...AND I KEPT THROWING UP!

Well,  let's just say that the throwing up didn't stop after the race.  In fact,  I was presenting to fifteen teachers in a neighboring school district the following Tuesday after the race.  I had felt alright on Monday and by 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning,  I was setting up a little "throw up" stand behind an easel next to the teacher's desk.  That was PLAN B, just in case I didn't make it down the hall, out the door, across the playground, back into the office and down the hall to the teachers' restroom.

Guess what happened?  Plan A.  I tore down the hall, made it through the office, heaving the whole way.  I wound up in the restroom,  just in time.  IT WAS THE SINGLE MOST EMBARRASSING moment of my profession as teachers stared at me...we were dropping like flies!  We all abandoned the day and I went home to sleep for three hours.

Two days later, I was back to my usual FUN and GAMES and recovered from my race.  One of my proudest moments was helping Sparkle Pants pick out his first "manufactured" Halloween costume in the middle of February.  He is CRAZY about all super heroes and choose a Captain America costume from Party City.  It wasn't until I got home and we attempted to watch a few Captain America videos off of You Tube that I realized that this "vintage" cartoon is really pretty racist,  violent and riddled with tanks,  weapons and everything else that Sparkle Pants' parents abhor.  MAN,  I'M ALWAYS IN THE DOG HOUSE AROUND here when it comes to Sparkle Pants.

Too much sugar!
Nasty Halloween costumes!
Gluten products!
Action Figures!
Late bed times!
Too much pretend and role playing...

Geesh, being a grandma is NOT easy.  I didn't realize I was going to have to play by everyone else rules..

Time for me to grow up...or not.

Happy Running, stay safe!
meg

I Threw Up On My Garmin

My WILD and WOOLY trail race was buckets of fun on Sunday!  It started with me getting car sick(?)on my way to the race.  Boy Scout/50 Miler Man pulled over on the free way and I promptly covered my mouth with my wrist(OK, who does THAT?)and threw up on my Garmin,  out onto the freeway.  I had some "reserve" toilet paper in my bag(because I roll like that at races, you just NEVER know)and wiped my watch but forgot to get the watchband.  GAK!  Throughout the race, like every tenth of a mile,  I'd get a whiff of my stomach contents and want to heave all over again.  BUT...I just ran.
And ran...
And ran...

When I got to the MOUNTAIN of 1,000 Steps,  I started to hike and the Boob behind me started talking about eating NACHOS at his upcoming SUPER BOWL party.  BLECH and GAK once again!
"Should I have guacamole or just beans?"  "Sour cream?"  "Which has more calories, beans or guacamole?"  I was SO ready to snap at him but the thought of turning around on the steep incline and accidentally "seeing" what I had just climbed freaked me out so I kept working on the hill.  The thought of food sent me up the hill faster,  you can't really throw up while you are straddling a boulder and trying to climb step # 345.   I'm not saying I conquered my GOAL of NOT WALKING the hills but I did strut my stuff trying to get away from Boob.

Once reaching the top,  I realized that it was about 80 degrees and this was the SECOND time I had run a race in the heat--this winter--and it made me laugh.  Rocks, heat, vomit, guacamole,  slippery down hills...what could I do but laugh?  This is just another reason I love adore trail running.  YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT'S AROUND THE NEXT CORNER.  You can never predict what's going to happen once you get to the top of a mountain.  This element of surprise keeps me on my toes and makes me embrace the unpredictable.

I finished the race.  Was I sick?  Did I run with stomach flu?  Food poisoning?  Car sick?  Who knows but I ran with all that was within and a little of what was on the freeway and ended up with a PR by seconds...one that I had set four years ago.  It made me happy to know that getting OLDER, getting sick and getting over the guacamole has only made me stronger.

Bring on the hills, bring on the trails, bring on the fun.

By the way,  my Garmin isn't holding a charge,

Meg