It’s late at
night now, and I am still recovering from this week’s 18 mile run. As soon as I
got back to my apartment, I went straight to bed and slept for several hours.
By the time I woke up it was already 5 pm and dark outside (thanks a lot
daylight savings time). I had to work to do but I was totally unmotivated to do
anything other than rest. You all know that I have trained for the Los Angeles Marathon
for several years now, but all that experience doesn’t keep me from feeling
completely winded after pounding the asphalt, and at times the pavement,
through Burbank and Glendale.
For once I
got to Griffith Park before any announcements by the coaches were made, and
that felt like a tremendous accomplishment considering how I like to sleep in
most days. Coach JC told us once again to take it easy on this run and reminded
us that this was not about being fast but completing all 18 miles. Knowing the
impact that all these miles were going to have on us, he made it clear that if
we wanted to do maintenance walks or other cardio exercises instead of runs through
next week that would be fine. Having been through this marathon training
before, I came into this particular run with an alarming amount of confidence.
I’ve ran 18 miles before, but I seem to have forgotten the effect that has had
on my body. I treated this run as if it was no big deal, but it sure was.
This run
comes just after “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” finally arrived in theaters
everywhere, so us runners tried to talk about it without spoiling any important
plot details. This proved to be even more challenging than the run itself as
those of us who had seen the most anticipated movie of 2015 were ever so eager
to talk about its most pivotal moments in extensive detail. As for myself, I
was curious what people thought about Jar Jar Binks’ sex scene with an ewok as it
raised a few eyebrows… Okay, that didn’t happen in “The Force Awakens.” I just
wanted to make sure I had your attention.
For the
record I did do my two maintenance runs before this 18 miler, so I was certain
that I would keep up with my fellow pace group runners throughout this run. For
the most part I did, but just like in any LA Marathon I eventually got
separated from the rest of the pack and found myself once again experiencing
the loneliness of the long distance Kenber. Fortunately I did have a map of the
course, one that I did not lose for once, so I wasn’t about to go in the wrong
direction. Have I done that in the past? I’ll plead the fifth on that.
We were not
inundated with hills even though we had to run part way up Grandview Avenue,
but we did have to watch ourselves more than usual as we ran downhill more
often than not. I did my best to run on the asphalt as much as possible, but
there were times I was forced to run on concrete which did not do my joints
much in the way of favors. During the LA Marathon we spend most of our time
running on asphalt, so it’s important that we run on it now so that we can
fully prepare for what’s coming up in two months.
Despite the
fact that I ran by my lonesome, I found myself running at just the right pace
even as the temperature rose from a frigid 49 degrees to a temperature that
just had to be unseasonably warm. I had more layers of clothing on than usual,
but it was no surprise that I shed some of them way before the halfway point.
I did have a
few packs of gel blocks handy in case I needed more of an energy boost, and it
didn’t take long for me to need them as I could tell when I was low on fuel. Coach
JC told us that this 18 mile run would be the first one in our training that
would have us hitting “the wall.” Now hitting the wall means we’ve reached the
point where we feel like we can’t go any further and we go into some sort of
collapse. Getting up from there and forcing yourself to get to the finish line
back can be a mighty challenge, and I’ve been there several times before.
Towards the
end I found myself slowing to a crawl, and I knew my fellow pace group members,
who had long since left me in their vapor trails, would not be waiting for me
back at Griffith Park. Not that I’m holding it against them; I wouldn’t even
wait for me. Just as I started running again, I found myself losing speed to
where my feet were telling me, “Fuck this!”
But crossed
the finish line I did, and the coaches were on hand to greet with applause and
endless praise. As you can imagine, I was one sore mother fucker and eager to
stretch my legs for all of eternity. What was really bothering me, however, was
my back which felt a lot more sore than usual.
Throughout this run it felt like
I was slouching a lot and I kept trying to stay in the present moment so that I
could keep my back straight, but my mind always wanders. If anyone knows any
good back exercises or stretches, please let me know.
So, I
survived another 18 mile run and now have a 10 mile recovery run to look
forward to next week. I will be out of town for Christmas but I do plan on
continuing my marathon training. In the meantime I got a lot of resting to do.
Seriously, I was too tired to even get a bag of ice from Ralphs Supermarket so
that I could have an ice bath. I got to the store and even then I was ready to
pass out.
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