B-O-N-K!!

First let me start by saying this - yes, I was waaa-waaa-waaa the other day about how I never go out anymore, blah, blah, blah. Well, last night I had 2, yes 2, parties to go to - one, a 40th birthday party for a dear friend of mine who I've know for years...the second a housewarming party for a new friend. So I got all "dolled-up", hair, makeup, normal clothes and made it to the birthday party. The margarita machine was fully functioning and I had a couple throughout the night. The party was great and going strong when I left just before 10:00 to head over to Billy's party.

Now, of course, they were on opposite ends of town and I had to pass my exit to continue down south and well, I just didn't make it. As I was driving I began to think these thougths:
1. It would be almost 10:30 before I got there and knew it would be rockin' and I wouldn't want to leave.
2. I wouldn't want to leave and would be there at least 'til midnight.
3. The puppies would wake me up at 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning...and that would be no bueno with a hangover.
4. I had to run 16 miles on Sunday after swim practice (which starts at 8:00)

So, I took my exit and went home. Turned on SNL and quickly fell asleep. Yeah, I'm such the party girl...

***********************************************************************************


All that being said, I probably should have gone to the party because I TOTALLY BONKED my run!!!

The morning started out well enough - the puppies let me sleep in until 6:00 and actually let me go back to sleep. I woke up at 7:30, just in time to leave for swim practice. After a decent swim, Eryn and I headed over to Starbucks and chatted for a while before I decided I'd better get going for my run.

I had to stop by the house because I forgot my Garmin and gels...this should have been an omen for what was to come! I knew I'd be doing multiple loops and totally spaced out on carrying a bottle of sports drink...duh! I didn't pay attention to the weather either, had no clue it was going to be as hot as it was so I also had no electrolyte pills. You'd think I'd never done this before. I had the water on the trail and two gels.

The plan was to start with the 7 mile loop, then the 5 mile loop, then the 4 mile loop. The first loop was fine. The second loop started to wear on me and by the time I was starting the third loop, I was very dehydrated, salty and near tears. I was actually talking to myself out loud!! I'm sure people thought I was a lunatic...in reality, I was bonking and there were only 2 options: stop and walk back or keep running. I decided that the faster I moved, the faster I'd get back to my car.

When I finally made it back to the shop I was wobbly, covered in salt and not looking good...and that can be confirmed by everyone at the shop! Clearly not how I want to be seen, but glad they were good enough to take care of me. Michelle brought me smoothies, Marsha shared her Coke and Cassidy and I went to Taco Bell to get some calories in my body. I had plenty of water, as well. At Zane's recommendation, I even went outside to the back and used the water hose to cool off my head and lower my body temperature.

Key Point: It doesn't matter how experienced a runner you are, it's very important to stop and take the time to really think out your run and prepare your body for the elements. Especially now that the weather has changed and become much warmer, you really have to start thinking differently before you hit the trails. I managed to get in my miles, but it was ugly and I didn't run as well as I had hoped (imagine that!)


For anyone interested, here's an article on bonking:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-267--11429-0,00.html