Running on one leg…
… and other fun endeavors! I’ve been training for this weekend’s Wine Country half-marathon since it was first announced last December. Before that, I wasn’t capable of running around the block. Now I easily do 8-10 mile training runs, and have been doing 35 miles a week for the last few weeks to build stamina for the 13.1 on Sunday. And then Tuesday morning, while on a quick 48-hr R&R mission to the Metolius river, a muscle in my left calf screamed out in pain near the end of a simple 4-mile jog. Ouch. Shit! Merde!
Grilled sausages from Chop, Green Beans, Tomoatoes & Potatoes from our Carlton Garden, and a bottle of Audrey. Who says you can't live well in the wilderness!
I’ve been icing it, resting it, massaging it, and elevating it, all in hopes that I’ll feel ready to run on Sunday. It is getting better by the day, but I guess I really won’t know until Sunday morning whether it’s a go or if I’m stuck on the launching pad. Somehow, in my twisted brain, all of this training will have been a failure if I don’t run the 13.1 on Sunday. I’ve been building toward this for nine months, and unless I cross that finish line in front of our winery Sunday morning, it seems there’s been no point to all this work. I guess I’m starting to know what it feels like to real athletes who get injured just before the big match.
Pirrie & Martha at the Metolius
I am alternately depressed and hopeful, and fully intend to run the race if my body allows it. I also fully intend to make some wine this year, if nature allows it. We are still looking at a mid-October harvest at the earliest, and weather is not being terribly cooperative. it has been much cooler than usual, and despite a couple of 85-degree days, we’ve been mostly in the 60s and low 70s recently. We need sun! We need heat!
What would really be depressing is if I can’t run this weekend, and then we have a hugely difficult or disastrous harvest to follow. That can’t all happen at once, can it? Please join me in sending out positive, healing vibes for my calf and our vines – and perhaps both will be a rollicking success after all.
What will be a success, regardless, is the after-race party and events happening all day Sunday here in Carlton. We’re expecting 2-3,000 people in town (which will more than double the population) – with live music, tasting events at all the wineries, and a party that will start about 9am and run all day long. I look forward to seeing you here. If i successfully run the race, I’ll be the one with the biggest smile on my face I’ve ever had!
