Today’s run was probably one of the most memorable runs I have had in a long time, if not ever. Please be warned this is a verbose post!
I don’t know what is going on, but my runs lately have been craaaaazy…
On today’s run, this note became much more real…
But I will get to the reason why in a minute.
After breakfast, Eric and I geared up for our planned bike-run outing. Him on bike, me on foot. I filled up my Camelbak and we were off!
[I don’t listen to music when he is with me because we chat, but I brought the tunes for when we parted ways.]
Today I was planning on doing my last LONG RUN before my half marathon on May 30th. I wanted to do between 10-13 miles today.
I knew I had to get in this run today or my anxiety would be quite high for the race. My training for the half has not been where I wanted it to be. My groin strain set me out for a while and I found it difficult to get in long runs while training for the try-a-tri.
I know deep down I am not trained for this half like I was for my first and second half marathons last Fall 2009. I have accepted this. I know that I have been out there every day that I could and I gave this training (and the try-a-tri) 100% effort. I am going to have fun with my half next weekend and just play it by ear and not stress myself with a time goal! What shall be will be.
Eric was my on site photographer today. :lol:
I am hoping all my hill training will benefit me in the race next weekend. I climbed 1836 vertical feet (0.35 miles) on today’s run!!!
I think Eric was so bored on this bike ride because he basically went along to keep me company and he had to bike quite slow next to me. I think a snail passed us. I thanked him a million times for coming along to entertain me! I couldn’t have done it without him. His words of encouragement were so needed during the long hill climbs.
After 7.5 miles I dropped Eric off at home, filled my Camelbak with H20, and fueled up.
I was covered in salty sweat from head to toe. It was hot out there.
I had two dates for fuel…
…and I was off.
I did not want to go back out there. I almost talked myself out of it. Eric mentioned that he was going to watch a movie and I wanted to just stay inside and cuddle him on the couch.
However, I kept my half marathon goal in my mind and I headed back out there.
This was a deciding moment of dedication for me.
I told myself, you are so much stronger than you think, and I was convinced.
I would like to give a special shout-out to two songs that honestly made the difference in my energy for this second part:
- ‘Forever’ by Chris Brown (never fails to remind me of this epic video and then this one!! hahah)
- ‘Not Myself Tonight’ by Christina A.
Fun songs.
I looped the neighbourhood a couple times. Around mile 11, I was debating in my mind whether I would run up to the end of the street or whether I would turn back early and head home. I decided to run to the end of the street.
As I was running to the end, the unthinkable happened.
I witnessed an accident!!!
A huge Harley Davidson motorcycle was turning left onto the street I was on, when all of a sudden the bike swerved and flipped on the side, skidding, and pinning a man and a woman onto the pavement underneath the bike.
I screamed, in shock, and bolted to the accident. I was about 30 feet away and ran to them as fast as I could. Sometime during this I lost my sunglasses. The man was struggling to get the bike off of him and the woman, but he was trapped. The woman was screaming in pain and it was one of the scariest things I have ever seen. She got the worst of the accident because she was trapped under the bike the most and it was crushing her legs.
I immediately grabbed the Harley, which was on its’ side, by the seat, and lifted it off of the people who were stuck beneath it. I have no idea how I was able to lift the bike…Eric tells me they are around 500 pounds!!! I now believe what people say when you are in a dangerous situation and the adrenaline is pumping, you can accomplish amazing feats of strength. Unfortunately I pushed the bike up with mostly my left arm, which is my sore tricep, so I am hurting a bit right now, but obviously it was a necessary act!!
That is similar to what the bike looked like.
As soon as I got the bike off them a nearby couple (who heard the screaming) called 911. The woman was bleeding and all scraped up and I am almost positive she broke a leg, if not a foot. I felt so bad for her and kept reassuring her that the ambulance was on its’ way. She was crying and in shock. Not even 2 minutes later the ambulance arrived. I was so surprised at how quickly they arrived. Kudos to the paramedics!
After they were taken away, I wished them well, and then I left for home. I looked around for my sunglasses and found them right about where I was when I first bolted over. I guess they fell off me…I don’t remember. I was about a mile away from home, and that mile was run in shock. I could not believe what just happened and I was a bit choked up over it. Luckily I decided to run to the end of the street or I would have turned onto a different street and not have been there to help.
Despite the accident, I managed to have a strong long run.
