As scheduling would have it, right after the North Coast 24-hour race, work went crazy. The timing from a running standpoint was just pure luck because after September 18th, I didn’t have time to even run a few miles a day. My forced recovery period actually was pretty good for me. I really feel totally recovered now and ready for another running challenge.
My work commitments culminated in a 4-day jury trial starting on October 3rd. When those happen – most cases settle so this is not too often – you feel like you’re in a black hole. You live and breathe the case and of course no running. The jury deliberations were pretty quick and ended with a unanimous verdict in favor of my client. We went for a celebratory lunch and drink. I then headed to my bee hives since I had neglected them too. I needed to remove the honey frames and harvest honey before it got too cold. Well, I was almost finished with my harvest when I got nailed on my outer thigh (through thick blue jeans) by a honey bee. This was quite painful and I hobbled into the house to assess the damage. The stinger was still implanted so I quickly removed it and downed a few Benadryl. Over the course of the next day, the sting spread until I had an 8-inch round, red swollen welt on my thigh and it hurt! This happened on Thursday. On Friday I flew to Chicago to run the marathon on Sunday…. Again, good timing as if I had been stung before the NC24, it could have been real trouble.
As it was, the swelling started migrating in my leg down to my knee and was not so fun on Sunday…. Before the marathon, however, I was able to squeeze in a few fun things....
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| Dinner with friends Sharon & Meg |
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| My first Big-10 game, Michigan/Northwestern |
For the marathon, I was running incognito (with someone else’s bib) so I was really planning to make this a “fun run” anyway…. But as I plodded along the streets of Chicago after starting in the “open” corral area, I was constantly being elbowed, tripped, and generally trying to dodge slower runners. Then at aid stations, it was a battle to get to the water and Gatorade (UGH) not to mention the million cups and sponges that runners threw in the middle of the road. I had not run a “big” marathon for a LONG time… and with this experience fresh in my mind I can’t say I would run another one. It was fun being with friends and the free beer at the end was a nice touch…. Otherwise I’m sticking with the smaller marathon…
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| 312 Beer tastes better than Gatorade any day! With friend, Karen at the finish. |
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