In Time Out

I’m good at a lot of things. I’m organized, well-mannered and diligent in completing tasks. I’m well-read and kind to animals. I recycle and live simply. However, I’m not good at listening to my body. I hate hate hate being sick and I’m one of the worst patients out there. Bryan is singing “Amen” as he reads this. Sick Drew is grouchy and dramatic and I lay around pissed off at everyone that they made me sick and now I can’t do my usual routine. As soon as I feel even the slightest bit better, I’m out of the gate like a dog off a leash and always – and I mean always – go way to hard and set myself back even further. I don’t learn my lesson. In fact, I usually try to go out longer and harder to make up the miles and time that I missed. Someone must be watching and I need to keep up the pace. It’s Groundhog Day for me each time. I moan and complain and then go do something big and screw up the delicate balance that my body is trying to maintain. Setting myself up for more moaning, set-backs, repeat.

About five years into my Ironman training with my friend and coach Matthew, I asked him – “Hey, so tell me more about this adrenal system thing you are always talking about. I am feeling pretty wiped out all the time.” He took a deep breath and slowly explained AGAIN the need for rest and recovery to let your body’s endocrine system to reboot after hard races and illnesses. “Listen to your body”, he pleaded. I heard the words come out of his mouth but I know what was going on in my head – “Got it, sounds like he wants me to train harder.”

I woke up on Monday morning after two days of rest and my body was saying – “Meh.” I didn’t feel a fever but my other symptoms were still lingering. Two cups of coffee convinced me that I needed to get out of this ghost town and hike. My plan was to hike twenty four miles on the road to Colac Bay. So, I loaded up my podcast downloads and hit the road.

About two miles out of town, a huge tractor pulled up beside me and offered me a hitch. I told him I was trying to make it to Colac and he said he would happily take me there. I very politely declined and just shook my head again at how incredible these Kiwis are. The weather was great and the views of the Southern ocean were incredible. There is nothing down here except sheep, farms and wide sweeping views of the end of the world. I was feeling pretty good and enjoying the podcasts. I stopped for lunch in a bus shelter and pushed into Colac Bay. My plan was to stay at the Colac Bay backpackers campground. I walked in and chatted up a few hikers. I went to the kitchen and the bathroom and everything was pretty nasty. No offense taken – it’s a hiker thing but it’s all fun and games until you start puking. Naturally, I was especially tuned into hygiene after a very unpleasant couple of days caused by poopy hiker hands. So, I decided to push on to Riverton and get a private cabin at a campground seven miles down the road.

This was a huge mistake. I was feeling marginal but then I hit the wall hard about a mile out of town. My legs were screaming at me and I was heads down exhausted. I was shutting down. I dropped my pack where I was and laid down in the grass to try to reboot. I needed food – hot food and lemonade and there was a restaurant about a mile away. It was a long mile but I got some food and sugary lemonade in me and laid down on a couch on the bar patio. I was wiped out. Done. It was that completely empty feeling after a bad marathon or Ironman. Pushed way too hard without refueling and now I was in the hole. I limped into the holiday park and checked into my cabin. As I am fishing through the ice cream sandwich cooler, the manager says “You must be almost done – you look right fit.” What dude? I feel like I need to go to the hospital about now. I scarfed down my ice cream and dove into my bed until the leg pain eased a little bit. See, here we go again.

So, I’m just thirty five miles from the finish but that’s not happening right now. I woke up to a driving rain and high winds and the idea of hiking the next thirteen miles section on the beach made me shudder. I am listening to my body today and it’s going to watch movies and rest for at least two days. I have the time before my flight to Auckland and found a good place to stay. Bluff is around the corner and I’ll get there soon.