The run:
- Distance: 12.44 miles
- Time: 2 hours 6 minutes
- Avg pace: 10:08 min/mile
Mile splits:
- Mile 1: 9:31 min/mile, ascent 147 ft
- Mile 2: 9:35, ascent 118 ft
- Mile 3: 9:58, ascent 154 ft (I started to doubt myself after just 3 miles)
- Mile 4: 10:38, ascent 131 ft
- Mile 5: 10:24, ascent 144 ft
- Mile 6: 10:35, ascent 285 ft (part of murder hill!!!!)
- Mile 7: 10:12, ascent 159 ft
- Mile 8: 10:04, ascent 102 ft
- Mile 9: 10:28, ascent 192 ft
- Mile 10: 10:20, ascent 76 ft
- Mile 11: 9:46, ascent 116 ft (just before the accident, I was trying to finish strong)
- Mile 12: 10:13, ascent 158 ft
- Mile 12-12.44: 9:34, ascent 55 ft (finished strong!)
After returning, I did what I said I would never do.
I had an ice bath…
Getting in was the worst part. Actually all of it was the worst part.
With green tea to warm me!
It was not fun, but my legs do feel better than they did. I also iced my sore tricep. My body is basically hurting all over right now. This week is a taper week though, so I will be resting a lot!
After the ice bath, I had quite possibly one of the biggest salads I have ever made in my life. I realize I say this a lot. :happy:
The uber big salad contained: 2 organic romaine hearts, 1 tomato, 1 cup chickpeas, salsa, mustard, pure maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, turmeric spice (reduces inflammation), hummus, black pepper, sea salt.
The only way I can explain these salad toppings is that I felt similar to a pregnant lady. :lol: There was no wrong topping for this salad. It just all seemed appropriate. [It actually tasted great too, but again that could have been the crazy hunger talking…] After the salad, I had a Raw + GF Glo Bar.
Last but certainly not least, I wanted to tell you guys about this really awesome Live Well 360 Core Fitness bag! My friend Sheila from Live Well 360 told me about this bag they were designing months and months ago and she asked me if I would like to review the bag and also donate Glo Bars for this amazing giveaway they are having. Of course I said yes!
The bag is beautiful. I was blown away by the quality of the bag, right from first glance.
The 360 Core bag boasts ‘storage compartments for shoes, jewelry, beauty products, and more along side a new level of durability through its ballistic nylon exterior, satin nickel hardware, and heavy duty zippers.’ The bag reminds me a lot of Lululemon bags, with the motivational words plastered all over the lining and all the functional pockets inside.
My favourite part of the bag is this awesome hidden pouch (shown below left) where you can put your sneakers and dirty gym clothes. What a genius idea!!!
The bag is pricey- at $129- but after I received the bag I understood the price point. The quality and attention to detail is very apparent. You can tell that so much love and time went into creating this bag. Sheila also tells me that many people are using the bag for a travel bag too.
Live Well 360 is having a huge giveaway for fantastic health and fitness products. There are tons of items up for grabs- including a Garmin forerunner- and even Glo bars!
The What’s In Your Bag Giveaway ends tomorrow (May 25th, 11:59 PM PST). For contest rules, see here.
I have decided (with Sheila’s blessing!) to donate this bag to my Shop 4 A Cause 2 charity auction. You guys will have the chance to bid on the bag should you wish! I am confident it will go to a great home :biggrin: and we will raise some awesome money for cancer in the process!
Well, that was a record-long post clocking in at 2 hours. I must apologize not to have the cupcake recipe up, but I promise it is coming tomorrow morning.
Today’s question- Have you ever been in an emergency situation before? Were you surprised at how you reacted?
Have a great night!
Wow, I got chills reading that story! I can’t believe that you were there and picked up a 500 lb motorcycle!!!! We all are truly stronger than we think, especially in situations like that. Thank goodness you were there. WOW!
Wow – well done you! Hope you’re ok. :-)
Wow! Well done on the run, and coming to the rescue Ange!
It’s amazing the adrenaline that comes from an emergency situation. Back when I was at school, a girl fell through the ceiling of the school theatre (she and a friend had decided to have lunch in the roof which was off limits, but the hatch had be left open). Her friend burst into the room where I was having a lunchtime drama class. At first I thought she was just a really good actor (there were always students bursting into the room showing off their skills), but the ghostly white of her skin could not be faked. Our teacher ran from the room with a few of us in-tail. At first we couldn’t understand what had happened until we looked around. The girl had fallen about 25 metres, bounced off the railing to the orchestra pit, and landed about five rows back. It was so scary. She was conscious, but her feet were all bent out of shape (she was a dancer). Someone went to call for an ambulance, and I was sent to meet it. I have never run so fast.
That is sooo totally random! You are freaking amazing for pulling that bike off of that woman!
