Reflections

I've been looking through my photos over the last several days, looking for photos of Paul. I take a fair amount of grief for always having my camera at the ready. And there are people who don't want their photos taken (which I respect), and there are people who don't want them posted online (which I respect), but I don't regret taking lots of pictures. You only have one shot. When the moment is past, it can't be recaptured. I am thankful that I have so many photos of Paul.

Post-Fetzer 2010

Team R.E.D. Run

At The Bear's Den

I miss that crooked smile :-), that hearty, always-at-the-ready laugh, that "outside voice" that he used inside, the sense of humor ... the guys' running skirts for Team R.E.D., the pink skirts (with red lips on it) I made for his Divas and a Dude Ragnar Relay Team, his affection for slides, ... We miss you, guy.

The Melby family's experience this week has brought back memories of my own childhood. My family went from a family of 5 to a single-parent family of 4 in split second as well as a result of a car accident. I can feel their pain, as I have lived it. At times like this, I hurt once again and the tears flow easily.

I guess I'll give a report on my Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon run. Once again, not a shining moment as a runner. I've been wearing my calf compression sleeves for marathons for the past year, and on Friday I discovered that I'd only brought one. Drat. I really wanted to wear some, so it was off to the EnduRunce Shop in St. Cloud to try to find a new pair. I don't like trying anything new on race day, and these were a little different, but I wore them anyway.

Mile 26.1 (Paul Ford on the right)

On my right foot, the base of my fourth toe where it connects to my foot had an open crack in it about 1/8" long and was very sore. I had a blood blister on my second toe on my right foot. My left lower leg had been bothering me for about a week and even hurt when I ran my daily mile on Wed, Thurs and Fri. I seriously contemplated not even starting. I had all these issues streaming through my brain Friday night, so when I awoke at 12:45 AM, that was it for sleep for the night. Then my Garmin died before I left the parking lot on race morning. Argghhhhh ... I am so number-oriented. I was going to be lost without a watch but I had no choice. Either run without one, or don't run.

The weather was cloudy and cool (42 or so), and stayed cool, which was perfect. There was a strong north wind which we didn't feel for the 11 miles or so. We encountered some drizzle, but no heavy rain. Pretty nice marathon weather, but not so nice for all the volunteers out on the course. A huge thank you to everyone that stood outside all morning so that we could run.

I knew this wasn't going to be a P.R. day. I'm not in good shape. Best case for the day, 3:45. Possible for the day: a BQ and maybe sub-4:00. Ultimately, I just wanted a finisher's medal.

I wore a front pack and carried 4 gels, some hard candy, a pouch of electrolyte capsules and a few other things. I took water and/or Gatorade at all the water stops, and had to start making pit stops at mile 5. Way too many of them. The leg cramps started at 14 miles. I knew it would be a long haul to the finish, which it was. I tried to run through some of them and was sometimes successful, sometimes not. When I tried to pick up the pace, I was having to stop about every 5 or 6 strides so I had to back way off. Luckily, I didn't have the super painful adductor cramps that I endured at Boston. These leg cramps really do weird things ... I remember one stride where I cramped in my left foot and landed on the side of the midsole of my left shoe. Almost went down. Eventually I made it to the finish in 3:57:43. A BQ. I was very glad to be done.

Sharon does a terrific job with this race. It's a bargain. Technical shirts, custom medals, great drop bags, and I got a volunteer shirt for making cookies for the volunteers and being webmaster. I'll keep running this one as long as I can.

Workout recap: ran 8.03 miles with Joe and Meredith yesterday morning. Ran 7.20 this morning and went for a (windy) bike ride with Matt this afternoon.

I've been asked to be the 5-hour marathon pacer for Med-City. Hmmmm... I don't know. I don't know if I have another marathon in my legs so soon, even a slow one, and don't know if it's the best thing for my left leg (but it does feel better after running about 5 miles ...) But I have to make a decision soon.

I'm very tired. Time to close this out. Good night ...