kissed the ground (or flatlander humbled by mountain trails)

Having been introduced to the world of running blogs, I've decided to jumpstart my half-hearted attempts at blog writing. The following is the first of, hopefully, more posts to come.

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This is my abbreviated version of the WTRS 18K Run this past Sat 2/24/07. I'm sure Charlie has a more entertaining story in the works, but while we're all holding our breaths for that, here's my take...sorta like the opening act before the main event.

I went out too fast in the beginning, and my lack of uphill training started to catch up with me. That became apparent to me when most everyone that I passed early on had me eating their dust. (I must've been thinking that I was running a 5K but apparently Baz's 18K was really about 18K). WTRS is mostly single track technical trails, and I kissed the ground half a dozen times when I tripped over roots and rocks. Thank goodness for my water bottle in my hand which I was able to use to absorb a couple of my falls. I twisted my ankle severely and basically rendered myself a trail cripple with probably about 3-4 miles left so I was hobbling along for awhile. Another runner (I think her name is Linda) asked me how I was, and I convinced her I was fine. On level ground I was able to jog it off, but I could feel a bit of tenderness to my ankle.

Seeing Michelle Barton and her daughter, Sierra (who's about 8) on the trail gave me some relief since I figured I must be close to the end. Of course, that was a mistaken assumption since Sierra must carry some of the same genes that makes Michelle such a great runner. I did eventually make it back to the campground, and I tried to give my best impression of finishing strong at the imaginary finish line. I think I finished at 2:10. Most of the 30 or so runners were done by then including Chaz, Marissa, and Leon who also did the race. Overall it was great fun, and I did win a box of Crank gels for correctly guessing that the capital of OK is OK.

Of course, since running injured seems to be a common thread through this group, I ran a 5K the following day against my better judgement (which really I could not claim to having that day). Besides, the swelling seemed to have gone down already. Well, the swelling came back with a vengeance, so now it's back to rest, ice, compression and elevation.

Looking forward to the 21K, but I will run it more conservatively.

On the subject of ankle injuries, if anyone has any suggestions on what I can do to strengthen my ankle, this noob would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.