I live right across the street from a really crazy intersection that they NEED to put at light on. I swear, there have been 3 accidents a year since we moved here 2 1/2 years ago. I’m always ready to go out there with water and my first aid kit!
Geez, Ange – lifting a 500 lb motorcycle?! That’s amazing! It really is crazy what adrenaline can do for a person.
It’s “its” and not ” its’ “. No apostrophe.
Just wondering, did the ice bath really help?
Yes!
OMG ANGELA!!! That’s amazing what you were able to do!!!! And I LOVE the sign on your back- so inspiring!!!
good thing you were there!
one time in high school i was chased by a man with a rope. the adrenalin kicked in an i somehow scaled a 6 foot fence in the blink of an eye and i’m certain i have never run so fast. i was astounded at what adrenalin could do for me and it gave me an extra bit of confidence…though, i’m still afraid of the dark;)
Angela, I noticed you reference several cookbooks in your blog. I was wondering what are a few of your favorite vegan cookbooks? I am looking for some new ones and was wondering what you’d recommend? Thanks!!
The cookbooks I use most often are Eat Drink & Be Vegan, Sweet Freedom, and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. I don’t use cookbooks often, but when I do those are the ones I have on hand. There are a few others I would like to buy, one is Alicia Silverstone’s new cookbook The Kind Diet, which I have heard good things about. I also like to check out reviews on Amazon too or just look at them in the bookstore to see if it is the type of recipes I like to make.
Thanks! I have Alicia Silverstone’s book….it is really good! The recipes do have some items that are hard to find and I really have only tried two. I will look into these…thanks! By the way, I look forward to reading your blog daily!!!!
Wow – good thing you were there, girl! Props to you for reacting so quickly!!
Wow thank goodness you were there! You are certainly the sort of person to have around in an emergency – you rock! hope your arm is ok :-)
Ohmygosh Angela, that is so frightening!!! I used to go on my old boyfriend’s motorcycle a lot and I cannot imagine being trapped underneath one of those things, let alone lifting a running one up. Hopefully they were well dressed for the bike and sustained minimal injury. I’ve been lucky enough to never witness an accident to that extent. But I do understand how you react on pure adrenaline. Good thing you chose to go the long way – that’s what you get for fulfilling your mileage goals! ;)
What an amazing thing you did! I normally drown in a teaspoon of water but I find that in major emergencies, I am the most calm person!?!
No joke. I could drop my keys and have a breakdown but when someone is choking or something I go on auto pilot and handle it. Craziness.
The guardian angel of those folks on the bike busta been whispering in your ear, “Keep running Angela, no cuddling we’ve got work for you to do!”
: 0 )
You are amazing! That’s all!
Kudos to you for braving an ice bath! I’ve been trying to have one throughout my half-marathon training but I chicken out and instead stick one leg under the cold shower then the other.
thank you from a fellow biker. Most people are too afraid of the biker stereotype to even speak to most of us, let alone stop to help. I’m sure both of them appreciated your fast reaction. Most women have a hard time picking up much smaller bikes but you are right. Once the adrenaline starts pumping it’s AMAZING what we can do.
BTW, the cupcakes look awesome! I’m too cheap to buy the marshmallows though. I saw them at Whole Foods but quickly put them back once I checked the price.
You’re such a friggin’ hero!! Awesome run, awesome emergency reactor and AWESOME salad.
I’m pregnant and can honestly say that it looks incredibly tasty.
wow.wow.wow. EVERYTHING happens for a reason. we are always stronger and braver than we think! thank you for sharing this story! you are going to DOMINATE your race! i know it :)
“Oh She Glows” is true to your name! What a Good Samaritan you are. I truly believe good things will come to those who deserve and I believe this a huge mark for good things for you!
I love that bag, OMG, that would work so perfect for my workouts, gym and swim! Woohoo, BRING ON THE AUCTION!!!!
I did react to something this past weekend on my way back from San Antonio. I was having lunch at a roadside rest area with my dog, Stewie. I was about to take him out of the front seat of my Xterra when i saw an elderly gentleman chasing after his little Schitzu, the little guy, had gotten out of his collar and was headed for a major highway here in TX, IH-35. I slammed the door on my puppy dog, left the car running and took a b-line for the highway after that little dog. I was able to scoop him up about 50 feet from the highway….what a terrifying thing that would’ve been for the owner. Holy cow, my heart was beating almost outside of my chest!!! That poor man started crying, I felt so horrible but was so glad I got him before he got to that major highway. I normally am not a fast runner but I bet I ran faster than I ever have at that moment. Like you said, adrenaline takes over and you have the strength of Hercules all of a sudden.