Being overweight is hard. Being overweight and mentally
picturing yourself doing marathons and Ironmans is even rougher.
You see, although I’m carrying an extra 80lbs or so, I don’t always
feel it. I picture myself as a runner, cyclist and yes, even a
triathlete. In my mind I can run 26.2 miles, bike 60 miles and swim
until I reach Cuba. I want to push myself to the limit. I want to
do more. I want to be the athlete I’ve always dreamed of
being.

Then, a little something called “fat”
says- NO way woman, and puts up a big barrier in the way of rolls,
folds and clumps.

On my quest for 500 miles
on foot in 2011, of of those fat rolls practically punched me in
the gut.

In one of my latest “fitness
adventures”, I thought I’d tackle the Gasparilla race once again
this year. Last year, the Gasparilla 5k was the very first road
race I had participated in. This year, I wanted to “up the ante”. I
signed up for the 15k. In my mind, I had already crossed the finish
line- medal in hand. Unfortunately, my body had it’s own plans.

Kristin had decided to take on this goal
with me. Our mentality was “we walk more than 9 miles at Disney
World!” I’m sure this is partially true, I mean, we DO walk around
the park at LEAST 11 times while we’re there. That has GOT to equal
the distance of a 10k. I already knew there was no chance I would
be able to run the entire thing, but I was OK walking it- after
all, it’s all about the finish line for me.

So after spending about a month getting back into the swing of
things with my running, I decided to meet Kristin for a 9mile test
“walk” at Flatwoods on Sunday. Now, let me preface this by
saying:
1. I KNOW about hydration. If there’s one thing
triathlon training has taught me, it’s hydrate, hydrate, hydrate…
snack, snack, snack!
2. I KNOW not to wear new shoes for
long jaunts like this.
3. I KNOW not to change the type
of socks I’m used to. In fact… I have been barefoot running for a
year now- I’m not used to ANY socks!

Well.
With all of that said, all I can say is “stupid”.
1. I
didn’t prepare for the 9 miles. I had 1 bottle of water (in the
car), no Gatorade, and 1 snack (again, in the car.)
2.
With only 8 miles in my new shoes, all I can say is “stupid”.
3. I should leave the barefoot runners for running, and the
new shoes for personal training!

We started
off strong- power walking and jogging the first 4 miles,
maintaining 15-16 minute miles. Not bad!
By mile 5, I
began feeling a “tinge” on the ball of my foot. I wrote it off as
“new shoe pain”.
By mile 7, I could barely keep up with
Kristin. Even a regular walk was painful. This was just about the
time when the headache reared its ugly mug. Dehydration. I knew it.
Although it wasn’t sweltering, we were on the open black top, with
limited shade. I had a bottle of water + 2 cups from the trail in
my system, a bagel and a banana. Between the limited hydration AND
food, I knew this was not going to be a good ending to this fitness
adventure.

By the end of the 9th mile, I
could barely walk. At this point, I would have crawled faster (and
probably should have!). The damage I was doing to my foot would
have been prevented if I had just called it quits at mile 5, and
hitched a ride with the ranger. (Damn you hindsight).

As we approached the parking lot, I immediately
sat down on a nearby bench (bad idea), collapsing my head in
between my legs. Tunnel vision set in. Blurred vision. Shakes, and
of course, the headache, and I knew exactly what had happened.

DEHYDRATION. Say it with me kids. DE HY DRA
TION. And I was the only one to blame.
In addition, I
had developed a painful little friend known as the “blood blister”
on the ball of my right foot.

Put a fork in
me, ’cause at this point, I was MORE than DONE.

After a few attempts at “pulling myself together”, I
eventually had to have Kristin come rescue my pathetic ass. She
drove me to Walgreens, got me some Gatorade and crackers, then
plopped me on her couch with a few Ibuprofen. It literally took me
3 hours to become functional again, and even 24 hours later, I am
STILL feeling the effects of the lack of liquids.

Did I say stupid yet?

And
of course, I soon as I pulled off my socks and realized with what I
was faced with underneath, I was definitely done with my quest for
adding distance.

It was a difficult
decision, but today I sent out an email and reduced my Gasparilla
registration to the 5k. Not only would I not be able to train with
this damn blister under my foot, but I was also worried about what
would happen to me during the actual race. I mean, if you know
anything about Bayshore, there isn’t a lick of shade to be found.
What if I haven’t gotten the whole distance running
nutrition/hydration thing down? I might pass out and fall over the
railing into the Bay (just read the rest of these triathlon blogs
and you’ll know just how I feel about “water”). With a little more
time, weight loss, strength training and education, I know I’ll be
able to tackle a longer road race in no time. For now? I’ll stick
with 5ks and Sprint Triathlons. I know I can handle those!

As for my 2011 goal? Well, I DID complete 10 miles
in total. So I’m 18 miles into my quest. I’ll have to make up some
lost time this week, but that’s OK. No big deal! As for Kristin?
She was a rock star. She survived to tell the boring tale of
finishing 9miles without any drama! Go her!

~Steph

PS- BandAid, you rock. Thank you
for making these!

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