Crash and Burn

Well, I do have a story to tell. I am embarrassed about what happened, but since I always blog about the awesome runs I have and PRs that I set, I have to "keep it real" and blog about the bad as well. Plus, if anyone can learn from my experiences, then it will make the event a positive thing.

Post-Boston
After Boston I took off 8 days. I was going to take off two weeks, but I felt I had a really easy recovery. My legs were never that sore and by 4 days post marathon, I only felt a few knots in my hamstrings and quads. After 6 days, I felt completely normal. So 8 days post marathon, I went for a 2 mile jog on my treadmill. I felt the knot return, so I stopped after 2 miles. That night, I rolled my muscles out really good and took another day off. 10 days post marathon, I ran 4 miles outside slowly with no watch. I felt okay. Not great, but not terrible. The next day, I ran 4 more and felt much better. I didn't wear a watch, but I felt I was running my usual easy run pace.

Here is where the stupidity comes in. My local running club has a "Triple Crown" racing series. I ran the first leg in March, and that left me in 6th place. The 2nd leg was on May 2nd. It was a 5 mile race. I started thinking that I could just run the race for fun, and with some luck, leave myself in decent standings for the last leg. I knew deep down, I should never run a race that soon after a marathon, but I was so hyped up after Boston, I felt like I was invincible. Here's what went down.

Sunday, May 2nd Cherry Blossom 5-miler
I woke up on Sunday and went to register for the race. It was about 85 degrees and the humidity was high, so I decided to carry my handheld water bottle with me. I knew I wasn't acclimated to the warm weather, so I decided it was worth carrying during the race (even though it was "only" 5 miles). My parents wanted to go, even though I told them it wasn't necessary. Aaron was playing paintball with his friends, and I guess they wanted someone to be there. I have gone to races by myself and my uncle is usually there anyway. Regardless, they insisted on going.

After I registered, I ran into my uncle and my parents. I did my warm-up and was already sweating. I complained to my uncle and a friend from work (who was there with her children) about how warm I was. We went to line up, and I put myself towards the front of the women. The gun went off, and it was a really crowded start. We were on top of the levee in Kirby Park (which I run often), so it wasn't a huge path. I took off to distance myself from the crowd. Well guess who ran a 6:45 first mile...not smart. I saw my parents at mile 1 (because we did a loop in the park) and I yelled to them that I went out too fast. My dad yelled to take it easy. I am way too competitive for that. I kept pushing.

By mile 2, I didn't feel right. My stomach didn't feel nauseaus, but just didn't feel quite right. I knew I should probably stop and take a DNF, but my pride wouldn't let me do that. I knew my parents were there, plus several students that I have taught, so I kept pushing, saying to myself that it is only 3 more miles. Well at mile 3, I had to stop to walk. I walked for about 10 seconds, then started running again. At mile 4, I had to stop again. Some guy stopped in front of me, so I stopped with him. I told him I felt dizzy and he told me he felt the same. The whole time I kept making myself drink my water.

At mile 4.25, I had nothing left. Two women passed me, and there wasn't a thing I could do about it. Now...here comes the big finish.

First off, I don't recall finishing. I remember stopping to walk about 50 yards from the finish. Then my dad tells me I started running to the end. My dad tells me I was zig zagging all over. He thought I had a cramp because of the way my left leg was running. As soon as I crossed the line, my dad was waiting next to the chute (it was a small race...200 people). I told him I was dizzy. The race officials told me to just go under the tape, but I told them I wanted my time recorded. They told me it was and my dad took me to sit down (actually right under the official clock). He said my lips were grey and I was bone dry. Not an ounce of sweat on me. At this point, I remember what happened. I sat down and started throwing up. I kept complaining that this was a repeat of the NJ marathon and how could this happen to me again. I then got sooo hot. I started dumping water over my head to cool down. My mom got me a bunch of water and I kept dumping them over my head. At this point, I started to get dizzy. I layed down and really felt like I was going to pass out. My mom brought me gatorade and I tried to keep that down, but I kept vomiting. Every time I would sit up, I would get dizzy and feel like I was going to pass out. My friend from work Tracy came over, and I asked her if any of our kids from school saw this, and she said yes, they all did.....great! At this point, I was okay, just very nauseaus (I hate this word...for some reason, I just can't spell it and I am too lazy to spell check).

I then decided that I just wanted to go home, so my mom was going to drive my car home and my dad was going to drive me in his car. As I started walking, I collapsed. I couldn't get up. I started crying hysterically. My mom kept telling me that it was only a race and who cares how I did. I wasn't crying over that, I just had no control over my emotions at that point. I have no idea why I was crying. I felt ok to walk, so I tried again with my dad supporting me, and I collapsed again. At this point, my dad said my eyes started rolling around. All I remember is that I couldn't think. My dad would ask me questions, I couldn't respond. I remember him saying, "Tell me right now what day it is, or I am calling an ambulance." I immediately answered "Sunday." Now keep in mind, my parents owned an ambulance company for 20 years, so they are medical people. My mother is a nurse and my father an EMT. He said that he was very worried at this point. They got me under a tree where there was a breeze and just poured water over my head. Of course, the race directors and many people were extememly concerned, but my dad told them that he had it.

Finally, I felt like I could walk to his truck. All I remember was concentrating on putting once foot in front of the other. I was so dizzy, I could barely see. I made it to his truck and just kind of slumped there.

At this point, he was afraid to take me to my house, so he took me to his. I started to feel better on the drive there (it's only about 2 miles away). I made it into my parent's house and sat on the couch. My mom got me a coke (my uncle's suggestion) and I drank that. Very shortly, I started to feel much better. After a half hour, I took a shower and ate some soup. I was then able to drive home.

The whole rest of the day, I felt terrible. I was very nauseated and couldn't keep anything but ginger ale down. Around 8, I ate some toast and kept that down. I woke up the next morning and felt alright so I went to work.

3 days later, I still don't feel back to normal. I just feel "off" and tired. I promised my mother that I would take another week off, which I also think is a good idea. I am trying to figure out what happened and I think it was a combination of several things. First, I wasn't recovered from Boston. I know darn well that you shouldn't race for 26 days after a marathon, but my ego got the best of me. I felt like Superwoman and that I could do anything. While I may have felt ok, my body must have still been out of whack. Second, I don't think I hydrated enough before the race. While I drank 20 oz during the race, I think it was too late. Third, my body isn't acclimated to the warm weather and I pushed it too hard. I looked up the symptoms of heat exhaustion, and I had almost every one. All of these things are stupid mistakes, but I guess we live and learn.

The ironic thing is that this is exactly one year to the day that I did this to myself at the NJ marathon...weird.

As for the race, it wasn't as bad as you would think. I got third in my age group and a 39:29 time. While it wasn't my best, it was still under 8:00 pace. I also moved up into 4th for the Triple Crown. Several people from the first race didn't show up for this one, and only one girl who was behind me beat me. So my plan actually worked out, but it definitely wasn't worth it. I hope I can run my hometown race on Memorial Day. It is around my neighborhood and I run the course at least once a week. For now, I am going to take it easy and ease my way back into training.

Also, I am definitely NOT running a fall marathon. I am giving my body a much needed break. I ran 4 marathon in 1.5 years, and despite this last disaster, i am going to slow down and relax a bit!