March has been a busy month. The 17th and 18th, was a weekend filled with runs. Saturday I ran the Canyon Meadow 50k and Sunday my girl, Amy Rogers, ran her first "solo run", running the half marathon, Rodeo Valley trail run. The 25th found me running the Oakland Marathon, and on the 31st, Amy and I will be running the 15 mile Ayala Cove race, out on Angel Inland.
It was also a month filled with set backs. Personally, financially, as well as physically. I guess it was a month of testing limits, practicing patience and tolerance, remembering to take it "one step at a time". I have been troubled with anterior shin splints on my left leg. It got to the point that I couldn't run a mile without it killing me. After dealing with this problem for months I was forced to take time off the leg. I was going to take a week off, but a flu forced me off the trails for almost three weeks. Recovery has been slow. All my runs, this month, have been slowed down by this injury, and I have started to have real concerns about the up coming Miwok 100k race in May.
But this is a blog about running, and that's what we did. Canyon Meadow was a muddy rain soaked run. We all missed the down pour of the night before, but the over flowed streams and slippery mud soaked trails were a constant reminder.
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| A nice turn out at the start. |
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| 7 hours 23 minutes later I arrive at the finish. |
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| Just a little muddy. |
Sunday was Amy's turn to run, and I would be her crew at the Rodeo Valley trail run, along the Marin Headlands. This was Amy's first solo run. Amy started running less than a year ago. Running the Sacramento Marathon, December 4th, after only 26 weeks of training. As part of her training we started running tails up in the Oakland hills. Amy and I have run all her races together, and before this she had crewed for me at my races. Well it was her turn to run a race with me has her crew, and her running the trails on her own, at her own pace, navigating the terrain and over coming obstacles- on her own.
Well she did great. She finished in 3 hours and 12 mins. Not only did she navigate the trails, but she encounter a bob cat! and had to let that little kitty run it's own race.
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| She's on the right. |
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| Just before the last aid station |
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| She's a winner!!!!! |
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| I love this, throwing-up chicken soup at then end. She's a real runner now! |
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| 2nd place in her age group! |
The 25th found me at the Oakland Marathon. I had hope to break the 4:30 barrier but it was not to be. My shin started hurting me at mile 1 and did not stop hurting until mile 4. I also had a hamstring cramp threatening to go off at any moment. Still I ran a good race. I was finally able to let myself pee as I ran. LOL I know but I have not been able to pee my pants scene I started running. I finished 4:42:30, and last year I finished at 4:42:44. I don't know how much time I saved by peeing on the run but I'm guessing I would have been much slower.
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| At the start getting ready to leave. |
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| Mile 17-18 |
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| At the finish line. Another Marathon in the books. |
March has been a wild month. Lots going on. Some painful, physically as well as personally. But when thing get too hard on me, I go run. When things get too hard, I just take it one obstacle at a time. When things get too hard I know I have it in me to take one more step. And if it gets too, too hard, I have a crew standing by to help me, the moment I ask. Running Marathons and ultras has showed me that I'm made of strong stuff. That down inside of me, there is a part of me that can do anything. That's the person who will show-up on May 5th, at the starting line of the Miwok 100k, and that's the person who will get through the rest of life's obstacles. I hope this fines you all doing well, running and taking advantage of the fact that you are here. Give me a holler and I'll see some of you out on the trails.
Heres a few more photos of our runs.
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