Thus the melodrama begins.. :)
The week had started off on an ominous note. 20 people in my office had come down with a stomach virus after attending an office party (which I did not go to). I counted myself lucky to have escaped. Or so I thought. The last thing I needed was a stomach virus, given that it was race week (Dallas White Rock Half-Marathon) and I had tonne of work to finish before leaving for my trip on Tuesday.
I did my last training run on Wednesday, felt great inspite of the cold.
Then on Thursday, I came down with symptoms of the stomach virus, and left work abruptly. I had vomitting, fever etc. through the day. Arv took one look at my state and gently said, "I know you really want to do this, but I don't think you should race." I was crushed, but stubbornly harbored hopes to run on Sunday. I felt bad because I had trained, made all these reservations & plans, and I was supposed to run with my buddy.
I got back on my feet on Friday, and tried to mentally prepare myself. By afternoon, I noticed the appearance of hives. Undeterred, I emailed my coach, Lisa, for advice. She responded with a firm "I strongly recommend you don't race on Sunday". My brother, a doctor, went a step further and said, "you're not running a half-marathon on Sunday. Period."
The conversation that ensued was funny on hindsight, and I cannot resist reproducing it here:
Bro: Look at it this way, if the Universe wanted you to run, things would have lined up differently.
Me: We make our own destiny.
Bro: I'll take you up on that philosophical point another time. But you're not running on Sunday.
Me: I've trained for this, man. All year, my training has been a constant uphill. It's always one thing after another getting in the way.
Bro: There'll be many other races.
Me: What's the worst that could happen?
Bro: You could collapse.. from dehydration & weakness. My friend, a doctor & seasoned marathoner ran after a viral infection and collapsed. He had to be rushed to the emergency room. Your body is still fighting the viral load, you can't overburden your body. Listen to me, don't run!
Me: *silent resignation*
Bro: If it makes you feel better, I'll run with you around the lake next week in Singapore.
And thus I extracted a promise from him to run a 10K with me in Singapore on January 4, 2009. :)
When the three people whose advice you count on the most (hubby, bro & coach) unanimously agree on one course of action, you can't help but listen. Because they care for you. And it turns out they were right. My situation worsened on Saturday and I was put on strong medication. Any hopes of even volunteering at the race with Asha Dallas were dashed.
It's still a mystery as to why this happened.
I came to the conclusion that, it's not just training that prepares you for a race. You also need a stroke of luck to make it to the start line. If you find that inspite of your best efforts, things still fall through, then just accept it with a smile and plan for a better race.
Tomorrow, I'll be at home cheering on my buddies, Ganesh & Vishwas, for their race. I'll be virtually watching them with the runner tracking system by the White Rock organizers.
Oh, and I signed up for the 3M Half Marathon yesterday. By the law of karma, I'm set for a good year in 2009.
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5 comments:
This was a very wise decision. The body is really weak fighting so much load plus all the medication. I've known folks collapse senseless and be knocked out for many hours, when trying to race while sick.
There will always be races Sha. Thats what you told me back in June last year, when I had pull out of a race -- "Pretty inspiring, dude! You should be proud of whatever you've done." And you should be proud of all that you've run so far, and what races will come as the next year unfolds.
The sky is always darkest before the dawn!
Like in anything else, you have to pick and choose your battles well in running too. In hindsight, the decision to not run was probably a very good one given the conditions today. So think of it as a blessing in disguise.
And like Vinod said...look back and be proud of all the races and tris you have done in the past year and half...an enviable record indeed.
2009 is going to be a wonderful year, lots of races and lots of bling ;)
Sucks that the universe was against you. Universe owes you one now, soon!
Given the conditions yesterday it was probably a good idea not to run the race with the tail-end of the stomach bug. The humidity was zapping, it was unusually hilly and tough even the best of shapes.
Thanks for letting me run, now you have a PR :)
Coach Amy always says to "Listen to your body" when running...esp long distances...and I'm glad you did...although you needed a little push and persuasion getting there! :)
The DWR conditions would have just added to the stress your body was already experiencing...so it's good that you gave it a pass....like Vinod says, there are always many other races...and reading your next blog...looks like you're back to good health and back in track! YAY!! Will look forward to running with you at 3M! :)
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