You Can Call Me Crazy

I keep waiting to get caught up on my blog to tell about the things that are happening in my life right now but getting caught up may never happen.  Life is too hectic.  I decided today to write about what I did this week.  My greatest running accomplishment so far. I ran 11.17 miles.  I think I'd like to document it.  Mostly so I can remember that I am completely insane, in case I ever thought I wasn't.

My original plan was to head down the hill from my house and run down rural roads out to Salem and back.  But at 4 am, lying on the couch because I couldn't sleep (nerves) and thinking about how dark it was outside, I decided to change my route.  I decided to run more neighborhood streets and less rural.  I got up at 4:45 am, ate one of my kids Cliff bars, mapped my new run, and headed out at 5:10 am.  At the last minute I decided to don my smartwool shirt which turned out to be a smart idea, it was really cold.

My first couple miles I felt pretty good. I was a little wary of the weird guy driving in circles around me until I realized he was delivering newspapers.  I turned into the wind but figured on fresh legs I could handle it and I knew on my way home it would be at my back.  I was feeling positive.  I ran four miles before I headed towards the rural roads and downhill.

For some reason I decided to mess with my husbands headlamp, thinking I could make it brighter.  I changed it to a wider light to make up for the lack of street lamps and almost ran off a cliff.  Yep, the rocks were the first sign that I was no longer on the road and when my brain registered my location I realized it was a cliff with a steep drop.  I made a sharp turn back to the road and followed a fence.  Idiot.

I headed down the hill (with my vision severely impaired) when my light caught a pair of glowing eyes.  I wanted to think "this is why I don't like to run in the dark" but I decided denial would be better.  I focused on staying on the road and not thinking about anything.  Not about how bad I had to go to the bathroom, or how dark it was (stupid light), or how much farther I had to go.  Nope, I didn't think about anything.  Except that I did stop to go to the bathroom.  Three times in fact on that run.  But there is a definite advantage there of running in the dark.  I think that's how I figured out the problem with my headlamp in fact because I turned it off to do my business and when I turned it back on (to the original setting) it was much brighter.  Whew.

I got out to the long road and felt really confident.  I was doing it.  I was going to make it to my turn around and run home and complete my first 11 mile run.  It was simple.  A straight shot out to Woodland Hills Drive and then I could turn around.  Except it wasn't simple.  It was actually really complicated.  My husband told me to run towards traffic so they could see my headlamp and therefore see me.  But car after car came towards me with their highbeams on and I was completely blinded!  It's all good if they can see me but not good if I can't see a rock, or the road, or the edge of the road.  So I started switching sides as I saw cars coming towards me, or jumping off the road so I could look down as they passed.  It became of sort of hop dance that required a lot more energy than I felt I had.  I was running 11 miles for Pete's Sake!  I was feeling frustrated and tired.

Then I remembered my Gu.  Gu with caffeine is a miracle.  Personally, the taste doesn't bother me.  I do a TriBerry Gu with Berry Gatorade to wash it down and I only have a bite at a time.  The energy burst is totally worth the pasty taste!  I made it to my half way point and turned around.  The sky began to lighten over the mountains, the stars began to fade and I felt rejuvinated.  I ran past the popular trails that were beginning to swell with morning runners and thought, "I've already gone 8 miles!"

Then I hit the hill.  The long hill.  I planned it a few miles before the end of my run so I wouldn't die but it was still hard.  Wave after wave a nausea hit me so I walked, tried to calm down, and relaxed.  It worked and I was off again.  At the top of the hill the wind hit me like a wall.  But I knew it would be brief.  I knew I would turn the corner and the wind would be at my back gently pushing me home.  It worked.  All I could think was, "man I'm smart."  I ran home.  Literally.  I don't know where the energy came from but my legs kept moving, my heart kept pumping, I wasn't going to die, and I was still running.

I made it home in 2 hours 5 min.  Not a stellar time for others but for me it was great!  I was so proud of myself I felt like crying.  But I was energized and ran through the rest of the day getting a million things done.

My biggest problem occured the following morning when the baby was awake from 5-6 am.  I had gone to bed at 9:30 but hadn't moved until she woke up at 5.  I never fell back asleep and dragged through another busy day with my head in a fog.  I couldn't figure out my bills or remember what to feed the baby.  I felt like crawling back in bed which I finally did at 10 pm.  And then, the baby was up again today from 4-5 am!  My head isn't quite as foggy but my eyes burn.  I've been running around, again, trying to get a million things done when all I want is to get back in bed.

So what is the moral of this story?  Don't run 11 miles before your husband goes out of town?  Don't run 11 miles on a super hectic week?  Don't run 11 miles when you have a baby that might wake up in the middle of the night?  I would say don't run 11 miles period, except I'm going to run 12 next week.  Call me Crazy!