Lesson Learned.

2 1/2 hours of sleep after being sworn at by crabby college students (and no, they weren't drunk - that might be the worst part), no food, a 2 week old virus that will not go away, crappy weather and a bad attitude do NOT make for a good combination when running a long distance.  I have officially learned my lesson - and incredibly embarrassing it was.  Last Saturday was the Earth Day 1/2 Marathon in St. Cloud and despite feeling terrible, I decided to give it a shot because I am incredibly stubborn and wouldn't walk away from something I signed up to do.  Nothing felt right and I did the one thing I know I should never do and I went against my instincts to do it.  And it caught up to me. I started feeling kind of dizzy around mile 6 but of course didn't want to stop, walk or deal with it.  I tried to talk myself into believing it would go away or that I could just get through 13 and then deal with it but I humbly learned that it isn't always mind over matter.  Despite having run 14 and 15 miles not too long ago, 13 just wasn't going to happen that day.  I got to mile 10 and that's about the last thing I remember.  For the first time ever in my adult life, I blacked out.  It was the closest thing I've ever felt to what people describe being drunk feels like.  I don't remember what happened in between the time that I closed my eyes because everything went black and the time I realized I was talking to my husband on the phone, telling him something about someone not letting me continue the race. I was taken to the medical area at the race, where Mike joined me at some point. It was definitely the most embarrassing thing that I can remember experiencing in a long time. And as much as I hate telling people about it - yes, it is still terribly embarrassing - I have a lot of runner friends that hopefully can learn my lesson without experiencing it for themselves. So...eat something/anything the day before the race and the day of, sleep longer than however long you plan to run, don't try to run off your virus (I promise, it doesn't work), move to a state that doesn't snow in the middle of fricken April, and be happy. :) Lesson learned. I am alive and well.  I still have the virus that seemingly decided to permanently reside with me BUT I did run 6 miles this morning and felt fantastic. 17 on Saturday will be interesting.

My friends that also ran the Earth Day run did awesome, by the way. They are rock stars and finished despite the crappy weather. I promise I will not be such a dud next time we run together, Angie. :)