14 Miles of Fun followed by 2 miles of pure Hell...

Yep that pretty much says it all....Well let me backup a little bit. Last Wednesday afternoon(1st of April), I was helping to lay down a gym tarp for my big Kid's Camp Deployment Day. This entailed a good hour of me being on my knees, crawling across a gym floor...Really did not think anything of it. So Thursday at the actual event I was on my feet all day, so decided to take the day off from running...On Friday I put in a few miles, Saturday(6), Off on Sunday, 6 on Monday and 5 on Tuesday...Then it happened...I woke up at 2 in the morning on Wednesday...My knee was killing me, so I iced it and went back to sleep. I had not really experienced a pain in my knee like this since I had started running almost 2 years ago, so I was not really that worried. Low and behold, I woke up Wednesday at 6 and looked at my knee...

It looked like someone had put a Tennis Ball on top of my knee cap and it was mushy....Vanessa in her best supportive role, looked at it and said EWWWWWW...Very reassuring....In the past in the MANWICH days, I would have thought nothing of it...I would have put ice on it, grabbed a candy bar and plopped my ass down on the couch...Not so these days...I freaked, called my brother, called my dad, and looked on-line for knee information...I am signed up for two marathons, and international half(Canada), and have already bought my ticket to DC...I CANNOT BE HURT....SO I listened to someone who has become a true hero of mine...my Brother Tim, the Stud Ironman Athlete that he is...."Take a few days off, you'll be fine..."

So I did...Took 3 days off, iced it, took some drugs, iced it some more and took more drugs...All of this while stressing a little bit for my long run on Saturday...A 16 miler...and to reverse even further in time, it is important to know that when I was training for my first marathon, I did not finish my 14 mile run(hit a wall), or the 16 or 18 miler(injured)...

Was my body screwing with me again..or was I screwing with my body...

So I woke up this morning and ventured off for my 16 mile run with a knee brace...my brand new FUEL BELT, and my BRAND NEW Mizuno Coat...A quick sidebar...MY Mizuno coat rocks..simply for the fact that as a larger man, I can breath in it...All other running coats suck the breath out of me, and make my Moobies look huge...

As I started out, I felt pretty crappy...not hurting, just dehydrated, so I inhaled a few of my bottles and carried on...Felt really good...At mile 9, I had depleted all of my hydration(the plan), and refilled my bottles at the convenience store...I have started to do this on my long runs...Saves having to have a caravan of support and it is easier to carry a ID and Credit Card...

Miles 9-13.1 felt pretty good. but was a little disappointed in my half time...Went 4 minutes over my last competitive HAlf MArathon 2 weeks ago..I blame the terrible head wind for the first 9 miles(no joke), and the knee, which though was not hurting, I could tell I was favoring just to be careful..

Then I hit Mile 14....HOLY CRAP....It is really funny how at mile 14 it feels as if you are doing a 8 or 9 minute mile, when in fact you are doing between a 10 and 11 minute mile...The legs started to go, and I finished off my last hydration...As I made my way to the car, my body must have looked comical to cars going by...I was hurting, and I knew it.

After was all said and done, I was pretty happy with my results..16 miles at a overall 9:54 pace...DO I have some work to do...Absolutely....But no rest for the weary...Next week is a 18 miler, so stay tuned...It should be a good one...Fingers crossed...