2017 CVS Downtown 5K- USATF-NE GP#4

Cool start photo of the 2017 CVS Downtown 5K by Scott Mason. We USATF women had our own starting area. It was sweet!

For some reason I thought I would be all better by the second week of being sick, but the only thing that was better was the absence of the headache. The chest congestion, coupled with some really hot and humid days, ended up being far worse. Plus, my energy level remained really low for the entire week. It got a little better as the week progressed, but it wasn't until the following week when I actually felt I had 100% of my energy back. The problem with thinking I was better was that I had two runs during the week where I thought I was going to die and had to cut them short. I ended up on the treadmill two days in a row just because my basement was cool and dry, unlike outside where the heat and humidity were stifling. I basically couldn't breathe all week. A lot of shortness of breath, and I almost passed out on Tuesday to the point where I saved myself at the last minute just as I was about to drop.

I knew by early in the week that the Downtown 5k was not going to go well at all. I was super thankful for it to be a 5K, in that the pain would end quickly, but at the same time, it was too fast of a race to pull off anything close to respectable. I would end up running my slowest 5K since 2010! It was bad, just bad, so bad, how many times can I say bad. Haha. Pretty disappointing to go into every GP so far this year not 100%. Two of them were the day after hard races, and one I was injured. Now, this one, I'm sick (and still basically injured with the hamstring thing still there and the PF). WTF, 2017. I'm now one of those people with a million excuses, it seems, and I don't want to have any of them! They're all legit, but I would rather be 100% healthy and run well than have one single excuse, but I guess it's part of the running game. Happens to most of us, and I know this, but it's still hard to accept when you're going through it. I mean, a lot of things tie into other things. Like, I'm more stressed in my life right now than I was a year ago. Stress isn't healthy. I'm sure it's part of why my year has been crappy. It doesn't mean I have high anxiety or anything, but there are certain aspects of my life that are probably a lot more difficult to handle than most of the people I know. Most of mine is financial. I am lucky to be generally healthy and able to run, though, so it helps keep that stress lower at least. I guess I'm really not surprised that I'm having a bad year with the injuries, stress and now, the chest cold. Ugh. BUT, I'm already looking at my plans for 2018 and how I can change things up a bit with my training to have me running better and injury-free. I do have goals at least! Haha.

So, anyway, despite being unable to breathe all week, I still got in some crappy miles. 41.4 total. Low, but probably should have been even lower if I were smarter. 5,801ft of elevation gain...most of that from Tuesday. There was nothing of any real quality at all. A second week of marathon training gone. I'm doomed. Thought about backing out of Hartford, but I'm going to stick it out. New goal of sub-3:10. I love the experience. I know I'll walk away disappointed, though. That's the part I'm not looking forward to at all. At least I have no goal for Baystate the following week. Will just be to see how I feel that morning. Can't predict it now...well, I could, but it would be a way too negative prediction. Anyway, on to the week....

Monday, Sept 11, 2017- This was actually a HUGE day. John's first day EVER going to school. He was going today and the following day to the Community School in Tamworth as a trial to see how he liked it. I had to work so I wasn't able to be there when his dad dropped him off, unfortunately, but I would probably have been an embarrassing mom anyway. Haha. He was actually super excited. Laid out his clothes the night before and got himself up that morning before I left for work.

Work today was a bit frustrating because one of our other crews is very incompetent, and we had to take over one of their calls right after finishing one of our own. On Mondays, I call myself lucky to work with a very, very competent paramedic who's been in the field for 28 years. Got his start working in Lynn, MA for years, so he built up his skills quickly. He's excellent in dealing with anyone you throw at him. Excellent bedside manner. Just impressive as hell and he knows his stuff. HUGE difference from some of the other people working here. It's comforting knowing you're working with a good provider since this field is FULL of very incompetent ones. Low pay coupled with lack of higher education doesn't generally attract the brightest of the bunch in rural areas. And something I noticed that's across the board here. Lack of work ethic. It's everywhere here. But that's what you get when you have a place filled with people making unlivable wages. Just seeing the kitchen staff of Sea Dog standing outside one night when we responded to a fire alarm there recently was so repulsive that I'm not sure I'll ever visit their restaurant again. That's mostly out of sight, out of mind, but now, that I've seen it, I'm completely turned off. Am I a snob? Maybe.

Anyway, only walked a mile at work. Coughed a lot. Pretty much my day. Talked to John over the phone. He said school was ok. Couldn't get much else out of him for information. Hmmm.

Tuesday, September 12, 2017- Since John was at his second full day of school, I made plans with Tom Hooper to show him the Kismet Cliff Run course. Tom/Six03 took over as race director from Gabe Flanders this year. The race was less than 2 weeks away, and Tom had never done the course! Haha. We were supposed to do it on the previous Friday, but I had to bail from being sick. I thought I would be fine by Tuesday. I assumed we were meeting at Echo Lake at 8:30ish so I left my house at 8:15am. Tom texted me that he wouldn't be there until 9:30! Eek. I honestly didn't think that would be enough time for us to get through the course before I had to be back at my car and heading to pick up John. Plus, the temps were going to get up into the 80s quickly. Not knowing this ahead of time, meant I didn't pack well and would end up running out of water. Ugh. I sat in the lot for 45 minutes waiting. We didn't get out running until almost 10am! I knew I would be slow from being sick, but I didn't realize just how bad off I would be. It would end up being so bad. Tom kept telling me I could turn around if I needed to, but stubborn me kept going. It was stupid. Really stupid since, like I said, I almost collapsed shortly thereafter. That could have happened on the trail. The first few miles weren't so bad, but I still had to walk almost all of the uphills. Couldn't breathe otherwise.

Tom on Whitehorse Ledge

Grouse that tried to scare us

Once we started up Red Ridge, I was all of a sudden completely drained. The temperature had risen quickly. I couldn't breathe. I was barely moving. Just struggling. I had to stop a few times to catch my breath. Any onlooker would have thought I was someone completely out of shape. I was coughing like crazy. The sun was just beating down on us. At one point, Tom had moved on ahead of me. I didn't say anything because I didn't want him to worry, but I started to hyperventilate and had to sit down to catch my breath. This was near the top of North Moat so there was no going back now. As we got to the top, I saw an older couple watch me struggling to the summit and laughed with Tom a few minutes later that they were probably thinking, "Look at the poor out-of-shape girl being dragged up here by that guy." Haha.

Phoenix on North Moat. If she's panting, then you know it's hot.

Finally, the descent down North Moat. After looking at my watch and realizing there was NO way I'd make it back to my car, I was in full-on panic mode. My PF was KILLING me, too, but I started moving down the mountain quickly. The trail was bone dry so that made it easier. Tom's knee was still a little off from his fall at Leadville, so he ended up far behind me. I didn't know what to do other than bail out at Diana's Bath and hitchhike back to my car. I started texting people first, in hopes of a ride. I kept getting really far ahead of Tom on the descent so I was stopping periodically to wait for him. At one point, he caught up while talking on his phone. It sounded like an odd conversation. When he hung up, he was laughing and said, "That was 911. My phone just dialed 911 from inside my pack." Haha. (Dawned on me later, that he was probably talking to someone I knew in Carroll Co dispatch haha.) I actually think his phone was looking out for us because we were both out of water and in full-on death march mode. Once on the Attitash Trail towards Diana's Bath, I was struggling to breathe. I could barely run. I had to bail out no matter what. Even if I had had the time to finish the entire course, I don't think I would have been physically able. I felt really bad because I was supposed to be Tom's guide, too! Fortunately just as we hit the turn off where the course would go right, I heard back from my taxi driver...Jen, my co-worker at the ambulance. They were coming to rescue me. Thank god. Seriously. I wanted to collapse. I had to send Tom, who was also dying, off on his own for the rest of the course. Fortunately, the rest was easy to follow with a few text messages back and forth along the way. I was glad he finished it at least.

