20131015 adventures

6 runs since welcome winter, and i thought things were going well.  After todays debacle, it seems there are somethings that need adjusting.

Just shy of 40 miles with a little less than 5,000' of gain, nothing spectacular, and nothing impressive either.

today's run was the coup de grâce.  it was supposed to be an easy jaunt, i knew i was a little light on calories over the past 2 days, and was planning on taking it pretty slow and enjoying the scenery.  When i got to Crowder State Park in North Carolina, it was too tempting to run to South Carolina (an easy 8 mile jog over Kings Pinnacle, and along a ridgeline), how could i resist.

Everything started out fine, a nice easy climb over just under 2 miles and some great views (pictures to come, i left my cable at home, so am unable to get the photos off my camera yet), then a fun little rolling 6.5 mile section dipping into south carolina for the turn around.  
At the turn around, i felt a bit tired, but figured i'd be ok, jogging back at the same pace i held on the way out.  After about 2 miles on the way back, things began to really fall apart.  At this time, i was beginning to think i could use some water and something to eat (it would have been good to think of this a couple hours ago when i decided to go without either).  The ups turned into walks (though none of them were terribly steep, nor where they long).  I was still able to cruise the descents pretty well, and found a little solace in that.  It's kind of like coasting down on a bike, is my body getting acclimated to just letting gravity do the work?  it seems as such.

But i pay severely on the climbs.  With about 3 miles left, things got even worse.  i was feeling extremely haggard, my legs were aching, and my body was depleted.  I don't recall feeling this depleted on any of my runs.  I was a bit dizzy, and looking for one of those many benches i'd seen on the way out.  on a couple of occasions, i sat down along the side of the trail hoping things would straighten out, and i'd feel better again.

this never happened.  i kept moving forward as i figured the sooner i get back to the car, the sooner i could get some water and calories.  as i came around the side of kings pinnacle (i was eager to avoid any climbing i could and anxious to make my way back down to the part visitor center).  I saw a sign indicating there were only 2 miles left, a glimmer of hope, though i was still sinking further into the depths of depletion.

I took a slightly different route back, hoping it would be shorter, and less technical (as i remember the pinnacle trail having 1 or 2 somewhat technical rocky sections, which i was eager to avoid in my wonky state).  i made it back to the visitor center, and sat in the rental car for several minutes before i could muster the ambition or energy to walk to the water fountain fill my bottle.

i drank a bit form the fountain and some from the bottle on my way back to the car.  i then sat down again, and felt myself growing nauseous.  i had no desire to eat, and was now feeling nauseous, great, i need liquid and food, and all i want to do is throw it up.

i laid the seat back and stayed there for 10 - 15 minutes waiting to feel like i could drive to get some food and liquid.  i made it to the grocery store about 3 miles away, and again laid the seat back and tried not to throw up.  i stayed there another 15 - 20 minutes before i was able to muster the ambition to go into the store and get something to try and settle my stomach and regain my strength.

I went in, grabbed a 1/2 gallon of chocolate milk, a box of mango juice, 2 liters of coke, some yogurt (planning for breakfast), some black berries, and a bunch of bananas.  The woman at the checkout looked quizzically at the blackberries, and asked "do you eat these", i was a bit surprised and responded "yes, they are super tasty".

I drank a bit of the mango juice, and some coke, and again laid the seat back and hoped it would stay down.  After another 10 minutes i started to feel a bit better, and actually found myself actually thinking about food.  a good steak.

on my way back to Charlotte, i stopped by Old Stone Steakhouse, and had a very tasty meal.  things contiued to turn around, and i was feeling back to normal, except i was strangely full with relatively little food.

Looking back on the previous week, it seems i have been neglecting eating.  thinking back, i can't remember eating too much, and the food i've been eating has been low grade.  maybe 1 or 2 meals a day of some eggs a couple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, maybe some pasta.  tonight i sat down to dinner, and had trouble eating a small salad, 20oz steak, a small yam, and a medium piece of cake (normally i am able to eat this and plenty more, especially after a 3.5 hour run).

Now that the house is in a pretty stable and livable condition, I'll be trying to focus on much higher quality and more consistent eating habits and see if that helps turn things around.