Mama Penguin

It is 2 days after the Highlands Ranch Half Marathon and I still couldn't run if a bear chased me!  It was a point-to-point downhill race.  With 1,000 feet of total elevation loss, I banked time in the first 6 miles, letting gravity push me down the hill at 7:30-8:00 miles.  Using gravity to push me down those steep grades felt like flying at the time, but getting up the next day made me feel like I jumped off a 10 story building and let gravity do its worst.  My legs, butt, back, arms, shoulders, and stomach all feel like I was hit by a city bus. 

My kids have aptly named me "Mama Penguin," over the last 48 hours.  I waddle like an Emperor Penguin and take nice slow steps wherever I go.

Stairs are my nemesis and I've been reduced to crawling up them slowly, belly down, grunting like an angry bird.  If I could install a slip 'n slide inside my house, I would slam the floor, belly down cruising from room to room, avoiding all contact with my legs for a week!

The idea of an ice bath has never looked so appealing!  I've never had to ice my legs this much after a race.

 
The race itself was a blast.  It was the inaugural year and of course there were some kinks that will need to be worked out: excessive waiting lines at the packet pick up, limited or no water for post two hour finishers, and a 10 minute delayed start, but overall it was very well managed.

I ran with 5 great friends.  We each ran our own race and met at the end for a good beer and constant laughs.

 

If you've never run a race with a group of friends, I highly recommend it!  Monica, my training partner, shopped for all of our race day throwaways at the local Savers and she found some treasures.  The race start alone, made everything worth it.  I haven't laughed that hard before a race, EVER!

Thank you Caitlin, who played volley ball in '05. 

I am not sure why any Grandma would have thrown out this invaluable purple valour jumper, but this women's medium sacrifice made my husband look great on race morning!

Throughout the race, we passed each other, cheered one another on, and took bets on who would bomb out first.  My husband finished first of our group in 1:46:43.

We waited for all 6 of us to cross the finish and each complained equally the next day about our unmatched sore muscles and nasty feet. 

While the race "hangover" left me swearing I would never run that hard again, I woke this morning proud of my new PR (1:53:40), and desperately trying to figure out how I can run the Denver Rock 'n Roll faster than my 8:40 average pace.

Runner's lows

If there really is a runner's high,  I have perfected the runner's low.  During the longest run before every major race, I get sick.  I am not sure if I push my training too hard, or if I just psych myself up too much a week beforehand, but there is definitely a level of consistency here.  Last year, I ran 5 major races all within 8 weeks of each other, covering over 50 miles total.  I knowingly didn't give myself proper recovery time and I paid the price in the final 2 races.  While running my 20 miler for the Colfax Marathon in May, I ungracefully pushed back vomit the last 8 miles or so until I crossed the 20 mile mark and killed the grass while young kids watched in horror.  This weekend, I ran 12 miles on an extremely flat trail.  It should have been an easy run and yet, I stopped 3 times, throwing my head between my knees as my running partner, and good friend, bantered, "Should I get out my camera?" 

Heck, why not get out the camera?  Maybe it will serve as a good reminder for future training runs. I take great care of myself just before a race.  I tell myself things like,

• "Start drinking loads of water 3-4 days before the race."
• "Load up on healthy carbohydrates."
• "Don't drink too much wine, beer, or other stuff." 
• "Taper properly.  Don't overwork your muscles."
• "Don't eat junk, it will taste awful tomorrow!"
• "Start slow, finish strong."
• "You love running and you love competition.  Have fun with it!"

Somehow all those ideas only apply to racing weekends and I find myself miserable on many long training runs. 

• "That pizza, wings, and beer tasted better the first time!"
• "Cross training makes me faster, so why not double up workouts?"
• "Run your training miles fast!  Forget LSD Runs (Long Slow Distance).  Go quickly and move on with your weekend!" 
• "Why am I up at 4:00 am?  This is not fun!"

Maybe I need to feel miserable sometimes to help refocus my priorities.  I love that racing is not a one day commitment.  It takes months to train and life happens along the way.  The Highlands Ranch Half Marathon is Labor Day, Monday.  Wish me luck, I promise not to vomit!



Do you ever feel horrible during training runs?  Is it something that you could have avoided but did it anyway?  How do you enjoy life without messing with your training?


~Roadburner