I've been mostly sticking to two or three primary running routes since the spring: Alki beach, Burke Gilman between Gasworks Park and U-Village, and my favorite, Leschi. As my runs have continued to increase, it's become more and more of a challenge to find a long enough route to get all the required mileage in. In addition, I'm really bad with directions and have an unjustified fear of somehow "getting lost" in Seattle, a city I've lived in for 12 years :) This weekend I decided to shake things up a bit, and planned my 16-mile route to begin at Shilshole Marina/Golden Gardens Park running along the Burke Gilman to U-Village and back. Wacarra had plans to meet up with me at Gasworks on my return route, around mile 11.5. This turned out to be a lifesaver!
I was excited for the good weather on Saturday. I started my run at 7:30am, at approximately 40 degrees (similar to marathon day in Philly). It was sunny, clear, and beautiful. I wore my North Face running jacket for the first four or so miles, then took it off at Gasworks where I briefly stopped to use the restroom. Running through Fremont along Lake Union was amazing. Fog was lifting off the water and I could barely make out the silhouettes of the boathouses and fishing boats which reminded me so much of the small town in Maine where my uncle lives. I made it to my turn-around point at mile 8 (U-Village) fairly easily and was counting down the miles until I would be able to meet up with Wacarra.
We finally met up at Gasworks and she arrived bearing gifts in the form of six or seven candy pumpkins (similar to candy corn) which I quickly devoured :) It was so nice to have someone to talk to for those last 4 miles. Around mile 12 my knees really started to hurt - and when I say "started to hurt" what I really mean is "started to feel like someone took a sledgehammer to them." Aside from the knees, I felt pretty good. I finished just under 16 miles in 3:27, stretched, and drove to Starbucks for a chocolate banana Vivanno and some Perfect Oatmeal.
When I got home, I immediately iced both knees for about half an hour, showered, rested a bit on the couch, and then took the bus downtown to Pike Place Market. Raj and I walked around for a bit and picked up some ingredients for dinner, but otherwise it was a pretty light day. On Sunday, we did some more walking at the Magnuson Dog Park, but mostly took it easy. I honestly felt great all weekend, but what was especially strange was what I noticed once I got to work this morning. My office is nestled within a series of buildings in the Red West portion of the main Microsoft campus. I am contstantly walking in between buildings, which means I have to climb a lot of stairs. Stairs = knee pain. But not today! I noticed it immediately. There is a slight discomfort, but I would say near 80% improvement from what I've been feeling. I have no explanation for this. Was it the extra sleep over the weekend? Was it the spicy olive oil from Pike Place Market? The icing? The candy pumpkins? I'll probably never know, but I feel fabulous today, my legs feel fresh, and I have high hopes for this week and my next 16-mile run this coming Saturday.
I'm down to my final six weeks! I can't believe it! Only three more long runs, then I taper, then I run the marathon. I can't believe I've made it this far. Sometimes I can't believe it's me who is running all these miles. It doesn't seem possible. It's as if "that person" is someone else I can't even relate to. Like I can't take credit for the accomplishment. It's a strange, almost out-of-body experience. Is this a common feeling?
UPDATE 4:30pm - Ok, so I take back everything I said earlier today. Left knee is still hurting, though not as bad as it has been. Me = still feeling good. Taking one more night off and resuming running schedule on Tuesday...
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