Notes
A little background info: we closed on our house just hours before this race. My dear friend and realtor decided we should grab a bit to eat and a drink while waiting for the buyers to sign. I'm thinking a few glasses of water & a sandwich. We arrive at the restaurant to find a huge drink already at the table for each of us & a plate of mussels on the way. Follow big drink by a "your not leaving until you do a shot of Petrone with me." (Did I mention tequila hasn't passed these lips since 1993 and the big drink had Red Bull in it and I don't drink energy drinks?) So I drank lots of water on the way home. I was running late & rushed to get ready while Sabine & Kirsten waited. We made it to the starting line but I definitely was not feeling 100%. The lack of training and the stomach churning should have been an indication to not run, but I'm not that smart. I realized I forgot my sweat/rain hanky, but luckily the ever prepared Kirsten had an extra. The starting line was wet, raining, windy & freezing cold! The beginning of the race was a slop through the dirt trails in the orchard, splashing mud everywhere. We had a stint through a forest area which was slippery, muddy and fun. The rain & wind let up and it warmed up a bit. There was even a little mud downhill skiing on the course! Too fun. By mile 2, my stomach let me know it wasn't happy. By mile 5 I asked a volunteer if there were any port-a-potties on the course. She said no & I knew I was in trouble. I had promised Sabine I would stick with her since she was sure she'd have troubles after mile 7. She thought I'd be leaving her behind, I knew I'd be struggling to keep up. By mile 6.5 my GI system was unhappy as could be and I had to leave Sabine to visit the trees. I told Sabine to keep on without me & I'd try to catch back up & I headed to the trees. Lets just say that I owe Kirsten a sweat rag & that Red Bull does bad things to my GI system! I did, however, feel considerably better afterwards. My legs however, were not too happy. I managed to make it thru the last few miles, but it wasn't fun. I finished much slower than I would have liked. Once again, lack of training shows its ugly head. I'm glad Kirsten & Sabine had a good race though!!