Things start moving along just fine. I receive Facebook updates from the team, Spartan Reunion Tour. I find out which legs I'll be running: 4, 16 and 28. I read the Cascade Lakes Relay rules, map and anything else I can find on their website about the course. I'm totally excited and nervous. I continue on about me day-to-day life though because I still need to work and take care of the girls etc. I manage to go on some runs and try to go on some long runs, but the weather changes and it gets rather warm and I am not a warm weather runner. But, since I know it might be warm I try to push myself to run in weather that I would not normally run.
Tuesday, July 15th, I went for a run in the evening and it was blazing hot. My phone said it was 90. Was it wise to go in this temperature? Well, doesn't matter now, but I figure its good to push yourself. I recall thinking it didn't feel that hot when I first left the house. But, after running a half mile believing it was, in fact 90 degrees. But, then it was too late to turn around and go home. I must just continue on with my forward momentum. So I did, to the tune of 4.67 miles, and I felt like crap afterward. But, I did it. Then I went again on Wednesday, because I always tend to go on Wednesday because the girls were at summer school and I have time to myself so I must take advantage of that solace. So I went again, it wasn't as warm, it was probably in the high 60's. I went about the same distance. I came home and remember my stomach feeling a bit funny, but nothing that unusual. I figured it was just because I hadn't eaten and was hungry. I ignored it, showered, ate some breakfast and went about my day. The girls came home, we hung out, had a snack of fresh berries, chatted about their day at summer school, watched the Wild Kratts and again I thought, my stomach hurts, but, again, nothing to horrible. I was also thinking, man this house is hot. I need a glass of ice water. The heat is so distracting. Wow. Why doesn't that fan go any higher? Geez.
Dinner? What's for dinner you ask? In this heat, Daddy made chili, yes, chili in the crock pot in this heat. So, allow me to prepare your bowl for you. Because I love serving you two. So, the three of us sat at the table and ate dinner: chili, with crushed chips and some sprinkled cheese on top. Yummy. Mind you this is vegetarian chili with tofu. Finally, Sam gets home and partakes in our dinner. My stomach has still been bothering me. But, I have been ignoring this for hours now and will continue to ignore it.
After getting the girls ready for bed, reading books and doing whatever we do for our bedtime ritual, we do it. I am still working on some brief for work and I lay in bed and attempt to work on it in bed. But, I am having a hard time getting comfy because my stomach is hurting and I tell Sam that my stomach hurts. He asks if its his cooking. Yes, perhaps.
Hours later, while my family sleeps soundly, I toss and turn in pain. I get up and scour the cabinet for Alka-Seltzer. Yummy. Why is this so nasty? And why so ineffective? At any rate, I pop two in a glass of water, drink it down and then wait a minute for the burp that follows. Then I drink some baking soda with water, unconvinced of the effectiveness of Alka-Seltzer, determined to get some relief. I go back to bed. I prop the pillows up in any configuration possible to achieve sleep and relief from the pain I am feeling. I keep thinking, maybe I should just drive myself to the hospital since urgent care is closed. I can leave a note for Sam, he can find it in the morning, no point in waking him. Eventually, I fall asleep. I wake up, feeling my stomach churning and my mouth filling with salty saliva preparing to throw up, but then nothing happens. Oh no, clearly, vomiting is just around the bend. Then, within the hour, my prediction comes true (I should set up a booth at a fair and charge).
Although I am vomiting my guts out all morning and tell Sam this, he still says, "I have to go work". I guess me telling you I'm throwing up and writhing in pain is not enough of an indicator that I may need assistance from you. Don't mind me, you go on to work, i'm fine. Truly, I basically had to beg Sam to get the girls breakfast before leaving to go to work, while I was clutching my stomach in bed. After Sam left, I had to get myself up, put something on, I didn't bother brushing my teeth, I did wash my face though, and got the girls off to school. It was the fastest school drop off ever. Two kisses, two hugs and mommy was out. Nothing extra this time, mommy was about to faint on the floor.
