Hamlet described death, or rather the place after death, as "the undiscovered country, from whose bourn no traveller returns". (Let's not go into the fact that Hamlet's murdered father actually does return, albeit briefly, from such a place and gives a pretty hair-raising eye-witness account of it.) I myself used the term somewhat inaccurately in my "Meeting Yourself" blog entry in February to describe the experience of running beyond your limits and getting to know a new aspect of yourself.
Well, yesterday I felt as if I really were venturing into the undiscovered country, as I neared the end of my third ever 12 mile training run (in preparation for my first half-marathon - the Lichfield Half Marathon in May) and felt as close to weary death as I've ever got. The cause? Undoubtedly dehydration, stemming from:
(a) the 'dodgy tummy' (for want of a better euphemism) I had suffered off and on all morning prior to the run.
(b) the steadily increasing heat of the day (hardly the heat of late summer but I was slightly overdressed for the occasion).
(c) my stupidity in not carrying any fluids with me for drinking en route.
As a type-1 diabetic I always carry plenty of glucose tablets with me when running. I can just about stuff what I consider to be a life-saving amount into my belt before undertaking a long run. However, I hate carrying extra weight, especially in my hands. Also, as I'm now so used to running shorter 10ks, wherein fluid replacement is not usually necessary, I unthinkingly figure that a drink can wait till I get home. And yesterday's run must certainly go down as "unthinking".
I still maintain that long runs, fast runs, and races are ideal for 'meeting yourself', but I have no desire to meet myself as I was yesterday, especially at the Lichfield Half (luckily, at such events drinks are almost invariably provided). One's dehydrated self is no fun to be with. He or she takes no interest in the surrounding area; seeing only a pair of plodding feet and experiencing the outside world only as a distance to be traversed in order to get home. Conversationally, even with yourself, you're a write-off. All interesting problems and moral dilemmas are reduced to the desire to reach home.
If it happens to you, just get home and learn your lesson: next time you venture to the undiscovered country, take water.
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