Chalk this one up as a character builder. With the way I’ve been running lately, I must be quite the character by now.
I hadn’t mentioned it last week, because who really cares that Thing 2 gifted me with a special little flu strain? The fever, chills and body aches subsided after a couple of days but the nausea persisted and my food intake has been hit or miss at best. Great for weightloss, not so much for running energy.
So it was an interesting week leading up to Monday’s race. Thank heavens it was only a 5k.
Zero glycogen stores and a dicey tummy weren’t my only challenges.
No, the more the merrier:
It rained torrentially the day before and this was a trail race. Flood much?
In classic Chicago style, over the course of 24 hours the temps climbed 40 degrees and humidity went through the roof.
I dressed in stealth, no, more like don’t-show-the-mud black because getting filthy was inevitable, and dredged up my trail shoes.
Should I even be doing this? The chances of a good run are slim to none. But if I didn’t, I’d always wonder what might have been.
Plus I just renewed my running vows. A DNS would not be beneficial to our relationship right now.
So I lined up under an unforgiving sun and off we went.
Another no-frills inaugural race: no timing chips, clocks, gear check, etc.
Within the first 100 yards my car key started yanking my skirt south for a full-moon rising. I fished it out and ended up carrying it.
The trails were hilly, ornery and winding and I was boxed in almost immediately. Call me crazy but even in my flu-addled state, I chose a lady in a raspberry singlet just ahead as my rabbit. Old habits die hard.
It was a billion degrees. By mile 2 I’d already forded flooded-out areas a dozen times. By some miracle I was gaining steadily on Raspberry. Finally a refreshing stretch of shade but with a caveat: The trail was completely under water.
I used a short downhill to make my move on Raspberry and almost immediately started to feel pukey so I slowed considerably. There would be no land speed records set by this runner today. Cannot. Believe. Nobody’s. Passing.
In a word I felt awful. Dizzy, weak and slow.
