See ya in Sisters!

I think I am ready to get my butt kicked this weekend! Peterson Ridge Rumble 40M race on Sunday after a good solid MTB ride the day before. I am not even going to try to fool myself into thinking I won't suffer. I suspect this will be a good one. Last year the race was hard since it came at the end of a peak week of training but I was gearing up for Bighorn 100M and had much better running legs than I do right now. So be it! I am just hoping I won't get my ass handed to me so bad I can't move afterwards. It's going to be a great weekend with family and friends. A bunch of us are mountain biking the day before while Bill, Alex and Drakes family ski. Carrie, Micheal, Drake, Jim and I are doing the 40M while Bill and Kris do the 20M. The weather calls for sun! I am excited for the whole weekend.

The last couple weeks post head bang have been interesting. I was really having some icky post concussion symptoms. The nausea, dizziness and headaches were bad but the spaced out wierdness was horrible. I literally would be stopped mid-conversation by intense nausea, ringing ears and minutes later I would be out of it. Then the headache would start and it was awful. I have never had a migraine and I am most certain I never want one. I looked like I had been hit by truck the next day. After a visit to the doctor because I thought I was going crazy he said I had Post Concussion Syndrome. I told him I don't do syndromes so exactly how long is this going to last. When he said 3-6 months at best I almost punched him but was reduced to tears instead. I called Bill crying like a blubbering baby. Since that happens infrequently he tried to cancel his meetings and come home but assured him I would be fine and just needed to cry. Poor man. I had a good solid day of pity and then moved on. It was time to get over it. The doctor said the best thing I could do was minimize the duration of an episode by removing myself from all stimulus. Basically powering down. So that's what I did. Since Saturday I have only had one small episode. The minor headache still comes and goes but it's not a big deal. Note to self and everyone else: Don't hit your head on anything! It's not good. Plus, the lack of clarity in the synapse makes downhill running slow and weird. I have been able to do all my workouts and in fact they have gone very well. What I noticed is the episodes would come about 30 minutes post workout. Generally I run around like a crazy woman during the day but instead I would have to come straight home. I found it was the only way to minimize the episode. It was like my brain needed to be still. This of course led to deep thoughts about choices, adaption and labels. How we get through things, how we think about ourselves and the labels we use to define ourselves. I guess my brain will just not shut down completely. Anyway, all is good and thank you to everyone who has helped me, spent time with me and worried about me.