48 hour roller coaster

I didn't run for 1o days - and I couldn't tell you why really. I just didn't get my butt out there to do my workouts. So last Wednesday, I decided to do my speedwork after work on Kelly Drive. It was in the 70s and muggy so I was back to shorts and a tank for the run. The 10 minute warm-up was fine, then I picked up the speed. That's when I started laboring - my calves started to flare up and my ankles became so stiff I felt like I couldn't flex them. 15 minutes in I decided to stop to see if I could stretch it out. It was a very painful stretch and came to the realization this wasn't going to be the speed workout I wanted it to be. So I started jogging back to my car slowly - but that didn't last very long either. The lower back and hip pain started to bother me a bit too. I felt so defeated.

I just chalked it up to a bad day and was surprisingly calm and well rested for my long antipated 21 mile run on Saturday. The brightening sky as I was driving to the run was enlightening. About a mile into the run, the sun was bright, the air crisp, the colored leaves falling on the trail was peaceful. About a mile into the run, it became apparent that this guy Jim would be my running partner for the 21 miles. We were both going at a comfortable pace together so it was somewhat unspoken that we would be by each other's side for the next 3 and a half hours.

We had decided to stop at the water stations our coaches set up along the way and use it as a mental refresher. It was much easier to say to ourselves "only 5 miles to the next station" as opposed to "We have 17 miles to go". The first stop at the 4 mile mark was a quick 90 second one and we were feeling good and optimistic. Jim was very upbeat - pointing out the beauty of the open fields we ran through, over the creeks and the dense woods. Just before we were to hit the second station at the 9 mile mark, I asked Jim how he was doing. He said alright, but his hamstring was acting up. So I assured him the next stop was just around the bend and he could stretch while we refueled.

We would be hitting the same stations on the way back, which would be at mile 12 and 17. I think this was the easiest stretch for us. Jim said he got a rush whenever he reaches the turnaround point, which would be at mile 10.5 for us. And it was only 3 miles before we returned to our water station. So at mile 12, we were doing pretty well - still in high spirits - bodies getting a little tired, but still hanging in there. This upcoming 5 mile stretch before we got back to Carole & Stan's (our coaches) water station was a tough one mentally for me during the 18 miler we did two weeks earlier and told Jim this. He ensured me we can't think of the mile markers but just take in the scenery and be happy. It wasn't about time or distance - just finishing.

Surprisingly, I felt ok during this stretch. Jim, on the other hand, started hurting. His hamstrings were getting tight and he would groan slightly every few steps. I tried to remain encouraging - trying to break down the trail for him - "not that far till we hit the highway we have to cross - then we're on the trail back to the station." (I knew the perkiomen trail from Oaks to Schwenksville better than he did because he had missed the 18 miler we did on this course). When we got to Stan and Carole, we had slowed our pace a bit and I was starved. I had eaten and drank at every station and continued to drink in between. But after 3 hours of running, I was just famished. We took our longest rest here at mile 17 while I scarfed down pretzels and swedish fish and drank plenty of gatorade. Jim was hurting - my hip was a little sore but overall, I was just a bit tired.

Only 4 miles to go. After the last stop, we both found it very difficult to start up again. It took a few strides for our bodies to adjust to the jogging motion. For the first 2 miles in this remaining four, my body was just on autopilot. Jim was breather and groaning more heavily. A biking group of teenage boys and a few fathers kept passing us on the trail, but then pulled over every mile and we would pass them. Perhaps it's because I was tired, but I found it a bit annoying. It's at that point when people will walk, or jog, or ride by you and they look all fresh and say Hi to you. It's difficult for me to smile back or squeak out a hi because at this point, i'm starting to feel the pain - i'm pretty sure I have a huge blister on the inside or the arch of my left foot (the same place as the abrasion that sidelined me for three weeks in August on my right foot) and my right hip is very sore. On occasion, a step onto my left foot would send a shooting pain up my left leg. This all came at once - I started to fall apart at mile 19. Both Jim and I are laboring - shuffling along. We knew we were close but it seemed we were never going to get there.

Then, there is that moment, when you come around a bend and see the finish line (which ended up being the parking lot for us). We dug in and motored on home. We both let out a big celebratory yelp and gave each other a high five. We got to our coaches car who had all the bagels and gatorade and other select goodies as well as cheers and applause for us for fininshing the dreaded 21 miler. With the excpetion of the 4 stations we stopped at briefly to refuel, Jim and I ran the entire 21 miles. If I had been alone, like I was for the majority of the 18 miler, I would have stopped to walk several times. But having Jim by my side, he just kept me going and I know I did the same for him. I couldn't believe what I had accomplished. I thought to myself, there is a chance that I will be able to run 26.2 miles in a few weeks. It was such a high.

I hadn't made any plans for the remainder of the day because I knew i'd be tired and would need to rest. As the day went on, my knees began to throb and my hip was very tender. I couldn't walk without hobbling and forget going up and down stairs. Even as I tried to sleep, it hurt just lay and I would have to adjust my position which would hurt even more. I scheduled an appointment first thing to have a light massage on Sunday morning, hoping it would ease some pain. While it definately felt good, the pain didn't subside after my massage. In fact, I began to feel even tighter as the day has gone on. One thing that we did discover during the massage was how tight the right psoas muscle is ( a deep abdominal muscle which originates at my 12th vertebrae and inserts into my hip or vice versa). That could explain the hip pain - or it could be bursitis. It could be many things really and the only was to know is to get it checked out by an orthopedic surgeon. The only thing is, I don't want to go because I don't want to be told that I can't run in the marathon - not that I could run now if I tried.

I don't know what to think or do - just take it day by day I guess. But I went from the ultimate high yesterday to a new low this evening.