Sickness and A Major Comeback Run

Wednesday, August 10 - woke up with the worst cold ever. I'd never made Steve stay home from work all day with the kids. Thought my head would explode from the sinus pressure.

Sunday, August 14 - I think I'm feeling better. I run 5.3 miles with Shannon before we cheered at the Hottest Half Marathon.

Monday, August 15 - starting to cough and maybe wheeze a little in the evenings.

Wednesday, August 17 - 5 miler get down to 4.3 miles in the evening with Shannon because I am wheezing BADLY on the run.

From that run, I headed straight to the Carenow clinic to see the doctor. Chest x-ray was fine. But yes, sinusitis and an upper respiratory infection. I'm put on a powerful cocktail of multiple antibiotics and a steroid medicine. Why? Because the doctor listened and was worried that if he gave me only one antibiotic and it was a bacteria resistant to that particular medicine, I'd be sicker and back in there a day or two before the Hood To Coast Relay race. Thank you, doctor, for listening!

Saturday, August 20 - I'm feeling well enough to go to Erwin Park to run trails with friends. It's my first time out at this park. I thought I'd just see how I felt. I planned to also do some trails the next day, so the goal was to at least get in a few miles each day. I warned everyone that I may turn around within a mile or two and head back, and I even checked to see who had a phone on them so I could check in that I made it back to the car if and when I turned around.

It was a beautiful day, even if it was hot as blazes. It was 83 degrees at 4:20 am, 90 degrees when we started a 6:20 am, and 100 degrees when we finished around 11 am. A mile into the run, we all stopped to take a picture since it was getting lighter out.

I wheezed and coughed a little the first couple miles and then it was like it had helped break up some stuff, and I could breathe okay again. Within a few miles, I actually felt really strong across a field segment and moved to the front of our pack for a while.

About a mile and a half from the end of the first 8-mile loop, Lesley and I, who were in the front, heard a sound and turned just in time to see Shannon fall. It looked so painful, as she slammed into a big pile of roots.  She lost skin on both knees and palms. We all grabbed wet wipes and used water from our packs to irrigate the wounds and try to clean them up. After we finished the 8 miles, our on-hand nurse runner Kristi managed her up. I love how Lesley talked about how it made Shannon look like a burn victim.

But Shannon was still willing to go out for another 8 mile loop. She is one tough cookie. She, Lesley, and Alicia planned to do another loop. Lesley had given me a Nuun tablet (I'd brought no electrolytes) and once I had that with about 20 ounces of water I chugged, I declared I felt good enough to go for another 8. "Plus," I said, "Then I can rest tomorrow and sleep in!"

Matchers!

Within a few miles, it was really starting to heat up. We'd go through prairie fields with no shade. Alicia's IT band was killing her, and Shannon was just out of energy. Lesley and I moved ahead. 4 miles out, Lesley ran out of water. We started walking the woods and running in the heat of the field. I ran out of water about a mile and a half from the end. A mile out we got a text that Alicia and Shannon had cut the course 3 miles short to get back to the cars early. When we finished, I was tired and hot. But happy that emerging from an upper respiratory infection, I had completed 16 miles in that heat. And while the idea of doing my 50K in November, doing twice what I had just done, seemed scary... I also realized that 31 miles in cool temps when I'm feeling healthy might feel about like the 16 I'd just done, LOL!

Second loop - still smiling