In like a lion, out like a lamb
That was pretty much the theme of March for me. So much happening, some good, some not so good!!! But I have made it out the other side and I’m excited to give the run down of updates…..
First: I ran in the Barkley Marathons!!!!! It was every bit as much fun and exciting as you think that event could be. I wrote about going into the race here on the Smashfest Queen diaries blog, and then I talk about my experience Out There on this episode of the IronWomen Podcast, so check those out.
The time around the Barkley was also extra exciting because I added two new partners to my team! VJ Shoes and Spring Nutrition are the trail shoes & nutrition I have been using for years, but to make their support official this year is super exciting. These companies are doing everything they can to help pro athletes, and you can help them do that by using their products as well and telling your friends! You can always feel free to ask me questions about them via email or instagram.
Coming out of the Barkley Marathons was when things started to get wild. I ended up with quite a bit of briar scratches, as expected.
What I didn’t expect though was to also get what I thought was poison ivy, maybe poison oak along with it. About a week had passed since I was done running but I continued to feel pretty awful, my legs were swollen beyond any normal post-race swelling, and they were also fiery RED. Every day I’d think to myself that man, Barkley really is nuts if this was how my body reacted to only ~1 1/3 loops!
However, after a week of that, I couldn’t take it anymore and I decided to go to urgent care to get SOMETHING to help with the rash on my legs. The doc there gasped when she saw my legs and kindly, but urgently, explained to me this was not poison ivy….it was cellulitis. She also explained that I was particularly special for managing to get it in BOTH legs, and that this was something to be taken very, very seriously!
Luckily, antibiotics did improve my condition, and over the course of mostly sitting on the couch with my legs elevated for the next 5 days, there was a good bit of improvement and I was back to my normal self.
That said, 5 days of mostly couch sitting is not something I’m used to and resulted in a couple crazy consequences! The first being a new addition to the family in the form of a four legged Weimaraner-Lab Mix, Max! Max was brought to New Hampshire after being pulled from a kill-shelter where he was surrendered in Texas. Max is a 5 year old bundle of energy, but also one of the gentlest dogs I have ever met, and we are so happy he’s a part of our family now! Ramona was skeptical at first, but he’s winning her over day by day and she’s happy to have a partner in crime to take second watch duty during her snoozes on the couch.
Also during this time I managed to get duped into perhaps one of my biggest adventures ever: ITERA Scotland! The opportunity arose to head to this epic 5 day adventure race with some good friends, and while I had sworn off expedition racing for at least a few more years, I decided to make an exception because, well, racing with good friends in Scotland: who can say no?!
So I suppose that now, I can’t quite say that March went out like a lamb as Max has definitely made chaos in our home at times, and with races getting scheduled training time has me back to the normal hustle and bustle of life. But with this spring weather and a new running partner named Max, I'm more excited than ever for the year ahead!