Stanky Leg, I Gotsa Stanky Leg

The title may be lost on you if you are over the age of 16.

Anyway...for the past 4 days I have been fighting the urge to saw my right leg off. I'm not sure what happened, pulled muscle, sore muscle, over-use, I don't know. It doesn't matter really. All I know is that I haven't been able to move normally, and my leg hurts All. The. Time. I would do anything for it to feel normal again, for me to be able to go on doing what I normally do.

Well, it seems that times like this make me realize how I have taken my hard working, never pained legs for granted. How about that 7K two weeks ago? Or last week, when I back-squatted 185 pounds. It seems like a dream...as if I was a semi-good high school quarter-back reminiscing about that one play-off game where I threw for an 87 yard touchdown.

I know I will be back to normal eventually. In the mean time, I'm going to relive my "glory days" (2 weeks ago, ha!) with the Bridge to Bridge Race re-cap:

I committed to running the Bridge to Bridge 12K in June. My good friend from high school wanted to celebrate her birthday by running it, and have friends run in it as well. The race took place in San Francisco, so it would be my first travelling race! I told my favorite running buddy (who happens to live in SF) that I would be running that race, and she committed herself and her boyfriend to run in it as well.

As per a re-occurring theme in my life, about a month or so before the race I realized I hadn't really been training as much as I had hoped/envisioned. This also coincided with me joining Crossfit. I didn't really think that one month of Crossfit would make up for, or prepare me for a 12K on nearly zero preparation. However, Crossfit is more of a long-term plan of mine, so I focused more on getting into Crossfit then stressing about a 7.435 mile race. I knew I could run 3 miles, so if I had to walk the rest of the way, that is what I would do.

Two weeks before the race (and with only 7 Crossfit sessions under my belt) I decided to head out for a run at my old faithful Greenlake. I had a great run that I wrote about here. Long story short...I not only ran the whole 3.1 mile outer loop with no trouble, I ran it over 2 minutes faster then my previous standard time 4 months prior! That run gave me so much confidence, and a whole new appreciation for Crossfit. My high school friend e-mailed me informing me she had pulled her groin muscle and wouldn't be running.

I arrived in SF on Saturday, the race was on Sunday. I got to running buddies fogged in apartment, and we spent the day catching up and resting. Running buddy and boyfriend, and me went to dinner where we made an executive decision. Eff the 12K, let's do the 7K. Fine by me! I definitely knew I had a better chance at a 7K then a 12K! We were in bed before 10pm, and up shortly after 6am for the big morning. It was raining. Cold. Typical SF weather. After breakfast, coffee, and a lot of whinning, we headed for the Muni. Running buddy had it all planned out to get us there at the right time, with minimal waiting in the rain, yet enough time for sweat check.

With 30 minutes before the start, and 13 minutes left on the train, we receive word that there is a de-railment in front of us. I follow my local tourguides off the train, as they start to run. RUN!? Before the race? WTF. However, we weren't running fast, and I think it was all downhill, I don't know, it was so easy. We arrived at another transit type stop, and caught a surface street car that would eventually take us where we needed to go. Time was ticking down. Running buddy was stressing. Its cute when she stresses. We got off the street car a few stops early and again ran towards the start. Got the sweats checked...quick bathroom stop...line up...and picture taken:

The sun was breaking through the clouds, and it was actually nice out. We had our cell phones, and my dad was picking us up at the finish. The crowd started moving at a slow crawl. People would break into a run, only to run into the person in front of them. Over and over. The race was a sea of people until after the first mile, then there was some room. I looked at my watch after mile 1: 10:12. WOW. Then my coffee kicked in...had to take a short detour at Pier 39.

I felt good and strong the whole way. There was one short super steep section that I walked up, and then enjoyed the long winding downhill as I reached mile 3. I spotted my dad on his bike, looking for me. He proceeded to ride alongside me for the remained of the race, chatting with me, encouraging me. It was funny. The last .2 miles of the race were uphill. Poor planning in my opinion, but I did it! I even had enough left in me for a burst of speed at the end.

I looked at my watch, 52 minutes. Sub-tract a 4 minute break, and I ran a 7K in 48 minutes. I felt great. More importantly, I felt like I could have gone on for longer. Suddenly, my leg feels better.