Sorting it all out

I've been recovering from the New River 50K for the past couple of days and have been trying to figure out why I bonked so badly. I guess it all boils down to being under trained, not eating enough, not drinking anything except water and no electrolytes. Add that to my intestinal issues and it's a road to disaster. I felt great up to about 15 miles and then felt like I was being pulled backwards or running in to a headwind. It took me awhile to realize that it was me slowing down and not everyone else speeding up. (I'm a slow learner) I thought wow! they must be feeling good and are picking it up! Wrong, I had slowed to a crawl and soon would be literally crawling (okay, almost crawling) Anyway, by 20 miles I knew that the last 11 miles would be very hard. I was having a hard time staying on the trail. I kept veering off and leaning to the left. I felt like a car when it's needs to be aligned. Nothing I could do could keep me standing or running straight. I hooked up with MTCer Vicky Fogelman and we dragged each other in. With 1.7 mile to go, the sweeps decided to sweep us in. One of the guys, finally had to literally run next to me and lean into my side so I wouldn't topple over! It was very embarrassing. So far, no photos have surfaced although I could still be blackmailed!
I know it's important to eat and drink but perhaps I felt it wasn't really that important. I was running and feeling great and was running for hours without having to stop to walk. That was great. I felt like my training must be paying off. And then boom! It was over. Oh well, I ran about 15 really good miles so that is what I'll take away from the experience. They are all training runs so it doesn't really matter, I suppose as long as I learn something from all my "training" runs.
One thing I've noticed also is that the runners that seem to be having the best time, have the best time! Think about it! That is the premise of Born to Run and something we should all aspire to. Smile!!!!! Even when it hurts, be HAPPY!