I suppose I need to tell you about this morning’s eighteen mile run walk. Worst eighteen miles of my life.

Thank goodness for Candy, that’s all I can say. Candy, who has lost 35 pounds since this picture was taken in September:

was my running buddy this morning. Poor, patient Candy. She had to drag a 200 pound dead weight around a 4.5 mile loop four times this morning.

It was a bad, bad day for me. I really didn’t sleep much last night, and I desperately need to sleep before a long run. But I also sabotaged myself this week in that I only completed one day of training since last Friday’s 15. Shame on me allowing my depression to interfere with my training. Never again. I set myself up to have a disastrous 18.

I awoke with that same farookin headache I’ve been unable to get rid of this week. But, you know, come Marathon day, I have to run regardless of how I feel. I got up, I had an English muffin for breakfast. I left the house almost when I wanted to, so I was only 5 minutes later than I planned to arrive at the park.

We had our group pep talk and stretched together. We were told to do four complete loops for 4.5 miles each. At the start/end point, they had a table set up with a wide selection of food (brownies, cookies, bananas, candy, sports snacks, oranges, Coke, Diet Coke, water, Poweraid, pretzels in three different flavors or shapes, trail mix…) and encouraged us to try the different sports snacks to see how they agreed with our systems, since there were bathrooms available should the snacks disagree with our bodies. I have to do a separate review of a couple products, as I have a new favorite sports snack.

I started off with five other people, including one of my coaches and Candy. These girls wanted to walk the entire first lap to see if they could keep up a walking pace that they were shooting for. I felt pretty lousy, so walking sounded great to me. I think this was a mistake on my part; I should have done my walk/run ratio for at least the first lap. I was hurting. My legs, my ankles, and, curiously and most disturbing and morale-breaking my chest was tight and my shoulders ached. It felt like I was lugging an additional hundred pounds around with me. The chest tightness was demoralizing, when combined with how much my shoulders hurt, I wanted to cry and just lie down. Clearly I need to start doing push ups on my cross days.

It was scary how much I hurt, and I just did not have the mental strength I normally have to complete this walk.

We six completed the first lap right at a fifteen minute mile pace, walking. That’s not too shabby. Candy and I found ourselves alone after the first lap (after the first food stop). I had two small Dixie cups of Coke at that first stop, and the caffeine really was helpful. On the second lap, Candy and I began the lap walking for a mile, then, when we reached the lake, we started a walk two run one ratio for maybe three quarters of a mile before I told her to go on without me, that I was in a world of hurt, and just could not do that pace at all. Candy, bless her heart, never left me. I’m not sure what pace we maintained for the second lap, but I do know it took us five or ten minutes longer than the first.

Lap three, like laps one and two, sucked for me. Big time. I know we had a few running stretches in the final two laps, but all told, I don’t think I even ran one complete mile. When we got back to the food stop after the third lap, Candy said she was going to jog up to the bathroom, and said she’d catch up to me. Well, I sat my happy ass down on a bench, and had there been a roof, she would have hit it. She started hollering at me to get up, that I was not done. She hollered back to the table to our coach to have coach get my happy ass off that bench. That at least motivated me to get back up. And I even ran a little bit after I was past the bathrooms. Candy caught up to me a block before the lake and dragged me around the lake that final lap.

This walk sucked for me. It sucked it sucked it sucked. And I can barely move right now. If only my bathtub didn’t need to be scrubbed (some bunny’s hair is all over it), I’d be soaking in luke warm epsom salts right now.

My coach is worried about my pace. I truly don’t think she needs to be; I just had a very bad day. Everyone has a bad day. I am rather confident about next weekend’s 20 miles, and I am going to go to the team training because I would not have been able to finish today if I were alone. Also, I need to redeem myself in my coach’s eyes. So I’ll go next Saturday.

I’m certain reading about this abysmal attempt at a run that you will lose confidence in me. But know this, I will complete this marathon. It’s not about finishing first, it’s about finishing. And I will finish. And I won’t even finish last. I am confident of that. I had my bad day already. Thank goodness my bad day was now instead of later. Please consider helping out the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as they help fund cancer research and help cancer patients and their families deal with the financial strain brought on by the treatment. I continue to be only $770 from my fund raising goal. As you prepare for your Thanksgiving feast, count your health among things you’re thankful for, and drop a couple bucks into the pot to help those less fortunate than us.

One more thing, apparently I paused my iPod during the 18, as my iPod only says I completed 16 miles. I’m sure it didn’t help that I dumped Poweraid onto my iPod this morning, either. So, I’m not entirely sure about run details. I think it took Candy and me four and a half hours. But, we walked. And she was very gracious to stay with me. Candy is going to be my roommate at the hotel race weekend.

wRitErsbLock