Oh, My Aching Back

This morning's 9-miler was pretty much as I expected it would be, but that doesnt make it any less awful. We had about an inch of SLUSH everywhere. I couldnt decided if I should do the YakTrax or not - it wasnt snowy or really icy ... just wet and nasty. In the end, I decided not to wear them. Had it been a 6 miler or less, I would have done it.

The whole time we were running we plowed through slush on the ground, puddles of water, patches of ice, and, lets not forget ... it was snowing (or should I say sleeting?) the entire run. It was the longest run of my life. By mile 6 I was already sore - my calves, my knees, my back. It was like mile 26 of 26.2. I am guessing because I had to operate more like a trail run, then adding on the jerks and jumps I had to make to steady myself or jump over an obstacle, my body just wasnt used to that kind of pounding. But the end of the run I was exhausted and already sore ... and now several hours later I am sitting here with a pretty sore back.

So I did my (2nd) 9 mile run, but was it worth it? I'm gonna say no. I dont feel so hot right now and I didnt enjoy much of the run inmidst of it either.

A funny thing did happen though, and I think it was the only thing that kept me going. Before our run a girl, who I didnt recognize, was talking to our pacer. I think she might have just started Winter Warriors, or else just moved into our pace group. I didnt hear their entire conversation, but essentially she asked our pacer how she keeps herself at 11:00 miles, or maybe she asked her how she knows she is pacing at 11:00 miles. And this is the funny part:

"I always pace at 5:30 1/2 miles"

What????????

Our pacer might do a 5:30 half mile, but she follows that up with a 6:00 mile to average out at 11:30. Who is she kidding?

And Patti, a fellow runner, informed me that the weekend I missed the group run that our pace group took turns rotating pacers. She said it went really well and they actually ended up pacing at 11:00 miles. But the funny thing was, at one point our pacer yelled from the back (to the current pacer) that they were going to fast. The girl next to Patti checked her Garmin and shouted out "Actually, we are going SLOW" ... they were pacing at 11:45 at the time.

I know this whole pacing thing drives me totally crazy. But I have to admit, its become totally funny and gives me something to laugh about during the runs. If I didnt have a lousy pacer I would have to complain about something else, so a lousy pacer is good enough for my need-to-whine for now.

Running Log
Time:1:48:15   Distance:9.2mi   Pace:11:46

Oddly enough, our pacing was not that far off of my normal Saturday pace-group runs (11:30). We were going so slow against the elements, and also had to stop for stoplights ... and, of course, water. So I was pleasantly suprised by the pace, relatively speaking.

Splits were all over the place:
1 13:22 (we waited at two stoplights here)
2 11:55
3 10:22
4 11:43
5 12:00
6 12:07
7 11:30
8 11:32
9 11:20

Its now 7:45PM and my back feels better, but my left quad is not doing so well. I'm hoping a nice, hot, pizza will cure my ailments so I can resume my normal life again tomorrow.