Sunday, October 29, 2006

Scary

Want to hear something scary? I woke up feeling fine. Yeah. Twenty-one miles yesterday, and I was ready to go again today.

I’m freaking out.

What’s even scarier though, is that the San Antonio Marathon organizers finally posted their elevation chart and it looks like the last eight miles are uphill! OMG! Yes, I know San Antonio is hilly. I used to live there. But Austin is in the Hill Country, too, and their marathon course is flat. Vermont isn’t just hilly but mountainous, yet the Covered Bridges Half Marathon has a near-constant elevation drop throughout the course, with the exception of one rather nasty hill around Mile Eight.

So not even in my nightmares did I think San Antonio’s course would be all uphill for the last eight miles!!!

I’m going to check the route against a topographical info site sent to me by it’s only fuel, and see what I come up with. If it’s really a sadistic course, I might have to sit this one out and try for next year. I haven’t been training on hills because I feel like I’m still building myself back up after last year’s debacle with my hip. I can handle some hills in a course, especially if I’m not really racing. But eight straight miles uphill is just stupid.

And finally, not scary but just sad, Dan’s uncle passed away last night. We got the call this morning, while I was out running. Given Uncle Jerry’s advanced Alzheimer’s and diabetes, as well as the other health problems and organ failures he was experiencing, I think living (if you can even call it that) had become the really scary thing. Dan is handling it well, given that Jerry was his favorite uncle and a father figure to him. He’s out running now, and was practicing his guitar earlier. It’s a sad time for him and his extended family, and there’s probably a mid-week funeral in our future.

Today’s Workout
6 mile run

3 comments:

Jill said...

So sorry about Dan's uncle. That is so sad.

Cliff said...

Sorry to hear about the lost.

Don't let the topography scare you yet. I find it is usually misleading. Do you have a chance to drive through the course?

spongey437 said...

Ah, the hills. I had the same thing happen to me when I did the Cape Cod marathon a few years ago. They didnt actually post an elevation chart (which woudl have really helped) but they did have a map which noted what they called "notable hills".

The first half of the marathon was flat as a pancake (OK, there was one hill, but not that bad). The whole second half was huge inclines and declines rolling for 13 niles.

I was actually running with one guy during these hills and he said it was his 7th time running and he had yet to do it without walking the hills at the end.

Best of luck in the marathon and sorry to hear about the loss in your family.