Off Season = Play Season

It's about that time for many of us. The end of the season is here or is right around the corner. In Austin, the end of the season never seems "finite" as it is not marked by the start of ski season as it was in Colorado. Here, many people take the "off-season" to train running or even to focus on a marathon. It's a great shift of focus, but not quite the same as truly taking some downtime and maintaining fitness by getting away from the swimming, cycling and running routine. That being said, I think it is so important to do something different during the off-season. Break from the routine. Explore some other activities. Back in 2006, when we moved to Austin, I got into climbing. Derick bought me some climbing shoes, a harness and all the basics that I needed. I got a local gym membership and for a month, I spent my evenings scrambling around the rocks, looking for the biggest holds and feeling pretty cool (until I realized there were 'real' climbers there who actually knew what they were doing). I finally got outside on real rock with our friend John a few months later, and boy did I suck. I recall getting to one spot and just standing there, trying to reach up for another hold with my leg quivering. To my credit, it was wet and very slippery so maybe I did not suck that bad, but it was pretty humbling. I guess the gym fooled me into believing I actually knew what I was doing. I was also doing some Bikram Yoga at the time, and I simply noticed that my body felt different (read: lean, dehydrated, water-loss- lighter). But, it was kind of cool to take a month or two in the winter here to explore some other activities. I was still running, cycling and swimming but much less and really just enough to make me feel good. You know, sane amounts of exercise.

Last winter, Derick and I got into mountain biking. Well, I got into mountain biking. Kind of. We ventured over to Jack and Adams, and they helped set me up with a beautiful, fancy and very bouncy Felt Virtue (2? 3?) full-suspension mountain bike. We took it out to Reimers Ranch a few times, about 45 minutes west of Austin, and we cruised around the endless trails. The terrain was perfect for a beginner like me (not like Intemann Trail in Colorado Springs that Derick took me on my first time on a mountain bike, when we were both carrying them the first 10 minutes because it was so technical, and I popped over my handlebars soon after, which yes, resulted in me... crying...) and we even went back a few times throughout the winter. Enough to get use out of my expensive bike? Of course not; but that is what THIS off-season is for!

Another thing I am going to explore in the coming weeks is Pilates, as in full on pilates classes with an instuctor and the 'machines'. I have done a handful of mat classes (to any Austin-ites out there, RAMSAY at PURE AUSTIN kicks ass for basic mat classes) but with my scoliosis, I tend to have frequent upper back pain which feels better upon doing solid regular core work. Pilates seems to go far beyond 'core work' in that it engages very deep muscles and seems to work entirely around posture and alignment.

So, you ask yourself, what can I DO in the off season? If you are blessed to have mountains within driving distance, SKI! Downhill, cross-country, whatever suites you most. Be careful, but realize that if you plan to be a triathlete for the next 10-20 years like many of us do, do you really want to never experience alpine skiing for fear of an injury? Not me. Again, just be smart, know your limits. If you happen to be in a mountain-less state as we are in Austin, get creative. Thus far I have experimented with climbing (albeit in a gym), Bikram Yoga classes, mountain biking and soon to come, Pilates. But remember, you do not have to completely ignore the basic 3 sports. I did train for my first ever marathon in the winter of 2007-2008, and as long as you can stay healthy in the off-season, this can be a nice change of pace while allowing you to maintain incredible fitness (or rather improve your fitness) while also training significantly less (time-wise).

Whatever you do, get away from your regular routine, relax a bit more and realize that when you do kick off your training for a goal event, the season is long. So even during the season, allow yourself some slack sometimes. Consistency is the key to improving but balance is the key to living!

Something to Sleep On

Life is interesting when we slow down a bit to enjoy what we are doing. Last night, I headed over to Stacy Pool, a small local (free) outdoor pool that is 33.3 yds long. It is heated in the winter, so it is currently about 80-degrees. With the time change, it was already starting to get dark at 5:45 pm, so a 6:00 swim was beautiful because when I started it was light and mid-way through my swim, night closed in. I was there to do a short 3K swim workout to complete a rather hard training day (short track workout in the morning, intervals on the bike mid-day and then a quality swim). Right when I got in, I felt spectacular. The water felt warm yet the cool air made it very comfortable. I felt like I almost 'floated' through a 1K warmup, to then start my set of 12x100s on 1:30 (goal being fast). I got through about 8 of them, feeling great and putting up very solid times, with only about 3 or 4 other people in the pool. I took a brief stop with 4 to go and I had noticed a very good swimmer had hopped into my lane. Derek Yorek, a fellow triathlete here in Austin and phenomenal runner, was in the lane next to us, so I 'invited' Derek and Bruce (my lane mate) to hop into the last 4x100s. We clipped them off, and since I swim solo all of the time, I realized how nice the company was on this beautiful evening.