I made my way to Diana's Bath with Phoenix. And just as I walked into the parking lot, the ambulance was turning in. I still wonder what the people in the lot were thinking as they watched the ambulance pull up and then my dog and me hop in the back. Haha. So once again, the ambulance taxi service came to my rescue. Phoenix sat right down on the cool floor. Jen and Michelle took one look at me and knew I was bad off. I really needed fluids but I didn't have time. Michelle just happened to have an extra unopened bottle of Vitamin Water with her and handed it to me. I nearly pounded the whole thing in the 5 minute drive back to my car. They really saved me that day. I didn't realize just how bad off I was, though, until about 45 minutes later.

Glorified taxi service rescue squad. Michelle and Jen!

I quickly changed out of my sweat drenched clothes and headed to Tamworth. I needed chocolate milk so badly and planned to stop at the Mobil near my house for some. Looking back, I definitely should have since I did not feel well at all. I decided instead I would stop at the Tamworth Lyceum because they would have Sherman Farm whole chocolate milk. I needed the fat! And I don't do anything low-fat usually. Blech. By the time, I pulled into the Lyceum and got out of my car, I felt really lightheaded and just plain out of it. And OF COURSE, guess what they're out of? Chocolate milk. My only other option was this chocolate coconut milk so I grabbed that and a drink for John then stood in line to pay. And like every time I go in there, it was 3 little snots working. They're never friendly and always have their noses in the air. One was making a drink for the woman in front of me while another was just standing there and the other one was doing something. I was standing there for what felt like an eternity, and I started feeling really bad, like really sick. I must have looked totally spaced out. I was getting flushed and sick and almost just put everything back to go next door where I would probably have better service. That's exactly what I was just about to do. I had even already put back one thing I had planned to buy from the counter, but then one of the three came to the register. Thank god. I paid. I turned around and everything went white. I was going down. Like literally falling forward. I couldn't even see at this point but reached out for the table I remembered that was in front of me and got my ass on the stool. The funny part was that this table was occupied. I still couldn't see, but I was somehow able to open that coconut milk and chugged it. I was so lucky. I started to come back and mumbled to the poor guy at the table something about being sorry but that I was about to pass out. The sugar in the drink kicked in quickly. I apologized again and then got up and walked out the door. Funny. I almost had one of our Tamworth ambulances coming for me, but this time, not as a taxi. Haha. I immediately came out of a fog from the sugar and realized I had let my blood sugar drop super low. I took a swig of maple syrup as soon as I got to the car, too. It was like coming back to life. Looking back, my blood glucose level had to have been dropping on the descent from North Moat. That's when I started to feel really off and kind of spacey, but at that point, I was too far gone to recognize that it was my blood sugar. I had maple syrup right there in my pack. I still had my cognitive function, so it wasn't that bad yet, but 45 minutes later at the Lyceum, it was LOW. Now, I remember that everyone in there was staring at me when I walked in. The customers, the employees (the little snots). To them, I probably looked high as a kite. And I know I've mentioned this happening before in my blog, but it really doesn't happen often. Usually when I don't eat enough because I'm in a hurry and not thinking about it. Today was just a bad combination of being really sick still, the heat and trying to run through it. I'm really lucky I got myself out of there when I did or I might have passed out on the trail. Tom would end up messaging me later that his girlfriend, Camie, was really worried about him when he got home since he was so sick from being dehydrated. Pretty comical now. What a couple of idiots we were out there. Hahaha. Funny. This was my second time doing the Kismet Cliff Run course this year. The first time was in May on our first really hot day when temps got up to 95. I wrote about it here. 2017 Kismet course 2. Leslie 0.

I left the Lyceum and drove over to the Community School to pick up John. I was a little early so I lied down in the seat for awhile. I was so done. When John came out, I asked him how it went. He told me he didn't want to continue with the school; he didn't feel ready for it yet. I was disappointed to hear that. My parents had offered to pay for the full tuition for the first year, and I knew this would be the only chance. I felt like he was missing a huge opportunity. I talked to him about that. Suggested just trying a year to get a better idea on whether he wanted to continue with school or go a different route. He reluctantly agreed to give it a chance. That only lasted a day. He decided not to do it at all by the next day. I guess I understood. John's hasn't just been homeschooled; he's actually been unschooled. I may not look the part, but I have been the biggest fucking crunchy, hippie parent from the start. Think of everything a crunchy parent of a young child does, and that was me. Truly. I could go into detail so that no one would disagree with me, but I won't. Haha. I have firmly believed in unschooling and love this quote from John Holt:

"Since we can't know what knowledge will be most needed in the future, it is senseless to try to teach it in advance. Instead, we should try to turn out people who love learning so much and learn so well that they will be able to learn whatever must be learned."

John taught himself to read in less than 4 months when he was just shy of 9. Went from not being able to read at all to reading teen level books. All because he decided he was ready. (I will admit that I was nervous I'd screwed him up since he didn't know how to read yet!)

So you're probably asking why I want to send him to school now. Well, first off, the Community School is completely different. Only pass/fail, structured totally differently. Second, there is nothing for kids outside of school here really. You have the Conway Rec stuff, but I mean like options to further your interests. And John also doesn't get much social interaction outside of his ninja class. The few homeschool groups we've found are just not for him. I feel like he needs to start branching out away from just being with his parents, and we have zero resources here for that. But anyway, even a school like the Community School was too structured for John. He was completely overwhelmed and literally exhausted. He made it to ninja class that night, but crashed right after. He needs to make baby steps and, fortunately, he is doing that. The Community School allows homeschooled kids to come in and take classes of their choosing at their leisure, so John is now going full day on Fridays when the day is more hands-on learning and exercise. So far so good on that. He likes it so far, and I think it's perfect.

Wednesday, September 13, 2017- Still too drained from the day before so I didn't get up to run. I waited until the afternoon and ran 3.1 miles on the trail out back. I actually didn't feel that bad, but it's flat and was mostly shaded so I could breathe alright. Pretty slow, though, in 25:50. I spent hours working on the billing stuff and finally finished the second half of the Ragged blog post. We were pretty steady with 911 calls all day so I actually managed to get quite a lot done. 911 call for just a fire alarm activation in the middle of the night. Even though we just sit there in the ambulance, it's still lost sleep. Not what I needed, but I was glad I hadn't gotten up at 4:30am to run.

Thursday, September 14, 2017- Unfortunately, my work detail at Club Motorsports was cancelled. I was glad to have the free day, but I really need these overtime shifts for the money. No other shifts opened up to pick up so I was free to do whatever. Probably best I wasn't pulling a 57 hour work week since I really needed to recover, but the track is basically just sitting around making easy money.

I apparently had short term memory loss and forgot how I felt on Tuesday since I decided I was going to do a long run today. Yep, another really hot and humid day AND I picked one of my toughest routes to run. I can just stop here and admit, that yeah, I didn't finish it. Haha. The loop I planned was the Eaton/Freedom loop. 15.5 miles starting from the bottom of Horseleg Hill Rd. Over 2100ft of elevation gain. What was I thinking?? Dumb. Seriously. All but 300ft of the elevation gain for the full loop is in the first 6 miles. Needless to say, I struggled from the get-go. Zero energy. Couldn't breathe. Shuffled up every hill. Truly a shuffle. For the first time ever, I actually had to stop and walk briefly up part of a hill (and it wasn't Rice Hill!) just to catch my breath. I ran all the way out to the NH/Maine line at the bottom of Rice Hill which is a drop of just over 500ft in just 1.1 miles. The problem is turning around and going back up it. Haha.

