Thursday, February 23, 2012

Hills, Earbuds, and a Good Friend...oh and NINE miles!


Marathon training always brings interesting stories.  When you are out running for sometimes hours, things happen, for instance…wolves, wild turkeys, eagles, falling on the pavement and bleeding the rest of the way home.  Desperately asking strangers for water, the list goes on…..

Today was a new one.....

Thursday ‘s Tonya and I do what’s called our “long run.”  Because of our schedules I had to run 3 miles,  meet her, then we ran 6 miles together, then she finished her last 3 miles.  Today our training called for 9 miles, hilly route.  I started off with Safeway hill repeats, and then went on around to meet up with Tonya at her house to go out to Bridlewood together (our favorite hill run).

Off we went, perfect weather!  When we do hill work together we always bring our music players.  At the bottom of the hill, music goes on, and we take off at our own paces and meet back up at the top.  I popped my ear bud in my right ear and took off, it popped right out of my ear….hummm!  I thought the black rubber end came off and dropped onto the road.  I decided just to keep going and look for it on the way back down the hill, no big deal if it was lost anyway.  After a few steps my ear felt funny.  I stuck my finger in my ear and felt something!  OH NO!.....the little black rubber end was in my ear!  I tried to grab it and pull it out, but I couldn't grip it right.  After trying several times and not getting anywhere I thought, I better just get to the top and find a stick and have Tonya take a look.  Yes, I was thinking about putting a stick in my ear! 
  
Finally the top came and I'm like, "Tonya, my ear bud is in my ear."  She looked and said, "I don't see anything."  I said, "I can feel it, I know it's there."  She said, "plug your nose and blow really hard and maybe it will pop out!"  So picture this...two women at the top of a hill in running clothes...one looking in the other's ear while the other plugs her nose and blows while snot is shooting out.   Yes, snot was a-coming! 

I love running, clears the head!  

Tonya could finally see it and said, "can I poke my finger in your ear and try to get it?"  Sure, nope that didn't work!  Next she tried a stick, being very careful not to touch the skin.  Nothing was working so I finally said, "lets just go."  Since I blew it out a little it stopped hurting so bad.

I do believe only a true friend would stick her finger in my sweaty ear to try and get the foreign object out while I am trying not to blow snot on her!!!  Thanks Tonya!

I ran home with this bud in my ear. I got peroxide and tweezers and headed to my husbands work.  He was able to get that thing out...what a relief!   

Never a dull moment! 

Run Love, Self Love

This morning I headed to the hills for an easy run on sore legs. The ache I felt was a good ache. The ache that you know you ran a good trai...