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.