Stroller Fitness!

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I Reached The Finishline with a Kenyan…

…in an ambulance!

It was barely an hour into my hopefully official 42K, and I was COUGHING so hard every 2-3 minutes or so. I was not conditioned at all for the Subic marathon last Saturday. My pace was a far cry from the LSD’s and the QCIM 21K just a week ago, deep in my heart I knew I had to stop or pass out somewhere along the dark SCTEX road. So I chose the former.

I was all primed up for THAT Saturday, until Thursday morning came – when I woke up with a runny nose. I had been taking care of Sky a couple of nights before that from a cold – then I GET the bug.

My husband D was trying to convince me to re-think my plan. He didn’t think I was in no condition to run a full… Being my stubborn self that day, I told him I can still do it… But now I hate to admit it, but HE WAS SO RIGHT.

While I thought of just doing a walkathon for my first marathon after 30 minutes, I opted not to and get myself into an ambulance if my cough didn’t go away within another 30 minutes… I was struggling. And I think Ben of Photovendo saw it too. He and his female friend cooled my Gatorade flask in the cooler in their pick-up and told me that they would stop every 2Km, just in case I need it again. Just to lighten the load off my fuelbelt.

But after WALKING more than running. I decided to STOP. I hate that word, but it’s either that or something worse. I figured I can do my next full marathon early next year. I can’t afford to go back to my boys WASTED – it defeats the purpose of being a Fit mommy and wife. Even if I hated it.

I hitched a ride with Ben and he graciously dropped me off the nearest ambulance… As soon as I sat on the stretcher – I started to get CHILLS. My Blood Pressure was normal, but my Pulse rate was 138bpm, which is unusually high for someone who was walking. The Red Cross guy looked blurry when I first started talking to him… Then, after being administered Oxygen for 5minutes – my vision wasn’t blurry anymore…

A few minutes after I got settled, the ambulance started speeding to one of the female Kenyan runners who passed out somewhere past 25K. I got off the stretcher and sat by the side instead. They loaded up the mythical female runner on the stretcher, unconscious.

I have to tell you that I was still in awe of the runner resting on the stretcher before me. She looked immortal to me… But when she started mumbling in her state of exhaustion, I came to realize WE ARE ALL HUMAN doing the best we can to run a formidable feat of finishing a 42K.

I came out of the ambulance at Remy field and saw my family playing in the field while they were waiting for me. As I walked over to them, Sky came bolting towards me with a smile. I wanted to cry right then. But when I heard D tell Sky, “There’s our winner Mommy!”

Then I started to laugh when Sky gave me one of the tightest hug I ever got from my little man. And then I got a kiss and a protein shake from D…

And then Sky tried to pee on my shoes, then I didn’t mind at all anymore. There will always be a next time…

Come Monday morning, both Sky and myself were feverish. My fever is gone for now, but I think I’ll lose my voice any moment now. But, I’m well enough to take care of Sky. Thank you for all the prayers! I’ll be running again soon!

Jitters.

Normally, 2-3 days before a long run, I would bulk up with a bit of Carbs and Potassium. And come LSD I feel fine. The same went right before the QCIM 21k last Sunday. I finished with a decent (from runnex) 2:11:39 in a relaxed run mode. I even had enough strength to go around Greenhills with Sky without a yaya after adding another 10K to my half-marathon mileage that day.

Today being a Wednesday, I am preparing again. The routine has become quite normal. Coconut water in the morning, eating every 3 hours, drinking water every chance I get and doing easy workout routines at home… This morning though, I felt a bit sluggish to a point of feeling sick. I had to take the trip to the loo a couple of times too!

To hopefully, whisk away the feeling of nervousness, I dropped by Secondwind and grabbed myself 3 more GU energy gels for Saturday’s run. Then off to a mall nearby for a lunch of Chicken Inasal (Pecho with liver and bottomless Lemonade), the waiter was giving me an amusing look. He kept refilling my glass as I literally WOLFED down my lunch. The waiter just kept on beaming, I swear. I wanted to order another cup of garlic rice, but stopped myself – to save room for a yoghurt dessert treat I was thinking of having right after this. And to avoid another bout of warm, appreciative glances from the waiter.

