Third Time's a Charm

I've been attempting this same 13 mile long run for the last three weeks (Beechwood loop, past CMU, up Ellsworth, loop through Point Breeze...) but have been having difficulty getting it done.

Week 0 (thought it was Week 1 but miscounted): The week when Pittsburgh received more snow in one week than any time since college. I set out at 6am to run on the roads since I knew sidewalks would be impossibly frustrating. Well that didn't go so well, since Pgh decided not to plow or salt until 8am that day. By the time I hit the "fork in the road" (Murray & Forbes) where I could either be home in three miles or go out for the rest of the long run, I was exhausted and decided that 9 was plenty since it was taking as long as 13 and I honestly felt much more tired than if I did 13 on clear roads.

Week 1: Set out in the sunshine with last week's snow mostly off the sidewalk. I was one.five miles from home when my ankle pain from the MCM returned and I knew that it was not a good idea to try for 12 more miles. I am learning that my ankle pain is directly related to my flexibility. On a normal/bad day, I can touch the ground with at least one knuckle. When I stopped in agony, I couldn't get closer than six inches from the ground. ouch. So I took a lovely walk through Frick Park and went home and did Jillian and Bob tapes for a few hours to make sure I kept my heart rate up for a good two hours.

Week 2: Caught the Stomach flu on Monday. Didn't eat for three days, lost 8 pounds. Some of that might have been brain cells as I thought it would be fine to try 13 miles again today. And why wouldn't I want to do this when it involves two Gu packs on an already weak stomach!?!? At the same point of no return (6 miles), I was feeling tired but good. So I went on for more. CMU finally shut off the water fountains outside the parking lot so I had to go inside the building for some quick water. It seems like forever since I've run the length of Ellsworth and it was a nice trip down memory lane as I passed all our old houses and stomping grounds. And then I hit 10 miles. And utter exhaustion. I was not surprised that this happened since I really have no energy stores for that kind of endurance. For the next three miles I had to walk more frequently than I would like, but I was happy to be completing the run that seemed to be starting to be a mental block.

I'm glad to see that I've learned a thing or two about limitations over the last couple decades of running (am I really that old to be able to say that?? gross). I'm also happy that I can be content with my ability and performance as it relates to all the twists life throws my way. I am striving for drastic improvement this year (Boston in 2011, anyone??), but am not going to kill myself to get there. It has to be fun, or there is no point.

P.S. The beechwood crappy blue car with the window covers roped on was gone today! I had to do a triple take to make sure that I just hadn't missed it because I was so used to seeing it there. I wonder if it was being used, had been sold...or had been towed!

P.P.S. I witnessed another accident today. Not as scary as the one we ran passed on Murray, but some guy tried to park on Beechwood at 40ish mph and when he hit some leaves he couldn't stop fast enough and popped a Grand Caravan. He tried to blame it on the leaves, but the screech and the pop were too loud and long for him to be going anywhere remotely close to the speed limit.

P.P.P.S. Sorry for the novel. I will try to write less, more frequently. Welcome back to spring marathon training!