I was then left to my own devices and tactics to battle said plague monkey which I must admit was a bit discouraging. There is something comforting about an antibiotic when you are ill. Perhaps it's the knowing that in a week or so everything should be fine instead of the viral crud that can linger on & on with no obvious end.
Being sick irritates me. Not that anyone enjoys being sick, but it actually makes me kind of mad. In my mind my body should work properly all the time and when it doesn't, argh. Thankfully I have a husband who can help urge me to do what is healthy. Like take a nap & stay hydrated rather then staying up looking grumpy.
Once my angst of being under the weather and fretting about the up coming race had subsided a tad I headed to bed at 9p.m. (stupid early for me.)
Some solid rest did my body a lot of good. I woke up feeling better, no great, but better. Good enough to race I thought & so I did.
Pulling in at Dick Beardsley's Thursday night was a little surprising. I assumed since the race was held during the week and in the evening that the turn-out would be limited. A full parking lot and glow-stick adorned runners pacing about everywhere proved me wrong. Seeing the anticipation of them all made me excited even though I may have looked less then enthusiastic outwardly.
Since my Beloved was busy I went to this race alone. It's a rare day that I participate in a race Jeremy doesn't so it was a tish lonely those 30min after packet pick-up before the race started. I visited with a few of the "Regulars" (people who we see at most of the races we attend.) and that helped make the time pass relatively quickly.
The start of the race was on familiar territory. I had the pleasure of running with the ladies group @ DB last summer & they use a section of this route. Despite feeling worn from being sick running actually felt good and I felt like going fast.
Common sense told me to play it safe and not make myself more ill by overdoing it, but since when do I heed to that? ;) Actually I behaved, for the first mile. After that I slipped into my tri-breathing rhythm and the haze the plague monkey has cast on me had me in an almost mindless running state. Imagine the slow motion first person eye-view of someone running that they depict in movies and that's about how I felt. The pace seemed a slight push above what I usually aim for, but I was okay with that.
White parchment bags with lit tea lights marked the finish line and as I rounded the final corner I could see them not so far off in the distance. A pair of runners around me said "lets hit it" and they did, but I held back knowing what distance I can cover in a sprint. Once I reached that point I gave it all I had left passing about six runners, including the pair that "hit it". :) Yay.
Unfortunately I neglected to check the clock to see what my time was when I finished. It's possible I may have come in under the 30min. mark, but I don't know for sure. Only after a few stretches and catching my breath did I think to peer around the corner and check. At that point the clock read 33minutes.
As I mentioned before race swag has high appeal to me. Especially when there is a raffle & great gear to be had. Much to my disappointment somewhere along the line I either wasn't informed or was unable to hear that attached to the bottom section of the race # bib was a tab you were to tear off and place into the raffle box.
It hadn't occurred to me to check what each of those tabs were for until I realize that the numbers they were pulling out of the box once the prize winners were being announced looked a lot like those on the bottom of my bib. Sigh. I blame the plague monkey.
So if you saw the only person in the packed DB Running store leaving during the raffle, that was me.
As it turned out the best prize was waiting for me at home. There is nothing better after an evening run in the cold with the plague monkey then to crawl into an already warm bed, snuggle up with your sleeping Beloved and to catch some much needed rest yourself.
There are a few lessons learned about running with the plague monkey. Such as...
1.) When putting kleenex in the pocket of your running fleece remember to place (not fold) them in. Otherwise you end up pulling out a handful of them all jumbled together instead of one.
2.) Hearing anything on the loud speaker when surrounded by chattering runners and congested sinuses is impossible. Look for the person with the microphone & try to read lips.
3.) It's really difficult to cheer other participants on when you sound like Gonzo & clapping is mute with your gloves on.
Overall not bad sacrifices to be made in order to participate. It's certainly a different mindset to approach a race with, but I would consider racing when under the weather again if the need arose.
As I mentioned before race swag has high appeal to me. Especially when there is a raffle & great gear to be had. Much to my disappointment somewhere along the line I either wasn't informed or was unable to hear that attached to the bottom section of the race # bib was a tab you were to tear off and place into the raffle box.
It hadn't occurred to me to check what each of those tabs were for until I realize that the numbers they were pulling out of the box once the prize winners were being announced looked a lot like those on the bottom of my bib. Sigh. I blame the plague monkey.
So if you saw the only person in the packed DB Running store leaving during the raffle, that was me.
As it turned out the best prize was waiting for me at home. There is nothing better after an evening run in the cold with the plague monkey then to crawl into an already warm bed, snuggle up with your sleeping Beloved and to catch some much needed rest yourself.
There are a few lessons learned about running with the plague monkey. Such as...
1.) When putting kleenex in the pocket of your running fleece remember to place (not fold) them in. Otherwise you end up pulling out a handful of them all jumbled together instead of one.
2.) Hearing anything on the loud speaker when surrounded by chattering runners and congested sinuses is impossible. Look for the person with the microphone & try to read lips.
3.) It's really difficult to cheer other participants on when you sound like Gonzo & clapping is mute with your gloves on.
Overall not bad sacrifices to be made in order to participate. It's certainly a different mindset to approach a race with, but I would consider racing when under the weather again if the need arose.
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