STEEPLECHASER!

i'm too lazy to describe the past 3 or so weeks in detail, but basically, i think mother nature hates wisconsin track and field. the oshkosh meet involved 25 mph winds, the 100k was about 35 and rain/snowing (and let's not even get into the fact that i was still slightly intoxicated while running that 10k...hey, it felt good!), lacrosse was 40 degrees and pouring, and then we get to the lovely marquette invite. now, its almost the end of april, its been gorgeous all week, you'd think we could catch a break, right? WRONG. 45 degrees, with winds blowing pretty consistently over 20 miles an hour, with gusts up to 40 MPH. yeah, i'm not kidding. and it was in this lovely weather that i decided to make my first endeavor into the 3000 m steeplechase.

now, i have never run ANYTHING longer than a 1500 on a track. so the idea of 7 and a half laps was moderately terrifying anyway, and then add to that the 5 barriers and water pit? uhh, i was having some serious second thoughts. the barriers i wasn't too worried about, after all, i've been a hurdler for 7 years, so those were a piece of cake. but the water pit...oh. my. god. approaching that thing the first time was absolutely terrifying. it took pretty much everything in me not to run AROUND it. but i didn't die...though i did practically go under a couple of times, yikes. i have to say, that was THE MOST PAINFUL RACE i have ever done in my life. the wind may have had something to do with it...actually, scratch that, it had a LOT to do with it, especially since it decided to pick up the second half of the race. combine that with my increasing exhaustion and i was pretty much wishing someone would shoot me on the backstretch. amazingly, my first time experience with no practice into the water pit and having not been training for this distance and running into this ridiculous wind ended a lot better than i expected - 13:22, and i beat claire and the girl from GMTC, which was pretty exciting. right now though, to be honest, i wish i didn't have quads. they are screaming at me anytime i do anything...walking...riding my bike...sitting down...you name it, its painful. i'm guessing that has something to do with the enormous leap i had to take off the barrier while at the last stages of exhaustion. yep, that'll do it.

so will i run it again?

...probably. i actually am considering running it at the twilight.

damnit, distance running makes you such a masochist.

but the pictures of me flying off a steeple barrier are effing sweet! and impressive. you can't not think i'm a badass now. :P