Suriname- A Turning Point
Suriname - what a great experience.
I almost called it off when just 4 days prior to leaving I started to feel ill. Sore throat, thought little of it. A day later I developed body aches, fever, chills, night sweats, headache, worsening sore throat, and shortness of breath with climbing stairs- and consequently was no longer ignoring it. I became a vegetable in bed for 3 days and tried every home remedy and supplement recommended to me with the hop of salvaging the trip. I prayed I would be healthy enough to travel, just get me to the plane.
Monday morning rolled around and I rolled out of bed in a minimally better state. I only needed to make it as far as Miami. I could do that. By the end of the day, beaten into submission by air-travel, I attempted a short run in the humidity of Miami. Slow and steady I covered 4 miles without too much of a hiccup. Good I guess. The next day would be a longer trip to Suriname, we were't destined to arrive until near mid-night.
Tuesday we started by flying from Miami to Trinidad. We had the pleasure of experiencing an 8 hour layover in Trinidad and aside from the Subway sandwich shop (in Trinidad?) there wasn't much action. Eventually we boarded Surinam airlines, and making it in quite late, endured an invigorating bus ride to the hotel. Okay it was downright scary. They drive on the left side of the road (not the scary part), but the bus likes to drive very fast in the middle of the road until an on-coming car is in the way. If my cab driver drove like that I would definitely call the cab company to complain, but it's funny how you let things slide when you are a foreign guest.
Crawling into bed around 2am, I don't think any of us were excited that our breakfast was scheduled for 7am. But the hotel was hosting all of the running teams and they had us on eating schedules. This turned out to work pretty well for most of the trip. The girls' team and I covered between 4-5 miles that morning in the hot and humid weather. I could hardly breath and had passed into the mucus/coughing stage of my illness. I rested most of Wednesday save a little walking. We stayed at the Marriott (who would have thought Suriname had a Marriott) with American electrical outlets and WiFi, so it was pretty much like staying in America...except for way more fruit juice and different currency. Coughing kept me up half of Wednesday night so I did not attend the Opening Ceremonies with my teammates. Apparently this was a hoot - ceremony in your class B military uniform with "cultural activities" following. I don't know but from the pictures I saw it looked like a bunch of dancing in bright clothing.
Thankfully Thursday and Friday were pretty low-key because I needed the rest. I don't think I've ever slept so much in my life. Each morning we'd run a few miles to loosen up. One particular morning the girls and I ran into LOTS of wildlife. First let me say that wild dogs run rampant, although none of us were actually bitten. In addition to the frequent smells of sewage and garbage, we sighted large rats crossing the street and bats flying near our heads during our early morning runs. It was exciting. If you want to feel alive just do a lot of questionable things.
Race day began early on Saturday morning, exactly 2:27am for Nicole and I. We decided to run about 10 minutes or so prior to our departure from the hotel in hopes of getting the morning poop out of the way. So much for that. I had a bit of coffee with a cliff bar and called it a breakfast. We all boarded charter buses to head to the starting line. The course was a point to point race, we started west of Paramaribo (the town) and headed almost due east to the finish within the city. For some reason this bus ride was MUCH SLOWER than our van ride from the airport to the hotel. Although this made for a less scary ride, my bladder was quickly filling and I saw no end to the bus ride in sight. Thankfully the bus came to a dead halt as we approached the half marathon point and I was able to convince the official onboard to let me off to pee in the bushes. Finally we made it to the starting line 10 minutes before the race was supposed to start (5:30am). It was announced we would be given a few extra minutes before the start of the race for a restroom break or short warm up. I just went pee again.
The race itself is kind of a blur. I started slow. Very slow. I don't actually know how slow because my Garmin didn't work...it turned on but then it went AWOL...maybe it was confused as to why I was in South America all of a sudden. In any case, it was humid and hot, albeit it stayed cloudy most of the race. My shoes were completely soaked by mile 6 so I ran the rest of the race with heavy feet and developed a painful blister on my left foot about the size of a half-dollar coin. Thanks to Justine who was out on the course handing us gatorade (the event just offered water), I was able to maintain some level of hydration during the event. Despite good pacing and hydration, I still ran the last 8 miles with very bad leg cramps. In actuality, it was more of a shuffle than a run, but I had to do what I had to do. The real win is that our entire team finished a very difficult race near the earth's equator and no one passed out or DNF the race.
