I suppose there’s always something to write about, eh?
So, after the high of last weekend’s marathon, I headed to
St. Louis to spend the Thanksgiving week with my family in Illinois. You should all know that I suffer a bit from
slight depression after a major event is over – I get all worked up in anticipation
of the big day and then it comes and goes.
And, with something as large as a marathon – you’re also supposed to
take several days off to get your legs back.
THAT is so hard on me.
By Tuesday afternoon, I was really feeling myself again, so
Mom and I went to the gym on Wednesday morning so I could get a bike workout
completed. With the new bike and all the
marathon training, I really had not been on the bike much. I had even emailed Matt the week prior
lamenting the fact that he had prescribed easier than usual bike workouts to
keep my legs from exhaustion before the marathon. Taper means taper – in all aspects (he would
remind me). “Yes, Coach.” I guess I can’t argue. I had my best ½ marathon time and my best
marathon time with a lot of his guidance.
So, my bike muscles had atrophied a smidge, and I should be ok with it.
By Wednesday afternoon, I really felt fantastic. My recovery from the marathon was by far the
best it had ever been. (And, yes, this
was my 8th marathon recovery.)
So, after spending a delightful lunch with my former college suite-mate,
Nancy, I signed up for a Turkey Trot in my home town of Belleville, Illinois,
for the following morning.
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| Nancy and Me - outside mom's house |
The race didn’t start until 8am, which was really nice,
since the family and I toasted the 15th anniversary of Dad passing
on Wednesday night. Dad drank a
Tanqueray Gibson and let me tell you – it’s vile. I may be the only one willing to consume it,
but I have honored the tradition of doing so every year since his passing. It’ll knock you on your ass, though. So, I followed it up with a couple of Sierra
Nevada Tumbler Nut Brown Ales, of course.
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| There she is - Gibson herself! |
So, you see, the 8am start time was welcome! When I got to downtown Belleville around
7:20am it was FREEZING cold. It was
clear that there were going to be about 1000 runners, which impressed me
enormously for a Turkey Trot. In years
past, I have seen some with only a couple hundred. I was sad not to get a race shirt – but that
was the hazard of signing up the day before the event. (There was a disclaimer stating that this
would be the case for late registrants, and they weren’t kidding.)
At 7:40am, I decided it was time to warm up with a mile or
so run around the area – putting my jacket in the car once I was fully
warm. I know that it takes me about 15
minutes to really feel like I have my running legs, so for a 5K – it was
important to warm up. Either that or
half the race would be lost (for me).
As I made my way to the starting line, the crowd was
excited. I stood about 6 people deep
(from the start) in an effort to actually head out with real runners. Often people just walk these things and I
didn’t want to be stuck behind anyone.
The gun fired and off we went. It
was a fantastic run. I felt no pain or
discomfort and my mind was focused on finished strong. There were a couple of steep sections right
at the very beginning and again at the very end and it knocked people out right
away and killed them in the end. Given
the amount of tough hill work I do on the trails weekly, I had no problem with
the hills. I stopped my watch as I
crossed the finish line: 3.17 miles, 26:50.
I quickly did the math and realized I had also pushed out my fastest 5K –
and as I looked around there just weren’t that many people who finished in
front of me, so I stuck around to see if I might have placed in my age group
(40-44). As luck would have it – and after
waiting around for 45 minutes – I took 4th place, missing 3rd
by less than30 seconds. Oh well – it was
the first time in my life I even thought it was a possibility. So, although it was hugely disappointing not
to hear my name called and received a medal – it was nice to know I was “this”
close.
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| Back inside mom's house after the Turkey Trot, still freezing cold. |
I was then able to enjoy a food filled Thanksgiving,
courtesy of my mom, that evening.
Friday morning I met my good friend, Marcy, for breakfast
before taking off for the airport. My
grandmother, aunt and mom were pleased to pose for some pics while we were
hanging around the restaurant/hotel. Naturally,
I am including them here!
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| Marcy and Me -- known each other since 5th grade! |
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| She's 99, but don't tell anyone! |
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| Mom, Mer and Aunt Lynne. |
It was great to get home that evening, though, and back to
my routine.
