So....The Frosty First Frozen Fat Ass 50k had one returning participant other than me, and 2 newbies. The weather turned out to be nice running weather...if you didn't count the ice. And fog. Holy horror movie Batman. But let me back up...
I had a whopping 3 runners for this event, 2 of which I never met outside of the internet, yet they were crazy enough to come out and run with me. Cool. :) We started at exactly midnight, with the intention of doing 4 8m loops. The guys set off in a CCW direction and I went CW as I enjoy running up the 1.5m hill :). The roads were slightly slick, but I figured we'd be fine. I was feeling a little off...not sure what was up at that point, but by around mile 4 I was in full on nausea mode. Kind of early for that to hit, and I was trying to figure out if I ate something or did something to bring it on...I tend to get more nauseous at night when I run, not sure if its an equilibrium thing from the tunnel vision caused by my headlamp, or what...but I wasn't loving it. I really wanted to get in a full 50k and do well time-wise...I was hopeful I would rally.
One of the runners decided to bail after a rather speedy 2 loops, which was probably wise at it was starting to get more icy out...actually with each passing lap it got increasingly icy. The other 2 dudes soldiered on...then things got hairy...
During what was my 3rd loop it got really icy. And in one low section through the woods on the dirt road it got SO foggy you literally could not see where you were going. I *almost* paniced, but knowing where I was I figured I would come out of it at some point...but it was definitely freaky. Come to find out later, the guys were a bit freaked out as well, as they DIDN'T know where they were and the fog messed with them. Eventually once you got out of the woods section and back on tar, the fog lifted...but then there was the ice...
Coming down the one big hill with about 2m left in my loop is when it happened. I hit a bad patch of ice and down I went. Couldn't have caught myself if I tried. Smashed my elbow, hip and knee which are sporting lovely colors as we speak. That pretty much solidified that this was it for me. I never felt better, the nausea never went away so I couldn't eat, could barely drink and had been toying with just making it a marathon or something anyways...but after the fall I decided I was just simply done. 24 miles it was.
The last 2 guys ran the whole thing, which is awesome. Pretty quick too. :) I am sure they would have been faster had it not been for the ice. I have decided though that next year I am going to do a morning start. And, I may even move it to the woods :) We'll see...the staying up all night thing...its one thing if I am pacing someone, its another if I am trying to run something myself. I don't know why that is, but I can stay up all night and run WITH someone to pace them, but when I am alone...eh. That could be part of it too, as I was running alone. Even if I had gone CCW, I never could have kept up with those guys. 8min/miles? Uh, no. :)
So, it wasn't my best run but it got done and its all good. :)
My stomach issues during the run, I believe, were due to 2 things: one, I had a cup of cocoa before the run. I never really drink cocoa, and this particular brand had malodextrin in it. I don't do well with artifical sugars, or wierd chemicals and I (bad me) didn't look at the ingredients before I drank it, as I assumed Ghiardelli would not be full of crap. Two, I have gone up in my dose of LDN which always sparks some sort of shift in my body either in the form of me being hyper sensitive to things for a while, or having wierd reactions to things. I am thinking it was a bit of both, plus my gut hasn't been quite right lately anyways. Needless to say, it was 2 DAYS before I could get any real food into me without being sick. Not great. :(
So, I started back on my peppermint oil pills, along with digestive enzymes to see if that helps. Even several days later I do not feel 100% and have been sticking to mostly green smoothies to be safe. I will try some other stuff today and see how it goes, as I cannot afford to not eat enough at this point.
Speaking of what to eat...I got into some trouble this morning already on one of the raw food sites...it makes me crazy when I see someone promoting their way of eating as the ONLY way. Really? Then they get SO defensive when you comment. My feeling is if you are ok with your choices, why get defensive? I simply made a comment about raw fooders eating a BALANCED diet of fruits AND greens (and veggies if you choose...this was a hard-core raw foodie) and there was knickers in a bunch, oh yes there was. The problem I have is a lot of people who are new to this style of eating, and/or looking for quick fixes can go down a very dangerous and unhealthy path if they are mis-informed! MOST people who eat only or predominantly raw, did not go all rigid/strict overnight. Some do, and can get through the detox, etc and come out the other side ust fine, and some peope who were already strict veg/vegan do not have a far jump. But, peope who are eating a SAD diet and/or are unhealthy to begin with and may/may not have a good handle on what nutritious eating even is can get into a world of hurt. Don't get me wrong, I think fruititarianism is awesome, I think low fat raw is awesome, and both are pretty strict, hard-core eating styles. That would be my goal, and IS my goal, with the exception that I am going to follow what my body *needs* and if that means I eat a sweet potato or some sort of grain that is, gasp, cooked...well so be it.
I have friends who are die hard carnivores. Not sure they would know a fruit if it bit them in the ass. I don't agree with that diet *for me* but they feel it is working for them. OK. Would my diet work for them too? Quite possibly, but that isn't what *they* choose. You have to choose it, or you won't do it. That being said, *I* choose what my kids eat, for the most part. Hypocritical? Maybe. I do allow some choosing within certian parameters, as in, they can make food choices based on what foods we have available. We ALWAYS have fresh fruit and veggies availabe, along with other healthy snack options. There are times I give them choices and they chose to not eat, as opposed to eating what I offer. That's fine with me. No child will NOT eat if they are truly hungry. I do not impose my strict eating choices on my kids, bc I don't believe its fair. They know why I eat the way I do, and we talk about healthy food choices all the time- organic, GMO, why we are veg., etc. We do *make* them vegetarian, as that is a moral issue for us. Beyond that...I try to let them have some freedoms. I will say though...there are definitely some *food addictions* in this house, and there will be some changes made in the near future for the well being of all of us, but 2 members of my family in particular...but that is another post.
In the mean time...I will tease you and let you know I am about to read Wheat Belly...which should get me back on my soapbox in a few days... :)