Once back at the hotel I did what any ill person who just ran a horribly hot marathon would do...I walked straight to the swimming pool and sat in a chair and starred at the nearby river. Okay, only one person can shower at a time and Nicole had the shower first. I was soaked with sweat so couldn't stand to be in air conditioning until I actually took a shower. It wasn't so bad sitting in the shade by the pool. No one was there since all the athletes had just run a marathon. It was a peaceful moment and I reflected a little on what just happened. Essentially, months of training and sacrifice had just culminated in me "surviving" a race. And despite a slow race time I could say that I was very grateful and humbled by the experience. I also learned a lot. Seriously. In those 3 days prior to the marathon I read several books on training theories and nutrition. Then I went through what could only be described as a hellacious competition where I ran almost entirely alone for 26.2 miles.
That evening we attended the closing ceremonies- it was torture to stand in my dress shoes in a hot gym after having just run a marathon hours before. The Suriname ceremony directors were funny to say the least. Gracious yes, but a bit weird...well my main recommendation for any future event is for them to ensure athletes don't stand in formation for long periods of time in hot buildings after having just dehydrated themselves severely. Also don't bring the members of the "audience" fresh cold beverages while we stand in formation in our class B military uniform in a hot gym having just run a marathon dying of thirst. For some reason a chinese restaurant was the choice for the after-party. As all of the teams entered the restaurant, two Suriname marathon finishers medals were placed around all of our necks like we'd just crossed the finish line. I don't understand this place.
Sunday and Monday were travel days for me back to Colorado. While unpleasant, I wasn't feeling quite as sick or coughing as much as before...hence my neighbors on the plane didn't seem as upset to have me sitting next to them. It was hard going to work on Tuesday and resuming my role in the military healthcare system. You have a once-in-a-lifetime experience and get a glimpse of a different life...and then you head right back to what you were doing as though it never happened.
Not so fast...
So there's a little more to the story of CISM 2013- Suriname. It's always difficult to write about these things because in just a few days time there are many good stories to tell. I think what I will remember most is not the race itself but the time I spent with my teammates and our collective experience of the Suriname culture. This trip also has another important aspect to it. Because I said before that oftentimes we have a great experience, but then we just kind of go back to what we were doing before as though we hadn't just experienced something very special and unique.
My getting sick was a long time coming. Work stress, poor diet, and over-training are the primary factors I've identified that led to my health problems. Maybe other people would say my getting sick is normal and it happens to everyone. I'm not so sure. At 28 years old, there were a few days when I could barely get up and walk around my house. To me this was a wake up call. There is no need to do the same things I was doing. If you want a different result you must do something differently. So I've armed myself with the best evidence (as well as common sense) training and nutrition advice and just this week have implemented major changes in my lifestyle. I could tell you every little detail but suffice to say I have said goodbye to all junk food and refined carbohydrates, I'm cooking for myself, and I'm taking steps in my running to prevent overtraining.
I'm genuinely excited to make these changes. Thanksgiving wasn't so hard without the pie or high-sugar side dishes. It's hard to believe, but just 5 days into clean eating I am already seeing positive changes in my body. I am finding that I am no longer plagued by hunger, food comas, or sugar crashes. I'd always worried that if I tried to eat clean I would feel so "limited" because I LOVE my refined carbohydrates (like any good addict I worried about withdrawal). But now I am finding I'd rather have health than a short-term sugar fix. Finally, now that I'm eating REAL food I can trust my body's hunger signals. Eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm not hungry. The body's systems actually work well when you don't put crap in it. What an amazing concept.
