Post Cascade Crest:
Yikes! Amazingly, my feet did not hurt during Cascade Crest. Well, other than how one might expect feet would feel after running on the for 25 hours and covering 100 miles, tired, ready to be let out of my trail shoes and be soaked in some cold water. I am lucky I didn't have substantial blisters or severe foot pain. That being said, the state of my feet and ankles less than 24 hours after the race was absolutely incredible. Everyone said my feet would swell, but in all honesty, I didn't think they would be that bad and for days on end. I don't think they went back to "normal" for almost 4 days.
Another interesting sensation that I had was the inability to feel comfortable sitting or standing for any period of time. I thought I'd just want to sit down or lay down for days. But, in reality, going from sitting to standing was difficult because I was wobbly. Once stabilized on my feet, I couldn't stay standing for too long before I had to sit back down. Then after a short period of time, I'd have to stand again. Repeat endlessly for 2 days. I also thought sleeping would not be a problem as I had missed I don't sound all whiney and unappreciative of being able to start and finish Cascade Crest. I would not trade any of the discomfort I felt while recovering. It is all part of the experience and all part of the run.
It has taken me longer to recover from Cascade Crest than any other race, of course, and since it was my "A" race, I have really enjoyed relaxing and hanging out and not doing all that much with regards to running and training. My parents whisked me off to Leavenworth right after the race and that was awesome. We hung out and ate bratwurst, drank beer and ate ice cream, found a swimming hole to soak in and then took naps on the shore. It was so relaxing and just what I needed to kick start my recovery. They went back to North Carolina and I had to return to work and normal life. But without all the running, I found the time to try new recipes, clean up my house, spend time reading and sleeping in. Oh....it has been so lovely.
Owen and I had planned to go away for the weekend and NOT bring our running shoes. We did manage to take a trip to Whidbey Island to visit some friends but we did bring our running shoes, I just couldn't help it, I love running. So off we went to Whidbey Island to relax with the dogs, friends, meet new friends and enjoy having to plans and flying by the seat of our pants.
We stopped off at Double Bluff Beach and took the dogs. They ran and swam and ran and swam and barked and chased birds.
We also went for a canoe ride with Anne, Shamus and Eric and then had dinner on the beach. Shamus is about the cutest kid I have ever met. It was fun spending time with him.
We also visited the house of other friends who have beautiful art studios, horses, beautiful gardens and many many motorcycles. It was awesome to do different things and be around so many creative people. One of Owen's friends made us Cascade Crest awards. I was so touched to get this really cool piece of art as an award! It has a little "100" in it and on the back it says my name and time, how thoughtful! I met some really fun and creative people throughout the weekend. Eric had a BBQ and I had a great time hanging out with the kids, the dogs and the adults while eating good food. If only Struth would have stayed out of the fish pond!
Tomorrow is Cle ELum 50k. I'm looking forward to just going out there and running for fun, no pressure, just some fun trail running.
No comments:
Post a Comment