Sunday, November 22, 2009

18 Cold, Wet Miles

I did it! I got in my 18-mile run here in Seattle this morning!

It was not easy, let me tell you that. I'm still shivering, and I've been done with my run for more than 40 minutes. I'm back in my hotel room, trying to get warm, but it feels good to have done it.

I will have a full run recap probably tomorrow so please keep an eye out for that. But for now, I do want to hit on some of the highlights:

* The rain and cold were tough challenges, but once I was out there running, I didn't really mind them too much to be honest. It wasn't until after I took my first few steps after I crossed the 18-mile mark that I realized "Oh, I'm quite cold now." I realized I was drenched well before that.

* I ran into one of my blog buddies! Kerrie of mom vs. Marathon had initially recommended the Cedar River Trail, and lo and behold she was on it! She was running with Zoe, another blogger whom I shall now follow. Kerrie took a picture and I'm anxious to see what it looks like. It was around the 6.5 mile mark so I was still fresh. Had she taken it at the 16.5 mile mark, I would have looked like crap. But they were awesome and it was a real treat to meet them.

* I'll describe it more in detail later but the Cedar River Trail is stunningly gorgeous. I ran right next to the Cedar River, a real river, not like the rivers we have in SoCal which are glorified streams.

* I managed to take a few pictures of myself but I'll share this one right now. It was about five minutes after my run and I was starting to feel it pretty bad alright.

I think my biggest mistake was not taking a change of clothes with me, or at least a change of socks. My feet are still blocks of ice right now and I think causing me to shiver. And that new (free!) jacket really worked wonders, although it's probably a size too big. But I really didn't care. It protected me well and is now my official rain jacket. The hat was also a god-send. I never got rain in my eyes, not once, and it probably rained about 80-90 percent of the time during my run.

Oh yeah, I finished in about 3 hours 18 minutes. A snail's pace, I know, but under the circumstances that was a great time for me.

Anyway, just wanted to give you the news now. I'll give you the details tomorrow so please come back for them.

In the meantime, I'm going to try melt my blocks of ice that are at the ends of my legs.

UPDATE: I warmed up okay but am still feeling it. I get winded easily after short walks, especially up stairs. Whew.

Also, check out my "guest appearance" in Kerrie's write-up on her blog! Awesome stuff!

10 comments:

tahoegirl said...

i have been waiting for an update all day. YAY!!! so happy you did it and very inspired! did you put your dry clothes near a heater?! and a running hat can be a god send. go have some hot tea and relax. CONGRATULATIONS LB!! WOO-HOO!!

L.B. said...

Thanks Tahoe! I thought about you during the run, about how you have to deal with this sort of weather 10 months out of the year. Not fun. I would definitely invest in some sort of socks that keep you dry and a good pair of gloves. Mine worked okay, better than nothing, but could have been better. Thanks for the encouragement and support. It means a lot.

Jephy's Mom said...

Yay LB! So great that you conquered another challenge. How neat that Kerrie was there to meet you on the trail. I'm so happy for you.

Unknown said...

I was so pleased to read this post when I got home from work! *HIGH FIVE*!

How were the nipples in the rain?

L.B. said...

Thanks Polly!

The nips weren't too bad actually. I taped them up real good, too good actually. The tape won't come off!

Kerrie said...

Oh man, I should've told you to bring a change of clothes! I always forget, but thank goodness I remembered a fleece jacket to replace my drenched coat with!

I'll send you the pic if you shoot me your e-mail address: kerrie (at) sanitydepartment (dot) com. It'll be up on Mom vs. Marathon in a bit, too!

So great to meet you!

Zoƫ said...

Hi LB! It was fun running into you on the trail today! Nice to meet you. :)
Glad that you had a good run, despite the weather conditions. It was a wet one today for sure! Awesome job!

Raoulysgirl said...

I was anxious to see how it went! Congratulations!!! You did it!!!

Hope you are warmer now!!!

Willoughby said...

I'm glad you made it! And met up with some fellow bloggers, too. How cool is that?!

5 Miles Past Empty said...

WOW! Great job! I knew you could it!!!! How awesome that you "ran" into Kerrie and Zoe! That is super fun! I can't wait to go up and read the whole racap!