I'll probably continue this topic of conversation to share how the process of improving my health is going. For your reference, the books I read during my trip are listed below. I made them extra large so you can read the covers. If you have a kindle/e-reader, these are relatively inexpensive. For diet-only information, read Wheat Belly. For some dude's personal story to health, read Finding Ultra. And for a BIG BOOK of endurance training to include both training and dietary considerations, read the BIG BOOK of endurance training and racing. Enjoy.
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I almost called it off when just 4 days prior to leaving I started to feel ill. Sore throat, thought little of it. A day later I developed body aches, fever, chills, night sweats, headache, worsening sore throat, and shortness of breath with climbing stairs- and consequently was no longer ignoring it. I became a vegetable in bed for 3 days and tried every home remedy and supplement recommended to me with the hop of salvaging the trip. I prayed I would be healthy enough to travel, just get me to the plane.
Monday morning rolled around and I rolled out of bed in a minimally better state. I only needed to make it as far as Miami. I could do that. By the end of the day, beaten into submission by air-travel, I attempted a short run in the humidity of Miami. Slow and steady I covered 4 miles without too much of a hiccup. Good I guess. The next day would be a longer trip to Suriname, we were't destined to arrive until near mid-night.
Hanging at the Miami airport
Tuesday we started by flying from Miami to Trinidad. We had the pleasure of experiencing an 8 hour layover in Trinidad and aside from the Subway sandwich shop (in Trinidad?) there wasn't much action. Eventually we boarded Surinam airlines, and making it in quite late, endured an invigorating bus ride to the hotel. Okay it was downright scary. They drive on the left side of the road (not the scary part), but the bus likes to drive very fast in the middle of the road until an on-coming car is in the way. If my cab driver drove like that I would definitely call the cab company to complain, but it's funny how you let things slide when you are a foreign guest.
Crawling into bed around 2am, I don't think any of us were excited that our breakfast was scheduled for 7am. But the hotel was hosting all of the running teams and they had us on eating schedules. This turned out to work pretty well for most of the trip. The girls' team and I covered between 4-5 miles that morning in the hot and humid weather. I could hardly breath and had passed into the mucus/coughing stage of my illness. I rested most of Wednesday save a little walking. We stayed at the Marriott (who would have thought Suriname had a Marriott) with American electrical outlets and WiFi, so it was pretty much like staying in America...except for way more fruit juice and different currency. Coughing kept me up half of Wednesday night so I did not attend the Opening Ceremonies with my teammates. Apparently this was a hoot - ceremony in your class B military uniform with "cultural activities" following. I don't know but from the pictures I saw it looked like a bunch of dancing in bright clothing.
Opening Ceremony
Cultural Activities
Thankfully Thursday and Friday were pretty low-key because I needed the rest. I don't think I've ever slept so much in my life. Each morning we'd run a few miles to loosen up. One particular morning the girls and I ran into LOTS of wildlife. First let me say that wild dogs run rampant, although none of us were actually bitten. In addition to the frequent smells of sewage and garbage, we sighted large rats crossing the street and bats flying near our heads during our early morning runs. It was exciting. If you want to feel alive just do a lot of questionable things.
Race day began early on Saturday morning, exactly 2:27am for Nicole and I. We decided to run about 10 minutes or so prior to our departure from the hotel in hopes of getting the morning poop out of the way. So much for that. I had a bit of coffee with a cliff bar and called it a breakfast. We all boarded charter buses to head to the starting line. The course was a point to point race, we started west of Paramaribo (the town) and headed almost due east to the finish within the city. For some reason this bus ride was MUCH SLOWER than our van ride from the airport to the hotel. Although this made for a less scary ride, my bladder was quickly filling and I saw no end to the bus ride in sight. Thankfully the bus came to a dead halt as we approached the half marathon point and I was able to convince the official onboard to let me off to pee in the bushes. Finally we made it to the starting line 10 minutes before the race was supposed to start (5:30am). It was announced we would be given a few extra minutes before the start of the race for a restroom break or short warm up. I just went pee again.
