Today was an important run for me. It wasn't so much the run, but the date of the run. A year ago today, I had major surgery that led to the most depressing period of my life. I had bowel resection surgery and bladder repair related to Crohn's Disease.
I knew there would be a little down time after the surgery, but I had no clue how bad things would be. I thought that I would be back in a couple weeks. I ended up bed ridden 24/7 for around 4 months. I grew weak and was extremely depressed. It was so bad that I often said that I wanted to die. Of course I wouldn't have taken my own life or anything like that, but I didn't have any idea when the horror would end. Days seemed like weeks, weeks seemed like months and so on. Thankfully it finally ended in March and I was back to running in April. I am so grateful for that.
I will never forget that time period. It made me stronger and even more motivated than ever before. Any time I'm going through a tough patch in training or a race, I can look back to that time and think that things aren't so bad in the present.
I just went out today for an easy 7 mile run. I originally thought about heading to a trail, but since I had some shopping to do in Bethlehem, I went to the Saucon Rail Trail.
It was in the 40s and a little chilly when I started. Not too bad for December actually. Still warm enough that I could wear shorts and a lightweight long sleeve top.
Usually I just start at Water Street and head out and back. It is possible to go the other direction for a short bit before the trail ends. I decided to do that this time. It worked out great because I got in a mile that way.
As usual, the first mile was a slow go. I'm very pleased though because my quads were only very mildly sore. My foot bothered me a bit early, but that got better early in the run. I ran by a couple cats and a guy with two dogs on a leash. Otherwise, mile 1 was uneventful.
I was now out onto my normal route. Since it was getting close to supper time, the road crossings were a little busy. It didn't slow me too much though. I continued to cruise along, enjoying that my body felt pretty good.
I startled a guy as I came up from behind and passed him. For a bit, it seemed like he might try to stay with me. I knew he was going too slow to do that though. I hoped that maybe I would see him again after I turned around and maybe I could pass him again. He was walking when I encountered him later on. He did pull me into a faster pace when I initially saw him up ahead.
I passed a young girl going the other direction. I thought at first that it might be Elizabeth Chikotas from Saucon Valley, who was 2nd in the State Cross Country meet this year. It wasn't though. I am surprised that I never come across her or her teammates on this trail.
My times continued to drop as they often do when I run. It was a slight uphill most of the way out, but I guess I just end up pushing more. I don't feel like I am. Finally after a few more road crossings, I was turned around. I was now feeling good after 4 miles.
It was a little cold though. I felt chilly in both directions. So much for having the wind at my back at any point. To keep from being too bored, I just continued to focus short term, on the next mile. Before I knew it, I was at mile 5. Now that I was going slightly downhill, I was feeling even better. I was cruising. That 5th mile was at 7:36. I was getting closer to an 8 minute pace overall.
Since almost all of my running is easy now, I decided that I would make this a progression run. I'd run the last mile and a half at a moderate pace. I did just that at mile 5.5. Shortly after I crossed a road, but didn't have to stop.
I flew by a bunch of people in the final mile and a half. That 6th mile ended up being a 7:05. Not bad since only the second half of that mile was at moderate pace. The final mile was obviously faster still. I passed several people. I made sure to yell to two women that I was passing so that I didn't scare them. I went by them in a flash. I had to slow right before the finish for a final road crossing. A car stopped for me and I finished up quite exhausted.
That last mile was a 6:51. I can tell that I haven't run fast too often lately because that took a lot out of me. It wasn't an all out effort either. I actually would've thought that it was a little faster than it was. My overall pace really dipped at the end. It kind of hard to imagine that that final mile is my goal marathon pace for either the spring or fall. A 6:51 pace is what I would need to break 3 hours.
I went over to South Mountain to run some hill sprints. After the fast finish, my legs were feeling it and I figured that hill sprints would be better off saved for an easy day. Hopefully I can do them tomorrow. I may try to do run in the same area tomorrow and run on Lehigh's Cross Country course. Maybe that can save my legs, although running on grass has always bothered me. We'll see how it goes. I'm heading to the Eagles game tomorrow night, so I don't have a lot of time. I'm missing my group run, but I don't mind it since hardly anyone is showing up anyway.
I was stretching after this run and my shin bothered me some when I did that. Hopefully I won't have problems there. I'm definitely feeling better lately with only running 4 days a week, but I still can't quite shake some of the soreness. I might have to back of my spring marathon plans or my goals for that race. I'll just take it a week at a time and see how things go. There are still over 5 months until that race.
7 miles - 54:11 (7:45 pace)
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