I rested after the set, enjoying the leisurely pace of my workout and chatted with Bruce for awhile. What an interesting person he turned out to be! He was a swimmer in college, so we had that in common, but he went on to tell me that he has a PhD from University of Texas where he studied human biology, kinesiology and brain wave activity. This is something I was very interested in at University of Illinois, what they called 'psychophysiology'. He works for a company called "Intellibed", which at first may sound gimmick-ey, but essentially he and his partners in the business are trying to get the customer the best sleep possible via their product. Check out the site and product. When you that the company is backed by educated, knowledgable people it makes the product much more valid. I guess what I found interesting is that I met him, just a day after Derick had put an article on Durata's site regarding the importance of sleep.

I left the pool at around 7:00, feeling refreshed and invigorated. Not only because I had completed a quality, satisfying swim, but I realized how interesting people can be. It is so easy to rush through our day, complete our tasks and simply want to get through it all. But, every so often, it's good to slow down and enjoy what you are doing; talk to a 'stranger'. You never know what you may learn! Now, I think it's time for a short nap... just 20-30 minutes, of course. :)

Longhorn 70.3...Still Something to Celebrate

Photo Courtesy of Mario Cantu

It is a cold, dreary, rainy Monday morning in Austin today; the morning after Longhorn 70.3. All of those whom competed, spectated and volunteered are probably quite happy that this weather did not hit 24 hours earlier. On the contrary, we lucked out with an absolutely perfect day for yesterdays event of 2500 people.

Derick (husband and fellow racer today) dropped me off at the lake (or) swim-to-bike transition at about 5:45, and he then drove himself to the arena to park and take a shuttle. Nice husband he is...he did not back to the lake (start area) for over an hour! Seeing that my start time was 7:30 AM, I would have been flipping out had I of rolled in there at 7:00. It was a pretty dark and chilly (but not cold) morning. In all reality, it was ideal weather. The swim was wetsuit legal for both pros and amateurs, so I put on my sleeveless Zoot wetsuit around 7:00 and headed to the water. I often opt for sleeveless in any water temperatures above 70-degrees, as I get warm pretty easily. Once the Run Far gang corralled the pros back behind the timing mats, we made our way into Decker Lake for the in-water start promptly at 7:30.

There was no real 'start line', so when the countdown started ("10, 9, 8") and everyone (men and women together) began to inch forward (with comments like, "It's not me, it's the current!") I had to laugh when Joanna Zeiger yelled out, "OH, come on, guys! Seriously!" She had a point, but what could be done?! I started inching as well. I need all the help I can get with the starts, especially with men. Unfortunately, I had a horrible start, got pretty buried and pushed by the crowd into the first buoy. I've got great, steady speed in the water, but when it comes to fast, brutal, crowded starts, I do not fare so well. I finally found some clean water after about 5 minutes and settled in, as usual, solo! The swim was very legit this year, but I did not ever feel great. I just tried to keep on pushing, getting stronger as I went, and actually looking forward to the bike (my how things have changed over the years).

The big question I found myself asking as I came to the finish was, wetsuit strippers or not? In Canada, I used them and they could not get the suit off of my feet. So this time, I ran by them, in part because I knew I had a few women ahead of me and I did not want to sit down. However, I got to my bike and fumbled for what seemed like minutes with getting my suit off my ankles. Note to self: Cut the ankles higher. I got onto my Orbea Ordu, still only the second race with the new bike, rather, shall we say, angry? (putting it nicely). I knew there were a few women ahead of me, and I also knew they were strong on the bike. I put my head down and just went, as hard as I could within reason. I stuck to my regular nutrition plan, plenty of water and about 6 gels in the course of the 2.5 hrs on the bike. I know for some professional women, a 2:30 bike split is nothing to write home about. But it is all about improving within onself. Last year, I did a 2:39. So this year, I will take 2:32 and run with it. There is something about my Orbea in which I feel I can truly push power that I have not been able to do in the past, very comfortable in the TT position. I exited my bike, headed out on the run, and heard that I was in 9th or 10th place; not at all where I had hoped to be. But, what can you do except keep your chin up, stay focused and execute a plan? That I did.