At the starting line
The race itself is kind of a blur. I started slow. Very slow. I don't actually know how slow because my Garmin didn't work...it turned on but then it went AWOL...maybe it was confused as to why I was in South America all of a sudden. In any case, it was humid and hot, albeit it stayed cloudy most of the race. My shoes were completely soaked by mile 6 so I ran the rest of the race with heavy feet and developed a painful blister on my left foot about the size of a half-dollar coin. Thanks to Justine who was out on the course handing us gatorade (the event just offered water), I was able to maintain some level of hydration during the event. Despite good pacing and hydration, I still ran the last 8 miles with very bad leg cramps. In actuality, it was more of a shuffle than a run, but I had to do what I had to do. The real win is that our entire team finished a very difficult race near the earth's equator and no one passed out or DNF the race.
Zoning out
The girls after the race
That evening we attended the closing ceremonies- it was torture to stand in my dress shoes in a hot gym after having just run a marathon hours before. The Suriname ceremony directors were funny to say the least. Gracious yes, but a bit weird...well my main recommendation for any future event is for them to ensure athletes don't stand in formation for long periods of time in hot buildings after having just dehydrated themselves severely. Also don't bring the members of the "audience" fresh cold beverages while we stand in formation in our class B military uniform in a hot gym having just run a marathon dying of thirst. For some reason a chinese restaurant was the choice for the after-party. As all of the teams entered the restaurant, two Suriname marathon finishers medals were placed around all of our necks like we'd just crossed the finish line. I don't understand this place.
Bronze
Sunday and Monday were travel days for me back to Colorado. While unpleasant, I wasn't feeling quite as sick or coughing as much as before...hence my neighbors on the plane didn't seem as upset to have me sitting next to them. It was hard going to work on Tuesday and resuming my role in the military healthcare system. You have a once-in-a-lifetime experience and get a glimpse of a different life...and then you head right back to what you were doing as though it never happened.
Not so fast...
So there's a little more to the story of CISM 2013- Suriname. It's always difficult to write about these things because in just a few days time there are many good stories to tell. I think what I will remember most is not the race itself but the time I spent with my teammates and our collective experience of the Suriname culture. This trip also has another important aspect to it. Because I said before that oftentimes we have a great experience, but then we just kind of go back to what we were doing before as though we hadn't just experienced something very special and unique.
One of my favorite pictures of the trip- Nicole and I running our first morning in Suriname.
My getting sick was a long time coming. Work stress, poor diet, and over-training are the primary factors I've identified that led to my health problems. Maybe other people would say my getting sick is normal and it happens to everyone. I'm not so sure. At 28 years old, there were a few days when I could barely get up and walk around my house. To me this was a wake up call. There is no need to do the same things I was doing. If you want a different result you must do something differently. So I've armed myself with the best evidence (as well as common sense) training and nutrition advice and just this week have implemented major changes in my lifestyle. I could tell you every little detail but suffice to say I have said goodbye to all junk food and refined carbohydrates, I'm cooking for myself, and I'm taking steps in my running to prevent overtraining.
I'm genuinely excited to make these changes. Thanksgiving wasn't so hard without the pie or high-sugar side dishes. It's hard to believe, but just 5 days into clean eating I am already seeing positive changes in my body. I am finding that I am no longer plagued by hunger, food comas, or sugar crashes. I'd always worried that if I tried to eat clean I would feel so "limited" because I LOVE my refined carbohydrates (like any good addict I worried about withdrawal). But now I am finding I'd rather have health than a short-term sugar fix. Finally, now that I'm eating REAL food I can trust my body's hunger signals. Eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm not hungry. The body's systems actually work well when you don't put crap in it. What an amazing concept.
I'll probably continue this topic of conversation to share how the process of improving my health is going. For your reference, the books I read during my trip are listed below. I made them extra large so you can read the covers. If you have a kindle/e-reader, these are relatively inexpensive. For diet-only information, read Wheat Belly. For some dude's personal story to health, read Finding Ultra. And for a BIG BOOK of endurance training to include both training and dietary considerations, read the BIG BOOK of endurance training and racing. Enjoy.
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