On Saturday morning I rose and headed out to the trailhead
for a nice 6 mile run with my new Garmin (which, btw, I still cannot figure out
how to upload to Garmin Connect – so frustrating). Unlike my Garmin 110, this 910XT corrects for
steep elevation changes, so it meant I had to go slightly longer to get the 6
miles completed. I welcomed the challenge
and still beat my last several times: 1:04, 6.06 miles. The morning was a delicious 65 degrees and
sunny – something I had longed for since leaving for Philly, 8 days prior.
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| See, beautiful morning for a trail run! |
As soon as I was done, I headed out to Anne’s to begin a day
of shenanigans for her 40th birthday. It was great fun. We had breakfast, got pedicures and hung
around for wine and cake after dinner. I
had a blast! I hope she did, too!
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| Great friends and good wine! |
This morning, after a relatively sleepless night, I met Matt
for a ride – our first ride/workout together in just under 2 weeks. I was super nervous, as he’d been punching
out some amazing numbers on his bike while I was in taper mode. And, I could feel it the moment I tucked in
behind him on our first stretch – I was simply not comfortable riding at his
accelerated pace, anymore. I was immediately
disappointed in myself, but knew Matt fully understood. It doesn’t matter that he gets it – I will
still mentally beat myself up over it for the next couple of hours. Its just how my silly brain works. I want to get better – not have setbacks. Today was setback-city.
As we hit South Mountain park for Silent Sunday, Matt was
easily 10 bike lengths in front of me, so he didn’t even notice when my
headlight decided to crap out. The sun
was beginning to rise, but not enough for oncoming cyclists or runners to see
me on the road through the park. So, I
was trying to tighten up the distance between us for some time. Then like an idiot, I thought Matt had pulled
over to wait for me – and would simply begin moving again once I caught up, but
as I approached, he actually got off his bike.
Panicking, I realized this was actually my clue to get the hell off my
bike, as well. BUT, nope – my brain and
my cleats were not in check and over I went, locking knees with the bike and
trapped by my own clips. What a dumbass
I was! Now, on top of my mental state, I
was bruised and banged up. Evidently,
nothing was wrong with Matt’s bike – as he had suspected something might have
been wonky with his chain – so off we went.
Matt offered to give me a push – but I gave him the look of death and
was able to clip myself back in going uphill.
I would not suffer any more humiliation…I thought.
Up the Summit Road we went, Matt in the lead by nearly a ¼ mile
for a lot of it. I found myself getting
closer here and there, but not enough for Matt to even see me in the
distance. I would go it alone and meet
him at the top. It was a hard ride –
harder than it had ever been. My legs
were tired, my ego damaged and my will waning.
Somehow I passed mile marker after mile marker en route to the top. And, shortly after passing the mile 6 marker
(its 7 miles to the top), I noticed my steering was stiff and
uncontrollable. Yep, a flat – I had a
freakin’ flat! It was the first time I
actually worried that Matt might worry and there is absolutely NO cell
reception up to the Summit. I tried to
take care of things swiftly, but the chill close to the top was killing me and
my hands were stiff from being super cold.
Fortunately, a nice guy rode by and asked if I needed his help. I told him to simply go on and find my buddy
to let him know I had a flat – that he’d likely be waiting at the top for
me. He was happy to oblige and off he went.
I’d only managed to get the tube into the tire before I saw
Matt – a welcome site. I was shivering
and nearly incapable of handling the rest of the change. I was lucky to have him there. We were back on the road in no time and I was
pedaling feverishly to even keep up with him on the decent.
We’d lost too much time to also complete San Juan Road
before trekking the 12 miles back to my house, so we abandoned ship and headed
home. Turns out I must have knocked a
few things out of place on my little fall – as my chain was not seeding
properly and my brakes were rubbing the tire.
NO wonder I had a few tough miles en route to the Summit. Its ok, Matt will help me get my legs back
and in no time I will feel as comfortable as I did on the last Silent
Sunday. (At least, that’s what I keep
telling myself.)
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| Reunited workout buddies, at last! |
It also merits mentioning that while Anne’s 40th
was yesterday, her beautiful daughter, Lyla (who routinely makes this blog)
turned 1, today. It was a glorious
evening watching her open her gifts with her big brother and then refusing to
have anything to do with her cake.
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| "You want me to eat WHAT?! |
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| Sean still loves the camera! |
So – happy birthdays Anne and Lyla!!!
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