Tough sequence of events, Michael!
Gertrude- that’s not unusual to get disoriented if you bonk or dehydrate.
OK - good to know!
First time I’ve heard the reference of “bonk”.
Wow, what a story. You need to tell that to every client that doubts or makes a mistake in their training. Very scary on that marathon attempt. Reminds me of the guy recently who was found days after the marathon in NYC wandering.
We can’t all be everything. One person’s running is another person’s biking and so on.
Thanks for sharing. 
That’s what is so incredible about triathlon. You have to be proficient at three sports! The swim is the least time in the event, but you get kicked in the face and it’s terrifying.
When I did triathlon the bike was my weakest because I was afraid of going too fast and crashing. I would pass a lot of people in the run. The lakes in Texas were disgusting.
MOWC, I don’t think the effect you feel from gels 8-9 miles into a half marathon is simply psychological. At that point in a race, you’ve expended a good bit of energy and with an infusion of quick acting simple sugars, I would bet your blood sugar levels increase, particularly since the gels are formulated for just that purpose. And I know several endurance athletes who laugh at all the purists buying over priced “performance foods” and swear by their old school Coke and Pepsi (and love the caffeine boost too). I also have to hand it to you for doing a triathlon. Those are the hardest events to train for because the 3 disciplines require specificity of training for each and the time required to prepare is enormous. Triathletes are some of the most dedicated athletes I know.
MNK, oh wow. What an unfortunate streak of bad running luck. I once got lost during a cross-country ski race, but that was not due to bonking. Bonking and getting lost at the end of a marathon is worse, IMO.
I have a lot of respect for triathletes. Training in disgusting lakes… that’s what they do. Amazing.
Dinner: happy hour roasted cauliflower and a glass of Pinot. Has to be healthy, even at 11 pm, right?
Well, I trained in pools. We competed in the disgusting lakes! There weren’t nearly as many races back then and no Ironman series. There was only one Ironman. I was in races with Lance Armstrong. He beat me!
I did one short triathlon when I was 7 months pregnant. The swim was in a pool. It was hard to flip turn around my stomach.
So many great posts to catch up on! Thanks for the info on gels, Michael. I’ve never eaten anything during a half marathon or really felt any need to. But the marathon was a different story and I hadn’t prepared well enough for what to eat/when to eat it. This will be an area I’ll focus on for next time. And I’m pretty sure there will be a next time.
I am guilty of totally neglecting exercise/health/nutrition for a good 20 years when I was raising kids. With a demanding full-time job, any time at home was spent with kids and their activities. I know lots of parents, especially working moms, have fallen into that trap. It really wasn’t until we were empty nesters that I felt like I could devote any kind of time to exercise. I really wish that I had made it a priority much sooner in life, but better late than never. My daughter got me into running when she started doing half and then full marathons and she is now my biggest cheerleader, always saying how proud she is of us.
H seems interested in trying a tri, but I’m not a good swimmer at all so it’s not something I think I would enjoy at all. I can’t imagine doing one at 7 months pregnant! That’s really impressive!
Checking in from Italy. Hey everyone :). We are taking our afternoon break, and as we are old and not honeymooners 
the H is sleeping and I’m CCing.
I’m so glad for the love and support here. We are walking miles and miles everyday, 20,000+ steps. Without all the exercise we have been doing, Rome would have been rough. I’m so happy I’ve signed H up for the recent races we did. He’s holding up better than the last time we went to a big city (Chicago) where he sat in the hotel and I went shopping. Not that that was bad but I don’t want to shop.
The weather is perfect 70 everyday, cool nights, no rain.
Dmd, I am a 3 mile every other day type of runner. Not a hard core exercise person. Just a middle age person trying to maintain the weight I am.
Brag, we sat at lunch with a family from Belgium. It was a birthday celebration for the wife and I asked what age, which was apparently very American lol! They were 50 and were surprised that we were 53 and 55. Told us we looked younger. I’ll take that even though I promise we look our age.
Deb, so wonderful to hear from you from abroad!
LOL on the sleeping husband!!!
The weather sounds wonderful and I can imagine the beauty you are seeing by foot.
What? No mention of the delicious food you must be eating?!!! You’re not walking those 20,000+ steps for nothing!
Enjoy, enjoy, ENJOY the rest of your time there! It’s not 70 here in the midwest (though some 60’s here in Ohio next week again) anymore so savor it!!!
Deb922- sounds like a wonderful trip!
Running my short shakeout run from my travel stop hotel outside of Asheville this morning was rough. The hotel was nice, but it was pretty unrunable. Traffic, limited sidewalks and uphill. I eked out two miles with some parking lot loops and a foray uphill on a partial sidewalk. I lived!
Not many places are really not runable, but this was close. On to Charlotte.
