(Ab)Normalities of a Runner

Getting hit by a car, that's normal. Right?!?!?

 Last month I took a trip to Phoenix..............hold on, I'm basking in the memories of actual sunshine and warmth..............sitting in my row was a woman with a cast on her leg.  Turns out she had run a 1/2 Marathon and somewhere around Mile 9 or 10 she says she broke something in her foot, but she finished the race before seeking treatment.  I didn't think anything of it as that seemed normal to me.  In relaying that story I was met with a face of abject horror.  That made me stop and think about all the things that have happened to me while I've been running and that maybe to most people it isn't that normal after all, so I thought I would share some of my trials and tribulations, complete with commissioned stick figure artwork.  I didn't do these drawings, even these are too sophisticated for my abilities, but the artist I asked to do them is way more talented than stick figures, so they'd rather I not mention them specifically, as this isn't their best work.  However, I think they are fantastic so I'm making them available for purchase and I'll even sign them!  Think of the $1.50 I can make for charity!

So I have officially signed up to run the Phoenix Marathon again, this time it will be held on March 1, 2014. After running the marathon last spring, I have really kept up in marathon training ever since.  I wasn't sure when it was over how I would react, running is still fairly new for me, it's not even been 2 full years that I've been at it so hardcore. But a combination of the first marathon not going how I hoped and also enjoying running every day, I have, for the most part, stayed in marathon shape. Being just over 2 months away, I'll have to pick up my training and eating habits a bit from here on out, but it also got me to thinking about some of the things that happened along the way and in sharing them with friends, I realized, again, maybe I'm not that normal.

Anyone that runs or bikes a lot can probably relate but that's still a small percentage of people, so when I mentioned that I'd been hit by a car a number of times running, I thought nothing of it, but quickly realized how crazy that actually sounds when saying it out loud.  You see I run on the sidewalks and shoulder of the road all the time so invariably things are bound to happen. However, I am probably the most conscientious runner there is, I dress in bright colors and I'm always on the look out for cars, bikes, animals, anything that might be in my way or potentially dangerous.  But sometimes people are not paying attention in their cars or they pull out over the sidewalk without looking and as it happens I've been bumped a few times, thankfully nothing serious.  As I type this it happened again this morning. Oh well.

Falling in a ditch is not fun.

I did however have a few instances of minor injuries; one when I fell in a ditch and another time when I cartwheeled downhill.  When running one morning in the absolute pitch darkness on a country road, a road I've run down hundreds of times, it was early in the morning, maybe 5:30, so very little traffic and I was running down the middle of the road and when a car appeared I would move over to the side of the road.  Well as the headlights of a car shone behind me, I moved over to the shoulder, but took one step to many and proceeded to fall into a 4-5 foot ditch, twisting my body as a I fell thereby deeply scraping my legs, torso, chest and hands as I fell.  Needless to say, I was not pleased, it hurt.  I was bloody, cold(only about 30 degrees outside) and I still had 3 miles to go.  So what to do, only to get up and run back home.  Although when I got back I realized how much damage had been done, but again, just some cuts and wounds, nothing serious.  When I went into work that morning I was still bleeding, unbeknownst to me, from my hands and got blood all over the floor.  As I was sitting in an 8 a.m. meeting that morning my boss said to me, "Chris you do realize you are bleeding all over the place, right?". Good times.

When running down a steep hill, it's important to pay full attention.  Oops.

As for the cartwheel, I was running down a very steep graded hill, 12%, and I made the mistake of trying to do something with my iPod thereby taking my eyes off the sidewalk and I invariably hit a pronounced crack with my toe which sent me flying literally into a cartwheel on the sidewalk. I ripped all my clothes and even my water bottle was all beat to shreds and I laid on the sidewalk in the fetal position for a few minutes.  More embarrassed than anything, thankfully no cars were around, but I was only about 9 miles into a 17 mile loop run so the only thing I could do was run back home.  My knee was bleeding profusely the whole way, but what could I do?  The quickest way home was to run, so that's what I did.  Besides it was only cuts and scrapes.  Thankfully.  But in relaying those stories, again, I was looked at in horror and told that's "not normal".  I suppose I have to agree looking back, but it is what it is, I didn't think anything of it.  Maybe it's just a weird runner's thing or maybe I am just abnormal.  Wait, don't answer that yet.

I honestly can't even do a cartwheel on my own, but I guess I have it in me.

Broken, bloodied and needing help.  Good thing I only had 8 miles left to run.  Mommy!

I've also seen any number of deer while running, including being quasi-stalked by a buck one morning.  I've come across coyotes, foxes, raccoons and the occasional angry dog, however a few squirts out of my water bottle at their face and they have all relented. Thankfully I have not had any mountain lions, cougars or bears in sight, all of which are apparently well within the areas I run on a regular basis.   However, the worst is coming across roadkill; more importantly coming across them in the dark of night so you are not even aware of it until it's too late.  I  have stepped on a dead bird and a possum and I've seen countless dead deer, squirrels, a coyote and numerous other things.  Can't wait to see what happens next.

Chased by dog, sure, but still waiting for that cougar!

Recently I did a long run in subzero temperatures and my hat, gloves, jacket and water bottle all froze, literally.  About an hour in, my water bottle became nothing more than a block of ice that I got to carry the rest of the way.  I kept hearing cracking in my ear and soon realized it was ice forming on my hat.  It was pitch black when I started, so when daybreak finally came, I could see my gloves and jacket had ice on them.  However, internally I was not cold as I was properly dressed, but when I was done and took off my hat, it was more like a helmet as it was frozen solid.  I didn't think much of it, but then again apparently my barometer of normal is a little different.  On the flip side I was visiting my Uncle Al in Bullhead City, AZ last summer and it happened to be 119 degrees and they were having a heat advisory.  Seriously, in a place that gets to 115 regularly in the summer, they were also having a heat advisory.  Silly me, I decided to do a 6 mile run on the hills by his place.  I only got about 4 and I had to stop and walk the rest of the way.  As I was walking a car stopped and asked if I was all right and I was, but his actual quote: "I saw you running, then stopped to get gas,  I figured you were either an incredible athlete to be out in this or just crazy."  I like to think I'm the first, but I think I've proven I'm the latter.  Nuts.

All is all, as I look back it's been a fun ride.  I have really come to love running and one of my favorite things to do on the weekend is wake up early(about 5 a.m.) and do a long run, 15-20 miles, then go out to breakfast.  I love the isolation, being out at daybreak, the solitude, stillness, the views of the mountains and Lake Sammamish and each day that I run it helps me get started off on a positive note.  I know what you are thinking, how shocking that I am single.  I know, seriously, who's not into a running obsessed, abnormal man?  But I am very much looking forward to running the Phoenix Marathon again.  Last time it was my first marathon ever and I think I did put too much pressure on myself.  I am hopeful for a better experience this time, but there are always so many variables with a race that long, so I do understand I cannot control everything, except my own experience and reaction.  My parents will be out in Arizona again to watch and maybe even a few of my Arizona friends will be there as well. So maybe what we've learned after all of this is that I am not normal.  I guess I can accept that, but its not like I'm from Portland or something.  I enjoy running and all that it has and continues to lead me too.  I have many more stories, not suited for print, and I'll be anxious to see what happens next.  Besides being normal is overrated!

Stay safe out there on the roads and as always, FIRE UP!