NINE FREAKING MILES....OMG

At the 4 mile mark, not even at the top of the damn hill!

Trying to get more of the view from here

Wow. I am BEAT. Totally, thoroughly, wiped out. I knew it would be tough, attempting 9 miles. Now I feel like if I had run Sawyer Camp Trail, essentially FLAT, it would have been EASY. This was the hardest thing I have EVER done in my life, right up there with childbirth. And I had pain killers for those. This was drug free. Except for the adrenaline.

I must have worked myself up into a frenzy at the thought of 9 miles. It worried me all week. I woke up this morning at 3am, 4am, 5am and 6am. Then got up and had stomach cramps and was in the bathroom so much I thought I would have to cancel. I could only eat 2 bites of my oatmeal before I left.

We ran at Rancho San Antonio Park, really beautiful, off 280 and Foothill. The parking was full at 8 am, so we had to park in a nearby neighborhood and walk in, about a mile. Bob, James, Steph and I met 3 or 4 other team members and we took off. Of course, they took off and Steph stayed with me, but quickly, we put our music on, she went ahead of me and I fell behind, finding my pace and going with it.

The plan was to do the PG&E Challenge trail. Supposed to be really challenging, the entire trail, all hills, steep, but about 2 miles in, there were other trails that we could take around the mountain that were flatter, around to a farm, and it would be a 9 mile loop.

This was 8 miles of literally ALL HILLS. There were maybe 3 or 4 areas the entire trail that were flat, for a few feet, barely enough to catch my breath. The whole thing was UP UP UP. There were a few downhill stretches on the way up the hill, and I ran those, but the uphills, I had to walk those. And everytime I looked up to see when the hill ended, it never DID. I stopped looking up because it was so discouraging how loooooong the up hill stretches were. I thought my quads were going to catch on fire and send my clothes up in flames. My stomach felt pretty good during the run, felt nauseous once but talked it down, and ate a couple of the shot blocks, which were TONS better than the gross Gu gel. 

Everytime Steph stopped to wait for me, I asked her when the hell we were going downhill, or getting to the shoot off trail. I could not believe how high we were going, and how it was constant climbing up. We saw a fork up ahead and she said another .10 mile and we would be there, so I plugged on. SHE LIED. We kept going, up, up, up, and up. Finally, she said we had made it 4 miles and we could either continue around the loop, or go back down, do 8 miles in the hills and another mile on the flat land. Since I felt like the entire way was up, I gladly agreed to turn around and go back, even though I knew how steep it would be going down and I remembered how hard it was going downhill with Bob a few weeks ago. This was all trails, all dirt and rocks so it would be more treacherous but I simply could not handle more up hill.

We headed back down, knowing that I would be walking the few up hills, and running all the down hills and flats. It only took a couple of miles before my ankle, my hip flexor, my lower back and a knee started acting up. But I kept going. I walked up, ran at my snail pace down, and I tell you, when I got to the bottom and the parking lot was in front of me, it was the most welcome sight. 

I ran back to the start, where the rest of the team were waiting, James drew a line in the dirt and he and Steph made a finish line "ribbon" for me to plow through. I could not believe that I actually did 9 miles.A little more when you consider we then had to walk all the way back to the car! Everyone congratulated me, told me how awesome I was. James told me that if I could do 9 miles of the PG&E Challenge, the 1/2 marathon, flat, will literally be a piece of cake. I don't know about that, but I sure felt ready to take on any flat surface with no hills! Then Ms. Sneaky Steph said that was her plan all along, get me 4 miles up on the PG&E trail, then back down and not take the easier trail. Good thing she didn't tell me that during the run, I would have pushed her over one of the cliffs.

One thing that kept me going was thinking about Dad, and how even when he was healthy, there was no way he could have done something like this, so I really am doing this in his honor. I am not walking for a specific charity, but I am walking in honor of my dad. I know he would be so proud of me if he were here. Steph also reminded me that we should feel fortunate to be healthy enough to tackle something like this, there are so many out there that are unable to do this. This is her church. This is close to God. It was incredibly beautiful up there, and I do feel very fortunate that my body allows me to get with nature and take me up there. Yes, I  moan and groan because it was SO hard, but all told, I DID it. One way in, one way out. I am committed to this race, and I am pushing myself to get there.

Both Franklin and Alexander told me not to do too much, as I was worrying about the 9 miles yesterday. They said to only do what I could. Today, I came home limping and in pain, and they both said I overdid it.

The thing is, it's not about overdoing it. I could have said  I was done about 20 minutes in, it was so hard going constantly uphill. But it's now all about pushing my limits, doing things I never thought I could do, setting a specific goal and not stopping till I get there, no matter what. I shouldn't have worked my self  up about the 9 miles, because it is such a mind game. I don't know if I have a stomach bug, or if all my stomach woes today were emotional. I was a mess after the run, so sick to my stomach, back in the bathroom, all afternoon long. I forced myself to eat, even though I felt like eating nothing, and strangely, it made me feel better. I really have to get the nutrition part down because I know I am either not eating enough, or not enough of the right foods. 

Bottom line, yes, I am in pain right now, stiff, sore, limping, but I am recovering faster and faster (oh, and surprisingly enough, the knees that have been bothering me so much since I started running have now been feeling much better) and I am getting stronger. I miss my gym classes, and can't wait to get back to them, but this is so challenging, I know I will feel so good when I cross that finish line. Even if I am on my hands and knees.