Okay, okay - nobody freak out. I didn't really 'run' these miles, but you know what? I'm going to give myself a break for Christmas and New Years and realize that I AM worth it and even though they aren't 'pure' miles - I'm counting them! I worked hard for them, harder than running anyway, and persistence, grit and determination helped propel me 52 laps around a track. It may have taken 4 hours and my quad and knee are SO stinkin' rotten sore right now that I may not be able to walk in the morning, but gosh darn it! I did it! I deserve these miles!! So, my gift to myself is a little leniency on my 'pure' miles calculation and I'm taking my 14.25 miles I scooted today!
Through my whining and complaining with this fracture my sweet neighbor who just had major surgery on her left calf to remove malignant melanoma (and who listens to my crazy whining and complaining about not being able to run even though she just shakes her head and tells me if I want to have to ice myself when I'm done with an activity that hurts me I should just bang my head against the wall for an hour :) ) told me I could borrow her knee scooter so that I could go to my race today. Well, it gave me hope - and fun ideas! I could go and cheer every one on and scoot a few laps with my running pals. Hey...this just might work after all. I was excited! Scooter Pride baby! :)
Picked up the scooter last night and on the way into the Olympic Oval I decided to ride it, practice - right?!? Well, all was well until I hit a crack on the sidewalk and went flying over the handle bars. HA! Talk about feeling dumb and embarrassed. I'm already a gimp then this? People infront of me and behind me asked if I was okay. I quickly popped up and said "yup, I'm good" I was thinking "don't look at me - hurry, get me out of here so you don't recognize me!!" Luckily nothing like this happened again. The race was a 4 hour race at the Oval and you could start or finish any time between 8-12 and you could run as much or as little as you wanted. All I needed was one lap to not DNS or DNF - I'm in! :) Chatted with Maurine, Leslie, Maynard and some ladies from a Tri group at the rec center that do the masters swim class. Before the leaders came around to complete their first lap I started scooting. Half way through the first lap my quad was BURNING on FIRE. Oh boy...this is going to be a long 4 hours. Well, after a few laps Becca got there and we started off together. I would do every other lap to let my quad rest, but then I figured out I could raise the platform your knee is on - bingo! Not nearly as much quad pain. I then could do 3 or 4 laps at a time. Had some great chats with Becca, despite being interrupted nearly every lap about questions or comments from other runners about my situation. All of it positive. People were calling me inspiring - HA! Trust me, no inspiration here, just hard headedness! I didn't think I'd do all that many miles: 4-6ish, but 2 hours in they told me I had a 10K done...rockin'! It was then I figured if I could let go of 'pure' miles I could finish my last 13 miles. I could do this, I just have to be nice to myself and realize that I've worked awfully hard for this and that I deserve it! Not just in an 'everybody gets a trophy' kind of way, but in a much more personal way. I had too much invested and too much conquered this year to put myself in this 13 mile hole. I was going to claw, crawl, dig and kick my way out!! So, then the race was on... I'd scooter 3-4 laps then walk one to give my leg and knee a break. Everyone wanted a ride and I told them they could gladly take a turn. It was hard - seriously hard. You have no idea. My arms, hip, back, quad and knee are so terribly sore I'm not sure I'll be able to walk tomorrow!! I think running even 20 miles would've been easier on my body than what I did. Not so tough cardio wise - although still good, but my pony tail never got wet :) but muscularly, ouch. Well, at least on one leg. I was ecstatic when I asked how many laps I was at and they told me 2 shy of my 1/2 marathon. Wow! I still had like 20 minutes left...I felt like a rockstar. Many people had left and especially after 3 hours the crowd thinned a TON, but I was still there...still plugging along, to the bitter end!! We finished our 2nd to last lap and they said 1 minute left, but they would let you finish your last lap as long as you were over the line when time ran out. So, I parked the scooter and walked in my last lap. I certainly wasn't fast - 6:30, but I did it. Very proud of my new found scooting endurance :) Won a prize in the raffle (some crazy chia seed energy/hydration drink mix...not so sure about it, maybe in smoothies), and even confiscated a pocket full of Milky Way Midnights from the aid station :) I think Becca and I were the last to head out - the bitter end! They have me recorded for 52 laps which is 14.28 miles, but with my analness I will have to just call it 14.25, but probably closer to 14.5 since I was on the outside of the track :) My fastest lap was 2:20 - cruisin'! Probably one of the laps I made Becca do some speed work. It was great to scoot with friends and chat along. This really totally satisfied my emotional need that running fulfills. Still not the same physical needs, but man - this was good!! I seriously have never participated in such an awesome race. But, I don't suggest anyone do it next year...I don't want it too crowded or expensive :) I ended up 85th in # of laps completed out of 260ish participants and 42/160ish women. Not too shabby for scooting :) So, I hope you all can forgive me my sin of tainting my pure running miles, but dang it - I deserve this one! Best.Race.Ever. Thanks for an awesome time Becca! (don't mind the crappy picture, we're not professionals and had just spent 4 hours running/scooting in circles :) ).
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