Tough Weekend

I was looking forward to a long run at the Brad with Squirrel.  It seemed like a long time since our last one.  We were aiming for 16-18 miles.  Since the weather called for even more heat and humidity, we decided to start at 7 a.m.  Unfortunately, I didn't feel right when I woke up.  I had a weird rash on my chin, my eyes were unhappy, my throat was scratchy, and my stomach was, um, not right.  Ever the perfect running partner, the Squirrel said something to the effect we'll play it by ear or do what I can.  I said I was planning to run it out of my system.  Well, it does work sometimes.

We did a short loop on the east side, planning on seeing who was in the parking lot for 8 am.  There was a good group of TMs, but they were all marking the Breaker course for Sunday's race.  Then Mike showed up, someone just starting out on TM runs.  I'm sure he could have run at a much faster pace, but he seemed right at ease running with us and kept up his share of the constant conversation. 

S&S had planned on doing various loops on the east side to get in all the miles.  Since Mike plans on running one of the BBUs, we decided to run the east side portion of the race as one of our loops.  It all went well.  We went back to the cars to refill/repack our fluids/fuel.  From there, we decided a loop from Mindy's 40 for 40.  Though I wilt/melt in heat, I felt semi-ok.  My stomach had a couple crampy issues, but nothing I couldn't run through till about 15 miles (total) into our run.  I decided to walk to see how if it got better.  Though I told Mike and Mindy they didn't need to, they both walked without hesitation.  Just a little stretch.  As we approached the little loop off of Ginn West, I sent M&M off on it, knowing that by the time they returned to Ginn, I'd be OK to run it back in with them.  It worked.  Unfortunately, I felt horrible back in the park.  It seemed more lower GI, but still overall lousy.

We all hung out a bit at a picnic table.  Mike decided he'd add a couple more mountain miles to his total.  I told Mindy there was no E&Ls in my future :(  I headed home.  I drank some water, but couldn't eat for a while.  Finally I ate a couple of pieces of toast.  I managed a shower, then just lounged/slept/watched the olympics.  Supper was some pasta.  Not much after 17.5 miles in the hot, humid weather.

Sunday, I woke feeling a bit better.  The Breaker would change that.  I felt horrible.  My stomach was an issue, but it was more my lack of any reserve of energy.  I tried to stay positive and keep moving.  It was hard not to walk off the mountain.  I shamed myself after witnessing the courage of the 100 milers just two weeks earlier.  I finished.  I wanted to recover and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere that all the Bradbury races have, but instead my stomach got worse.  Some bright notes were the wonderful races of lots of TMs and great volunteers (including Steve Day!).