Bottom of Rice Hill on the State Line

I decided here that I was just going to do an out-and-back which would make the run 11 miles instead of 15.5. Even though I would still almost do the entire elevation of the full loop, I just didn't have the energy to do the mileage. I would have accepted a ride at this point, if offered. Haha. I slogged my way back. On the way, I was happy to see Louey the dog who came out to greet me. Louey has accompanied me on part of this run twice over the last 3 years. I was actually bummed out he didn't join me this time. Here's a pic of Louey mid-shake from one of our runs in April of 2015.

Even though there was a lot of downhill on the way back, I couldn't even run that fast. No energy. Finished up 11 miles in 1:41:38. Still got in 1,839ft of elevation gain. Egads what a bad decision.

I went home from there. Got in some upper body and abs even though I didn't want to. Haha. Showered, then lied on the chaise lounge for a long time. One thing I was super excited about was getting in another paddle before the season is over! I had zero energy to even put my boat on my car, but once I got to Chocorua Lake, I felt good. What an awesome time on the lake. Had a kayak beer, listened to the loons and even saw a bald eagle!! This lake always provides wildlife entertainment. Haha.

Just barely caught the bald eagle as it flew away. Had to zoom way in.

I almost look photoshopped into this. Don't mind my crazy hair. That's my new look. I don't dry or brush my hair except on occasion now. Don't care. Haha.

Showing off my huge boobs from the side angle ;)

Needless to say, I was useless to the world after I got home and fell asleep super early. I was beat. Ended up getting about 10 hours of sleep which never happens.

Friday, September 15, 2017- Usual Friday when I sleep in. Procrastinated for awhile then got on the treadmill. There was no way I could run outside today. It was SO hot and humid. My basement was cool and dry in comparison. I brought down my high speed fan and had my first good run in weeks. I kept it 1% elevation because I needed a break from the difficulty breathing uphill. Haha. 6 miles in 43:50. 7:18/mi pace. Got in my upper body and abs workout after.

My high speed fan that keeps my house cool all summer and helped me do this run today.

That afternoon, I needed to get water at the Sandwich spring, so John, Spot, Phoenix and I stopped at the Brook Path first for a short out and back walk. I love this trail. Mostly a flat walk along the brook. So pretty. We walked out to the snowmobile trail intersection and back for 1.8 miles.

My hair looks AWESOME.

Saturday, September 16, 2017- I got up pretty early for another treadmill run. Kept this one at 1%, too. 5 miles in 36:14. Still cool and dry in the basement so breathing wasn't an issue.

Today was the annual Jen's Friends Hill Climb Against Cancer. This is the 4th year in a row that John and I have participated. I really don't have extra money to give to charities, but I do to this one every year. I registered on Monday to be a part of Team Jamie. Jamie is my neighbor who's fighting breast cancer. I usually just do one donation from me on mine and one donation from "John" on his, but this year I decided to post a link on my Facebook page. I didn't expect a dime, and then I was overwhelmed by the support I received from my running friends from all around New England. Between Monday and Friday, my page had received $520 in donations! John ended up with $35. I was floored. Truly. Team Jamie would end up in 2nd place for teams! Woohoo. These generous people need to be called out because it's such an amazing gift to the local people here who are fighting cancer. So huge thank you's to:

Shawn Whalen

Paul Hammond

Hank Lopez

John Brady

Sharon Morrison

Michael Crutchley

E-J Hrynowski

Sarah Canney

Scott Mason

Paul Kirsch

Tom Hooper

Beth Lazor-Smith

Tony Wild

Brian Vitiello

Fred Ross

Anonymous

Jamie for whom Team Jamie was named. 

John and I got there way too early. People used to start their walks up Cranmore much earlier, and we missed the events on the summit one year. Now, I know we can sleep in a bit next year. John and I were interviewed by Chris Proulx at White Mountains TV for the video. I sound stupid, and I'm wrong when I say Jamie is fighting breast cancer for the second time. I misunderstood. This is her only bout with it, and hopefully, her last!

John and I started the walk together, but I was struggling and ended up falling back with some people I hadn't seen in awhile since their kids and John don't the same sports anymore. We discussed the issue in this town with the vacation people and the short term housing issue pushing locals out of town. It's a huge issue in most of the small ski towns around the country. Real estate boom is just pushing out the locals. When we first moved back there were pages of rentals available. Now you will only see a very small column. I am SO lucky to have the house. 

John disappeared fast and flew up the mountain. He even ran some of it. I have to convince this kid to get into mountain running at some point. He's been a downhill running extraordinaire for a few years now, but all of a sudden, he's flying uphill. Of course he was nowhere to be found when I got to the top, but I suspected the Meister Hut, and sure enough, he was sitting in there on his phone. I joined him. Ordered beer for me and a gatorade for him then waited around for the dance company to perform. Once it was over, we took the lift down, had lunch and then left. I had entered the free Subaru raffle, but I didn't want to stick around. I knew I wasn't going to win it. Worth the gamble for $25, though, since it was going right back to Jen's Friends if I didn't win... and I didn't. I was relieved to hear the winner was a local from Fryeburg, though. I was hoping someone who actually needed it would win. 

I retook this because of the stupid cell phone shadow, but John's goofball face was too funny not to share. Haha.

Beer at the Meister Hut

He looks like he's just a head on the table. Haha. Sweaty hair!

Just a funny pic on the lift

When we got home, I took the dogs on a walk up Heavenly Hill. Spot bailed about halfway up and went home. Chill stopped at the top. Phoenix and I were the only ones who went out to the overlook. Haha.

I look silly in that hat, but I like it.

I had planned to mow the grass when I was done, but by the time we got back down, I was really drained. Running, walking up Cranmore and then Heavenly Hill were a lot on my lungs. I had no energy left. Great. The Downtown 5K was the next day. It was still pretty early, though, so I made sure I took it easy the rest of the night.

Sunday, September 17, 2017- Downtown 5K-

I was super happy the race started at 11am because of the drive. I was super unhappy the race started at 11am because of the heat and humidity. Ugh. It would have been a bad race for me in cooler air, but the forecast called for another day of hot and humid weather. I didn't even think I could break 20 minutes today. That's just embarrassing. Ugh.

We left at 6:30am and drove through fog the whole way down. We found a really good street parking space not far from the start. I had planned plenty of time to get there and warm up, but unfortunately John gave me a hard time and it took us 20 minutes to get out of the car. Once out, we walked up to the start. I set John up by the registration tent after we hit the porta potties, then I went for a warm up. I hadn't seen anyone I knew yet other than Brandon Newbould so I just decided to go solo. I started with a run up the hill and knew right away that this was going to be bad. I could barely breathe...and the sun hadn't come out yet. I ran out and back to make 2 miles. When I got back, I was coughing a lot. The fog had lifted and the sun was out. Oh joy. Thanks! Ughh.

I needed to use the bathroom one more time before the start, but I wasn't waiting in the porta potty line so I found some completely enclosed bushes at the Citizens building by my car. Haha. I came back up and ditched the singlet. I still don't know how anyone races in one of those things in weather like that, but apparently, I'm in the minority. I walked to the start and ended up with my CMS teammates. There was conflicting info on where the USATF women were starting so we were all confused. It was finally confirmed that we were starting on the left side of the road. It seemed so weird, but once we got down there, it was awesome. Normally, we're squeezed into a corner surrounded by the men, but this was SWEET. There were so few of us that we all spread out. I also noticed the vibe was more relaxed, and we were all chatting with each other. It was kind of fun being there with just us. I loved this!! Hollis does the same thing, but when it merges, it's actually only the women who actually have to merge in to the men's race. This was pretty equal except we were all on the left side already for the left turn. The road was so wide, though, that the merging was very smooth.

