It started with a sub-par lunch on Friday. The salad that came with my sushi was waterlogged and mushy. Then I woke up with a headache on Saturday morning that I reduced with 4 ibuprofen washed down with coffee.
All I wanted weather wise was it to not be a mud pit, and for that, I got my wish. High 29, sunny, and low humidity, I thought it could be a lot worse.
By race start, my headache had subsided but still was low level, usually when I start running, it goes away completely. That day it didn't. The first few loops were uneventful. I was able to eat and drink on schedule, but the headache made me not really want to eat and eating made me feel better, yet worse at the same time.
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| 🥥🥥 for luck |
I wrote out a schedule for every loop and at one point, I had an hour's buffer time, so I was doing great despite not feeling it.
Then my baby toes started hurting. I had put toe condoms on my big and baby toes, and KT on my 4th toes. I felt something flapping in my sock and expected it to be the KT, but it was the baby condom that had fallen off. I put a bandaid on those toes, but my right toe was getting more and more painful, along with my head.
A shoe change didn't help much when what I really needed was better pre-taping strategies and/or blister cures (I don't want 200 2nd Skin squares when I know they dry out!) My legs felt pretty good, but I was exhausted from the headache, super annoyed at constantly having to stop and fix my baby toes and my hour buffer had dwindled to nothing. Of course I am tired heading into the night of a long race, but this was different - I was tired and continuing for another 12 hours was unbearable, all I wanted was to go home and sleep.
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| probably the only bad pic Sue has ever taken of me. |
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| if only Harry made room on his hammock for me. |
Due to a personel shortage at the aid station, Agnes had to jump in and help Delano, and I managed to slice a few bananas despite the temperature plummetting after sunset.
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| thanks Eunice for sharing hugs and your blanket for warmth! |
I'm feeling down as I write this. I know that pushing onward would have been stupid. I really thought that my goal of 120K was within reach in the right conditions. Now to regroup for Sugarbush Shenanigans 12 hour (my favourite "distance") in the fall.
