Running with the Flu

I had a bout with the flu (or something) last Friday and weekend. It started with feeling dizzy, weak, and having some queasiness on Friday morning. It soon progressed to an all out assault on my gastro-intestinal tract. I had to leave work by 1 PM. I went home and hydrated with Smartwater and tried to eat something.

This situation was problematic, because I was supposed to be race directing a nightime trail race on Friday night. I ended up vomiting (and other things) for about an hour, then took an immodium and an anti-spasmatic motion sickness pill, to keep from vomiting anymore. Then I hydrated like crazy and loaded up the Element with race stuff, and went to the race. On the way there, I had a Boost for some calories, and drank more water with electrolytes. My goal: I wanted to RD the race, and also run in it. It was only a little 10K trail race, so what's the big deal?

I ended up getting to run in the race, afterall. Being sick, I was laboring from the start. I kept my pace at a "sub-puke level" throughout the run, and even walked a few hills. I ended up finishing about 9 minutes off of my best training run time on the same hilly course.

After I cooled down, I got my rig loaded up and headed over to Shane's for a post-race BBQ. I was actually hungry and ate some, which was a good sign that I was recovering. The rest of the night and the next day, I still felt very tired and weak, though. All that I did on Saturday, was hang-out with my grandson in front of the TV, and watch SciFi movies for about 12 hours in a row. (I was really surprised that his favorite movie ended up being "The Day the Earth Stood Still" from 1951). Some 4-year olds have good taste, I guess. We also played with dominos and Legos.

Sunday's training run was decent, but I still felt weak and tired. I think I'm about over it all, right now, but my wife was real sick on Sat & Sun, and my son started getting the symptoms on Sunday.

I just have to take it fairly easy between now and the CCC100-miler (in less than 2 weeks). I am going to be running in a 10K trail race next Saturday, though.

My race report for last Friday night's race is below.
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Race Report: 2006 Psycho Night 10K Trail Run

The first annual Psycho Night 10K Trail Run went off pretty well.

Thirty-one runners started (and finished) the moderately-hilly trail race at Wyandotte County Lake Park, Kansas City, KS. By "moderately hilly", I mean an Elevation Gain (ft) +1,865 / -1,865, for a total of 3730' Elevation Change for the 10-Kilometer, wheel-measured course. The hills, humidity, and 90-degree weather took their toll on some of the runners.

The race started in the light, but most runners were using a flashlight or headlamp by mile 4 or 5. The course consisted of an out and back with a loop at the far end. The loop was the wonderful "Wyandotte Triangle" single-track trail section from the infamous Psycho WyCo Run Toto Run.

First place was had by Caleb Chatfield, (26), of Mission, Kansas. He took it "easier" than he normally does because he's still recovering from a 50-Mile trail race that he won 2-weeks ago, in Minnesota. (He was ahead of the 2nd Place spot by over 22 minutes in that race, in an awesome 7-hours, 38-minutes). Bringing up 2nd place was veteran ultrarunner Kyle Amos, of Olathe, Kansas. He also took first place in the M30-39 division. He was also recovering from the same 50-mile trail race in Minnesota. There was a strong third place showing by a fast Adventure Racer named Devin Martin, (27). Greg Burger, of Lecompton, Kansas, always seems to take 4th-place in all of our "Trail Nerd" events, and this race was no exception. He even picked bib number "4" at registration. Rounding out the top five was Kati Gosnell, (26), our top female finisher. She was just visiting the Kansas City area, and decided to kick some trailrunner's butts while she was in town. The second and third place women, Jacque Jackson and Melanie Galyon, were both veterans of this course in February's Psycho WyCo race. One of them said that it had been easier this time without the ice, snow, and mud.

Nobody was injured during the race, but I fell down after the race chasing my grandson around a tree!

All of this fun was had for a measly 8-bucks! Three different shirts were available for purchase after the race. See you at the next trail race! Photos are at Dick Ross' Site.

Happy Trails,
Bad Ben