Meant to blog after the Buffalo Stampede 5 mile Trail Race last weekend, but never got around to it.

It was a very small race... 5, 14 or 19 mile trail race and a bike race.

It started on the organizer's mother's farm.





The port a john was right next to the cow field. lol



I have never had a sink with running water next to a port a john. More lol.




Hubs was game enough to do the 5 miles with me. (Well, I signed him up, he shook his and went with good humor:-)





I knew that I couldn't run. I have PF on my left foot and my problems with my MS. But Hubs can power walk like no one else!

The only part on a road was the first quarter mile or so to get to the trail. The whole course was on private property after that, which I found very interesting.

Ray started to run at the cow bell start. Yes Run! I couldn't figure out what the heck that man was doing! I, ran beside him the best I could. He finally slowed down when the trail got into the woods.



I was saying,
"You don't need to run!"
"Why are you still running?"
"Holy smokes you're fast and you haven't been running since High School!"
"By the way, how fast did you run in High School?!"

His answer after asking many times... "A little under 6 minute miles."

WHAT?!?!?! How did I never know that?!?! He has got to have been laughing at my 11:30 minutes miles for sure!

OK, back to the trail race...

It was super muddy! There was lots of heavy rain the day before and overnight.



I was really enjoying myself until the straight uphill hill in mud. UGH! What a workout! My eyes and brain did that thing where they just don't work together anymore and I get oddly dizzy.

I know that this picture doesn't look uphill, but I promise you that it was! (The organizers added the hill to "make us cry." lol)



After crossing over water a few times, you went through some fields to the next farm.





We came in last. But who cares? We had fun! (Except for the whole eye/brain thing, of course.)

They gave us cute little finisher tags and fed us food from smokers.



It really was a cute race. Very well organized. And for their local fire department. All the volunteers were fire dept. volunteers.




So, now for the musings...

I went to my MS neurologist a few days later. She asked how her "poster child for MS" was doing. I had to fess up to the terrible fatigue from working at Kohl's and that my eyes and brain were disconnecting a whole lot, even when I ride my recumbent bike in the basement, and lots more times than I ever fessed up to my family.

She said, "Oh, just like your last big relapse a few years ago."

DING, DING, DING! DUH! I never put my running problems together with my last relapse together before. How stupid am I?

I woke up with double vision one morning and it didn't go back until 5 days of IV steroids. But then for about 5 months I couldn't go outside with a hat covering most of my vision and a cane. My brain couldn't process the whole wide world. Kid's screaming in a store make me go down on the ground twice. Very loud talking or noises could do the same. I couldn't read more than one row of large print at a time. My balance was non existent. I didn't drive for 6 months.

So, now what's leftover is an MS Flare Up. Not a new MS Relapse, but not good either. It could harbor bad things in the near future. And I am on no MS drugs at this point, from bad reactions to the drugs.

I could control my fatigue when not working, but since Halloween, my schedule is Kohl's schedule. I've talked to the scheduler and after that didn't work, I talked to the head of HR about my hours and schedule. They're going to try harder to not schedule me so much or so many days together.

So, here's my choices...

1. Start to take meds for the fatigue. I pretty much suck at drugs. My mother always called me ".002 percent of the population."

2. Quit Kohl's. Now.

3. Let it ride until the end of June, when I will hopefully have my quarters in for Social Security, so I at least get something at retirement age.

4. Ask to cut back even more, and try to stay.

Kohl's hasn't been all bad. I really like my co-workers. It has really helped me with my SAD over the winter. It's great for my cognitive problems. Just try having to listen to the overhead pages, the customers talking to you and the headset in your ear all at the same time!

I had my blood work done yesterday and I have a brain MRI on Monday. I filled the fatigue drugs, but haven't been brave enough to try them yet.

Any thoughts, my SparkPeeps?