Staying Vertical

Staying vertical has two meanings for this blog post. One, it was my overall goal for the Uwharrie 8 Mile and two, is my fighting a possible cold and not wanting to lay down and let it win.



Uwharrie was warmer this year than in years past. I think the temperature at the 8-mile, 9am start was in the high 30s, which is about twice what it has been the years I've run it. I was completely over dressed! I wore my warmest tights, my thickest running shirt and arm warmers underneath. Hat, gloves and a running jacket. I knew the running jacket was over the top and had planned to tie it around my waste if needed. I took it off within the first two miles. Then the gloves and then the arm warmers which were harder to manage than I'd thought they'd be.



Last year, my friends and I debated going because the trail had been compromised by ice/snow storms. This year we didn't even think twice though it has been very rainy. Last year we were pleasantly surprised to find the trail in good shape. This year the trail was soft, muddy and scary! I walked/hiked most of the first couple of miles. Even in the flatter sections that I've been able to run in the past! This trail is pretty rocky, rooty and covered in leaves on a good day. This day everything was glistening from the morning rain and the trail looked like a hard fall waiting for a victim. Part of my caution was because I know how much it hurts to fall and what a long recovery would mean. I was also tired and not sure I wasn't catching a cold. Running even short distances was getting me out of breath and I really didn't feel like myself.



My friend Jody and I usually run this race together. We spend the 8 miles catching up and laughing. This year, she was having a good year and I wasn't. For the most part, I kept in her sight, but the last mile, she took off and I finished about 5 minutes behind her. After walking/hiking the first couple of miles up what one runner near me called 'bat man's right ear' I ran down hill to the first aid stop at mile 2. This was the first real running stretch of the day. At this point I was leading about three ladies running behind me. The one running behind me (for about 5 miles), was a heavy breather and it sounded like I was being chased by Darth Vader. Though I offered to let her, Vader would not pass. Soon after the stop I saw a woman standing on the side of the trail. Vader yelled out "Big foot!" but used a girly, 'just kidding' type voice to cushion the blow of what would usually be considered an insult. I couldn't help thinking that this is why girls shouldn't do nicknames. Or at least they shouldn't do nicknames that have to be cushioned. Big foot giggled and said it was more fun to run with the group and fell in line with Vader and crew.



Vader started me wondering why we refer to 'Darth Vader' by his last name. It's not like there were multiple Darths in space. Like there was Darth Vader of the Death Star and Darth Smith of the Lively Star. There was only one Darth, yet we say 'Vader' and not 'Darth.' This lead to thinking about Eddie Izzard, the comedian who did a joke about the "Death Star Cantina" and who ran something like 60 marathons in 60 days for charity. There were many other random thoughts after this that helped me forget about Vader's annoying heavy breathing.



As I was saying, the trail had many muddy parts and I decided to walk those sections. Often you would see where people had slipped and it let you know to be more cautious. The mud was ankle deep in some sections and wide in some sections. Staying vertical became my mantra. There was only one time that I tripped and almost went down. I was able to hold myself up by bending way over causing a pulled hamstring. Luckily it wasn't bad enough to keep me from finishing. In the last mile I was obviously getting tired as I slipped more and turned ankles more. I remember from previous years that I rolled ankles a lot more during this race so I knew I hadn't run enough of the trail this year. At this point we were climbing back up or over 'bat man's left ear' as Vader's crew put it. I finished in my slowest time yet for this course, but being that I was tired and completely over dressed, I'm okay with it!



At the finish, I was handed my finisher's pottery. In year's past this has been something akin to a pottery metal with the Uwharrie symbol pressed into it. The winners received bigger pottery items like vases, bowls, plates, etc. This year all finisher's recieved a small pottery cup.

I found my friends after the race and we all agreed that the trail was awful and that it had been better last year. My friend Scott was at the finish as a spectator this year. A pulled calf muscle kept him from doing the 20 mile race so he was running support for a group of friends. He gave us a ride back to our car so that we wouldn't have to wait on the shuttle. This race is a point-to-point race and the shuttle system is pretty organized but it was nice to get a ride back with no waiting.

After changing at the outpost where we'd parked, Jody, Karen, Chloe and I went into downtown Albemarle to have lunch at a place called 'Off the Square.' Chloe had found this place online and we'd all okayed the menu the day before. The atmosphere was great with nice artwork along one wall. The opposite wall had exposed brick and the ceiling was made of the old style tile that you see in many old buildings. It was very ornate. I got the quiche of the day and the cheese grits. It was delicious! The service was a bit slow, but we all agreed we'd love to go back.

When I finally got home it was close to 4pm. I took a nap, but still ended up crashing at 8pm and sleeping for 13 hours! I felt wiped out! When I woke up I felt like I had a weird hangover and I was a bit worried that my daily running streak was in jeopardy. I managed to make it to the J for the early 10am yoga class and managed to run a mile on the upstairs track (1/12 of a mile long). The streak is alive and is 39 days long! It wasn't until much later that day and several caffeinated drinks later that I felt somewhat normal. Still monitoring myself for cold symptoms and still staying vertical!