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
Eeeek! How the heck do you get an abcess/cyst on your hip like that...or ummmm nevermind, maybe I don't want to know.
ReplyDeleteFeel better! And good luck at Waldo.
I hope you can still enjoy Waldo. A tough one that is a great accomplishment. Enjoy the scenery and the heat :-)
ReplyDeleteThat's a good question about how it happened. I asked if it could have been caused by the training, but he said likely it was just a random thing. He said sometimes blunt trauma will cause this too, but I couldn't recall falling on my left side. I'm just glad it was off to the side a bit so I could sit down.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the well wishes for Waldo. It will certainly be a hot one this year!
(Scott using Christi's account)
I am doing the 50k Skyline to the Sea when you are in September for my first Ultra (have done 12 marathons on 7 continents and 5 big mountains). What advice to you have for someone for this race? http://climbingandrunning.com/
ReplyDeleteThat's something I do in my job too (draining nasty abscesses). Too bad about the timing, but good luck and have fun.
ReplyDeleteGood luck Scott. Definitely know what you mean about showing up fit and healthy as the beginning of my year was all fits and starts from illness. It's always possible that the cold clears up at the last minute and the extra rest from the cyst actually does you good!
ReplyDeleteWow. I just put my breakfast plans on hold after trying to visualize that. Sorry to hear about the bad luck. I'm sure you'll do fine at Waldo. Looking forward to meeting you at Skyline to the Sea. Good luck with the recovery.
ReplyDeleteyucks... Sorry to hear that, good luck at Waldo
ReplyDeletepictures.......or it didn't happen!
ReplyDeleteYeah, what Stu said! If this was Mark Tanaka's blog, there would definitely be pictures. ;)
ReplyDeleteHope Waldo goes well for you!
Good luck at Waldo. Maybe take a picture of the wound after you victoriously course the finish line.
ReplyDeleteAh-ha! That's why you weren't your perky self today. Well my friend, you did show up and seemed to be running well each time I saw you. Right now, as I write this, you're probably making your way up Maiden...ah, she's a beaut!
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoyed your day in the mountains, Scott.
sorry to hear. thanks for sharing despite the grotesque images you've now equipped my imagination with. best wishes on your recovery. sounds like a great time to indulge in your favorite vices...
ReplyDelete-swilva
Yeah, you didn't look quite yourself...but hey, it all good when it ends good! Wasn't it a beautiful course??
ReplyDeletePictures! You guys are a sick bunch, and that's why I love ya. ;-) I'll be sure to do that next time.
ReplyDeleteClimbing and Running - You've picked a great race for your first 50k. The trail is pretty soft there and it's not too technical, but there are some long descents. So strap on your water bottles and practice descents of 5-8k. See you there!
To the Waldo crew - It was great to see you out there! Hot, rugged, and beautiful. It was too much of a good thing to let my cold/hip get in the way, so I kicked back a bit and finished in 13:18. Will add pics soon!
SD
Waldo is a tough course and you did great..Mark Lantz seems to have had a great season with his AR, White River and now Waldo...I just wish I could keep up with him..
ReplyDeleteSee you at 9trails....that should be a true suffer feast...:)
tony lafferty
Was wondering what happened to you when I looked at the results, Scott. Ouch, what a bad timing indeed, sorry for you. Congrats for having decided to run WIW, still; the title of your post is right on (see what happened to me at Skyline...).
ReplyDeleteSeems like you are focusing on the PCTR races for the remaining of the year so we will miss you on the PAUSATF Grand Prix circuit.
Safe recovery,
Jean.
Farher Faster
Hello! Could you please help me? How can I have a copy of the Trail running magazine? I can't get it here in Italy, is it possible to download an online copy? Thanks for your help, your blog is great! Cris
ReplyDeleteCris - I know that subscribers to Trail Runner can get an electronic copy of the magazine sent (it's free as part of the subscription), but I'm not sure how you get it otherwise. Send them an e-mail on their Web site - they are usually pretty responsive.
ReplyDeleteSD