The course started on the downhill that would be the uphill for the finish. If I had been 100%, I would have taken that downhill a lot faster than I did. Like I said before, I ran a 5:40 on the xc course for the first mile at the Kennett Challenge. I was hoping to run something similar, but I just couldn't. Even on the downhill I was struggling to breathe. I hit a 5:50 for the first mile. Ugh. It was only going to get worse. The second mile was nearly flat which was good even though I was having trouble already. I still hit mile 2 in my exact goal 6:00. I was actually happy about that, but I knew things were going downhill immediately after mile 2. It was like all of a sudden, I really couldn't breathe. I had absolutely no energy. Zapped. I had to slow. I couldn't continue at the pace I was at. I started getting passed in droves. I knew this was going to be an awful finish. We wound our way around back to where we started and then took a right to go up the hill. It really wouldn't have been that bad; definitely not as bad as the Cigna Elliot hill. But it didn't matter. I could barely run up it. I felt like death. Gasping for breath. 6:26 for the 3rd mile. By the time we crested the hill for the flat run to the finish, I had nothing left. I don't normally have any kick, but this was way worse. I was almost at a jogging pace. It was so defeating. I had been already been passed by numerous people who never beat me. I saw the clock. I couldn't believe it, even though I knew beforehand it would be bad. I crossed in 19:39 chip time. I ran almost that slow in May, but I was in much better shape than that prior to getting sick. 1:25 for the last .1 miles. Ugh. 39th female.

Racewire photos

Racewire again. I just like these because you can see my pain face up close. haha

Scott's photo, which I absolutely love (despite my old lady leg skin). Captures the struggle well.

All wasn't lost in this race, though. Just by showing up and trying, I still got 7 points for the 40-44 in the GP which keeps me in the lead. I'll probably win by default as long as I score in the marathon, but I'll take it. I need something to make this year's GP worth it. But it's not a given; Ginger could end up as a tie, and Diana Bowser could still beat me if she runs the marathon. If I don't run Baystate at all for some reason, then I could lose it, but I'm hoping that's not the case! As long as I run it and score at least 4 points, I win by default.

As soon as I finished, I was pretty mad. I broke 20, but still, to see the reality of a 19:39 really upset me, and immediately, people were asking how I did. I felt so defeated and so upset over that I tried to get away from everyone as quickly as possible. I needed to get in the shade. My heart rate was through the roof! I went right to John who was in the shade by the tent. I was still breathing heavily, too. I felt so out of it and just slumped to the ground. I had to get my heart rate down so I sat still and just closed my eyes. The air was actually cooling in the shade. My heart was pounding. I must have looked dead because I all of a sudden heard Dave Dunham's voice, "Are you ok?" I told him I was just trying to get my heart rate down and that the shade actually felt nice. I probably sat there for 3 or 4 minutes. I just wanted to leave. I didn't want to talk to anyone. I had made loose plans with Heather Mahoney and Scott Mason for beers and lunch at Trinity after, but I was too upset to be social. I asked John if he wanted to go to lunch or just go right to the zoo. He said the zoo, as I expected he would. I quickly packed up the stuff and we walked back to the car without anyone noticing, thankfully. Screw the cool down. I couldn't run another step.

John in Providence

Roger Williams Zoo was a great choice. I just wanted to be with John and take him somewhere for a change. We had a really good time there. I actually felt fine, too. My energy came back. It was such a short race that it didn't take everything out of me. I was happy to enjoy this time with John and made sure I had enough money for us to go there (it was on the plan already) and still have lunch. And nothing cheers you up like animals! When we walked in, we found this goofy sign that I had to join in on. I'm purposely doing a dumb face. Haha.

This isn't the first time I've done a photo like this. Haha. In 2005, when Bryan came home from Korea, we drove over to our old home on Minot Beach in Scituate, MA and found a painting on the wall that was new since we had lived there. Haha.

I'm so young! 29!

The John, in its natural habitat. :)

The drive home wasn't bad at all. It was so much cooler by the time we got there, too. I took care of the dogs, showered and then relaxed a bit. I was still a little depressed over the race, but I knew it would wear off by the next day. I just needed a little sulking time. Haha. Unfortunately, it was only a week before the next GP race, Lone Gull 10K. At the rate I was going, I knew I still wouldn't be 100%, but I hoped for cooler weather. Buwhahahaha! That wouldn't happen, but that's for the next post. :)

Decided on a different song this week instead of a War on Drugs one. I love this song by Sharon Van Etten.

Aug/Sept 2017 Catch-Up Post

He's actually snuggling with me. This is a rarity. Haha

I know! I know! I'm finally catching up. I have WAY too many photos picked out for this post, so I'll have to narrow them down for sure. I'm not going to go into huge detail on the races I ran. None of them were extremely important and not much to write about (LIES. I'm adding this in after I've finished the post. Haha). Going to break this down week by week. I'm sure this will still end up too long, but we're talking 4 weeks, and there are few things I have to say that will be more detailed. I'll save the Downtown 5k week for the next post.

Week 8/15-8/20/17- Took the first 3 days off to recover. Realized this was a big mistake and will probably never do it again unless I'm injured. Ended up way too stiff by the first run back on Thursday morning. 29.1 miles for the week. 2,195ft of elevation gain.

Tuesday- Walked 3.2 miles in the Albany Town Forest with the dogs. 14 minutes of upper body and abs. Went to Whitaker Woods for the Summer Series awards. Pretty annoyed that they chose to give the 3 pairs of shoes to people who had already won something AND to a person who did NOT complete the Series. Yep, the one person who beat me during the Series because she had the fastest time. I could have easily beaten that time and would have actually run race pace to beat it if I knew they were going to award someone for the first time EVER who did not complete the Series. I suggested for next year that they raffle off the shoes to all of those people who completed the Series. Give them a chance to win something. I didn't care about getting the shoes, but I did care how they awarded it. Fucking Julbo sponsored it with their same SHITTY glasses again. What the fuck. I hate that company with a passion. Why they give actual running glasses to other races but not this one shows they play favorites. Stop sponsoring the Summer Series, Julbo, if you can't stop giving it the horrible sunglasses you can't sell. I immediately gave my sunglasses away to Laura Holtby who had completed the Series. I also gave away the bandana and chapstick. I won. I don't need any of that and decided to share the wealth with the other racers who never get a chance to win anything at the Summer Series. Interested in what I had to say about Julbo in 2015? Click Here.

Summer Series award winners. Fake smile since I was holding a pair of Julbo's.

Wednesday- 2-mile walk on the trail at work.

Thursday- Ran 3.1 miles from work down East Conway Rd and back. Could barely move I was so stiff. Took me 24:45 to run it. Haha.

Rented that paddleboard rental I won thanks to Al Bernier, who randomly happened to be out on Silver Lake while I was out on Conway Lake with the paddle board. One of the windiest days to be out, but it was still fun.

