Monday, June 29, 2009

Not to be..again

Well I'm 0-2 at Western States. I was really excited and nervous about this year. I so desperately wanted to finish. I wanted to get to Highway 49 to see all my running friends at the ShadowChase aid station. I wanted to cross that finish line in Auburn and get a buckle.

I felt great prior to the start. No injuries and a new regime of hydration and electrolytes that I hoped would work for my wimpy stomach, but that too didn't work.

I volunteered for the cardiac and hyponatremic medical study which was really cool. I got to have a DEXA scan and an echo. I had lots of labs drawn and yes, it is awesome to stand and pee!

I started the race with Melissa and Jeffrey, going out slow. That was the plan. I wanted to hit Robinson before noon and I got into Robinson feeling good. I hit the canyons and it was warm. I felt like I was hydrating and taking enough electrolytes. I guess in hindsight, it wasn't enough electrolytes. When I got out of Devil's thumb aid station, I vomited but continued to rehydrate with salty broth. At Michigan Bluff (thank god for my Anita) she forced me to eat a sandwich and more broth which came up down the trail. Again, more broth at Bath road which came up. I have left more barf on the last 50 miles of that course than you can imagine (not sure if that's something to be proud of though!!!).
When I hit Foresthill I was done - physically and mentally. I had my labs done which showed I was very hyponatremic.
I decided to call it quits, not to go through what I did in 2007. The death march...... 16 miles is a long way to walk and then wait for a ride out of Driver's flat!!
I am deflated, I wanted to finish so bad but it wasn't meant to be. There won't be another 100 miler in my future. I'm done. It takes to much time to train, time away from my family, money and it is emotionally draining to go through these feelings.

You know what best friends are for? They are for telling you "not completing this race is not what defines you".


I have had a blast and will look forward to pacing and crewing others in their endeavors to complete that 100 mile distance.


Again, I want to thank my wonderful family for all that they've done for me. For all the support and emotional uplifting. I am truly blessed.

Run fun.......

5 comments:

Anthony Brantley said...

Leslie,

I didn't know you had a blog, looks great.

You looked great when I saw you at RF. You made it much farther than I, you should be proud.

I'm with you at this point the 100's take too much. I'll be doing the shorter stuff for now.

AB

Danni said...

I felt so horrible for you when I saw you. I didn't know what to say. And little did I realize I wouldn't make it much further. Meh. They're just races. Not what defines us :-)

karyn25 said...

We know you are tough n determined or you wouldn't be at the line. Well said these events do not define us at all but it is through these we make good friends. I hope to see you soon. We can compare vomit n hyponatremia stories. I now added that to my history. Hugs k

GB said...

Leslie, your friends are right when they say, "not completing this race is not what defines you." The fact that you even trained for an event like this speaks volumes! I think you have a great attitude about 100 milers going forward... pacing and crewing. You're a GREAT runner, Leslie!

Paul Charteris said...

Yeeow Leslie,

That sounds horrible. I guess lucky in that I've never barfed on run - it cannot be nice. I can easily see how you would be hyponatremic at FH. Losing all liquid and calories from your body must have left you quite weak. You were certainly not the only one - I am amazed at how many runners (even extremely seasoned veterans had metabolic issues out there).

I hope to see you at some more sane "fun runs" in the future.

Cheers, Paul