20 Seems Plenty

Last night we finally got in from the drive home around 10pm. By the time the dogs were walked and we had finally gotten to bed it was around 11. I think I would have been more nervous about 20 in the morning, but my mind was still in temporary shock from the day we were finishing. Chipper Sue had agreed to pick me up in the morning at 6am and we would carpool into the city to meet at Queen Willemena's Windmill where Golden Gate Park meets Ocean Beach. This would be our starting point. Starting time was set at 7am. That's great except that the directions were incorrect and we ended up being 20 minutes late. We began at 7:30. It was raining and pretty cold. After last week, I know I prefer cold over hot so I wasn't bothered. We left Golden Gate Park and started off our first 5 miles all uphill. Oh yay. We ran up around the Presidio into the Marina (past Robin William's house) and I discovered this really cool old bath house at the bottom of this sea cliff we were running over. Note to self: when not trying to run 5 miles uphill, I should really come leisurely check out these cool sites I am running past! We hit a random point marked on the side of the street we were running and were told to turn around and go back to start. Once we got back to GGP, we entered the park and ran along trails past the buffalos, the water falls, the silver pond, tons of Saturday league games going on, then we turned around at the end of the park and ran back the other side towards Ocean Beach again. When we reached the Ocean we turned left and started our shot down the Great Highway. Everyone seems to hate this part of the run because they say it is boring, but I LOVE running along the ocean. Granted, this one isn't warm and sandy, but jagged and rocky and pretty cold. I noticed all the surfers floating on their boards and they gave me a feeling of company out there other than all the runners in their own worlds. We took a left on sloat which directed us past the SF Zoo and down onto the trail around Lake Merced. This is the infamous four mile lake that is always uphill. Physically I don't understand how it can all be uphill, but it is. I thougt I would never find the end of Lake Merced, but finally I was running back past the zoo again and dumping out onto the Great Highway once more for the final two miles. I could see the giant windmill in the distance and it didn't look so far. But my feet felt like cinder blocks, my right knee was burning and Chipper Sue's back was getting really sore. So we reached this point where we looked at eachother and said "no more talking. let's just get it done." For miles 18-20 I looked down at my feet and watched one foot lap the next for two freakin' miles. It felt like forever. The minute I stopped running my body began registering pain. Hips, knees, feet...feet, and my lower back felt like I had been hit with a hammer. They wanted me to eat, but all I wanted to do was put on sweat pants, a jacket and use the restroom. It took us 4.5 hours to run 20 miles. Unfortunately at least half an hour of that was bathroom stops because there weren't port-o-potty's and with several teams training out there today, the few public restrooms through golden gate had huge lines each time. Also, Chipper Sue and I stopped to stretch at least four or five times. Perhaps I didn't prepare well for this run yesterday, with the road trip, not enough hydration, not ample sleep, etc. Also, this run told me I should strength train so much more than I have. Later when I was home and had taken my ice bath, consumed massive amounts of water, eaten almost an entire pizza and slept for a few hours, I took inventory of my body. Three of my toe nails were black and one was falling off, but most painful was my back. My water bottle resting in my fuel belt had created a huge welt on the right side of my spine and was the reason I felt a hammer had hit me in the back. So...nixing the fuel belt and opting for a handheld from now on. (later I discovered my running shoes are half a size too small when my feet swell on a long run, so I bought new shoes and hopefully - toe nail problem solved.)
Tomorrow I ride in a car all the way to LA for 6 hours; making sure to pack my ice packs on my hips/knees and elevating my legs on the dash board. Bring on sappy tunes of Delilah playing on the car radio for hours and too many drive through starbucks lattes! If anything I will distract myself from my current situation during my vacation this week.
Oh, and today is my dad's birthday - Happy Birthday Dad!