Went around and I started feeling sick again… Not the bathroom type though, I just felt queasy. I decided to just stave it off at home with Sky. Got a good nap with my little man beside me. I didn’t wake up refreshed as I thought I would.

And I remembered what D told me awhile ago. JUST HAVE FUN MOM.

And as I finish this post. I don’t feel quite as tired anymore… See you all on Saturday!

SURPRISE!

One of the things that I both LOVE and DREAD at the end of a Long, Slow Run; is the prospect of taking a shower.

When I run 5-10K’s, a shower was always a welcome treat. It’s a time to refresh and get the salt and grime that have accumulated on my skin.

However, when my program entailed running more than 12Ks twice a week. More often than not, I actually brace myself when I turn the water on in the shower. Specially, if it was more than a 15K run. Almost everytime, I get a SURPRISE! A stinging pain that jolts you like a thunderbolt  somewhere EVERYTIME.

I cringe in pain when the water starts running. Part of me wants to whine and let out a scream. But tough people that we are. I take the pain in, like a man.

Passing Out.

I woke up a bit late this morning and decided to run at around 11:00AM. I had brewed coffee and a cheese sandwich an hour before I set out for my run. I changed my unit set-up in my Garmin from Metric to Statute. I wanted to try counting by miles than kilometers for a change. I had a couple of GU energy gels with me and a bottle of Gatorade in the other. I was planning on running for at least 10 miles (16Km) or even more – if I felt like it.

I was 6 minutes into my run in my usual pace – then my Garmin suddenly beeps. It wasn’t supposed to alert me yet, so I stopped and looked at it. As soon as I pressed the Start/Stop button. Everything around me started to swirl around…

And then I wake up after a few seconds or minutes (not sure how long), sprawled on the road and both my elbows aching from being rubbed raw from my fall on the rough cement road. It was almost noon and there wasn’t a person in sight from where I was.

I was a bit shaken after my fainting episode. I walked for 10 minutes while drinking Gatorade and downing a pack of GU energy gel. And I was replaying the events that occurred before I passed out.

Passing out. Running Syncope. Vasovagal Syncope. Exercise Induced Collapse/Syncope…

These are the terms used when it happens to individuals who are engaged in endurance related sports. The main cause was deprivation of Oxygen to my brain because I ceased running suddenly.

D just came back from a flight and I told him what happened. I know the reason, but he explained it so much better than me; “Mom, you ran so fast in 7 minutes, then you cut-off the oxygen by stopping – when your body needed more oxygen from that run… What went on was that your muscles, heart and other organs sucked the oxygen for your brain. You know you weren’t supposed to just STOP…Just rest today okay?”

However, now that I look back. Here are some of the reasons that may have contributed to my first ever encounter with Syncope…

• Sudden change in my Heart Rhythm – from gradually increasing my Blood Pressure and Heart Rate and then suddenly stopping – causing both BP and HR to plummet down…. Making it hard for my heart to pump blood to my brain.
• Not being properly hydrated. I drank a fairly large mug of brewed coffee an hour or so before I ran. And I had to make a three trips to the bathroom before stepping out. Caffeine is a diuretic – it caused me to lose water than I normally should, causing a fluid imbalance. Water that should be loss to sweating during my workout, went down a different avenue instead.
• I have been running more, but I haven’t been eating more. I still eat as I did before, but now that my training has become more intense. I should be eating a bit more to fuel my body.

Instead of not doing a run altogether after my fainting episode. I still ran a REALLY EASY 6.23 miles (10K) for an hour and 13 minutes before calling it a day.

I am all better now, like nothing even happened! No traces of exhaustion. However, raw pain from my elbows serves as a reminder of the unwise decision of abruptly STOPPING while on a run!