Monday, January 23, 2012

Hypothermia, Suffering, And A Rainbow

"A man must love something very much if he not only practices it without any hope of fame or money, but even practices it without any hope of doing it well." ~ G. K. Chesterton

Monday, January 16th 2012: 10 miles @ 12:19 per mile. I ran on some trails near Jem. Beautiful. And death-defying. (Just kidding mom. I'm a wuss. It wasn't nearly as scary as it looks.)


Tuesday, January 17th 2012: 3 miles @ 10:09 per mile. I went to a big hill then just ran up and down for three miles. When I got to the top, I had to stand there for a minute trying to coax the molten lava out of my lungs. A peculiar thing happened after two miles. The macaroni and cheese from a few hours earlier started begging to jump back out of my stomach to have a rendezvous with the sidewalk. This hill is hard. Maybe next week I'll have a Hill-Naming Contest.

Wednesday, January 18th 2012: Rest. (If you can call eating a gas station hot dog "rest".)

Thursday, January 19th 2012: 9 miles @ 11:53 per mile. I woke up obscenely early to run before work. No bueno.

Friday, January 20th 2012: Rest.

Saturday, January 21st 2012:
13 miles @ 12:24 per mile. This run was more miserable than listening to an entire Michael Bolton CD. It was raining hard in the morning and I contemplated running 20 miles on the road. Heck, I was even desperate enough to consider (gasp) the treadmill.

But in the end I decided to put on my big boy pants and go to the Diamond Ranch Academy dirt road. It became an outright downpour and I was quickly soaked. The wind was blowing like crazy. If my parents had seen me out there, they would have slapped me. The dirt around here is terrible when wet. It quickly turns into an inch of modeling clay on the bottom of your shoes.


After a few hours of running a funny thing happened. This van pulled up and drove next to me while I was running. The guy rolled down the window and said "Are you okay?" I told him I was fine. The lady next to him seemed very concerned. She asked me twice if they could give me a ride. I reassured them a few more times that I was okay before they drove away. That was nice of them. And funny. Here is what the road looked like:


I've told you before that I like to run by myself. But I had a partner join me for this run. His first name is Hypo and his last name is Thermia. And I must say, Mr. Thermia is a punk. My clothes were drenched to the core and I was shivering. Every cell of my body was miserable.

But here's the thing: that's why we train!!!! Our training is what teaches our body how to handle difficult situations. It builds us up mentally and physically. We can call on that during a race and we will be prepared. I think that's the purpose of training: teaching our body that it's okay to suffer a little.

And then something incredible happened......the rain let up! There was even a glimmer of sunlight!


Suddenly all that misery was repaid as a beautiful rainbow stretched across the sky.


The storm broke and blue skies appeared. I saw an incredible view of Gooseberry Mesa from Gould's Rim which I had never run before.


So in the end I ran 35 miles for the week. I hoped to be higher, but these were some pretty hard miles so I'm happy with how it went. I drained the hot water heater a few times this week trying to thaw out after running.

10 comments:

  1. I once ran a half-marathon that wasn't supposed to be a trail race, but the first 2 miles were in mud and when we got to the road my shoes looked a lot like those in the photo. hahahhahaah

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  2. Haha, those poor people probably thought you were lost or something. I love that they offered you a ride! You must live in a friendly area, I never get that. :)

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  3. Great job on getting out in the pouring rain. That is incredible. I would have wussed out and run on the treadmill.

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  4. And I suppose those folks would have let you put those mud-caked shoes in their car??? Nice run, Cory. Fantastic pics. Looks like heaven.

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  5. Check out the mud caked on your shoes!! Looks like scraping it off would work up some hunger for a hot dog :) ??

    Hypothermia stinks. I always get a crazy case of the shivers when I finish running in cold weather. Wish I could wear body fat on a long run for heat.

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  6. Great week of training Cory and great pictures. I have no idea how you run with the clay like crap. That must add at least 10lbs. You are awesome!

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  7. Did you sing to those awful runs, "How can we be lovers if we can't be friends?". Ha ha. Michael Bolton is the best at being the worst.

    I totally agree about those awful hard runs. It's good prep. Sometimes I think- "If I can survive this, I can survive anything."

    Cory Reese, you are so hard core. And that quote at the beginning is awesome.

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  8. hahahah I love that you got offered a ride. and wow what great pics. that one of you jumping between rock ledges is great! I love the colour contrast. and the rainbow at the end simply breath taking :)

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  9. Elizabeth and I saw the rainbow as well. She said, "Hurry, call Cory!" I said, "I am sure he is already out somewhere on a dirt road taking pictures." Turns out I was right. Good job. You rock.

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  10. you are hard core running through the rain drenched clothing and mud! wow! but it looks so worth it to end up with the gorgeous views!

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