Insane?
Well, I finally have a slight idea what I am about to get myself into in a few weeks. Last night was the last training run for Dances With Dirt. It was a 5 mile run. They had told us it would be the longest 5miles of our life...they were right! Looking back on it, I am so happy I did it. I made it through just fine, although I don't know how. I should know soon if I am allergic to poison ivy.
The first section of the trail was tight and a little new for me to get used to...there really wasn't a trail. But it was also flat, so it wasn't too bad. I got one thorn from a raspberry bush stuck in my arm on this section. Next, the mud started coming up. We have had some good rain lately, so it was nice and muddy. This was the thickest, blackest mud I have ever seen. At first we tried to run or walk around it, but soon it became obvious that this tactic wasn't going to work. We started running straight through it. At least that kept us out of the poison ivy and thorns. Our first water/mud crossing was a bit deceptive. It looked a little like a deepish puddle. Since there wasn't really any trail people would just get across these obstacles any way they could instead of following the runner in front of them. I made the mistake of going off to the left instead of following Maria. When I stepped in I quickly sunk up to my NECK! I thought I was going to go under, but got my footing quickly. This side was mainly water, but as we crossed it transitioned to being mainly mud. As I was trying to climb out, my foot got stuck in the mud above my knee. I couldn't move it at all. A nice mud covered gentleman helped pull me out only for my other foot to get stuck! After being pulled out ( I still had both shoes...bonus) we had another fairly easy, flat stretch. The only problem was that my feet now felt like they had cement blocks on them. I found myself praying for more water.
Next was the hills. I kind of lost count of how many. It could be that I was slightly delirious at this point. These were HILLS!!! There were many that no one ran up. And you just hoped to keeping your footing enough so that you didn't topple off a cliff on the way down. Then came the dirt ladder (that is what the people that were running near me called it...my team said they thought it was the stripper pole)...I am guessing it was about 75 yards long at about an 80 degree angle. I think we all took a rest at the top of that one. The rest of the run was mainly crappy hills instead of insane hills. Then we would have some areas where you couldn't run because the mud was too slippery. I actually was thankful for these areas because my heart was about to pound out of my chest. There was one man that I thought was going to clock his head on a down tree when he tried running this part.
Once I got past the point of thinking "boy, this sucks" or "am I going to make it out of this alive?" I started noticing that we were in some of the most beautiful land I have ever seen. Then I really started enjoying the run and taking it less seriously. I relaxed just in time for us to get towards the end of the run. We finished it going up a river with a pretty good current. For the most part, it was up to my waist. But there was that one hole...and it was up to my neck again. I didn't see anyone running this. There were times when my legs were moving but my body wasn't. It was cold and beautiful. At the end we all attempted to wash off some of the mud...it was futile.
Then it was time for dinner and margaritas...what a good way to end the day. I hope we didn't stink out the people in the restaurant too badly. Today I have washed my clothes twice and am soaking them for a second time because I just can't get the black out of them. The great news is that I have found a way to keep my mind off the heat and humidity...the mud weighting my legs down and worrying that I am going to die does a great job of that!
Just 2 1/2 weeks until DWD. I will only be running about 7 miles that day. It is probably a very good thing based on last night. Either way, I can't wait!
Total Miles Last Night = 5 Total Miles Since Beginning = 444
Posted in: on Thursday, August 23, 2007 at at 5:51 PM
Fight One More Round ...
Fight one more round when your feet are so tired that you have to shuffle back to the center of the ring - fight one more round.
When your arms are so tired you can hardly lift your hands to come on guard - fight one more round.
When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black and you are so tired you wish your opponent would crack you on the jaw and put you to sleep - fight one more round.
Remembering that the man who always fights one more round is never whipped.
when I took phantom out for our walk tonight, I ran a few stretches of it.. on the back side of the walk, I started to run again, I was tired, legs sore, and wanted to stop. I remembered that my brother had that mantra framed on his wall. I wasn't really sure what it meant until tonight. I had forgotten about completely until I was running and was trying to reach the end of the block when I really wanted to slow down and walk right then. I kept thinking, 'fight one more round, fight one more round.' I was glad to turn the corner of the block so I was able to walk again and catch some breath.
the dog walker
miles so far: 3.1416
favorite dessert: pi
from 278 to 277.