After crossing the finish line we herded through and were given "space blankets" (which were surprisingly warm), finishers' medals, and an assortment of samples ranging from foot cream to pain relief patches. Somehow I missed the food tables, having gotten in line for water and Gatorade, and had to turn around and go "upstream" to load my arms up with bananas, cookies, and power bars. Ted and I did find my sweat bag, which I had hidden in some bushes before the race since I hadn't been able to locate the storage that was supposedly in the parking lot. We walked back through Mandalay Bay and headed right to the parking garage after a stop at the bathroom. (I hadn't wanted to stop during the race, as EVERY port-a-potty I saw had a line in front of it!)
It was much easier driving away from the city than it had been coming in that morning. I was feeling great, having stretched before we left, but I could tell my legs were going to be hurting later on. We arrived home just before 10 a.m., and Debbie said things had gone well with the kids. Since we were home earlier than we thought we might be, we decided to attend the late service at church. (I took a hot bath first, and Ted showered. Later on I realized I really should have had an ice bath.) I'm glad we were able to make it to church, since we hadn't made it to a Saturday evening service. At home we enjoyed some yummy chicken pot pie, and then I crashed for a nap.
That evening we went back to church for a pre-school leaders' Christmas party. Charis had play rehearsal, and the other kids went to child care while Ted and I joined the adults for an evening of Bunko. We didn't win any Bunko prizes, but I did get a nice Christmas dish as a door prize, and it was fun to visit with the folks at the tables we were at. Getting up and down, however, was NOT fun, as my knees by this time were protesting at every little move. We were more than ready to call it a night and head home for bed. Ted massaged my legs with massage oil, and that helped tremendously.
I took some Motrin before bed, knowing that my body was no longer feeling the rush of accomplishment. Instead, I was feeling the effects of running farther than I've ever gone in my life. I woke at 4 a.m. feeling like someone had whacked my kneecaps with a baseball bat. For whatever reason, I thought it would be good to get out of bed, even though I couldn't straighten my legs without nearly screaming in pain. Somehow I managed to get up and started walking to the bathroom, but I was overcome by a wave of nausea. Ted realized something was wrong and asked if he could help. I asked for water, a large bowl in case I threw up, and some crackers. I ended up only drinking the water and made it back to bed for a couple more hours of sleep.
Monday was a painful day. Believe it or not, we actually did do home school! I found the pain relief patches I had received as samples after the race and plastered them on my knees. Wow, they really did help a lot--I don't think I would have been able to make it through that day at all if it weren't for them. The stairs were killers! Going up and down with the baby was interesting, but praise the Lord we made it through the day! Thank God for Motrin and pain relief patches. I did also get a nap, so I should also say, "Thank God for DVD players," ha!
Tuesday was much better. My knees were almost completely back to normal, but this time my hamstrings were feeling sore. It felt as if there were a spring tied from the back of my leg to my heel, as it was difficult to completely straighten my leg without feeling an uncomfortable pulling. I kept trying to stretch and massage the muscles, and of course Motrin was again my friend.
Wednesday I hardly felt any pain, and Thursday I went for a 3-mile run! I'm actually surprised that I even felt like doing that, as I hadn't expected to do ANY running for at least a week. My lower back has been hurting the last couple of days, but I'm not sure that's from running. At any rate, I think I'm back to "normal" and am thankful for the experience of running a half-marathon. I would definitely do another one, and hopefully next time I will be more prepared beforehand!
Someday I would like to do a full marathon...I think the Disney World marathon would be very fun! Anyone want to join me in planning?!
6 comments:
I would have considered it until I read about the post-race aches & pains...LOL!
Yea! I wish I could have been there with you. Maybe Disney World!
I'm with Amy--it all sounded great until I read about your poor knees, etc.! I guess it's like childbirth--but wait, here you don't get to take home a cute baby or anything! LOL!
SO I'm curious--I had assumed you were a high school runner, but I see from the last post that you really weren't. When you did start running? Did I just miss that post sometime? : ) I actually was a runner in high school but am not one now. After all my blood clot problems in my shoulder, running makes my arm throb painfully. Reading your posts did make me miss it though--well, not the after aches and pains, LOL.
No, I hated running in high school! I ran for exercise a bit my senior year and did do some running in college on my own, but never more than 2-3 miles. I thought it would be so great some day to be able to say I could run 5 miles! Until I met my friend and running partner Sarah here in Las Vegas, I never really thought I could do it--I thought you had to be a serious athlete to run that long without stopping. (Well, either that or seriously insane!) Once I broke that barrier, I realized it wasn't so bad after all, and especially running with my good friend helped time go by quickly. We had great discussions and were able to challenge each other physically and spiritually. When Sarah even mentioned the word "marathon" I thought she was crazy, but then I did some reading and got interested in it. Now that we're in different states, we can't run together, so I do miss having a partner to spur me on, but it helps that we chat and email to try to keep each other updated and accountable.
Once I'm IN shape, I enjoy running. But when I let it go for a few weeks (or even longer, like during the last pregnancy!), it's so much harder to get back into it because you know you'll be hurting awhile!
Way to go Beverly! Glad your aches and pains are gone. When is the next race?!
Way to go, Beverly! I cringed when I read "hot bath" but at least you realized your mistake!! :-) I understand your post run pain as I could not make normal movements until the Thursday after my marathon! But what a great experience!
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