Just like 2016, I had decided on Tuesday to make a money gamble and signed up for Saunders at Rye Harbor 10K. I knew it would be a slow one, but I was hoping to win some masters money. The weather was perfect this year, and funny enough... I ran into Al Bernier there. Haha. I knew after the 2-mile warm up that my legs were far too fatigued for speed and thought I was doomed when I saw a Dirigo woman there. I lucked out with a slow field (behind me) and finished 4th woman with a super crappy time in 40:39. 1.5 minutes slower than I normally run here. How no woman passed me or was even close, I'll never know, but I'll take it! $100 and the awesome Asics shirt and shorts. Corey Dowe and I exchanged shorts. She needed the medium top; I needed the medium shorts. Worked out great. Haha. Stayed after to have beer with Tim Horan, Al and John Sheedy. Then the three of us had dinner with Andy Schachat at the Dover Brickhouse after. Andy was very cool to buy all of our dinner and drinks. I got home after 1am and barely made it without falling asleep. Full Results.

That was NOT Redhook in my cup. Had to bring my own Nightshift Santilli.

Friday- Ran in the pouring rain at the Moat Mineral Site Trails. A short 6.4 miles.

Saturday- Promised John a no-race weekend. This worked out great having already gotten racing out of my system with Saunders. Very slow 5.7 miles through Cranmore Shores in 44:07. 15 minutes of upper body and abs.

John and I drove to Holderness for a short hike with 100s of other people up West Rattlesnake. We were fortunate to find a spot with a view just before the summit without other people around. I love this hike.

Found some free cucumbers set out by a farm and snagged a few then filled up the water jugs at the Sandwich Spring.

That night we finally made it to the North Conway Fire Benefit Concert at Cranmore. Oh my god! That was SO MUCH FUN!!! I'm so glad we went. I danced for like two hours straight. John even joined me for awhile and we did some play fighting. The band was an 80s cover band and they were AWESOME. I was literally drenched in sweat by the end, my shirt, my jeans, my hair. Like SOAKED. I'm so happy we went. I haven't danced like that in a REALLY long time.

Sunday-  John and I met up with Rachel Flaksman, her son and her new man for breakfast at the Sunrise Shack. Love that place. Of course we had morning beers. Haha. Her boyfriend paid the bill! That was super cool of him. I like him; he seems fun.

Mowed the lawn until I ran out of gas when we got home so that I could let my stomach settle before going for a run. Ran a mix of the Waldorf School trails and my neighborhood again 3 times for 5.4 miles in 46:21. 774ft of gain so it's definitely challenging. 16 minutes of upper body and abs.

Week 8/21-8/27/17- 53.2 miles for the week. 5,266ft of elevation gain. Feeling mostly recovered and ready to start picking up more road running and marathon prep. Little did I know this would all be ruined by illness 2 weeks later. Optimism turned to ruin.

Monday- Walked 2 miles on the treadmill at work.

Tuesday- Went right to Potter Rd from work for an 11-mile loop run on the South Conway roads. It wasn't a great run, but I beat the heat of the day that would turn out to be brutal. 1:25:42. 7:42/mi avg pace. 1,005ft of elevation gain. Gulf Rd is just a destroyer. Got in 17 minutes of upper body and abs.

Wednesday- I actually got up at 4:30am for a road run before work!! Only 4.5 miles into Conway Village and looping back via Cranmore Shores. Also super slow in 35:56. I can easily bust out fast miles on the treadmill that early, but put me on the road with a headlamp, and my effort greatly decreases. Haha. Still really happy I got up to run, though.

Thursday- My first day working at Club Motorsports with the ambulance. This is a 9-hour overtime shift and is supposed to be every Thursday so that I didn't have to get a second job. So far, four shifts have been cancelled, so it's not working out well. Ugh. Since I don't have to be there until 8:30am, I got up at 5:45am at work and ran 3.1 miles on the trail behind the North Conway base. Just wanted to get something in before I had to sit all day long again. 25:54. I went home, showered and packed my lunch and bag for the day at the race track. This ended up being fun at first. I was allowed to take the ambulance for a test drive on the race course and then we drove to the top of the property to check out the view. Not too shabby.

Today was cool because Jeep was there giving journalists test drives for their new 2018 Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. We weren't allowed to take photos or videos since they aren't released yet and this was a day for the real media. It was fun to watch at first. Beautiful day to sit outside. Got boring after awhile so I lied down on the bench seat in the back for awhile. Still worth pulling these shifts.

Ran from the Tamworth base after we were done at the race track. I had planned a track workout but didn't feel like driving all the way up to Kennett, so I ran a fast 7.2 mile road run from the base through both aviation communities. Sad to say this speed was a struggle when that pace would have been an easy day a year ago. 48:28. 6:44/mi avg pace. It still felt great to get in something fast. I do miss pushing myself on the road like that. My year sucks. Looks like 2018 will have to be the year of Leslie's return to speed. Haha.

Friday- Slept in then ran from home to do my first long road run since March! It was time to get in marathon shape. Little did I know this would all be pointless. I decided not to pay much attention to the watch. Just run comfortably, which I don't know how much comfort I was in with the plantar fasciitis back to fucking killing me. I ran the Conway/Eaton/Madison loop which I only do once a year since it's one of those runs you really only tolerate every now and then. The run up Glines Hill out of Eaton Center is always a bitch. The run is mostly pavement when you look at it on paper, but in reality, I ran most of 153 and 113 on the soft, dirt shoulder due to the immense traffic. Friday morning was not a good choice. Vacation people were pouring into the Valley by the time I started my run. (They're neverending this year. I can't even enjoy this place in the summer now. Not at all. It's been ruined. Seriously.) The final 4 miles were tough. I ended up SO dehydrated and with the foot pain, my pace was pretty slow...on the downhill. Felt like I was going to keel over by the time I finished. 18 miles in 2:22:21 (7:54 avg pace). 1,632ft of elevation gain. Immediately made a chocolate milk that I chugged. Hit the spot. Eventually got in a 12 minute upper body and abs workout.

Took John to Saco River Brewing that afternoon. I don't make it there enough. He had the maple soda that his former Tin Mountain instructor made at her sugar house for the brewery. It was really fun. We played ping pong for awhile with dented balls that made for an interesting game. Haha. Time well spent. I was glad we went.

Saturday- Needed to be on the trail so I did some "mountain" training up Heavenly Hill. Up and down 4 times. The first one with the dogs. Got in 5 miles total in 1:16:34. 1,895ft of elevation gain. Although I hate doing repeats, I can't complain that I literally have this option right in my backyard up a trail that we built. 14 minutes of upper body and abs.

Beautiful day that ended up actually being a bit chilly so I finally made the decision to take John for a hike up to the Glen Boulder from Pinkham Notch. This is a pretty rough hike, and I had to crack up at all of the people we saw on the trail who obviously don't get that a 1.4 mile hike in the Whites is NOT necessarily an easy walk. We saw people in dresses and women with little kids who were all dying. Haha. This is 1,745ft of gain over 1.4 miles! And this trail is very technical...much like the Exeter Trail Race. Haha. I'm sorry. I won't quit making fun of the Exeter Trail Race for being considered "technical". :)

I so want to be present when that thing finally rolls down the mountain.

Funny thing happened while we were up there. John's friend's mom texted me asking if John still wanted to come over Sunday morning and stay overnight while I went to Rhode Island. Phew! I was really feeling awful about dragging John down to Rhode Island for the Wine Run the next day. What a relief. We hiked down, and guess who was in the parking lot? John's friend and his mom. Haha. So funny.

I was psyched we spent this time together hiking up to the Boulder since I wouldn't spend Sunday with him.

Sunday- Dropped John off at his friend's then headed to Rhode Island. Met up with Rachel and Liam, who were headed north, at Trillium in Canton. I needed a good beer before the race. Haha.

