One Week Later

It's one week since Rock n Roll. I'm sitting here thinking about where I was last Sunday at 8:53 AM. I sitting here eager to get back to running, but can't until the blisters heal. There is soo much to talk about - I'm afraid this is going to be a long blog.

I wanted to memorialize some of my post marathon thoughts and feelings in this entry. As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I thought that when I finished I would be overwhelmed by emotion. Instead, my thoughts almost immediately turned to getting my cell phone and calling my family. I was sure my wife would be very concerned as I was an hour and a half late. I was right. Being a first time experience for all of us, my family had spent the last half hour of my race at the medical tent trying to see if I had been injured and sent to the hospital. I think they were relieved (as was I) when I called. At that point I think everyone breathed a little easier.

That's when it kind of occurred to me what had just transpired. By this time I was in sandals and a dry shirt. I had prepared some Biotest Surge as a recovery drink, but I found it interesting that my body was not interested in eating or drinking any more at that point. I had heard and read how a lot of people become ravenous once they finished. I tried to drink a bottle of water, but could only get about a third of it down. The organizers had done a great job in the finish area with food and drink. But, none of it looked very appetizing at that point in time. I shuffled out of the finish area and found my family waiting at the gate. Reunion!

I'm not sure how long it took to get back to the hotel. We had decided earlier the best thing to do was to leave the car parked at the hotel and take the trolley. That meant that we had to take a bus to the parking area and then walk another 1/4 mile to the trolley stop. Lines for the buses were loong - longer than the lines for the porta potties in the morning. I found that the most comfortable position while waiting was in a semi squat position. So whenever we stopped, I would "assume the position". By this time I had become quite excited and talkative about my experience!

The rest of the ride home was pretty uneventful. We stopped in San Clemente at the Rip Curl Outlet and at Pedro's Tacos. Now - if you are after some good soft tacos - you need to check out http://www.pedrostacos.com/index.html. By this time I was really feeling physical pain. I could barely walk. My quads were painful. My knees were painful. My quads were painful. The soles of my feet were on fire. But, I was also getting ravenously hungry. I chalked it all up to the experience.

I remember the relief at getting home. On the ride back home, I noticed how sticky my legs were - no doubt caused by the accelerade that I ran through at several points on the course. For the first time I realized what a salt encrusted mess I was. It felt good to shower. I quaffed a couple of Motrin for my knees and hips (by now, my hips were starting to feel sore as well). Then I sat down, had a yogurt, two eggs, some pita bread, some turkey bacon... you get the idea.

The next few days were all about physical pain. I had to travel on Monday. I was barely mobile. My calves were causing me absolute agony. My quads were spent. My lower back was tired and slightly sore. All of the joints in my body from my hips on down were sore. But, of most concern were the blisters on the soles of my feet. During the run, blisters had formed right next to the balls of my feet. At this point, the blister on my right foot had started bleeding. I couldn't put weight on either foot. Then, while roaming the airport in Phoenix, I felt something that alarmed me. The blister on my right foot had popped. Agony. I made it to my final destination and got some band aids and antibiotic cream to deal with the situation.

I was able to shuffle around for the next couple of days. Slowly the muscles started feeling better. By Wednesday, all of my muscles were much, much better. Then, agony again as the blister on my left foot let loose. Not only that, the skin covering the blister then tore. Just as my right foot was getting better, now my left foot would put me in agony for a couple of days.

By Friday, I was finally able to put some socks on and walk around with an adjusted gait wearing cross trainers. This meant that my recovery training that I was banking on was off the table. No way am I going to risk a knee or hip injury at this point.

So, here I sit a week later still nursing the reminder of last weekend on the sole of my left foot. Each day it gets a little better - I am hoping that I can get back to running some time this week.