Saturday was my 32nd birthday. I considered running 32k to celebrate my birthday, but I didn't think my legs would hold up for almost 20 miles. Turns out that was the smartest decision of the day. Instead I went for 13 miles.
I felt okay for the first few miles. I brought my camera with me and saw a pen full of baby pigs. This ended up being the only photo op of the run:
I like this picture with the pig's dirty snot running down his nose. (Coincidentally, I'm sure I looked very similar.)
After a little while the outside part of my knees started to hurt really bad. That part of my knee has never hurt before. (Right now running experts are smirking at my crappy IT bands.)
The pain was debilitating. It hurt to move. By mile 9 I was not doing well. I had my phone in my hand ready to call Mel to pick me up. But I couldn't bring myself to surrender. I didn't want to give up. The last 4 miles I didn't take breaks to walk. I took a few breaks from walking to jog.
Then bad karma came tumbling down on me. My worst fear....happened. I was standing on the side of the road reminding myself how dumb running is. And then.....on my mp3 player....the song "Born To Run" by Bruce Springsteen came on. I LOVE Springsteen music. Love it. But at that moment, I wanted to grab Bruce by the shirt collar and box his lights out. I wanted to karate-chop his Adam's Apple then yell "I don't see you out here RUNNING you big jerk!"
Then I felt guilty for being mad at The Boss. But I felt REALLY guilty for encouraging my wife, brother, and sister to register for the Ogden half-marathon. I felt as though I was responsible for their addiction to crack cocaine.
I managed to hobble home, finishing the 13 miles in exactly 3 hours which put me at 13:50 per mile average. It was one of the worst runs of my life. But I'm really glad I didn't quit. I want to get better at persevering when things get tough.
I don't think I caused any major injuries. I think I just need to take a few days rest, take a few Advil, and make friends with the ice packs. I am currently in negotiations with Running to see if we can become friends again. I think we'll be able to work something out.
Good job on pulling through Cory! Have you considered the possibility that your bad run could have been linked to your music selection? Springsteen? Really?
ReplyDeleteOh no you di'nt just dis on Springsteen. God just put a black mark by your name.
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ReplyDeleteThirteen miles felt like an eternity. Saturday marked my 32nd birthday, and I toyed with the idea of commemorating it by running 32 kilometers.
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