Nice and Easy

     Today I went out with the BRRC and did a nice easy run for 13.5 K’s. I felt pretty good but my ITB were a bit stiff after. It was very humid today but not too hot. I was discussing my melt down at the TIP and a few people thought I may have had Hyponatremia but I am not sure about that, what ever it was I don’t want it to happen again. I have refocused and will run the Limestone City Half in April ‘09. I didn’t want to rush back into it! In the mean time I have an 8K an a 10K coming up in the fall and will work on building a solid base over the winter.

Another Easy Day

     Although my base is still there my body took a pretty good hit last Saturday so I had another easy day of 8 K at 5:15 pace. I felt pretty good with just a few aches and pains as a reminder again of Saturday. I plan to go out with the BRRC on Saturday and then try my luck at the trails on Sunday. I have an 8 K in Sydenham in October that I will be running with my wife which will be great. I am refocusing on the half for the spring of ‘09 and will enjoy increasing my base training over the winter.

Back In The Saddle

     Well even though I am suffering from a brutal head cold now I wanted to get back at it. I did a very easy 8 K  averaging 5.25/K. I felt physically strong with just a small tweak in my right hamstring, most likely from the severe leg cramps on Saturday. But it felt GREAT to get back at it. The next week will be easy run’s and with any luck a couple of runs on the local Skidoo trails. Another thanks to all the fellow bloggers for your support!

What Doesn’t Kill Us Makes Us Stonger

     I remember watching a marathon when I was little where a runner lost control of all the faculties and as hard as she tried there was no continuing. I woke up and checked the weather, it was already 22 degrees and 100% humidity at 0530. I arrived at the race feeling good and was very excited. I had talked with a fellow BRRC member Rod Palmer last week and because we were aiming for the same time we ran together.

      The start came and we didn’t feel like we started too fast as we were being passed by a lot of runners however for the first little while we were on a 4:30/k pace which was too fast. I felt good for the first half of the race and we were reeling people in along the way and making good time. Because it was so humid I was taking water at all the water stops. I was getting pretty tired by 17 K and told Rod to go on without me.

     It was at that point that thing got a little foggy”. I was still on a decent pace and would have come in around an hour forty but I was really struggling. I kept thinking I was closer to the end then I was, even though I was wearing a Garmin I couldn’t tell how much further I had to go. Then my body just shut down. I stopped and couldn’t keep my balance and I was sweating profusely. I was nauseous and no matter how hard I tried to get up my body wouldn’t respond. I was 1 K away from the finish…1 K! I had a mixture of heat exhaustion and dehydration…not a good combo. I spent some time in the St John’s Ambulance where Margaret got this photo and I can’t believe I was smiling because I felt so miserable.

     I felt horrible all night and as I write this post I still feel bad. I am also very disappointed however I am not giving up. Once I start feeling better and let my body recover I will be back at it. Sorry to the people that follow my blog. I wish I could have had a more successful post for you to read.

Final Pre Race Run

     Wednesday morning I did my final pre race run ( 8 K at 4:55/K) so if I am not ready now I never will be. I know in the whole scheme of things it isn’t a huge deal but for me it is. Considering where I was 9 months ago this didn’t seem possible. Today I did 30 mins on the spin bike at work with a nice 15 mins worth of stretching. Friday will be a complete rest day and I hope to get to bed early. The next post will be a play by play of the TIP Half!