What a roller-coaster ride! Having Nationals cancelled, doing a ‘fun’ run instead and ending up in the med tent and then dealing with your goal race being canceled. I was OK about it over the weekend in Kansas City. It didn’t hit me until we got home, and the realization that we didn’t race, no splits to look at, no test of my fitness level/ performance level, no pro license, the race I was going to do as a pro (pacific grove) has sold out, my number one goal race for the last 14 months/ canceled….and it managed to screw up my next race 7 days later in New Hampshire. I have a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. Ah well, the only thing to do now is to find another competitive race and go fast.

So there was a 10k ‘fun’ run at nationals. This of course was a bunch of disappointed triathletes venting and competing. I hammered it from start to about 5.5 miles. I was in the top 12 or so and looking for a good time. I started bonking though, getting super hot and exhausted. The last 400 meters were painful and I could tell I was staggering a bit. I finished and deja’ vu (Emmett). I was pale and could barely hold myself up. They rushed me to the med tent. I felt like I was still running all out, my arms and legs were slowly going numb and muscles were cramping up every where. I could feel heat radiating off of my body. They stuck an oxygen mask on me and I later realized some electrodes. I couldn’t move and my extremities where going painfully numb; made me crazy claustrophobic. I wanted nothing more than to get up and move around; the pain made me want to flee my body. I truly thought I was dying, figuring my heart was having serious problems getting proper blood flow. I was listening desperately to the paramedics language, tone of voice, attitude, anything to gauge how good or bad I was doing and if they had the situation under control. I was terrified of hearing, “were losing him!”. I overheard my temperature reading at 105!! I did not want to get hauled into the ambulance so I fought off the need to pass out. After a few minutes the IV they stuck in me started to turn me around. At least I wasn’t going to die, although I figured something must be wrong with me and my racing season is over. It was only a 10K!

But unlike Emmett, I felt ‘better’ only an hour or two later. Emmett made me feel like I had the flu for a couple days. A lot of reflection and thought later….I think standing around in the rain in only my suit and not eating enough for 2 hours, and anxiously awaiting a race took more of a toll than I thought. What do you think? Well, now I know…keep the fun runs…FUN.

7 days later I competed in the Best of the US tri, traveling across the country to New Hampshire.

Not surprisingly, I didn’t feel anywhere near my best, I thought I was sick in the swim and just never got to the energy I am used to. But considering, I am happy with my 7th place finish.