I ran through the Luedecke Arena (Keith Jordan had the finish line indoors in the arena, a very cool setup!) for the 3-loop run course. I could see a few women up ahead, but I knew that the top few women were quite a ways up on me. I definitely had my work cut out for me, but the legs felt strong. I pushed out for the first few miles, up and down (the course was not too often flat, mostly rolling hills and some dirt/rocky sections) and moved into about 6th place after the first loop. Better, but still not where I wanted to be. The crowd support was amazing! My husband Derick said the same thing that I did, it was so motivating and awesome to hear our names by so many people cheering. I was feeling good, checking my mile splits occasionally, and knew I was running about as fast as I could without blowing up. I stayed on top of my nutrition, which was a gel flask with 4 gels in it. I tried to sip on it about every 2 miles or so. I could tell each time that Joanna passed me in the opposite direction, I was gaining on her, but probably not quickly enough to catch her. And the amazing bike split of 2:16 that Heather Jackson threw down was very tough to gain time on. But, I kept plugging away. With about 2 miles to go, I started to pick it up a bit more, and at mile 12, I just put it all out there. I knew that noone was in my sight, but I like to know I have left it all on the line. I approached the arena, ran through the finish chute and raised my arms in thanks to all those cheering. There is always something to be thankful for after finishing any race.

It was not the finish that I had been seeking at this race, a huge hometown event. I ended up 4th, only about 1 minute out of 3rd, but with a 1:19.45 run split, a PR for me. My race overall was 4:21, which is another PR overall time next to Augusta. I cannot complain. We cannot control who shows up, who is going to have a stellar day, and what our bodies are going to give to us on race day. We can control how we react to situations, what our attitude is and what kind of fight is within us each and every time. I never like to make excuses; and today, in Austin, I did all I could to finish my absolute best. The support of the crowd, my family who was here (my mom, sister Robin and 6-year old nephew Will), my husband Derick racing, and all of those in Austin who have helped us out the past 3 years made this a great day. A big thanks to all of the Jack and Adams crew for their hard work in helping this race come together; especially Adam, the announcer. I think that Adam expended more energy than any of us racing!

And a big congrats to all who competed on Sunday. The vibe of this event (ie: Jamie and Andrea at their disco aid station!) truly epitomizes Austin. Keeping it weird, but at the same time, extremely supportive of each and every competitor. If you have not raced in Austin before, put it on your 2010 calendar!

Thanks for reading. Onward to Clearwater in 3 weeks! El Season Finale.

Augusta 70.3

Augusta was a bit of a 'last minute' race. I knew when I did not finish Canada that I would want to do something else. Ironman Wisconsin was just too soon, and the timing for this seemed pretty perfect. The bonus was that Derick's parents live in Greenwood, SC, only 1 hour from Augusta, so I could wrap a visit in with them along with doing a 70.3 race. Always a plus! I flew in on Friday, and had a very smooth day of travel. I arrived to Augusta early afternoon, got my little Kia Rio rental car (note: bike boxes DO fit into the back seat of tiny cars!) and headed to my hotel. The rest of the day really consisted of nothing more than building my bike and laying around my hotel room. It was awesome. I had dinner with some friends at Nacho Mama, a great little mexican place in downtown, enjoying a tasty margarita to wash it down with.

Saturday I awoke to some gloomy, rainy weather, so I opted to do a short run then eat breakfast. It cleared up by about 10, so I headed out on my bike for 20-30 minutes just to loosen up the legs and make sure the bike was in working order. All felt great. I then found myself with about 6 hours to spare! Lovely! I again proceeded to lounge in the room for awhile. Watched TV, computed, snacked for lunch. I went to the pro meeting at 4:00, but opted to not rack my bike; we had an 'option' to do this. There were thunderstorms predicted overnight, which hit us VERY hard, so I am very glad I kept the Orbea safe in my room until race morning. I had dinner with Fred and Donna (Derick's parents) at Macaroni Grill (salmon, orzo, and a Peroni... same meal I had before Redman in 2007! superstitious? maybe...) and was back in the room by 7:00 or so. Feeling very relaxed and excited to race!

