I have had a most interesting two days following the santa shuffle 5k....
Remember when, after the Hamilton Half Marathon, I gave you the litany of after effects from taking on such a Herculean task? I had a minor side effect which at the time was minor compared to the asthma cough I had for a week after. I did my research, as I am wont to do and went out an bought a Balaclava that covers my mouth and nose, since apparently that can help greatly.
I started the race with both the balaclava and my Santa Beard over my mouth and about a kilometre into the race, I was DYING. It was like, HUH? Then I realized that the Balaclava was totally interfering with my breathing and I pushed both it and the beard out of my way since at that point I was like, 'so if i get disqualified for not wearing the beard, I will still have a time, but like this, I cannot breathe!'
In the middle of the race, a couple who were letting their dog walk on a very long leash almost tripped me and when I suggested that they keep it on a shorter leash, was told rudely that it was a public park and they could do what they want. As far as I know, letting your dog be a nuisance in a public parc is not remotely legal. It put such an icky taste in my mouth, but eventually, as I got away from them, I let it go and tried to do the friendly thing without stopping or slowing down!
At the last kilometre of the race, I caught up with an older woman who had been walking at my pace but ahead of me since early in the race. We walked the last km together and it was nice. She was walking sort of weirdly which it turns out is because she is training for a half in Jamaica in two weeks and though a size 6, was wearing so many layers, she was looking like a 14!
She told me that she was in awe of me because when SHE weighed 300 pounds, she would not have been doing what I was doing. It turned out she had gastric bypass surgery and then started walking and now she and her husband, who runs, go all over the world walking and running together.
Last year they did a half marathon in every province. It was a little like seeing me and Marc when we are older and retired.....
It was a lovely way to end the race, and while I am actually pretty sure I could have shortened my time a little, the interaction was very nice and very motivating. Good thing I am not the most competitive of individuals! My gun time was 1:00 exactly and my chip time was 59.02. This was 2 minutes faster than the wellwood walk time gun time of 1:01.
So, here comes the part about the sneezing. I finished the race and started inside for some water or whatever. Finding none, I realized I had water on my belt and decided to walk back to the car instead of taking the santa trolley. As I walked past the finish line again, I had a fit of sneezing like crazy. I was ready for it, since it happened after the Road to Hope but OH MY GAWD, it lasted for well over 24 hours! Apparently this is normal for cold weather training but my mouth nose and stomache are so sore from it that I am now seriously considering training inside at mac or something. My friend Jeff says your body gets used to it and stops with the sneezing but I don't know if I can tolerate getting used to it!
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