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December 18, 2004
Another 20 Down
And this time it wasn't on the treadmill, so I enjoyed myself a lot more despite the frigid temps at the start. I woke up promptly at 5:30am to eat breakfast and to make sure that I had all my gear before I drove out to Arlington. I brought all configurations of running clothes in case I had to add or remove layers. When I started my stealth 8 miles at 6:40am, it was still pretty dark, but Custis Trail was well lit. I chose Custis because I wanted to challenge myself with hills; my neighborhood is mostly flat and I actually kind of miss being able to run strong on hills. It took awhile to get warmed up. I was in shorts, which was fine, by my fingers were furrrr-eeezing, and my hips kind of felt like an unlubricated bike chain. Once I turned around in order to get back for the 8am SLR start, my stride felt normal and I could tackle the hills with some gumption.
I got back 10 minutes early and jumped in my car with the heat to change clothes/gloves, eat a Gu, and open a pack of handwarmers. It was a huge mistake to sit down, even if only for five minutes. My hamstrings tightened up for the remainder of the run and my left quad was being a pesky thing again. One girl asked if I had Raynaud's phenomenon when she saw the handwarmers. I said that I had no idea what it was but that I did have really bad frostbite a few years ago. She thought that I may have it and recommended a topical ointment that skiers use. Hmm, I need to read up this ailment! Today's route was the annual Christmas tree run. We run through DC to see the National and Capitol Christmas trees. I even saw the one at Union Station, which was prettier than the one in front of the White House. Personally, and other people agree, I think that the former is gaudy and ugly and that the ornaments on the little trees around it look like little kids put their holiday projects there. The tree in front of the Capitol building has a cheesy appeal to it too, but at least there are a variety of ornaments and the tree looks real. It was fun running with different people on different parts of the run, and it made time go by faster. My quad issue became most prevalent with about 20 minutes left. By then, everyone had turned off to finish up their shorter runs. The sun was out and it was warming up along the Potomac River, with the ducks frolicking in the water - really such a beautiful and peaceful day. All I could think about, though, was how my quad hurt with each impact. My energy level was high; I was hydrated. Even so, those last 20 minutes were murder on my leg. At one point, I stopped to stretch at the top of a bridge, and Jessie flew by me finishing up her 18 miles. That motivated me to get my slack butt back to Iwo Jima, where we did a little cool down lap around the memorial. My second 20 mile training run done! It may have been closer to 21 miles, but it's hard to tell because my pace was varied throughout. I rather underestimate than overestimate mileage...
After a quick shower and lunch, I had a massage appointment. It was really relaxing (and painful, in good way) , even though my therapist and I talked the entire time. She worked on my quad and feet a lot, but she said that I would need to continue massaging my quad later as it was very tight and not too cooperative. I'm going to try to sneak in a tiny nap before church and Jessie and her roommate's party tonight. Ooh, and Christmas cards have to go out too!!
Posted by Leilani at December 18, 2004 03:58 PM