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September 18, 2006
Shock Therapy
There is nothing like welcoming winter in with a big, fat, shocking bang. Hello? Inches of snow? Was that really necessary? It's over now; the snow has retreated back up to the mountain tops, temperatures have warmed, and the sun has decided to shine again. However, I know it's never going to get truly hot again this year. Friday evening brought in a weather system that blanketed much of southern Montana and northern Wyoming with variable quantities and qualities of snow. By Saturday morning, the storm had just barely set in and was rearing up for some good fun.
Meanwhile, my cross country team suffered through this storm and ran a great race despite the weather conditions. A few even set solid PRs. These kids are true troopers and weathering this nasty storm with success just solidifies this idea.
Me, on the other hand, I just whined my way through the weekend feeling sorry for myself that winter is coming whether I like it or not. Additionally, and perhaps as a result of standing outside in snow for 5 hours, I woke up on Sunday morning feeling quasi-sick with a sore throat and a low-grade fever. I fought that off with staying warm, lots of sleep, echinacea, and vitamin C; today I feel fine. However, this past weekend has not left a great taste in my mouth over the impending season change.
I will admit, though, that Montana was beautiful and quiet underneath a thin blanket of that fluffy white stuff. And, I'm enjoying my first opportunities at cozying up to the heating stove in my house. And, I'm pulling out sweaters and sweatshirts that I haven't seen in 6 months and it feels like a new wardrobe. And, I want to take up snowshoe running this winter, so I'm anxious for some snow to try this new sport out. There, I said it, the approaching winter is not that bad.
On other more running-related notes, I feel completely recovered from my marathon. That is, with the exception of the toenail that just isn't going to survive, despite my efforts at caring for it. I ran roughly 25 miles the first week after the race, all easy and with a short long run. During the second week I did roughly 40 miles with no long run and 1 workout. This week I will be back to normal with perhaps about 60 miles with a long run and 2 workouts. I have stopped logging miles ran, though, so these are just guestimates. Rather, I'm tracking time-on-feet.
I've done 2 workouts since the race. I felt a little weak and stiff during the first one last week. In today's workout, I felt solid all the way through, and it was a tough one. I did a warmup and cooldown on a rolling forest service road. Then I did the workout on a forest service road that climbed up into a beautiful and steep canyon. I did this in the early evening, and so I got to watch the sun fade to gold and then orange on the tops of the canyon walls. The sunset provided a great distraction to this painful endeavor.
I may have mentioned that there are only a few local runners around here, and I think I know of nearly all of them. Today I saw a young-ish guy (post-college perhaps?) running in this canyon; he was gliding downhill as I was gasping for breath while running the workout uphill. I had no idea of who he was, whether a tourist or a local. His form told everything, though. He was a talented runner and I wanted to know who he was. Too bad I couldn't manage anything but a pained half smile as we passed. In addition to another runner, I saw moose tracks and bear scat, but happily none of the animals belonging to those.
Posted by Meghan at September 18, 2006 9:13 PM
Comments
re mountain runner: try catching him next time... good training anyway... maybe bugling as well :) it might startle him, pleasantly slow him down... just enough to give him a big smile :))
Posted by: corrado giambalvo at September 19, 2006 1:39 AM
I can't even imagine snow in October, never mind September. Crazy! I'm glad you're recovering so well.
Posted by: Caitlin at September 19, 2006 3:53 PM