My second bad race in a row! Both were warm weather and this one was at altitude.

There seems to be something wrong with my system. Maybe it's hormones. Maybe it's lack of sleep and stress. My energy level is very low and I have to force myself to do my workouts. I love to run, so I'll keep trying....Maybe I can figure out what's wrong. I come home from work, fix dinner, clean up the kitchen and fall into bed.

I'm so tired and frustrated about feeling this way. I don't know what to do. I may not keep updating my blog. There's no point in rehashing the same old problems. And no one wants to read about my health issues that I can't figure out. I had another esophageal spasm at work - very scary - your throat closes up and it feels like a heart attack, but it's just the esophagus. Sure wish I could find a good doctor.

Back to the race....The altitude caused me to have shortness of breath while running and I had really bad side stitches. I have Raynaud's and either the altitude or something caused my feet to be numb when I started running. It was worrisome because I had no feeling in my feet at all for the 1st couple of miles. My eyes were bloodshoot which always happens when I go to altitude.

I wore my little kodak video camera. We were running into the sun at first so those pics were underexposed, but I managed to get a few good ones. I had the worst side stitches the first 5 miles. I think it's because I was trying to run a sub 9 pace at altitude. And one day isn't enough time to become acclimated to the altitude.

After the race, I drove about an hour about to Durango and stayed at a much nicer hotel. I walked the Animas River Trail (the route of my very 1st marathon) that afternoon. I then got some sleep and headed back to home around 5 AM. I didn't arrive home until 10 PM. I was so tired!!!!!

Below are some interesting photos I extracted from my video camera: