A Post from Nathan

So Janae and I went to Corpus Christi Friday for the Beach to Bay Relay Marathon. Originally we were going to be leaving around 5:30 PM, but around 2:30 I called Janae with some good news, I was coming home early. She of course thought it was great but did not ask how I was able to get work off early. So I told her. You see, whilst eating a wonderful bowl of ramen noodles at work, I plopped down on a chair that possesed a leaning capability. After two bites, I wanted relax a little bit more and began to lean back. That is when the chair decided to give out and throw me back. Well, it did not really throw me back, but it startled me enough to flip my bowl full of ramen right into my lap. I was eating lunch with a co-worker, and we both stared at each other in shock. He ran and told another co-worker, Curtis, so Curtis came running up to stare and laugh. My boss, Billy, heard about it and joined in on the fun. I said I had to go home because one, I smelled like Ramen, and two, it looked like I had peed on myself.
Anyways, we got to Corpus and met up with my parents and had dinner at Joe's Crap Shack, and it actually wasn't Crappy this time (Yes I know it is callled Joe's Crab Shack). Then we met up with the rest of our team to discuss logistics. By this time, it was about 10:00 PM. The team members were myself, my Dad, David and Christy Francis, David's sister Beth, and Beth's husband Justin. It ended up that my Dad and I were going to run the last two legs, so we got to sleep in until 8:00 AM while most of the other team got up at 4:00 AM. Janae's sister,Shayla, was there running in another team, and somehow Janae got picked to babysit one of Shayla's teammates babies that morning.So she had to get up at 6:20 AM. She was nice enough not to wake me up. I like my sleep.
Before we left, my dad, mom, and I wanted to figure out how our team was doing, so we called David (who was going to run the fourth leg). By this time, it was 8:30 AM, and I woke David up. Good thing I called, because later we found out that he was actually about 10 minutes late to the relay station, and Justin just had to sit there and wait for him. My mom and I dropped my dad off with plenty of time to spare. I decided that I was hungry and needed to get something to eat. We went to a gas station, and I saw a lovely banana nut muffin that looked enticing. I thought to myself, "this could be good." Now, I would also like to mention that I typically do not run or exercise in the morning. I have been doing that right after work, before I have anything to eat. So my mom and I go to my starting area where I would be picking up the baton from my dad, and we decide we need to go to the bathroom. Porta-potties were there with lines that were about 20 minutes long. I sat there drinking water and eating my muffin. It was about that point that my stomach began to feel upset. In the back of my mind I began to think that maybe the muffin idea wasn't the best one I had had that morning. I stopped eating it, but the damage was done.

By the time my dad got to me, my stomach was twisting and turning, I felt like I had to go to the bathroom again, and I was suppose to run 4.37 miles. Not a good combination. The first half mile or so was ok, but after that it was all down hill. I was fighting back nausea with every step, but I was too stubborn to stop and throw up. I just kept on going in misery. It was an easy route to run, but I have never felt as bad running as I did then. Oh wait, there was once. I had eaten two hot dogs with jalepenos and left right afterward to run. I did a 7 minute mile, then I walked home. But this time, I couldn't stop and walk home, I was in a race. So anyways, I finished the race, crossed the finish line, loooked up and saw Janae, walked toward her, then procceeded to throw up my muffin. I had never felt better. I tried to do it discreetly, but that is kind of hard when there are hundreds of people around. I didn't hear any one say anything though... Maybe I got away with it. But anyways, here is the moral of the story. Stay away from gas station banana nut muffins before running a race. Second lesson, if you feel like you need to throw up, just stop and do it. You'll feel better afterwards and probably be able to run faster. Right after the race my mom and dad were driving to come pick us up, and they were about to pass us, so I began to run and chase them down... And I felt great.