Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Topping My List

After having had time to reflect on my Cedar River Run (henceforth my Seattle 18-miler will be known as the Cedar River Run), I haven’t really been able to rank it in terms of memorable runs. I do this every now and then, to sort out what runs are my most memorable, which ones stand out in my memory as being a great, unforgettable adventure.

I did however force myself to differentiate runs between races and non-races. By nature, races are memorable. They're big occasions, things you train for and put energy into, and those memories just naturally stay with you. It’s a bit unfair to compare a race to a training run in that sense so the races would always win out.

So in terms of non-races, this run then has less competition although to be honest this was always going to be a memorable run, probably top three.

Right now, it’s definitely in my top five. Is it number one? That’s hard to say.

Among the previous memorable runs:

* Running four or five miles at the Parc du Mont-Royal in Montreal.

* Running through a sprawling, tree-lined park in the heart of Mexico City.

* Running across the Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Ariz.

* My first five-mile run, from my house to my mom’s house.

* The first time I ran 10 miles.

I think the first three and the Cedar River Run are in competition for number one

Now, had I tried to compare this to, say my Ragnar legs, my half-marathon or the Mud Runs, that would have been difficult to say where this ranked. But again, those were races I prepared diligently for and memorable for different reasons.

The Cedar River Run, of course, was one I prepared for and really approached like any other run - I'd focused on achieving my goal, determined to see it through. But it wasn't a race, obviously.

I managed to take a few pictures after the run, such as the one I posted on Sunday. I even shot a little video, but not sure if I'm going to post it. Maybe. Not sure.

Anyway, what do you think - do my hands look like wrinkled ape hands?

And this picture actually confirmed my actual finish time of 3 hours, 19 minutes, 21 seconds. When I was close to the finish, I thought about trying to make it a little past 18 miles, maybe like a tenth of a mile longer or not, but the moment The Garmin read 18.00, I shut that thing off and stopped. Screw that extra tenth of a mile.

And my feet, my poor aching feet.

This is back in my hotel room. My feet were sooo cold. I don't remember the last time my feet were that cold. The best thing about this picture is my toenail! It was particularly black. Awesome.

Anyway, compared with regular non-races, just with the conditions and the distance I ran this time around, it’s tough for the Cedar River Run not to be my most memorable run ever.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Yes, your feet look cold! You need to paint that black toenail pink to go with your Loper's shirt!

Jephy's Mom said...

Boy you've run in some pretty cool places. I'm not sure if I would use the word "awesome" to describe the black toenail. Creepy is more like it.

tahoegirl said...

we have matching black toenails -- i have them on both feet. although i painted the rest of mine black too, 'cuz hubby said it was gross. you have run in some pretty awesome places!

Willoughby said...

When I was scrolling through my reader, the picture of your hand caught my eye. In thumbnail size, it looks like a bionic arm with a human hand attached. Really, really awesome!

Kerrie said...

Cool post LB! I'll have to read the other runs on your list!

PS: Thanks for the ideas on the Garmin. There are definitely some things you mentioned that I didn't think about. Thanks!

Angie Eats Peace said...

What awesome accomplishments!