April 5, 2008

Hey, Bethie! What did you do this weekend?

I ran 20 miles.

Being able to say that is the highlight of my day. The run itself...questionable. First of all there was a 50k going on...now those people are AWESOME. Seriously, they'd kick my ass any day of the week.

Becky and I ran a 11:30/12:00 pace for most of it. About mile 16 I got a killer cramp in my calf. It was weird, because it was the inner part of the calf. I've never had that hurt before. You know that feeling when an alien is about to pop out of your stomach? Well, that's how my calf felt. I tried to walk it out. I told myself, "You're not allowed to cry on the running path".

I nearly did cry when I got to North Ave and there was no Gatorade and I was out of water. I had my own personal cloud burst in one of the bathroom stalls (not on the running path). After washing my face I took my sad self back to the path.

Just after the bridge I tripped on a stick that cut my heel open. (And now I officially hate sticks.) Right on that part where you can see your Achilles sticking out...Bloody and without balance, I rolled on to the grass. I figured it was better that falling on the gravel or becoming roadkill on the actual path; No thanks to the cyclists that were laughing at me (assholes). That's when this little old man trotted over and helped me up. He said "Keep going, you're doing great, Honey!" and then ran off like a the Energizer Bunny on speed. He had to be at least 80. And if that wasn't demoralizing enough, he was racing in the Ultra-marathon! (If he hadn't just helped me, I'd seriously hate him!)

I continued on, much slower, vowing not to cry. I kept telling myself "Someday you won't able to do this anymore. Today is not that day." I'm not sure how many times I said "Today is not that day." but it worked. I made it back to the parking lot. Elayne was waiting for me. It was so nice to have someone to stretch with. She kept telling me how strong I was. I was the last runner to finish. In tears, no less, but I appreciate her lying to me.

I was just happy to be finished. I think wiping out on the running path was the lowest point of my running career. I also discovered that after 20 miles, things that I never thought could chafe can and will. Seriously, I've had the sports bra chafe, blisters and chub rub. I've even had chafing from underwear elastic (that's an adventure in itself). Never before has my ass crack chafed. Seriously! WTF? I never would have thought to even worry about chafage let alone apply Body Glide there!

But I guess if being tired, having a little chafeage, some sunburn and sore calfs is the worst I can say, then I didn't do too bad. Total running time was a little over 5 hours with water breaks/gu stops/stretching.

Go, Bethie-GO!