Saturday, September 13, 2008

:: Palo Alto Moonlight Run - Race Report ::

We arrived early at the palo alto athletic center around 715pm and picked up some free goody bag stuff. That gave us ample time to walk back to our cars to deposit the goodies. Saw some familiar faces... Vivian and Lindsay. We geared up with our nifty headlamps for the night run and made our way back to the starting line.


We hooked up with Jen, MVR and also Liam (of Liam Gets Fit fame) and waited at the starting line. Since we knew we were running 11-12 min miles we promptly made our way to the back of the line. This is the route we ran:


Here's where it gets interesting... literally 2 seconds after we start, I step into a pothole, a huge one and i hear my ankle go "Snap". The worst thing that could happen during the race - happened to me. An excruciating pain shot up the entire right side of my ankle and i had to limp. At this point, I almost burst out into tears because the thought of not being able to run my first race was too much to bear. I urged the crew to head on without me while Mikee and I limped on - literally being the last in the race. The race official tried to get me to go the first aid station but i refused. Stubborness again. He held my arm and we wobbled for about 0.25 miles while I contemplated the cross-roads ahead of me. The throbbing pain was still there - but it was getting less. I could quit now or just try my best and see what happens. When the throbbing got down to a tender sensation, i decided to go up to a slow jog. With each step, I still felt it albeit it didn't "hurt". 0.5 miles into the race I decided - I will finish this. So we picked up the pace and off we went. I ran slower than I would've liked but I'm just glad we finished it and we didn't stop, not once!

When we crossed the finish line together, the feeling was incredible. Wow - Mikee and I just completed our first race together something that I would have never thought we would be able to do a year ago. This year has just been an amazing year of transformations.


The bad news hit me seconds after i stopped though - the ankle was hurting pretty bad and i was reduced to a limp. By the time we got back, the pain was back. We iced my ankle for about an hour but it was still extremely tender. It's 742 am now, and still tender. There isn't any massive swelling from what I can tell or any bruising so it cant be _that_ bad. I really hope I'll be able to run again soon and get back on my training routine. Sigh...


10k (6.2 miles), 74 mins, 12 min/mile. Bib #1895 signing off

4 comments:

Joe Sarti said...

You 2 rock, so, so proud of you! You are an inspiration and so humble about it! Thank you for having me as a piece of your puzzle

Jo said...

thanks joe - wonder where we'll be next year! :)

Raman Hansi Sudan said...

Jo Jo! I'm speechless....wow, woman, you simply amaze me day after day! How is your ankle feeling? Let me know if I can help with anything until you get back on your feet.

Jo said...

hey rammy ram!!! i've been resting pretty much all weekend and even took a day off work today. I feel so restless and cannot wait to be back at 100% u know?

its still swollen unfortunately but it doesnt hurt as much anymore. :)