pain is good

weekend distance:  13.1 miles
on the iPod:  "sunday morning call" -- oasis

Northwest Arkansas has long been anchored by what I now consider to be my hometown.  I'll never forget growing up in southeastern Arkansas and remember those years very fondly. I wouldn't give them up for a lifetime of sunny skies on race mornings from here on out.  But i've now lived in Fayetteville longer than I have Pine Bluff, and it's my true hometown.  It's where I've laughed and cried, it's where I've lost and won, it's where I've figured out my life.  It's where i've become a man.  

Fayetteville is amazing in that way, because it's always been the perfect mixture of hometown charm, college academia, outdoor living, and really good people.  And it's become so much more than that to me over the years.  Having said that, Northwest Arkansas has slowly grown to be much bigger than Fayetteville and i've loved watching the energy move north.  It was only inevitable, I suppose, that Bentonville would begin to thrive in the early 2000's, just as the economic engine was really taking off.  And it has.  Bentonville has that "hip factor" that used to be the sole domain of the college town to the south.  What used to be a highway town is now a vibrant community with walkable downtown neighborhoods, a square that is alive with activity seven days a week, young families from all over the nation that have relocated, restaurants that don't have pictures on the menu, an arts culture unmatched in the entire state, and festivals every weekend.  And a really large running community.  

In it's fourth year, the Bentonville Running Festival has become the premier half marathon on the NWA calendar and is quickly becoming one of my favorite races every year.  It's got everything -- a great start/finish on the square, a course that goes through neighborhoods and parks, an incline in the last mile that will drop runners likes flies, and really cool swag.  This year's event found over 2,000 runners at the start, ready to spend a few hours running hard and never looking back.  

Less than four days before, I wasn't even for sure if I was going to be able to run it, and that was causing a poor attitude on my part.  I won't mince words -- being injured had me cranky and I wasn't being a good sport about it.  As a last ditch effort I made an appointment to go see Patty Pain, hoping that she might be able to work another miracle on my sore knees like she did on my feet when I had plantar fasciitis last summer.  I knew what I was getting into, as she hasn't earned her moniker without countless runner testimonials that generally follow the same story line:  lay down on her table and prepare to suffer.  It's gonna hurt.  There's gonna be cursing involved.  She's not gonna let up.

Within minutes of being in a supine position, and after finding out that I had skiied for four days straight, she knew exactly what was going on.  She found extreme tension in my quads which was causing my IT bands undue stress and heavy discomfort.  Before she ever started she told me she'd have me ready to run a half marathon in four days.  Then, with a smile on her face, she told me what she was going to do and that it was going to hurt and that it was exactly what I needed.  She was right.

Let me explain how amazing Patty is.  Beyond the pain that everybody knows about, and I do mean everybody, she is outstanding at working on an athlete's body.  You can't swing a dead cat by the tail in the middle of a marathon and not hit somebody that Patty has worked on over the years.  She's taken care of all us -- knees, hips, feet, IT bands.  And it goes way beyond her ability to clear up injuries.  She's our advice giver, our running mom, our sounding board, our crazy story teller, our planner, our therapist, our biggest fan, and our friend.  She always has a positive attitude, kind words, and big hug ready for the taking.  Everybody needs a Patty Pain in their life.

After 45 minutes on the table I'd had all I could take and Patty sent me on my way with specific instructions to increase my stretching and continue work on my foam roller.  Stretching isn't my strong suit, but I gave it the old college try.  It paid off in spades, as I ran another great half marathon with zero IT band issues.  Zero pain whatsoever.  Not even the Crystal Bridges hill at the beginning of mile 13 could make me walk, and there were plenty of fools who chose to walk up that incline.  

Next up is the Hogeye in my own backyard.  I can't count the number of times i've run portions of that course just for fun and am excited to be running it, as i've missed it the last few years for various and sundry reasons.  It's long history fits right in with the funky vibe of Fayetteville and i'm hoping to see a lot of friends at the starting line.  Hopefully i'm done with IT band issues, but if not i'll back at Patty's office, biting down on a towel and praying for mercy. And as much as it hurts, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Run.