Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Ouch.

That pretty much says it all. I wasn't too bad Sunday morning, I thought maybe I could run, but I also thought it would be wise to rest up. Eric and I walked the Orting Trail, Rick and Sonya opted to join us. We walked two miles, then met up with the rest of the group (who actually ran) for coffee. By Sunday evening I was afraid to sit down. Every time I sat for more than a few minutes I would stiffen up and end up barely able to move my legs. Eric warned me that day two would be the worst. He was right.

I woke up yesterday (day two) and staggered out of bed. I had to get to the Y and teach my class - fortunately as I moved around I loosened up. I set up for class, then spent a few minutes stretching. The real problem was getting down to the mat, then back up. After class, I actually felt pretty good. I popped some advil after breakfast and drove the half hour to the other campus. I still wasn't too bad - sore, but manageable. I taught the class, standing part of the time, sitting on a table part of the time. When I hopped off the table I was definitely stiff again. Off to a meeting, an hour of sitting. Oh, my. And you should have seen the staircase I had to climb to get back to the car. It wasn't pretty and I was very slow. Things went downhill from there, till by the end of the night I was "cruising" the furniture like a baby learning to walk. And all the while, Eric is laughing at me! He told me that I now know how he felt after Tiger Mountain.

I was tentative about running this morning, even though Eric recommended it. I woke up at 3:00 and took some advil. When my alarm went off at 4:30, I again staggered out of bed. I went into the bathroom, turned the light on, turned it back off and went back to bed. I laid in bed debating - and finally got back up. I decided I might as well try it, I could always come back home if it was bad. Lucky I got up - when I walked out the door, Rick was parked out front waiting for me. I warned him I was pretty sore but he said we'd just give it a try. The first quarter mile, everything hurt. Then, miraculously, the pain receded and I felt good - till the first downhill, then everything hurt again. The uphills were fine. We ran four miles in 48 minutes. Our last mile was at an 11:55 pace even with a minute of walking. Not too shabby!

Yesterday, I boldly posted on our run group forum that I was running hills tomorrow. I've been debating about it since I finished this morning's run. I think I'm going to give it a try - there are two or three points where I can bail and run back home, so where's the harm in trying? Both Rick and Rob have said they are going to try to join me - Rob, if he can get his schoolwork done, Rick, if his job doesn't interfere. (Rick works crime scenes and evidence, so he can't always make a solid commitment). If neither of them makes it, I'll probably skip the hill run and go for a more moderate route. If they come though, I'm in!

12 comments:

runliarun said...

I cannot keep up with you! You are running more races than I am able to post comments.

Olga said...

Oh, the joy of first real after-trail-race soreness...I do remember every stair when I cam back from my Escarpment 30k in upstate NY with 10k gain...Yes, it is worse on day 2, and yes, Eric is wise to advice you to run it off. Good for you you went on this run!

Anne said...

So you are human like us afterall :-).

JustRun said...

I agree... the first run really helps with the pain. Any pain, really. I still think you're a machine, though- you have enough races for all of us. :)

IronWaddler said...

It's hard to buy into that going out there to run will make it better. It does.

Jenny, Maniac #401 said...

Michelle- :) I am sorry you hurt so bad when I don't hurt at all. I guess I got mine from running Mt. Peak with Rob , Steve, Amy and lisa on Monday. I sure paid for it for three days afterwards. It'll get better.
Jenny

Wes said...

Wow! Another first for you to share with Eric :-) Then you two moved on to commiserating together...how awesome is that? You will be a fine trail runner in no time, no doubt!

Anonymous said...

oh yeah, day 2 is *always* the worst! way to go on recovery.

Anonymous said...

Ahh, now you know why Eric and I suffer through the ice baths after the trail runs. It really seems to work to take away the swelling, increase blood flow and speed recovery. My legs are doing great, just a little tight yesterday. And Lorri likes to laugh at me while I scream like a little girl.

I wish I could have been there to join him in the ribbing. hehe

The ice bath experiance can be your next adventure after Orcas Island.

Bob - BlogMYruns.com said...

Way to Go Michelle to get moving again on your runs...

One of my Business Associates an older gentleman who played NFL ball back in the early 70's LIVED in the ICE Baths and would agree with Steve's comments wholeheartedly .. He played Offensive Tackle and said that was the ONLY thing that helped him recover and move the next day after a ballgame was the ICE Baths... I think I did one ice bath in my lifetime and that was one to many for me-lol

Anonymous said...

Hi Michelle!

Thanks for stopping over on my blog! Sounds like your recovery is going okay for your first trail race!

I'm finding that the older I get, the longer it takes to get sore after a tough run. I'm definitely at the point that I get most sore after 2 days.

Meghan
www.running-blogs.com/meghan/

Sarah said...

I love recovery runs! Sometimes it seems counterintuitive at first, but I always feel better after the run. I hope you feeling better today!