Climbing mountains

... well, attempting to run them anyway...  Of course, looking back on it now, maybe this wasn't such a good idea... but I'll get back to that later.

Our family recently took a trip to Deep Creek Lake in Maryland.  My husband and I had been there for a few long weekend trips in the past, but this visit was for 9 days and, with a toddler in tow, it made for an entirely different kind of vacation.  Deep Creek is wonderfully relaxing... a great place to spend a day out on a boat, soaking up some sun and having a few adult beverages.  With a toddler, the game plan changes and it becomes decidedly less 'relaxing'.  Nevertheless, we had an amazing time with both family and friends, managed to work on our barbaric tans and still squeezed in a few adult beverages... of course, I use the term 'a few' loosely :)

Anyway, I was determined to get in a couple of runs during this vacation, even though I still haven't completely bounced back from this hip injury I'm battling.  My brother-in-law also happens to be getting back on track with running, so we thought it would be a good idea to get out there together.  The house where we stayed is located on a mountain and had a great 1.3 mile loop.  Of course, driving it was a heck of a lot easier than actually running it.  Below is a snapshot from Google Earth.  I don't believe this picture does it any justice, but it's the best I could do... the green square is where we started, then followed the yellow lines.  The red dots mark the half mile uphill climb...


Mountainview Drive, Deep Creek Lake, MD

Early in the week, Michael and I headed out to tackle the route.  Try as we might, we just couldn't make it up the hill without stopping to walk.  So, midweek we tried it again.  This time I had the bright idea to run it the opposite direction thinking that breaking the uphill climb into 2 parts would make it easier with a nice downhill jog in the middle.  This was just plain silly... starting the run with the steep climb with no real warm up was just insane and, as it turns out, impossible for us.  We just couldn't get to the top without walking.

Fortunately for me, I had one more opportunity to tackle it... Michael had to leave a few days before I did, so I set out at the end of the week to give it one more shot.  I opted for the original route of downhill first, uphill in the middle and ending on the last downhill section.  I'm not going to lie, it was nearly impossible.  My lungs were burning (possibly because the temps were already in the 80s) and every body part ached.  But I knew if I didn't make it this time, I wouldn't have the opportunity to try again.  So I somehow managed to stick it out and make it all the way around without stopping.  Yay me... check it off the list... and probably never do it again... :)

All of that being said, a conversation a few days later with a couple of avid runners (one of which I believe has more than 8 marathons under her belt) led me to believe that this might not have been the best idea.  Sure, they were impressed I'd made it without stopping (they'd actually been to this location before and knew the route I was talking about), but the ensuing conversation has led me to believe that it's quite possible that what I'm dealing with isn't a muscle or joint issue at all, but a stress fracture instead.  Not sure why I hadn't considered this option earlier, but everything I'm now reading leads me to believe that this is the case.  Not yay me...

So, now, of course, I should get myself an appointment with a doctor, get some x-rays and see what I'm dealing with.  Yeah... that's what I'll do... well, at least that's what I'll tell everyone I'm going to do... then I'll put it off for as long as humanly possible while I tell myself that, with a little more time, it should go away on its own...  because that's what WebMD tells me... 6 to 8 weeks off and it should correct itself.  And since everything you read online is accurate, I'll just go ahead and pretend I know what the hell I'm talking about.  (Don't worry, I'm actually rolling my own eyes at my asinine way of thinking... you're not the only one that thinks I'm a little crazy).