Running Failure

I have no idea what went wrong. In less than 15 minutes I went from completing lap 44, (66 miles) grabbing something to eat and walking through the food tent. I was tired, beat up and my feet/legs hurt but overall I was feeling pretty good and ready for lap 45. My GPS watch told me it was 14 hours and 5 minutes into the 24 hour race. I had 34 miles remaining to reach my 100 mile goal and 10 hours to do it.

Then I felt a little dizzy, light headed and I wondered if a previous bout of vertigo (June, 2015) had come back.  Before I knew what was happening to me, I was sitting in my car, all my stuff packed up and I had quit the Hinson Lake 24 Hour Classic.

My Facebook friends and Twitter followers supported me with love and kind words when I posted that I was having issues..

My daughter told me she was proud of me when I posted my 66 mile update.

When I called my wife to break the news, she told me it was okay and I did the right thing.

AND yet I was (still am) crushed. I had suffered the worst injury an endurance runner can suffer.

I know the feeling of injury. I know the feeling of running out of energy. I know what it’s like to save my body for another day.

What I felt like driving away fro Hinson Lake I have not experienced before. I have never lost confidence in myself.  Heading North on highway 1, I questioned the future of my running career. I wondered if I still had the ability. I wondered if I would quit again.

24+ hours later I’ve accepted that truly quitting is never toeing the starting line again.

MARK MY WORDS…….I WILL RUN AND COMPLETE ANOTHER 100 MILE RACE, BECAUSE NOW I’M PISSED……AND FOCUSED!