When I got back to my car, Chill was super content sitting outside under a tree where I left him so he wouldn't be too hot, and both Spot and Phoenix were fine. Sound asleep until I woke them up. And then I saw this had been thrown in my window...

UNFUCKINGBELIEVABLE! I am SO sick of these types of goody-goodies who think they're so smart and saving the dogs when they are truly ignorant. My dogs were perfectly fine and in absolutely no distress whatsoever. NONE. These are the same people who constantly call the police over dogs in a car because they think they know better when they really don't. If they only knew just how well taken care of these dogs are. Ignorant. Please don't be one of those people. My dogs weren't even panting, but know that a panting dog is NOT necessarily a dog in distress. Fortunately, I think they were either bluffing or the police rolled their eyes since no police ever came. They get calls like this ALL the time and rarely ever is it legitimate. RARELY.  (I know this because I listen to these calls on the radio all summer here in North Conway). I took my dogs on a short walk in the office park, as planned after I saw this stupid note on a Starbucks napkin (of course it was).

Finally off to the Wine Run that I had deferred to from the Rhode Races Newport Marathon in April. What a good choice that was!! This was fun! I was glad to have the company of Steve and Jennifer Brightman and Scott Mason. Greenvale Vinyards in Portsmouth, RI was beautiful. The course was super fun and actually pretty difficult since the grass was really long. There was decent climb in mile 2, as well. The race director was leading me on the bike since I was leading wave 2 and ran right into the vines knocking her off her bike. Scott captured the look on my face as this happened. Has to be hands down one of my favorite race photos ever. Haha.

Even though this was supposed to be fun, I ran the 3.2 mile course super hard. All out race pace in 21:59. 6:49 pace which was super fast for this course with its turns, rough footing and 213ft of gain. Steve and I would end up finishing 1st and 2nd overall. Haha. After the race, Steve, Jennifer, Scott and I split a growler of Belgian Strawberry from Trinity. It was SO good. Then we had a nice dinner and some wine. It was back to the parking lot in the vineyard where we hung out until we were literally the last ones there and got kicked out. Haha. Funny that the most serious runners there were also the most serious partiers, as well. I got the dogs out for short walk through the vineyard before we left. What a fun day. I was so glad I got the chance to do this since I would never pay $75 normally for this type of race. The money was already sunk from the marathon so it really worked out.

My winnings! Seriously over $100 worth of jerky. And GOOD jerky, too. 

Week 8/28-9/3/2017- The last week of optimism. Had a great week! Felt strong for the most part. Got in some good solid runs. 67.3 miles. 10,243ft of elevation gain. Feeling good...until I woke up Sunday and felt the sickness coming on. Ruined everything.

Monday- Actually got on a roll and walked 3 miles at work in circles around the base. It actually helped my plantar fasciitis. Nothing is ever foolproof with this. What works one day doesn't work the next. Ready to amputate my foot. As I was walking, I happened upon a cat leg...just a cat leg.

On Friday, one of my neighbors sends out a group message with a pic asking if anyone has seen her missing cat...

It wasn't likely to be her cat since my neighborhood is 20 minutes from the Tamworth base, but I still cringed and then asked when the cat went missing. Last seen Wednesday. PHEW. I was off the hook for telling her I found her cat.......'s leg.

Tuesday- I was on a roll and feeling good. Decided to run up to the summit of Bayle Mt from the West Ossipee side. I felt great! And the summit views were clear for the first time in awhile. 12.1 miles of mostly dirt road and then some snowmobile trail and .7 miles of steep, rough trail to the summit. Ran the whole thing over 2 minutes faster than the last time. And 9 seconds faster to the summit. 1:50:23. Mile splits were all over the place just due the nature of the route. Fastest mile was mile 10 in 6:51, and the slowest mile was mile 7 in 17:09. Haha.

Bayle Mt view. This mountain brings back good memories of a friendship now lost.

Got in 15 minutes of upper body and abs, then John and I took the dogs on a walk from the house to the Waldorf trails. I broke open an afternoon beer after that.

You'd think my day was over, but, no, I had a race to run. Haha. John and I went to the Kennett XC Challenge that afternoon at the middle school. Every August, there's a 2-mile meet with Kennett vs Fryeburg vs White Mountain Milers. I haven't run it since 2014 so I was excited to go back and compete. I got my ass handed to me a by a girl on Kennett and a girl on Fryeburg, but only in the last quarter mile. I led those two for the first 1.5 miles. Dropped a 5:40 first mile which was dumb in hindsight, but the girl who won had the worst breathing, like out of control. I thought she was going to fade if I pushed her hard enough. Turns out, that's just how she breathes and my second mile was 6:22. Oopsy. She and the 2nd girl passed me just as we entered the woods section which has 3 sharp turns and some rough footing. I hung on right behind them until the last kick and totally got crushed. My former course record of 12:31 was also crushed...by all 3 of us. 1st was 11:59, 2nd 12:04 and 3rd (me) 12:14. Hell yeah. I'll take it! Gave me a huge boost of confidence for the upcoming Millen Mile that I hadn't trained for AT ALL. If I could drop a 5:40 mile on a xc course, I figured I could pull off something respectable on the track. Yeah, we know where this is going...didn't happen. More on that later.

Always a great spread of food so John and I had dinner there. John refused to run in the race, but as we were leaving, he told me to carry all of his stuff. I refused until he said, "But I want to run." Well, then by all means hand that shit to me. He literally sprinted the length of 2 soccer fields. Hmmmm. Ended up with 15.5 miles for the day.

My third Conway Daily Sun cover this year. Haha. They make me look old.

Kennett Challenge award winners

Wednesday- Ran 3.1 miles at work on the trail. 8:00 min pace. Decent. And like every week, I checked my pulse and SpO2. Right on the money!

Thursday- My Club Motosports detail was cancelled which is good and bad. Gives me the day to do something cool, but I REALLY need the money. I was able to at least pick up that night's stipend shift in Tamworth. Never got called in and made $50. Not the $173 I would have made at the track, but it's better than nothing, AND I got to run Franconia Ridge. The weather was NOT ideal, and when I got up to the ridge, I couldn't see very far in front of me, and the wind was blowing sideways across it. I put on my jacket and made the decision to attempt it. I questioned that decision more than once. The worst was coming down off Lafayette towards Greenleaf Hut. RIGHT INTO THE WIND. Insane. Once I got out of the clouds. I was in clear, calm weather. So weird. For the second year in a row I failed to hit the top of the segment on Haystack as soon as I got up there. I still can't figure out where it is because I was on the actual summit in 1:01, but the segment on Strava has be over 1:02 so wherever it is, it's just past the summit. Oh well. Exact same summit time as last year. Another good sign. The whole run (moving time) was 32 seconds faster than last year. Elapsed time was much faster since I didn't really stop much due to the weather. 2:33:29 where last year was 2:47:02. Haha. 8.1 miles. 3,896ft of elevation gain. Went by Woodstock Station where I planned to have just a beer, but the sweet potato ravioli app looked too good to pass up.

This greeted me in the driveway when I got home that morning.

Franconia Ridge

Lafayette Summit

Heading down to Greenleaf Hut

Nice day below the clouds

By the time I got home I was stuck there for the rest of the night since I was on-call at 5pm until 7am.

Friday- Planned the full Moat Traverse Loop, but after Fred Ross begged and offered up some cash for me to come to his Green River Marathon in Vermont the next morning, I decided mid-run to cut it short to just do the South/Middle Moat Loop. I was going to Vermont! I had planned to run Wapack Trail Race on Sunday, but after seeing the crappy weather in store, I decided Vermont would be a great marathon training run with perfect weather.