“I am guilty of totally neglecting exercise/health/nutrition for a good 20 years when I was raising kids. With a demanding full-time job, any time at home was spent with kids and their activities. I know lots of parents, especially working moms, have fallen into that trap. It really wasn’t until we were empty nesters that I felt like I could devote any kind of time to exercise.”
This is exactly how I feel. I stayed slim as a young adult basically through good luck and nothing else. I exercised off and on, but it was always half-hearted, “obligation.” It wasn’t til only about 2-3 years ago I started working at it again – took a different lens, engaging in my health and vitality instead of just about my abs (though that’s not to suggest appearance isn’t an important driver - it is for me), and it finally “took.” Part of why I’m retiring at the end of this year is indeed so I can have a schedule where I can really focus on keeping myself active and in good shape (and not just at ungodly hours!). My big problem is that I’ll get too ambitious and hit the wall. I have memberships / access to all kinds of fun places I enjoy: my park district where I run on the treadmill and like to do weights with a trainer, a CorePower Yoga, a Barre / Pilates studio, and now OrangeTheory. I have a big calendar with all the classes aligned next to one another, and right now I’m at the stage where I optimistically think “oh, I could do three classes a day, every day!” and I know that’s just not feasible as a strategy long-term!
My spouse, in a demanding, on-call job, works out 2 hours a day, without fail. He has discipline that I don’t.
In an effort to ween myself from my trainer (going from 2x a week to 1x) but still keep strength workouts twice a week, I went to a power/core class at my gym today. It was very challenging! I am very strong for a 60-something woman so I could handle the weights and knew most of the moves (cleans, etc) but this class moved quickly. I found myself a few steps behind throughout–so I have a good goal for myself–getting more agile in this class. Also noticed that I was (one other woman looked around my age) about 20-30 years older than most of the women in the class. (No men in thus class). Back to yoga tomorrow!
Add me to the group of 20-yr neglecters! My weight crept up steadily, but because the extra pounds were so evenly spread out, I could hide them quite well. But my bones were not designed to carry those extra 25 pounds 24/7… So I am undoing the damage now.
MOfWC, I hear you! Unrunnable places suck. One hotel in SV where I used to stay was located in the middle of a huge business park. Nice quiet area, lots of greenery. You would think there would be sidewalks to run on… Nope. Not even along the main road. Not even a decent shoulder to run on. People who designed the park probably decided not to bother - everyone in CA hops in their car to get from one building to another or to grab a sandwich for lunch. Sad.
I have a job interview Monday - a place I have been trying, trying, trying to get into. Even met the future boss at a fund raiser and told her I applied for her job opening (HR had closed the job opening, but my paperwork was in and I had no idea if she had already hired someone or not). Re-entry to the job market after long absence. Pay is good too! I am very excited about the opportunity. I hope the job can then structure my time for me to then get on a ‘plan’ for getting enough exercise to coordinate with reduced food intake. Please think of me on Monday between 12 and 2 pm CST!
I’ve done the “run around the big empty parking lot” thing before!!!
Here’s my Friday the 13th fitness story. Went to go to my 30 minute lunch time spin class at the fitness center at work. That is what I was prepared for. 30 minutes, a good workout, but not over the top. When I arrived (walked over) there was a sign saying that the spin class was cancelled for today. UGH. (can we not send an email or make a FB posting!!!) Well, I’m there so I want to do something to get my fitness out of the way for the day. I have running clothes/shoes but do not have my headphones (I much, much prefer to have music). Tackle the treadmill anyway…painfully boring with no music!!! Not to mention that the treadmill makes me MUCH sweatier than the spin class. I could NOT go back to work as sweaty as I was. I only had 2 small washcloths with me and the gym has no towels (I know…) - which after spin class I can make work - one to use during spin, one to clean up afterwards - cause I’m not too sweaty.
So, on Friday the 13th I armed myself with TWO washcloths and probably half the dispenser of paper towels to take a shower, wash my hair and get cleaned up. A feat, let me tell ya!!! Tricky but I did it!
Way to go abasket - that is commitment! And good luck, SOS, - I’ll be keeping good thoughts on Monday!
I didn’t even think about today being Friday the 13th! However my H’s birthday is the 13th of June and it falls on Friday often - and we are happy together Way to go @abasket for commitment over adversity/special circumstances.
That’s funny, abasket. Way to get it done!
Good luck, SOS!
The Expo here in Charlotte for Thunder Road is good! I bought some stuff. (Shocking, I know.). Got my son in law into his first pair of Hokas which were on sale for $99. He’s a big guy, and I think they are going to really help him with some leg pain he has when he runs. He is going to try them tomorrow as he run/walks the half. He’s excited about them. This is a nice sized race- about 4000 in the half and 1000 in the full.