The hill again

It's a tough run and maybe I shouldn't do again it two days after doing it, but it is so satisfying.   Not only is it in my preferred distance range (8-10 miles), but it transports me further than that.  The street with the large hill reminds me of somewhere else, not quite Colorado, but sort of like that.  Someplace more full of sky.  Though I don't mind this town too much, I am happy to get away, even for just an hour or so.

Yesterday, I was drained and I didn't do much apart from bike and work.
Today, I was slightly less drained and I decided to attempt the 8ish mile big hill run.  I slept in later than desired--the last two days, I've slept 10-11 hrs a night--but it was only about 19C when we set out.  I gave the dog a break in a stream and some of my water, and he was ok, though pretty tired by the end, as was I.   I was tired even before we started, and by the time we were near the end of the 2nd series of hills, I was breathing as hard as I usually do on the big hill.  Not a good sign. We actually stopped twice on the large hill.  First time I've ever stopped on it.  Truthfully, the dog was the first one to stop, and once I'd lost that momentum, it was easy to decide to lose some more a few minutes further up.  But, hey, I was tired and the air wasn't the best.  My chest feels kind of raw.

I also have something going on with my left ear.  Fortunately, I'd swallowed all of my protein/iron supplements before the first twinge of pain, but my freshly made strawberry/kiwi smoothie is not going down except in small and frustrating increments.  And this is a smoothie that I've been looking forward to all week!  No veggies, no filler melon fruits, just unadulterated strawberry and kiwi.  It's not as tasty as I'd thought it would be, but I suppose it has paled in comparison to a week's worth of over-anticipation. Anyway, I'm not sure if wearing a hat made sweat collect in my ear or something like that--I've worn the hat on considerably hotter and longer runs without any issues.   So now I have to wait to eat and drink, and unfortunately the supplements don't sit pretty on a mostly empty stomach.  But stomach pangs are a change from colitis.  And I'm better off than the last time this happened, 4 or 5 years ago after a 20ish mile run.  I couldn't swallow anything for several hours afterward.  Now that was true hunger!

Funnily enough, one of the documentaries I've watched this week was The Sound of Insects.  It's based on the journal kept by an anonymous Austrian man who walked into the woods and starved himself to death.   There is no actor apart from the narrator and a few random people in the imagery, which intensifies the descriptions of self-cannibalism, a body dismantling itself for fuel.  An interesting film for sure, and it's made me consider that I'm very well off in comparison!  I can eat (even today, later on, I'll probably be able to eat)...I have to watch what I eat, and how much, and sometimes there's discomfort and fatigue, but I'm handling this bout pretty well.  I don't think I'll be shedding 30 or so pounds this time round!   So far, I'm down about 8.  I can afford to lose several more, I think, but I really really want to hang onto whatever muscle I have.  And so, I have supplements, and I've been eating meat chili (overdid it the first time, so smaller amounts and much less cheese and sour cream), and lentils, beans and rice, and I've started putting chia into my smoothies (except for today's special strawberry-kiwi extravaganza) and lately I've been thinking about eggs.

I was planning on doing a long run tomorrow, mostly on the treadmill because the high is supposed to be about 30C....will see how things go.

Oh, yes, I nearly forgot to mention that the dog pooped in the same spot as last time, beside a certain fence around a certain yard.  This time, there was a dog in the yard, a pitbull type that was also on a chain, probably a female judging by the reactions of both dogs.  'She' was whining for my dog's attention, and he came bearing gifts.  I was distracted by the other dog; by the time I turned back to him, he had his butt against the chain link fence and was in the thick of defecation.  I couldn't pick up all of it; he managed to get some of it into the yard.  Too bad her chain was too short for her to check it out.  I am thankful that I can use words instead to communicate.  Hopefully I will exercise the forethought also available to humans in time to dissuade my dog from pooping there again.  Carrying dog poop while running dampens enjoyment.