Three straight tallies in the DNF column...OSS/CIA Night 50 Mile, Burning River 100, and the Iron Mountain 50 Mile Trail Run...not exactly a good summer.
Not sure what happened, but it seems that my body has been reacting very negatively to the summer humidity in VA. I thought I was suffering from dysentery for a few days after the OSS/CIA run, but as the summer progressed I started to consider the humidity as a factor in all this.
A few years ago I was diagnosed with heat exhaustion with a temperature of 103 degrees after a 9-mile hike through the VA woods. Doesn't seem too hard, I know. In my defense, it was July, I had about 60 lbs. of weight on my back, and I was wearing utilities and a flak jacket. After the hike my buddies threw me in the shower and my legs cramped up real bad. In the end I got the "silver bullet" twice that day, and got to lay in a tub of ice for a bit. Since then I have never run well, or done anything physical well, during times of high humidity. Mowing the lawn, hiking, cycling, walking to the mailbox...I can feel the humidity pushing down on my shoulders and sucking the air out of my chest.
During Iron Mountain last weekend I vomited three time between mile 22-29. I have never vomited during a run/race before, so it was an unfamiliar challenge to cope with.
Sequence of events:
- After leaving the Hurricane Gap AS at mile 22 the course winded down a mountain for 7 miles. Immediately after exiting the AS I hurled on the side of the service road. "That's a first," I thought. "Strange, but whatever, I gotta keep going, I'm in the middle of nowhere." So, I kept running.
- Less than a mile later my stomach tightened and caused a wicked side-stitch. Something I haven't felt since my 5k days. I kept running, hoping it would subside. But it kept getting worse. It hurt so bad I was forced to walk...down a hill...only 22 miles into the race...
- About a half-mile later the road ended and I hit the single track trail which circled the mountain. I crossed a small creek and vomited again just after it. I went back to the creek and splashed water on my head and back. It felt amazing because, by that point, it was almost noon and the humidity had been steadily rising all morning. I was also 30 minutes behind my time from last year, but that didn't much matter anymore.
- After another mile of single track I was funneled onto a service road on the opposite side of the mountain. Another two miles passed as I practiced my sweet walk/run method down the hill until I hurled again at an insignificant location alongside the road. PB&J sandwich, oranges, a watermelon slice, and more water...I was getting scared. If I couldn't hold down food or water then it was only a matter of time before my body would shut down.
- Sure enough, as I strolled into the AS at mile 29, I was dehydrated and completely unprepared for the 1,200 foot climb from miles 29-32. I sat down for a few minutes and sipped on some water. The volunteers were great and kept my spirits up. I was ready to give it another shot when I stood up and felt everything in my stomach shift. I walked off the road and removed the remaining water and a banana from my system one final time. When I came back to the AS I borrowed a phone (surprisingly, there was cell service at that AS), called Kari (who had just finished the 16-miler!), and asked her to come find me with the car.
- I was done.
- Again.
- Again again.
I have considered all things: electrolyte intake, salt intake, water intake, when to intake, whether to carry a pack or roll with my hand bottle, whether to wear a shirt, number of gels, when to consume gels, whether to wear a hat, whether to wear a shirt, running technique, pace going uphill, pace going downhill, when to walk, when to run, what to eat, what to drink, what not to eat, what not to drink, how much to drink, how long to hang around in an AS, when to stop and take a leak...
I don't have a routine on race morning or the day before a race. I tend to eat whatever I want, which is generally something different each race morning but never something new that I haven't previously eaten before a run/race. That eliminates the food factor. During the first few hours of running, and only during training runs, I have experimented with eating gels only, gels and fruit, gels and fruit and PB&J, nothing at all (bad choice), chocolate chip cookies (totally a good choice), veggie burritos, gummy bears, Ensure, water only, bananas, Pinole... All of these combinations worked in some degree and didn't cause me to vomit. MMT100 was rather humid this year (May) and I found myself squatting behind bushes throughout the last 40 miles. OSS/CIA - same story. Iron Mountain - vomiting. I am interested to see how my body reacts as the temperature cools off.
Last February I ran nearly 400 miles and raced three of the four weekends in the month. I felt great. Never got sore enough to even take a day off. Last week I did a short 6-miler to prepare for Iron Mountain and felt it the whole day, the next day, and the day after that. Maybe I'm just a pansy...
Taking a sabbatical from racing until November. Besides the losing streak I am completely consumed with school work, house work, and real work. Looking forward to Tristin & Molly's wedding in September and Chris & Barb's wedding in October. Will be volunteering at the VHTRC Women's Half Marathon and possibly the Mountain Masochist 50 Miler in Nov. Will be back on the trails this week, kicking up dust and pushing my body to its limits all over again.
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