Camping Misery

So my weekend and camping is what I would officially call a bust. You see I forgot the biggest factor which is called allergies.  And being outdoors for over a solid 24 hour period of time is not only abnormal for me, but apparently downright torture.  Mentally I was handling camping just fine. We got there Friday night after work and it was cool. I was fine.  I mean as much as one can be who sneezes their head off an constantly has to blow their nose leaving the under nose raw and exposed.  Then you have to breathe thru your mouth which eventually causes sore throat and for me a very itchy throat which I proceed to itch and itch on the outside.  Eventually I have scratch marks all over my throat and chin from the constant itching.  Good times.

But honestly Friday night was not that bad at this point.  We went to bed and I was still pretty okay.   But ultimately I did not sleep well at all.  My allergies kept me up. Two dogs lying on me in a small area kept me up.  Having to pee kept me up.  Well just about everything kept me up most of the night. When I had to rise at 7:30 to go to my niece’s 5k run I was pretty shot.  I looked like hell and I had zero energy.  I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty. But I also knew I had little choice in the matter. Mostly at this point I was slightly relieved to get out of the campsite for a bit.  I was pretty damned miserable overall. 

The 5k was fine.  I was with my niece and her best friend and her best friend’s mom which I met for the first time yesterday.  She was a pretty nice lady and we mostly chatted and tried to encourage the girls to go.  Ultimately it wasn’t a real intense run or workout but it was a 3.1 mile route so that counts.  At that point I was mostly glad it wasn’t intense as my body was so exhausted I was not sure I could actually run at all. Sneeze, sneeze. Blow my nose.  Rub my face. I looked like hell.

When the 5k was over I drove back to the campsite ready to take a nap.  I stopped and got some ice and some chips and arrived back to eat and then both Chris and I lied down in the heat to take a nap.  I think I slept for about an hour or so.  When I got up to go outside I was beyond miserable.  At this point the whole 24 hours without a reprieve from the elements had caught up with me.

My eyes were itching something fierce and I couldn’t stop scratching which is a bad idea overall.  And then I couldn’t stop crying. Because of the itching and then out of frustration because I was literally miserable.  No part of this was fun and I felt horrible because I was basically immobile. I couldn’t even take the dogs for a walk because I was in that much distress.  It wasn’t pretty. I looked awful.  I was trying to hang on for Chris’s sake. I really was.  But at some point I realized I was just making him feel bad because I was so miserable he felt guilty and I couldn’t even do anything.

He also suffers from allergies but not nearly as terrible as mine and he was feeling it a little bit so it’s not like he thought I was faking it.  It was pretty obvious I was in pain.  About 5:30 or so I decided to call it.  That try as I might, I simply couldn’t endure and more of it. That I was holding Chris back instead of being any fun and that ultimately I wasn’t going to last another night out there.  I decided that I was just going to drive the hour home and spend the night at home and come back in the morning with the truck to pick Chris up. 

So yes, I had to bail.  I wanted Chris to stay and have fun but I just couldn’t handle it anymore.  I took Molly with me. He kept Bella to camp and I left.  It was the right decision.  As soon as Molly got in the truck with me she threw up.  Apparently she needed to go home too.  So we drove home, I cleaned up the barf.  Then I showered and then I gave Molly a bath.  I needed all the outdoor elements off of us and then we snuggled on the couch and watched TV.  Molly fell asleep right away snuggled in my arms.  She was exhausted and needed to come home apparently as well.

Eventually I moved to the bed and Molly followed suit and I texted Chris to learn he was having a great time and Bella was being a good girl for him and that made me happy.  It reaffirmed I had made the right decision.  He didn’t need to worry about me. He could fish and relax and not feel stress and that is what I wanted.  I really tried to stick it out but my body was not allowing it.

So me and Molly slept in our bed and all was good.  I woke up feeling much better and got dressed and drove the hour to the campsite to pick up Chris.  Totally worth it.  I was still feeling off mind you.  I could feel the effects of the pollen in my system and it sucked.  I was just drained overall.  We loaded up the tent trailer and the supplies and drove home.  Bella slept in my lap the ride home as she was one tired girl as well.  So We got home about 12:30 or so and Chris had to replace the alternator in the car so that was not great times.

At 3 I had to leave to go to my sister’s house for an at home party thing she is selling now.  A whole other story but whatever.   I didn’t get to exercise but I was okay with all that because honestly I was freaking drained beyond drained.  I pretty much knew this was going to happen which is why I worked so hard Thursday night to get my miles in.  I finished off May with 101 miles ran.  I would say I am proud of my effort. Mission accomplished. 

I got back home about 6:30 or so and made some dinner and we just pretty much watched some TV and went to bed.  I finally slept well last night and of course didn’t want to wake up this morning.  But alas I am up and at em. And I really need to get my butt to the gym tonight. Far too many days without exercise and I feel it.  Honestly this is why I hate camping because it’s all this work and it’s so exhausting and you don’t even do anything. It really doesn’t help that my body kind of rejects the out of doors in that capacity.  I am fine for a day, running outside, hiking, etc., but I need to go home to an indoor environment and detox my body.  It desperately needs that cleansing time. 

But I was a good wife. I tried.  I really did. A for effort.  Tonight I need to run.  I intend to run.  A solid 4.5 mile run is what I have in mind for tonight.  My body needs it honestly. And then I am going to lift some.  That’s my plan.  I have a 5k on Saturday and a half on Sunday so I have to get right back into the swing of things.  My half will probably be harder than it should be but that’s okay. The first one typically is. But I’m ready for my intense running weekends to start. It’s time.

I’ve got some other things running around my brain but that will have to wait for a later time to discuss. For right now, this is good enough.