Another Long Run + Frostbite

As I mentioned last time (I think), I decided to start following an online marathon training plan, instead of making one up myself. I’m still kind of making it up, but slightly less so. Yesterday I did 10 miles on Leif, but just now realized that I was only supposed to do 8. But I’m curious how exact this training plan is, I don’t think 2 miles really make that much different. Well, at least long-term. Today when I did 17 I think it would have been much nicer to have only run 8 yesterday.

I’m getting kind of tired of only dong Leif for every long run, so I finally decided to stop being lazy and figure out a run around the city. I came up with a run that involved starting at my house, running to Terwilliger, over the Ross Island Bridge, down Springwater, back over the Sellwood, up Corbett, and finish up on Vermont to Shattuck to my house. If that means anything to you. On the livestrong website you can map out running routes – this is the one I made before I went out. I showed it to my dad and he told me that it looked like a really hard run and I might want to reconsider my route, to which I said, “don’t tell me what I can’t do!” Then I went to play a couple rounds of desktop tower defense before setting out on my run.

It turns out it was a really hard run, and I was ill-prepared. I felt pretty good until I hit the Ross Island Bridge, where I started feeling really weak and hungry. Also I couldn’t figure out how to get onto the side of the bridge with the sidewalk until some guy holding a sign that says “ANYTHING HELPS GOD BLESS YOU” directed me back under the bridge and around to get onto the sidewalk. It wasn’t until I was on Springwater Corridor that I felt really terrible though, which is not ideal because you literally cannot get off the corridor for several miles. Luckily this gave me a lot of time to debate what to do with the $3 I had brought with me once I got to Sellwood: I could either go buy some food and continue on my way, or end things early and take the bus back home.

Ultimately I went with food. I was starting to feel faint, and realized that I don’t know the bus routes at all, and that this would also involve some running. I had to add about a half mile to the run to get to a grocery store, but it was entirely worth it. I spent $2.49 on a quart of chocolate soymilk, and I think it was one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. The rest of the run was painful, but far better than it had been going. And I learned a valuable lesson, which is to not go on a 17 mile run with no food and almost no money and no cell phone when I’m already tired from runs earlier in the week, and generally not be so myopic in the planning of long runs.

Another valuable lesson came soon after getting home, which is that if you put cold packs directly onto your skin, you can get frostbite. I think I kind of already knew this, but it’s one of those things you have to experience first hand to let it really sink in. My skin didn’t turn black and fall off or anything, but it did get all white and hard. My solution was to immediately take a hot bath, because when you have frostbite you’re supposed to put really hot water on it, right? Just kidding. This picture doesn’t do it justice, but here’s an idea of what it looks like:

My mom just came in and told me that this is a second degree burn (she’s a doctor so I believe everything she tells me). It’s all over the tops of my knees too. I kind of feel like an idiot. But in a good way.

Miles run this week: 35
Miles run in 2010: 184.5