I don't usually blog anything other than race reports and comments on other blogs but today was a very memorable run. I decided that I would do a 10 miler, which typically is totally routine but today it was a bad idea. I have been staying in Puerto Rico since last Wednesday attending to issues related to my grandmother's passing a few weeks ago and I have decided to keep up with my training while I am down here. Well, since before I got here I had been dealing with a stomach bug that was making me dehydrated but was not really affecting my running, or so I thought. I had a particular bad night the night before last and the morning was not good either. I lost a lot of water but by last night I was feeling better and I was able to drink lots of water and even carb up quite a bit. So, I decided to keep my plans to do my scheduled 10 miler. Mistake.
The weather was in the mid-80's with humidity in the high 80's. The run actually started out very nicely, with a nice rolling downhill. However, by mile 4 I was really struggling. The route was turning horribly hilly and I was losing water through sweat like crazy. By mile 6.5 it started to rain, which I thought would help but it just made me feel more miserable. The route then turned totally uphill for the last 3 miles and I started taking walking breaks. I was dead, no energy left. I was also stressed because I had people from the local ward coming to help move furniture out of the house and I was starting to cut it close to when they were supposed to show up.
By mile eight the rain turned into a torrential downpour and I was walking more. Miles 8.5 to 9.5 actually felt OK but that last .5 really killed me. I was dehydrated to the max and then discouraged when I got to the house and saw that the guys from Church were already there moving stuff. I went in, took a quick glass of water and changed clothes, which didn't help because I kept sweating like a pig which got me all wet again. I helped to move one piece of furniture and I started to see spots and feel very weak. I drank another glass of water and laid in the bed for one minute. I then got up and went to help move a table. I remember grabbing the table and having my vision covered in spots and my breathing become labored. I called out to Jolynne so she could get me some juice and next thing I know I am looking up at the ceiling and at two of the guys that came to help with the move who were now taking my pulse and asking if I could hear them. I said yes and asked what happened. They said I passed out!
I had never passed out from exhaustion before. It was a wierd feeling. The guys helped me to my feet and Jolynne told me what happenned. She said that after I called out her name I stared out into the distance and became nonresponsive. I was holding on to the table but was slowly falling to the ground. Two guys held me and everybody started trying to get me to respond but all I did was look out into nothing. My face went pale green. Then after about three minutes or so I finally woke up.
Well, they took me to bed and I had a few juice drinks and sat in front of the fan until the color came back to my face and I felt better, which took about 10 minutes. I was totally embarassed and so after I felt better I went back to helping out which I was now able to do without a problem.
Wow, I guess I need to appreciate my limits. What if I had passed out on the road somehwere. I really should have cut my run short or skipped it all together but I was praying to the god of the training schedule and it almost kills me! This was one of my worst 10 milers ever but definitely one of the most memorable ones. | 