Sunday morning I woke pretty easily and headed to transition area VERY early. Transporting myself, I wanted to be safe with my time. I frequently have a 'transporter', that being my parents, Derick, or a friend not racing. I had to be responsible for ME! Oh so stressful. But, I made it there by 5:30 or so and got everything set up. We had a 1-mile walk or shuttle to the swim start. I waited for the shuttle at about 6:30 but it was not coming, so I opted to walk the 1-mile. BAREFOOT! I had my swim gear with me and nothing else (goggles, cap, and Zoot speedsuit) so away I went walking, in the dark, towards the start, some on dirt, some on rocks. I used to like to walk barefoot as a child; I believed it made me 'tough'. I guess I have not changed much since then.

The start was quite a scene! There was some jazz music playing, and it was very lit up and had a 'festive' feeling. They had a large dock jutting out into the Savannah River for us to start on, and the pros had a 'dive start' for the swim. How unique! When we wandered down, I tried to position myself right next to Pip Taylor and Laura Bennett, as I knew they would be the 2 fastest swimmers. We were off promptly 4 min after the men. We had a favorable current, so all you had to do was keep up with it! I was able to stay with them for a few minutes, then they gapped me a bit. I exited the swim in a comfortable 3rd place, just 20 seconds behind Laura, which pleased me considering she is an ITU specialist. Onto the bike...

I have been on a new Orbea Ordu for only 2 weeks, and I was excited to try this out in a race. I felt very strong from the start, but I did make a mistake which I knew going into it; I did not take enough gels with me. I had a Gu flask filled with 4 gels, and I had one stashed in a pocket. This is only 500 calories, and I can often take up to 700 on the bike. Stupid mistake. But, thankfully the aid stations had PowerGels, so I grabbed 2 of them about halfway through and was good to go. I held my position for awhile, but got passed by 2 women on the bike. I tried to keep them in sight, but for the majority of this 56 miles, we were all quite spread out. The course was deceivingly a bit tough, as it was not 'hilly' but not 'flat' and the wind picked up as we progressed. I really enjoyed it. There were quite a few false flats, which entailed a lot of gradual uphill work. On the fast sections, I got as low and little as possible and tried to conserve. By the time we headed back towards transition, I was (as usual) READY to get off the bike! But, the Orbea (and my legs) served me well, as I was right in the mix (5th place) coming off the bike.

I flew through T2 and was off on the run. They had a great transition area, with blue carpeting over much of it for us to run on. I came out feeling very strong, and I could see women in sight right off the bat. Yay! I had my 4 gels in hand and was ready to try to run some people down. My legs felt quite strong, but I try not to get too wrapped up in this the first mile or so...I just try to find a steady rhythm. One key thing in races is to keep your composure. (this lesson I'll learn fully in a few more miles). I plugged along the streets of downtown Augusta, which were lined with spectators; it was awesome! Great job to the crew at Premier Events Management on this run course. We did 2 loops whereby the fans could see us multiple times. By mile 6, I had moved into 3rd place. I saw Derick's father Fred at this point, which was nice to hear his encouragement. By about mile 8 or 9, I finally closed the gap on Laura Bennett. It seemed I was able to pass her feeling strong, but she is one tough girl and as I looked back, she was sticking right to me! I joked to her about 'loving sprint finishes' (but in my mind was like 'shit, she does those all the time!'). She is an awesome person and great competitor. We ran shoulder to shoulder for a few miles, which started to become rather painful. At mile 12, a small group cheered loudly for me. I have to admit, I got excited and surged. I believed that I had a 1-mile 'sprint' in me, and this was a not-so-smart move. At about mile 12.5, Laura passed me back and I thought 'damn...I went too early'. I did not give up, but by the time we turned the last corner, about 100 yds from the finish, she had a good gap on me and I was pretty waxed. I ran into the wonderful finish area, greeted by so many spectators, and despite being 6 seconds too slow today, I have to say I was one happy camper.

Final thoughts? I noticed that the week of the event, a few 'big names' popped onto the list. I will not say this makes me more nervous, but it makes me realize that I will have to up my game to really be a top contender. In all honesty, I love it. I love knowing that there are some bad-ass women stepping up to the start line, and it will take a great performance to be at the top that day. I fully believe that on any day, anyone is beatable. I went into this event with my game face on, and I think the bad luck in Canada contributed to some added fire in my belly. And while the finish is awesome, and the PR is a huge accomplishment, there is nothing better than walking away knowing that I am finally seeing results from the years of work I have put in. Today, finally, I found myself in CONTENTION off of the bike. A strong run split put me in the mix for first... not the frequent 4th or 5th, due to a weak bike. I have to give a huge thanks to the other women out there racing, notably to Laura, for being a damn tough competitor who never gave up; and also good friend Desiree, as I am always trying hard to keep her behind me on the bike! We have to appreciate our competition, because if not for them, we would not have the motivation to constantly be upping our own game.

