The other side of 11

Saturday brought the "11 mile" run. The plan was to meet up with the big runners at 8:30 am (knowing full well we would start more like 8:45). I showed up feeling pretty good, but still a bit nervous of the goal that lay ahead for me. The group was trying to decide who was running for how long. Apparently not everyone was willing to run "slow" for Sara's big 11 mile feat (or is that feet?).


Finally, after several crazy conversations and no completion of desired answers, I just started running, knowing it would be only about 100 yards I would feel like I could hold my own. We rounded down the first mile, and I did my best to keep in sync with everyone, knowing full well i could never keep that pace up for the whole trip. Soon, I was lagging behind, but still attempting to stay in "running form." I kept reminding them all that I was the tortoise in the picture.


Well, the tortoise actually ran pretty well for 9 miles. There was no bridge going up to slow me down, and the run actually felt like it went by a lot faster. Maybe that would be because the road is familiar (it was quite similar to last weeks BIG 9 mile run).


After running through UW Campus, parking lot and seeing all the people readying for the tailgating to ensue for the UW/Stanford game, my thoughts kept wandering to beer and hot dogs (in a good way! - yum). We continued through the horticulture center and began the upgrade back home. At this point we were a little more than 2 miles out. I was beginning to tire, and knew that I should have never had that conversation in French with one of the runners back at mile 2 where I was running a little too fast for my long stretch. In the uphill climb, I wondered if I had pushed to much in the previous trek...


Obviously something was not right, when I began to have some breathing problems. It felt like Asthma, which helped aid to a panicky feeling. Coach Seely said that it is "exercised induced asthma." Whatever it was, I had to walk about a quarter mile just to get my breathing under control The last 2 miles were a challenge, but I had no choice but to finish. Thanks to the support from the other runners, especially Tim, who was prepping for his big run this coming weekend in Minnesota, I made it to the end, and only uttered a few choice words that I will not name here in my blog! :-p

The rest of the day was busy with work obligations (singing a wedding, and Mass that evening), and a great opportunity to see the ballet. Needless to say, I could not wait to go to bed. However, my body still felt as if it were running. I compare the feeling to something like being on a boat for a few hours and when you get off, if feels as if you are still on the water. Sadly, I did not get a good night sleep as I had hoped, but survived enough to be able to function on Sunday for work. Sleep continues to be a big struggle for me. I seem to be in the land of the Cat Nap


Sunday's was a day of rest, and I felt NO guilt for taking it. Today, I rode the bike at the gym on random setting and lifted weights. Tomorrow it's back running with the boys... wish me luck!


3 weeks left. It sure doesn't feel real.