After my fall on Pilot Mountain it hurt to breathe, but according to Dr. Google and my dad (who broke two ribs several years ago and went to an actual doctor like a smart person) deep breathing is important to help broken ribs heal and to keep your lungs from collapsing. I guess when breathing hurts, people tend to take shallow breaths which makes their lungs get lazy. Or something. Anyway I knew I needed to keep moving forward because a). if I sit around too long I start feeling depressed, and b). I had a marathon on my calendar at the end of the month. Running was a challenge because it tended to send shooting pains through my left rib cage. I had been doing regular strength training, but I quit that. Even yoga was painful. I did a lot more walking and hiking in March.
Walking makes me slow down, and I tend to notice things I might not see when running. How many times have I run down the same dirt road and never seen the cute woodpecker decoration someone mounted to their tree? Or the winter coats on the horses just down the road from me? For the first time I climbed the big hill that the neighborhood kids use for sledding in the winter.
And despite what the thermometer says, it's spring!
I went on some great hikes, too. Deep breaths, sore ribs, great views, friends, nature. All good except the soreness, but that was tolerable and completely worth it.
(On Tinker Mountain, overlooking Carvin's Cove)
Meanwhile I still had a marathon looming, and I managed a 20-mile run just under two weeks before the event. By that time my ribs were hurting less, and it was looking like I would be able to run.
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The Virginia Creeper Trail starts in Whitetop, Virginia, goes through Damascus, and ends in Abingdon. It's a popular place to ride bikes because if you start in Whitetop you can pretty much coast all the way to Abingdon. (Most people start in Damascus and ride to Abingdon, or start in Whitetop and ride to Damascus). Back in August of 2020 I explored part of the trail on foot. This year while searching online for a spring race, I came across the Virginia Creeper Marathon. I had to register by mail and pay fifteen bucks, plus the price of a stamp. No T-shirt, no medal. The race bling was a paperweight. Perfect!
I love the small, mom and pop races. This one didn't have a time limit, which for me is a plus. They even allowed me to start early. I would just have to self-time and tell them the result. The course ran along a paved road for about a mile out and back, and then it was back and forth along the Creeper trail, with aid stations every few miles and a bigger one near the start/finish line. It was a beautiful course (as I knew it would be) and the race director and volunteers were very helpful and friendly. The weather started out cold and warmed up to the 40s by the time I finished 6 hours and 7 minutes after starting the race. I was hoping to finish in under 6 hours, but I was able to negative split and finish strong. My ribs were still a little sore but a month out from the injury I was definitely on the mend!
The weather has finally warmed up, and I can sit out on my patio! I'm having my tiny backyard fenced in, which means I have to decide what to do with it. I've been going back and forth between making my patio bigger, planting a garden which I don't know the first thing about, or keeping the grass and mow it every so often. They came and put the posts in today, and I'm hoping the fence will be up by the middle of next week. I don't think my neighbors will want to see me outside drinking coffee in my pajamas.
March Stats:
Total Miles: 123
Elevation: 9,583
Geocaches found: 14
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