn't crop up until mile 15 or so. But here they were, at mile 11 and 12.

I kept going but went very, very slow. I finally stopped at Jo Jo and walked down the path to the bathroom (which was closed, darn it!). I could harldy walk. My hip hurt so bad. It was really hard not to get discouraged.

I kept telling myself that at least I ran that far, that I wasn't injured so bad that I couldn't run at all. Still, it was hard thinking that Sarah and Brenda had run 20 miles the day before and I could barely eek out 12.

Kevin caught me at Jo Jo and we jogged through the park and out onto the street. I "ran" with him to 20th street and then walked back to WOW. It was a very long, painful walk.

Later that day, I lay on the couch icing my hip and when I got up, my heel hurt so bad I couldn't put weight on it. I actually laughed out loud, thinking about how I told Dan that I thought my heel pain was gone. Silly me for thinking that it was gone!

So I ice'd the heel and did some mental therapy. Told myself all the things I've been saying here - that I'll get through the Ironman, that the swim and the bike will go well and I'll do the best I can in the run. But I still have down times when I wish I could run like I used to. Two steps forward and one back, as they say.

Then, comes Sunday. What a complete change. I rode with Kevin and Todd and since I wasn't sure how my legs would hold up, I hadn't committed to any distance in the beginning. Kevin wanted to ride 100 but my training plan only called for 40-50 so I held off on saying which way I would go.

We rode south to Johnstown, then Mead, then Centerra, then Windsor, then Pierce, and finally home. We left at 9:35 and got back at 4:30, with numerous pee stops along the way and one stop at the Trek store to fix my water bottle carrier. The sun was low in the sky when we got back and it felt like we had been gone for the entire day!  But the good news was that I felt better and better as the day wore on and was easily able to ride 18+ mph. I had an amazing 2nd wind at mile 70 and pushed the pace up to 20 - 22 mph for a good long section of the ride. Todd finally passed me and we waited for Kevin in Severance. I was on top of the world!

I felt great the whole way and could've gone even longer if time allowed. They actually did go longer but I needed to get back to take my kids trick-or-treating. Plus, 107 miles is plenty long enough!

Today I am very sore and tired but it's a great feeling knowing that I can taper now and that I earned the taper!  From now until the Ironman, it's time to rest and heal (hopefully).

It's been a long haul to this point but worth every step of the way. What a weekend, indeed!