Crazy Half
August 20, 02014
Six klicks with the gang last night felt pretty solid after a couple weeks of aimless drifting and sporadic running. I almost felt as if I could pick back up and attempt this race that their all doing in a few days… maybe not the marathon …definitely not the marathon. But the half, almost. It will be the one year runniversary of my first marathon this coming weekend, and if plans go according to plan, I won’t be running but instead parked at the sideline with my lens targeting speedy-speedsters. That seems to be the theme of the summer: watching races. But I’ll get back into it soon. Really. I have three of my own scheduled for September. We ran six, then went for beers and taps. It was fun. And if I don’t mention it before then, good luck to all the weekend racers.
(addendum)
Call it crazy, or maybe a little nostalgic for last year’s marathon, but I pulled a last minute registration for the half out of my feel-good high from last night’s run. Guess I’ll see everyone on Sunday morning after all.
My Legs Hurt
August 25, 02014
So, the story of my ninth half marathon isn’t as awesome as I would have hoped this time yesterday. Cruising along and on track for a PR –yeah, really– my calves started to ache around the 18k mark. I slowed, and resigned myself to a good-but-not-great time. I’d swung around the corner at the 20(ish) klick mark, the hints of the finish line visible up ahead further down Jasper Avenue, and –BAM– like being shot in the back of both legs within seconds of each other. Worst. Leg Cramps. Ever. I actually rolled, fell down, was laying down in the middle of the road in charlie-horse-pain-hell, waving off a dozen or so of my fellow runners who were trying to help as I tried not to pass out from the pain. A cop came over, helped me to the curb, gave me some water, and offered to call a medic. But I opted to hobble it in, instead, every step painful for the last kilometer, and ultimately added an extra fifteen minutes to my time because of the injury… all within sight of the end. This morning, my calves are crazy sore, and not happy about anything that involves their participation. Getting to and from work is going to be fun.
My Legs (Still) Hurt
August 26, 02014
Another pain-and-recovery update: Yesterday sucked. Yesterday every movement of my legs, anything at all that put stress or strain on my calves, felt like a delicate balancing act of ache and that urge-to-stretch-it-out and the feeling that they were one-second-from-going-nuclear and right back into a full-on cramp. The last thing I wanted was to be rolled and broken, crushed to the floor of the mall as I was walking to the LRT, or trying to get some lunch from the food court, so I hobbled slowly, stairs the most painful of all, but made it through the day with just a few bruises on my pride. I spent the entire evening doing careful and slow stretches, sitting on the floor on in front of the television to distract myself, icing and then kneading each of my lower legs with a little massage ball. Resting. Elevating. Massaging some more, all before crawling into bed early and hoping that I wouldn’t be woken in the middle of the night with explosions of cramping pain. This morning things are improving. My legs still hurt, but they now feel like they are stiff and sore, in need of a really good stretch or massage, and I don’t have that ready-to-implode feeling (not as much) anymore. I’m thinking I’m going to need a few more days sans running, but with work I could be back in action by the weekend.