Boulder Half-Marathon: 3 Days Left to Go

The Rudi's Organic Boulder Half-Marathon is this Sunday! I can't believe its go time! I think that I'm more nervous about this event than I've been for any of my other ones. I know I can do, but it's going to be grueling.

One thing I'm really worried about is heat. I've been watching the weather forecasts like a hawk and it looks like the weather on Sunday is going to be in the 70's with the possibility of gusty winds in the afternoon, hopefully once the race is over. The ambient temperature is going to be pleasant, but the sun beating down is going to be brutal and the warmer I get the more my energy is sapped. This is the curse of running with MS.


Never to fear, I have a plan.

Since we are apparently skipping the typical Colorado spring weather, where its still freezing cold in the morning, I have to make some wardrobe modifications. First off I'm going to nix the plan to take arm warmers along for the morning start, I won't need them, and gone are the capris I was going to wear to be replaced by running shorts. Next, I'm taking a small towel with me that I've rigged to attach it to my running belt. What I hope to be able to do is when I start to get too warm, I can wet it down at an aid station and wear it around my neck. It might look silly, but I can't mess around with heat exhaustion and risk getting The Hug.

What is The Hug?

It is a tightening around the mid-section of the torso, often caused by a lesion on the spine. In the midst of the Hug, the person feels as though their chest is being squeezed by a large band and can start having difficulty breathing. The Hug can also be brought on by heat exhaustion and can be very dangerous especially if you are say... on back roads and in the middle of vigorous activity.

So yeah... as silly as it might look, I'll keep my rag.

I think that maybe I should write a book about exercise and training with MS. Over the past year, I've learned a lot, often the hard way, about how to train and be active with MS. It could be good to share with  other people who have MS some of the pit falls of intense activity and how to avoid them and/or push through.