I brought Phoenix along for the run. My legs were a bit fatigued so it was on the slow side up South Moat. The ridge was almost windier than the previous day, but I wasn't soaked to the bone from a rain cloud. My variation of this loop was 10.6 miles in 2:45:16. 2,914ft of elevation gain. I felt good for the most part.

When John came home I gave him about 3 hours to do his own thing before we'd leave for Vermont. Since the marathon started at 6:30am, Fred offered to put us up in a hotel. He gave me two choices. I picked the one with indoor pool and got excited for John to swim. We made the drive over to Brattleboro. I pulled into the hotel and went to check in only to find there was no reservation. I guess there was some miscommunication that was confirmed the next morning. Fred was going to reimburse me for the hotel. I didn't know this or I would never have come. Had it been the week before or the week after, I could have easily paid for a room, but tonight, I had $20 to my name. Omg. I realized our only option was to sleep in the car at the 24-hour Dunkin Donuts. Fred was being SO generous already. There was NO WAY in hell I was going to call him and let him know I couldn't pay for the hotel. I couldn't do it. I couldn't be that asshole. I was so upset and nearly in tears while John and I sat in the Wendy's next door for him to use the internet until they closed. I was so angry at myself for letting my life come to this. I'm about to make my son sleep in the parking lot of a very sketchy DDs. I was thankful I had grabbed his sleeping bag at the last minute so that he was perfectly fine all night and slept well. I was also thankful I never took Phoenix's blanket (an old Mt Washington blanket) out of the car, but I still froze all night (it was in 30s overnight) and was SO uncomfortable sleeping in the front passenger seat. I hardly slept. I wanted to cry since I had to run a marathon the next morning. I just wanted to go home and sulk.

Saturday- Woke up at 4:15am. Got us breakfast and coffee in DDs then drove to the Guilford Country Store to meet Donna Smyth and Fred to follow them to the race start. The course ended up being in such a beautiful spot. It followed the Green River the entire way on about 90% dirt roads, 10% pavement. The weather was perfect. There were only 5 of us who ran the marathon. Fred had created this as an official Boston Marathon qualifier for Donna to qualify. They wanted to run Boston together in 2018. She's a little powerhouse and needed to run a 4:10. She would end up running a 3:40. Haha. I didn't need the qualifier since I already have the 2:57 from Hartford, so I was just there to help make the race official (I would end up not registering for Boston after all).

John rode in Fred's car the whole time. Every time they passed, all I saw was a sleeping bag in a seatbelt. Haha. He slept the entire time until the finish. He would greet me at the finish. It was great. Fred took a video, but it's only on Facebook, and I can't figure out how to save it.

The race wasn't anything exciting to write about. I planned to average an easy 7:50/mi pace. With the dirt road and the gradual uphill for the first 14 miles, I didn't want to run super hard. I started off with a guy named, Dave, who was out there to qualify. He needed a 3:25. That was pretty much the pace I had planned to run, so we started off together. I didn't tell him my qualifying time...until he asked. I don't think he expected me to say a sub-3 Haha. He mentioned me running with him to help him get that 3:25. Sounded good to me...until he took off ahead of me by mile 3. I didn't keep up...on purpose. It was sad, really, because I realized the uphill nature of the course and kept it super comfortable while watching him destroy himself. I could tell he was overly exerting himself and pouring in sweat up ahead of me. Why he didn't stay behind with me, I don't know, but I couldn't help him out after he went up ahead. I knew I could fly for most of the last 12 miles. I ran the first half in 1:42:something (forgot to hit the lap button). After the mile 14 turnaround, I passed Dave and flew for a good chunk of the last 12 to the finish. 1:40:something for the second half to finish in 3:22:23. Perfect. Awesome training run. My GPS lost a signal in miles 21 and 25 and went from being only .07 off of Fred's mile markers to a full .2 off by the finish. My Strava is completely wrong since it shows moving time of 3:12:43 when I never stopped once. Haha. Poor Dave would end up finishing around 3:53, I think.

The race elevation profile.

Miles 21 and 25 aren't accurate since that's where I lost my signal.

I went down to the river for a post-race beer, then John and I joined Fred and Donna for lunch at the Guilford Country Store. Great little place. I had to tell Fred that we slept in the car when he asked how much he owed me for the hotel. I kept it vague and just said, "It was too much." I didn't want him to feel bad because he was already giving me $200 for being there and for winning the marathon (haha). (Oh, and my foot wasn't too bad the whole race. I felt it, but it was minimal pain.)

By the start

The race field

Donna, Fred and me

Post-race beer

I was happy for the early race start since it got us home early. My bed never felt so good that night.

Sunday- The beginning of the end of things looking up. I'm guessing lack of sleep Friday night followed by 26 miles wore me down and made me susceptible to the germs. I could feel the sickness beginning in my chest. Oh no! I still felt good today, though. Ran a very slow 3.4 miles around the neighborhood, 1st mile with Chill and the 2nd with Phoenix. 31:00. I was kind of sore but not bad. Plantar fasciitis was nearly absent. What is this? Was Steve Brightman right the weekend before when he told me to run a marathon to get rid of PF? Hmmm.

As predicted, the weather was super crappy pouring rain. I did not regret my decision to skip Wapack. I took John to open skate at the ice rink since we have some free passes. I was sad to see John fall early on and hurt his tailbone. He wasn't being wimpy; he tried to keep skating, but I could see by the look on his face that he was really in pain. We called it quits and went across the street to Tuckerman Brewing for the live music. The place was stupidly crowded. It hurt for John to sit so I just got a small flight and enjoyed the music for a little while, then we left.

It was super cold out so I made a fire in the woodstove that night. Well, I learned I had actually prepared the fire over last winter and never lit it. I had no memory of doing that, but I thanked myself for it.

Week 9/4-9/10/17- Sick. Just sick. ALL week! How I managed to still run 29 miles AND 3,763ft of gain, I don't know. None of those miles came easy, and I probably shouldn't have done any of them. I knew it as soon as I woke up on Monday with an excruciating headache and a chest full of gunk that I was done. My hope for decent Fall racing was now over. Any chest cold will do you in for weeks!

Monday- Lied in bed all day at work when we weren't on calls. We had 4 calls, I think, but they were all spaced out. I had to take Ibuprofen to kill the headache so I could function, but I still felt like I was in a fog. Had a moment in the afternoon where I all of a sudden felt ok and walked 2 miles around the base. I felt like shit shortly thereafter, though.

Tuesday- I was begging and pleading to get out of work on time. I couldn't do a 911. A tone dropped around 6am; thank goodness it was the other crew's call. My head was pounding so I took some Ibuprofen and lied back down. And then it happened. OF ALL MORNINGS! At 6:32, 28 minutes before the end of my 24 hour shift, the tone dropped!! NOOOOOO! I wanted to cry. I was so thankful I had taken that Ibuprofen because the headache was mostly gone by this point and I was able to get through the (absolutely ridiculous) 911. A new frequent flyer whom we transport to the hospital at least once a week now. Infuriating. She had just been there the day before! But ugh. That's my job, so I sucked up and was nice. We got back at 8:30am.

With the ibuprofen masking the illness still, I thought I would run. I could barely move or breathe. Not smart.6.7 miles from home, up Bald Hill Rd, Chase Hill, down to the Kanc and back home. I felt like death when I finished. Not even worth it. 56:54 of torture.

I really wanted to get John some exercise so I made him take a hike up to the Sexton Shelter in Eaton. It was only .6 miles to the top, but I could barely walk. I was completely out of breath. John was so far ahead of me for the first part. It was a struggle. I wanted to curl up and sleep when we got to the top.

