Well, that simply did not go as I had planned. Long story short, I got sick sometime just before the first races. To be honest I didn’t think I was sick. I felt pretty normal, just felt like I’d swallowed something funny and it got jammed up my nose. The morning of the first race, I woke up with some slight congestion, but it got better once I blew my nose, so I didn’t think much of it. Warming up for the race, I could tell the legs were a bit heavy, but wasn’t too concerned because that's how it can be during warm up and why we need a warm up, to get things going. During the sprint qualifier, I simply didn't have any legs. By the end of the day, my congestion was pretty bad, but still just in my head. We decided it was best to stay flexible and play it by ear as to whether to race the 10k the next morning. Unfortunately, I woke up with a cough & some crud, and was like yup, not racing today. I definitely did not want to bring it down into my chest and risk a worse infection that would take longer to get rid of. So plan B was to take it easy for a few days and try to recover in order to race at full capacity by the weekend. This proved to be the best strategy, as my energy levels were actually quite good and symptoms lessened suggesting that maybe racing could be viable without making things worse. So I decided to give it a shot. In the end, I just didn’t have that high octane-umph and reserves to obtain the results I was looking for. To be honest, I was hoping to have “normal” races over the weekend despite not being 100% healthy. Perhaps it was naive of me to think that was possible, but maybe that’s the main takeaway note. I need to keep my results in perspective with all the variables. I can’t say my expectations will be any lower if I run into the same circumstance again, but hopefully I’ll be a bit more understanding if I swing and miss. Likewise, I know now what it's like to try and race when battling illness.
I know that the shape and fitness is there, and with good health, I'll be running on all 8. It’s strange to start the season without a proper race until January. For now, it’s home for Christmas! I’m looking forward to ”take 2” of starting the season, early January, at US Nationals.
Hope everyone enjoys a Very Merry Christmas and I’ll talk to you before the New Year.
Until next time,
Garrett
Photo cred: @weymullerphoto, @untraceableg
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