So, I drove to the top of Pikes Peak for the first time in my life. It’s a pretty drive. But long. And yesterday was the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, so there were remnants of that left. The starting line, for one. That was a little surreal.

There’s a well known 3-2-1 workout where runners go down 3 miles and come back up, then down 2 miles and back up and finish up with 1 mile down, and 1 mile up.

I wanted to make the most of my workout, knowing that I probably would only do one leg, and wanting to see more of the trail, so I decided to do 4 miles down and then come back up.

Ouch. Going down, even at that altitude, felt good to me. Coming back up, not so much. After my 1st mile on the way up, my sciatica kicked in. By the 2nd mile, the pain was excruciating. I had to stop every 15-20 minutes to rub out the tightness in my calf and hamstring. It was brutal. Keep in mind that I took 800 mg of Ibuprofen before I started. I can’t imagine what it would have been like without it.

So now, I have some serious misgivings about running the race. I’m REALLY worried. I need to see Jessica (my physical therapist) this week and see what she thinks.