Lied down for 5 hours straight on the couch when we got home. My head was pounding. I just wanted to sleep. I suspected I had a fever so I did get up to check that, and sure enough. Low grade fever just over 100. I managed to drag myself up to take John to ninja class. I HAD to go to the store, too, so I walked around Shaws in a complete fog. I was wearing layers because I felt freezing from the fever. The fever broke just as I got to the check out. I started POURING in sweat from the layers, and I think they noticed. Haha. Drove back to the gym and lied down in the car while John finished up his class.

Wednesday- So thankful for the slow day at work. I was in bed ALL day. I read almost my entire book when I couldn't sleep. Although I knew what it would be, I checked my SpO2 and pulse. HUGE difference than the week before. 74 for a resting pulse is a huge indicator that my body was fighting something off. The 97% SpO2 didn't surprise me either. I was definitely lacking oxygen.

Thursday- Had to work at Club Motorsports for 9 hours. I was feeling better but still run down. I was coughing up a storm by this point. I either lied down on the bench seat in the back or sat out in the sun in my chair. I think all of the rest really helped because the headache was gone. It was the full lungs that were now the problem. My energy level would remain low, as well. After sitting for almost 3 days straight, I HAD to run after work. I was going crazy so I drove to the Freedom Town Forest. I ran the loop up the Jackman Ridge Trail and back over Mary's Mt. It was super slow because I couldn't breathe, but it wasn't a horrible run. I saw a small bear at the beginning of the run. When I got to the Mary's Mt climb, I decided to do a test run on how I felt. It's .4 miles to the top, and the last time I did it I ran it in 6:01. That's close to what the next day's Millen Mile would be for time. I needed to know if I could sustain 6 minutes and still breathe. If not, I was going to, very reluctantly, back out of the Millen Mile. I hit the lap button on my watch at the bottom and booked it. I was sucking wind so badly, but I was surprised that it wasn't until the last minute that I actually felt myself really slow down. As soon as I hit the top, I hit the lap button again. 6:01. No fucking way. That was a good sign. I could do the Millen Mile. It would not go well, but I could do it. After a nearly vomiting coughing fit and taking a photo, I proceeded on and finished the run. 6.2 miles in 53:25 (6 minutes slower than the last time I ran it haha). Oh, I forgot to mention this...so my plantar fasciitis completely went away for 4 days! I started to get excited...until this run. It came back. :(

View of Ossipee Lake from Mary's Mt

Despite coughing up gunk all evening, I actually felt pretty decent. I decided I would attempt an easy mountain run the next morning.

Friday- I slept in super late since I needed more rest. With the Millen Mile that night, I'm not sure why I ran up Middle and Peaked Mountains, but I really did keep it super slow. I brought Spot and Phoenix, too, which meant a lot of stops. I didn't feel that bad running up Middle. I could only run as fast as I could breathe so it was a crawling pace. Looking back, though, I really shouldn't have done it. I probably would have felt better for the Millen Mile. But I felt so good, and the day was beautiful. I really needed to get up in the mountains. 5.1 miles in 1:06:02.

Us on Peaked Mt.

On Peaked Mt. Middle Mt in the background.

Felt good enough to do a 12 minute upper body and abs workout. Yet, just something else I shouldn't have done. I think I already knew the Millen Mile would be a disaster so I just didn't care. I did rest the rest of the day. The Millen Mile wasn't until 8ish that night during the football game.

By the time John and I arrived, my body felt like a ton of bricks. My PF was killing me, and I couldn't breathe well. My energy level was shot. I wasn't sandbagging either. Pretty sure people believed me after my terrible mile performance. It was bad, so bad, and Terry Ballou, the smart track runner used it to her advantage. She forced me to LEAD knowing that I was going to be dying more and more every lap. She did admit to planning that whole thing. I love it. It was funny, though, because in the first lap, I yelled at her, "I don't want to lead! I have no idea what I'm doing!" Haha. I don't even know the splits, but I remember hitting lap 1 and all of a sudden not being able to breathe well. I slowed it way down. Terry told me after that I did slow way down, and that our second lap was 90. Hahaha. I had Terry, Todd and Hilary right behind me the entire first 3 laps. It sucked so bad. I don't know how to do this leading thing even when I'm feeling good! At the end of lap 3, Terry flew by me. Because of this, I was able to pick up some speed and put myself two seconds ahead of Hilary. Terry would end up winning in 5:40 (I think!). I came in 2nd in 5:52. 5:52!!!!!! I still can't believe it. 1.5 weeks earlier I ran that 5:40 on the xc course. I beat Terry by 23 seconds that day! I knew before I was sick that I wouldn't run anything close to my 5:26.1 from last year. I was fast at this time last year and trained for it! I actually thought a 5:35ish mile. I still can't believe I ran a 5:52. My worst Millen Mile in all 7 years that I've run it. My excuse was legit. Just toeing the line and finishing was really my goal. Gotta keep my Millen Mile streak alive! I'm the only one! But damn if that 5:52 didn't sting A LOT.

John and me at the track before the mile

Probably doing sandbagging talk, even though it was legit.

And more sandbagging talk, I'm sure.

I look HORRIBLE. Seriously. I felt horrible and I looked it. Small field.

Ok so, I made it in the paper again for the Mile. It was all of us at the start. I was horrified. Untagged myself from it on FB. But now, I just think it's funny. The bad photo reflects how I felt. So I'll share it. Probably one of my worst race photos ever...and it was in the paper. Awesome.

Haha. Looks like I put on 100lbs just before the start

Roger Marcoux videoed the race as always. I don't look as bad as that photo, but you can tell I'm off. My foot was fucking killing me so my stride was way off kilter. 2018 will be redemption.

Saturday- Friday had set me back. The pounding headache was back and would stay through most of the weekend. I knew Saturday morning that there was no way I could pull off the Bradbury Bruiser. 12 mile trail race. Hahaha. There was no way. I considered just going and running easy, but I know me. I would end up running too fast. So I made the decision to back out. I was SO bummed. I missed all of the Bradbury races last year and hadn't done the Bruiser in years. I was looking forward to it, but, alas, it wasn't to be.

No running was happening today. Instead, John and I hiked up White Ledge with all 3 dogs. The pace was nice and slow. I felt ok for the whole hike, but I could do nothing else the rest of the day/night. I really enjoyed this time with John. I was glad I had the energy to do this with him. Being sick allowed me to step back for the weekend and make it relaxing for both of us.

Sunday- Woke up with the bad headache. Had coffee and sat around until I felt good enough to run. I knew it wouldn't be pretty, but I needed to run for my mental state. Ran from home to Tasker Hill Rd and back. I was sucking wind so badly it was as if I'd never run before, and my head was in a total fog. 8.2 miles at a slow 8:09/mi pace. 1:07:32. SO slow. I was now a week out from when the sickness began and not doing that much better. Ugh.

Got John out on a bike ride later on the Mountain Division Trail when I started to feel a little better. Same distance as the run. 8.2 miles. I had to bike slower than usual to keep from getting too out of breath, but it felt pretty good. I actually felt much better by the time we got home. My energy level was still low, and I was coughing like crazy, but the headache was gone and fortunately wouldn't come back! Yay!

He's so cute!

Feeling good for beer!

So that's that! Four weeks of catching up. I started to get a little too winded for the last two weeks, but I guess I wanted to go into details on some things. Saving last week for its own post! Hopefully, I can stay no more than a week behind for awhile. Haha.

War on Drugs show is this weekend so this is the last song I'll post...