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.