Three weeks ago, I was clocking big miles to get ready for the Where's Waldo 100k this Saturday. Everything was going well thanks to the unapplied Western States training, and I started to have glimpses of a Top 10 finish at a USATF National Championship. Oh how grand it will be! (play Olympic theme song now)
Then the other (trail running) shoe dropped. Man oh man, how soon we forget that the most important part of a race is to show up healthy.
First, an annoying bump on my hip grew to the size of a golf ball in less than three days, and I found myself using a lunch break to get an abscessed cyst removed. The lunch break turned into a day off as the doctor removed a cup and a half of "fluid" (yuck) and then instructed me to "leave the wound open to heal for few days". Ex-squeeze me? When I got a peek at his handiwork, I nearly fainted. These things are nasty...bad enough my wife won't even look in my direction. And let me tell you, nothing cuts into your training like a huge open wound on your ass. ;-)
A few days later it healed enough to be stitched up, which was more pleasing to the eye but not much of a boost to the running. I put on my gear every morning in hopes to go through the motions, but most of the time I didn't. Then I got to the bonus round by catching a cold from Sophie, leaving us both hacking through the night. When I finally got on the upside of the cold two days ago, I went for a run with heavy legs and lungs like a half-soaked sponge. Drat! So much for my illusions of grandeur for the Where's Waldo 100k. I think just getting to the start is a good accomplishment at this point.
My ass up/lung hacking days on the couch have been blissfully distracted by the Olympics on TV. It makes me really appreciate what these athletes are able to do, setting multiple world records under the spotlight of the world. We often forget that more than half the battle is to just show up fit, healthy, and in the right state of mind.
I'm going to be at the start of Waldo with my best game face...hope to see you there!
- SD
Three weeks ago, I was clocking big miles to get ready for the Where's Waldo 100k this Saturday. Everything was going well thanks to the unapplied Western States training, and I started to have glimpses of a Top 10 finish at a USATF National Championship. Oh how grand it will be! (play Olympic theme song now)
