Nationals: Day One…. and a super fun trip to the ER

Oh West Yellowstone…  I can see how they have so much snow!  While on a jog this morning one of the athletes I’m staying with reminded me, “We haven’t seen the sky in days!?”  Fact.  We have not.  Unfortunately for us spring-like temperatures have reached the West and we have fallen victim to a constant trickle of rain (and if we are really lucky sleet).  Tomorrow’s forecast you ask?  Rain, snow, and thunder oh my!

The roads have all but turned into ponds and streams of slushy cold nasty-ness.  Welcome to the end of the season I suppose.  I don’t mind spring but this weather makes it virtually impossible to stay dry… no matter how creative we get!  Wish I had photo documentation of our juniors heading out to the range this morning.  Not only were they wearing varying sizes of garbage bags but their feet (already in their boots) were also wrapped in grocery bags… This is what desperation and unrelenting hope looks like!

I opted for an exploration run into the park.  And although we definitely came back thoroughly soaked atleast we managed to stay warm.

But I’m getting off track.  Back to yesterday… Or as the title states.  Back to… Nationals: Day One!

I kicked off my first nationals as a Senior with our shortest race of the weekend.  A 7.5Km sprint race.  The course was slow but our skis were slick.  And aside from your poles occasionally sinking in a solid 6 inches every few pole plants, and some relentless stomach pain, it wasn’t all that bad.  I shot proficiently, missing a single shot in prone and two in standing.  At the end of the day I would come in third behind two of my team mates.  Annelies, fresh off a full world cup season and world championships, won the race with a single miss in standing.  Followed by Laura in Second.  These two gals are more or less veterans on the team so to duke it out with them is always a good time.  Slowly I’m holding my own more and more.

After the delight of a decent race had worn off the abdominal pain that had plagued me for much of the morning set back in.  This time so intensely I couldn’t bring myself to stand up straight.  At first I thought I was just dehydrated.  We are racing at altitude here and I figured it was just taking a toll on my body.  Boy was I wrong.  After another hour or so in fetal position I realized… it wasn’t going to get any better.

To the emergency room we went!  …all the way to Bozeman.  After living in Bozeman for two years I never made it to the ER, so I suppose it was about time.  Honestly if someone was going to get sent to the ER from our team… it would probably be me.

Pat and Annelies made the ride bearable, keeping the mode light and my wincing to a minimum and the hyperventilating to an all time low!  At the hospital I got poked, prodded, and looked over.  I got a great look when the nurse told me they needed a urine sample.  ”Are you familiar with peeing in a cup?”  my response of “Yeah I get drug tested all the time!” was not what she expected.  From there I was given a healthy dose of pain meds (thank goodness) and waited for someone to tell me what was going on.  I got in a great nap which I felt sort of guilty about…. Pat and Weise had to hang out and wait for me… while I was taking a nice little snooze under not one but TWO heated blankets.

After a while a doctor came in and told me “Well its not a UTI, and you’re not pregnant… so at least you have that going for you!”  Oh thank goodness Doctor. If I hadn’t been on meds I might have been offended?  Two ultrasounds (I should get a punch card for those things, I’m about one away from a free one) and a misplaced ovary later I was done.  They finally had an answer for me. During this time I may or may not have said a few inappropriate things to the ultrasound tech.  Apparently things aren’t quite as funny when you are the only one on pain medication.  …Apparently the race had caused me to rupture a cyst in my ovary. Which in turn led to a bunch of free fluid floating around.  Which apparently is the equivalent of sand paper to your internal organs… who knew!?

A perscription later I was out the door and we were on our way back to West Yellowstone!  An eventful day.

We have a pursuit race tomorrow morning and with 5 second start intervals it should be a lot of fun!

And now for a picture that has nothing to do with racing or my internal organs!  Oh West Yellowstone…