Back at home, more vomiting. Wow, this is not good. I manage to get myself to the gas station across the street from my house after some serious pep talking. I tried to make myself walk like a normal person, you know, up right. I got some ginger ale. Why can't that be more obviously located in the cooler, anyway?
Back at home, I grab my phone and make up the stairs to the bed. I convince myself to take a small drink of the ginger ale. Afterwards, I lie down. Moments later, I'm dashing to the bathroom. Not a good scene. Back in bed, clutching my stomach and pillow. Sam called. I tell him I need to go to the hospital.
At the hospital, after poking around, and giving me something for pain, they tell me my gallbladder has to come out tonight. I have a gallstone that is blocking the neck of my gallbladder and it is irritating the gallbladder. They continue giving me morphine. My pain subsides, thank goodness. That pain is worse than labor pains, it was brutal.
Before the surgery, I spoke withe the attending surgeon about the surgery. I explained that I was planning on running the Cascade Lakes Rely August 1-2, would this impede me from participating. She said I wouldn't be doing any damage by running, I just may not feel like running. Good enough, i'm golden. I'm in. This will not stop me from running. My big concerns are alleviated. That and I have a camping trip planned for Friday through Sunday (the Friday that the gallbladder is ultimately to come out, which I end up missing due to the surgery, and have to go on Saturday instead).
So, being in the hospital blows, everybody knows that but, when they say your surgery will happen tonight then it doesn't happen because more urgent things come in all night pushing your piddly painful gallbladder back further and further on the operating room schedule, it really sucks. I was supposed to have my gallbladder out Thursday evening. But, didn't actually get into surgery until Friday morning. Whatever. It's out, that's all that matters, right? I did get out the same day because I was such an easy-peasy patient. In surgery at 10:30 out of the hospital by 4:30, with drugs. Sayonara! Hello campsite on Saturday.
I did not run for about a week. It was just under a week, I went running the Wednesday after I got out of the hospital because I felt good. It didn't hurt, it felt like my stomach muscles were a little tight, but other than that I felt surprisingly good and had a speedy, short run.
I knew I wasn't going to be able to get in a lot of mileage for the CLR without risking injury, so I paced myself; opting to run smart and take my chances at the relay with muscle memory and my running experience. Boy howdy. That relay is one challenging relay. It was hot and the elevation are challenges that are unique to this run that are difficult to prepare for in a cooler, sea-level climate. My first leg was a little over 7 miles, which normally I would feel fine about, but this was a run that was in the middle of the desert and my run started at noon. It was 90. Ouch. And to make matters worse, I forgot my camelback at the house where we were staying in La Pine. I had a water bottle, but I am not accustomed to carrying a water bottle. It was like carrying boiled water in my hand, it was so hot. The second run was nighttime, it was perfect, probably in the high 50's on a gravel road, not ideal road conditions, but the temperature was great. The third leg was warm as well, and my motivation to run was lost. My music wasn't doing it any more. I couldn't get my mind to shift gears. I was off.
I was so hot and I had lost it completely. A young girl had run up to me and asked that we run together, which I welcomed. So we ran together for a while. It was nice to have someone to run with to talk with for a while. To take my mind off how I was feeling. It worked well for both of us i'm sure. We ran at a good pace for about a mile. Then, we came to a hill and I couldn't find my motivation any longer because the heat got the better of me. As my young blond friend ran off, she said, "you gotta find your rhythm girl!" And that kept playing in my head as she ran off into the horizon. Find my rhythm. Find my rhythm. She's right, I do need to find it, but I'm afraid it has been melted by this fucking heat. Perhaps if it were cooler, I could find it and I would still be running. But, right now, all I can muster is a few paces every now and again. The heat is my kryptonite though. I'm so weakened by the heat. Eventually, I saw my van and one of my teammates ran and walked and ran with me to the next exchange because I was truly miserable. It was nice to have someone there to chat with and run with and motivate me along the course.
But, I did manage to run to the end of my last leg. I can now say that I have run the Cascade Lakes Relay and it was effing challenging. I also ran it two weeks after having my gallbladder removed. I had a goal to do this event and that intention was set years ago, and no stinking sick gallbladder was going to interfere with that goal. So glad I did it!
