Apocalypto

I am an extremely light sleeper, so when I hear my phone lightly buzz beside me, I take a look.  It's 4am and it's from my son Mitchell, who as of today is 10 years old.  It says, "I hear a weird noise".  I do what any GOOD Mom would do.  I roll over and wake up Lee and tell him to go check on Mitchell.  So, while I'm waiting on Lee to return, of course, I cannot go back to sleep. 

I have been considering for quite sometime on writing a running blog.  My main barrier was just getting past the time element.  How is a busy full-time working Mom and running idiot fool supposed to have time to write a blog? I don't even have time to READ blogs let alone WRITE one.  Well, it's 4am, and I'm wide awake...so BINGO...there's my blog time.  YAY!  Sometimes, I am a little slow in figuring these things out..HA!

I asked my friend barefoottyler to shoot me an email with info on how to get started with blogging. He obliged and even suggested my blog name as an "example".  However, it's 4am, and I'm not feeling especially creative, so I just went with it, "mamarunsfar".  So, about the time I set up the gmail account and the blog basics, I hear Lee come downstairs.  I decide to join him for a bowl of cereal as he is watching a movie on TV.  He is watching the 2006 film Apocalypto directed by Mel Gibson.  Now, this movie is extremely violent which I am not a big fan of violence.  We are starting the movie in the middle.

Jaguar Paw!

The movie takes place in Yucatan, Mexico.  It's about this group of murdering tribesmen who captures another tribe and systemmatically plans to kill each one with ancient weapons before they reach the cornfield.  They release two of their prisoners at a time and the goal is for them to run across the plain area to the cornfields.  Just beyond the cornfields is their jungle which is home.  The first two take off running and this is where it captures my attention...the running.  Both of the men, run straight and each are taken down by some murdering flying weapons like bow and arrows and such.  Next, two more prisoners are released, but they are smarter as they run zig-zag across the plain dodging weapons; however, one of the men are killed.  The other running man actually kills the "finisher" who is waiting just before the cornfield to kill anyone who just may happen to make it that far.  So, here the chase begins! 

This escapee is running, running, and runs some more.  He runs barefoot and nearly naked all day, through the trees, the rocks, the creeks, mud, then it turns to night and he runs by moonlight, as his captors try to hunt him down with torches.  I am fascinated and totally memerized by the running and his will to survive.  He jumps over a waterfall and survives.  He systematically kills each of his potential captors one by one until he is free of them.  Somehow this all reminds me as a big huge metaphor for ultra running in terms of the elements that one endures and making the distance.  I liked Jaguar Paw.  I want to run like Jaguar Paw.  He inspired me to run today!

Today is April 12th.  The 12th of every month in 2012, I have participated in the Stet 12 athon challenge.  It's a running challenge where I run 12 miles on the 12th of every month.  It's been a blast reading all the running posts on Facebook!  It motivates me to get out the door to run an extra long run that I probably would not do because of time constraints.  However, I have made it a priority every month so far to do so. http://www.StetThatRun.com/ Today was no exception.  But, wait..I have a problem!

I ran The Jewel 50k race this past Saturday, April 7th,  in Dalton, GA which is another story for another day, and it's only 10:30pm..LOL  But, basically in mile 4,  I felt a hot spot on the arch of my left foot.  OH GREAT, my socks are wet as I already ran through some water crossings that were ankle deep.  Actually, it was more like OH FUCK...I gotta run 27 more miles and this shit is gonna hurt....LOL  Basically, I just blocked the burning pain out of my foot and just ran.  Nothing I can really do about it.  And, I haven't had a blister on the bottom of my foot in over 20 years.  WTF???  NOW..in mile 4..this happens?  I had to laugh.

Fast forward about 8-9 hours later when I finally take off my shoes and sure enough, my feet are pruned and on my left foot I have a half dollar size blister that has already formed a whole on it's own and is leaking.  OH GREAT...it's a source of infection.  So, all is OK until Tuesday night when my foot hurts like a mother.  Wednesday morning, I wake up and my blister is now a pus sack.  I see the Nurse Practioner at work in employee health to "see" if she thinks I need antibiotics...she says, I definitely need them.  I am on 2 antibiotics.  She thinks that hot spot I felt was actually a bug bite?  Really?  Looks like a blister to me.  I should mention at this point that my husband and I are both nurses..LOL  So, it's at this point, when I can barely bare any weight on my foot, I am hobbling like a person who needs crutches, and I'm miserable with left foot pain, that I actually consider forgoing the Stet 12challenge. I hate it..as I pretty much never pass on a good challenge. My goal is to finish every 12 athon this year. Silly, I know.

So, I wake up today and my foot feels about half way better...probably because I irrigated the dam thing the night before and again this morning. It burned...but at the same time...felt great to get that nasty pus out! So, I remember the cheat challenge that I can use once. Hmmm...I know I can crawl or hobble for a mile...maybe even possibly...dare I say the word "JOG" a mile...have Lee pick me up in the golf cart for 10 miles..then "JOG" another mile. Let me clarify that I am NOT a jogger. I am a RUNNER. We laid out a plan to do this while the kids were at school. And, I actually was able to jog/walk a mile with Lee although I ooooeddd and awweedd ALOT...felt like a hot poker jabbing the bottom of my foot...he went home and got the golf cart and chased me down right after I hit the mile point...and picked me up for the last 10 miles. We picked up a friend around mile 8 and then had to explain to him why I was running only one mile, riding 10 mi in the golf cart, then running another mile...STET ATHON crazy idiot with an infected blister challenge. We finished the ride now it's time for me to finish the last mile out. Lee's sister just arrived and he went in and our friend Russell finished the last mile with me. However, we got to talking and he listened to my ooohhewww and awwww some more...and I accidentally ran 1.36 miles. I survived the run...challenge...I hated like hell to NOT run the 12 miles, but at least I was able to particiapte. I thought if Jaguar Paw survived all that he did...surely I can run a measly two miles today on a blister. Sadly, it took an 1:27 hours to do this and I can easily run 12 miles under 2 hours..LOL But, we stopped and looked at fish, a crane, and geese. WE counted 8 deer running in front of us on the golf cart. IT was a fun ride to say the least.

Today I was Jaguar Paw!