It all became brutally clear

Well, I can now safely say that the reason I had a shitty race is NOT because I wasn't well prepared, hydrated, and positive...

...it was because I had Mono.

Oh yes, that's correct.  I went to my first appointment with my very first Chicago Internist at Northwestern last Thursday.  I like her a lot.  Not an alarmist...she didn't opt to biopsy the lumps on my neck, nor did she accuse me of lying about hydrating myself (because, you know, the symptoms on race day looked a lot like dehydration).  Instead, she wanted to do a blood test, she wanted me to see her in three weeks, take some Aleve, and schedule an EKG (because I'm a runner who wants to keep running, on the off chance that there's something wrong with my heart).  Well, she informed me that if any odd results came back from my blood test, she'd call me the next day.  Other than that, she'd expect to see me in three weeks.  

Meanwhile, I was still feeling dizzy/exhausted/tired.  Wouldn't you know it, but she calls me on Friday, saying that my blood work showed I had a case of low-grade Mono.  Which would explain the swollen lymph glands, the exhaustion, the sore throat, etc.  She advised some rest and down-time, and to keep taking the Aleve.  Of course, she wants to see me again in a week because one of the lymph nodes on my neck is really swollen, and I'm not off the hook for the EKG either.  Darn it all.

I honestly felt a bit better when she told me it was Mono.  I was afraid that I wasn't cut out for running.  That no matter how well I prepared, I'd never be able to accomplish my goals.  So it turns out something really was wrong.  Something that didn't have to do with my training or diet.  Lucky me.  Indeed, considering I finished only 7 minutes off of my "slow" time whilst having Mono, I think I did pretty well.  

Unfortunately, this is a bad week for me to still be sick.  We're up against a huge deadline at work this Friday, I start marathon training this Saturday, and I'm leaving for Ecuador in less than a month.  I need to be better now.  

And I'm still in a quandary over my roommate situation.  I've got no one yet.  If I don't find someone, I'll be moving anyway, which presents it's own set of problems that I can't even begin to deal with right now.  

For the moment, I'd just like the swelling in my neck to diminish.