A Wet, Long, Painful and Wonderful Run

Today was my third Dexter - Ann Arbor Half Marathon. The other two were in 1999 and 2000. Al picked me up shortly after 6am and we were off. Got downtown, picked up our numbers and boarded the buses west to Dexter (once you get on that bus, you're definitely committed!).

We sat around wondering if it would rain (it DID) until the (delayed) start at about 9:10am. Then the crowd started to move. Al and I wished each other luck and we began our trek. The first six miles were manageable. I kept thinking that if I could just get through these first miles, I'd be able to turn it up a bit (as I did in previous DxAA's). This time was different.

At six miles I suspected that I was going to be in trouble. At eight I had no doubt. At ten and a half... well, at ten and a half, I blew up spectacularly. My legs just turned to stone. Not only was running painful after that, but walking was no better. I made it to the finish by running for a few minutes then walking a short way. Every time I started running again I wanted to stop.

Eventually I made it to Main St. (yes, the Main St. that Bob Seger sings about) and began the run up the hill to the finish. Al was waiting for me and started shouting for me to get my butt up there. I really don't remember much from that last few minutes. One thing I do remember is looking at that sweet new medal that someone placed on my neck when I finished. It's awesome! I'm really proud to add this one to the others on my wall!

My final chip time was 2:16:44. I am happy with this given the amount of running I've done this year (about 30 miles TOTAL since January). It's hard to imagine that I ran this thing a half hour faster back in 2000, but I did. Of course I was running 30-40 miles per WEEK back then! Upon finishing, I asked Al (who ran a great 1:50) to do me a favor. "In January, remind me to actually train for this thing!"

On to the Plymouth Father's Day Run. Thank goodness it's only 5k!

UPDATE - 6/4/07: Last night and today were really ugly. I literally had to go down the stairs BACKWARDS this morning. I've been going down kind of "sideways" since. Walking hurts. Sitting down hurts. Laying down is ok. Sitting is not too bad. I decided to try to ride my bike today. I honestly thought there was no way I'd be able to turn the pedals over at all, but it felt fine. Rode to the library and did the evening ride with the group and back home. Got 40 miles in tonight. Once home, I got off the bike and it was Sufferfest all over again. Walking is a little better now, but stairs are a big no-no. Hoping to feel some better tomorrow. I'm off in search of large quantities of Advil.

UPDATE - 6/5/07: Woke up extremely sore again. Seemed to get a little better as the day wore on. Pretty much if I sat at all, getting up and walking was an adventure. Went for a ride with the group again tonight. Really didn't want to go, but I made myself. Had a great ride with Mark and felt a bit better afterwards. Hoping to be able to actually walk somewhat normally tomorrow.

UPDATE - 6/8/07: Ok, this should be my last update about this. Yesterday I finally started feeling human. I was able to go up and down stairs in normal fashion (finally). Went for another ride last night and was really strong. Today is even better. Almost back to 100% now. Just in time for the Father's Day 5k in the 17th...