I ♥ Heartbreak Hill

"Heartbreak Hill is an ascent over 0.4 mile (600 m) of the Boston Marathon course, between the 20 and 21 mile marks, in the vicinity of Boston College. It is the last of four "Newton hills", which begin at the 16 mile mark. The Newton hills confound contestants (out of proportion to their modest elevation gain) by forcing a late climb after the downhill trend of the race to that point. Heartbreak Hill itself rises only 88 vertical feet (27 m), from an elevation of 148 feet at the bottom to an elevation of 236 feet at the top, but is positioned at a point on a marathon course where muscle glycogen stores are likely to be depleted—a phenomenon referred to by marathoners as "hitting the wall." - Wikipedia

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Everything hurts.

I make old man noises getting up from a seated position. Or walking up stairs. Or walking down stairs.

My left calf seizes up regularly, and I've realized that it's affecting my knee and my lower back. I have pretty severe lower back pain that just won't go away. Also, my left groin doesn't feel right and sometimes I feel like my left side is going to collapse at any moment.

All of this, of course, and I still have cellulite and tree trunks for thighs. No one tells you this when you start training for a marathon. I think of it a little like a pregnancy: I eat more, my body has strange demands and doesn't quite feel right, and I have this vague feeling that I just won't really ever be the same again. Of course, I have no idea if it's like pregnancy...I'll have to ask my pregnant friends what noises they make when they pull themselves out of bed in the morning or if they have a dull fear of having gotten themselves into something without really knowing what they were doing. However, I'm pretty sure heartbreak hill is a breeze compared to childbirth, so perhaps I should stop myself here.

With all these developments, I've decided that running is just not enough. This week, I will be starting to add core workouts and cross training to my schedule. (I know, I know - what took me so long? Listen people- I'm not superwoman!) And so it is that exercise has taken over my life.

Because of all this, I also have a new cocktail in my life. My friends know that I enjoy a good martini from time to time. Well, my new drink of choice is a little more nursing home fabulous than I'd like, but it dulls the pain and makes me feel yummy. Just mix two parts advil with three parts chocolate milk and you've got yourself a party!