Also a huge thanks to those who have supported me all year long, Zoot Sports, Hill Country Running, Jack and Adams, Karen at Go with the Flo, Cecilia at 3 Cosas, and AJ and his crew at Advanced Rehabilitation. I finally feel that years of hard work are paying off, and I firmly believe that this is the tip of the iceburg! Take home lesson... TAKE WHAT THE DAY GIVES YOU and enjoy every minute. Those spectacular days of racing are sometimes few and far between, so take them, run with them and let them propel you forward. Thanks for stopping by!

why NOT race...?

After a pretty horrendous week in Canada, and a slow recovery from what I am going to say was Swine Flu so that I will now officially be 'immune', I began to feel more like myself this past weekend. Well, I actually started this a few days ago, so now this would be LAST weekend... Labor Day weekend. Derick and I went out for a ride on Saturday and I tried to stay on his wheel for about 15 minutes. Seeing that it did not cook me too terribly bad, I decided... 'ah, what the hey! I'll race Austin Tri on Monday!'. I had a hard time not doing this, especially seeing that I was not able to 'sit back, relax and watch it' with the extreme fatigue and feelings of elation I had hoped for from the previous weekend (ie: not finishing Canada). So, Sunday at the pro panel, I decided to enter and hope for the best!

This was a completely unplanned race, so for some reason, I don't see it worthy of a 'full on' race report. I have to think that those get so old sometimes... so, I'll just do a brief synopsis of the event. I got up Monday morning pretty easily, along with Derick who was racing too!, and we meandered down the hill to Auditorium Shores for the 7am start. Nice morning, but muggy and warm as you could imagine. But, that is Austin and we are all used to it. We were off right at 7:00 (from what I heard from Dan with High Five Events, it was PROMPTLY at 7:00!) and we began a-swimmin'. I quickly got into my typical no-mans-land (or, let's call it "Kelly's Land") and proceeded to swim the 1500 solo. After about 5 minutes, I thought, "Oh shit. I feel weak. No snap. This was a bad idea." to which I countered my thought, "To bad missy. You came out here and you'll race and you'll love it and you'll do fine." Guess you could say I am pretty hard on myself, especially when racing! I definitely have a 'game face'.

Out of swim behind speedy girl Sierra Snyder, and onto the bike, whereby she and I seemed to leapfrog one another for about 1.5 of the 3 laps. She is one strong swimmer-cyclist! Watch for her in Kona. I was feeling rather decent, though I will say pushing myself extremely hard (I think I was taking out my anger about Canada out there!) and thinking "It'll either be great or I'll blow up bigtime." Derick passed me about 1.5 miles into it and was looking great. I could still see a few women behind me, but was not sure if they were gaining ground. Come to find out, they were...I came off the bike still in first! but, Des was right on my heels. She had a solid bike, as did Mina Pizzini from Dallas. They both gained about 2 minutes on me on the bike. But, I kind of expected that... Derick racing! 6th OA in Open :)

Onto the run! And I was so excited, I forgot my gel! Crap. But nothing to do at this point, I was well on my way out of transition and I could hear Des's 'pitter patter' of feet behind me. I know that she has been doing a lot of running, and she is already speedy so I had no doubt that she would be strong on the run. We exited transition and took the long run on the grass, out onto the road and began lap 1 of 2. I actually held her off for about 2-3 miles, then she swiftly passed me to which I think I responded, "It's yours. I don't have another gear. Go for it." By no means was I giving up, but I was truly shocked that my body was giving me this much after the past week, and I knew that I was not physically up for a battle of a race. I was pleased that she did still only have me by about 30 seconds at the finish, so I was good for a solid 2nd place, right ahead of fellow Austin-er Terra Castro, which was great to see her right there as well.

Hmm...no race report? I guess I got carried away. I guess the take home lesson from this one is, don't be afraid to JUST RACE because it is fun! I knew that I was not going into this optimally (rested? yes... a bit weak? yes, too) but I just wanted to get right back on the horse from Canada. I knew that this was a 'backyard' race, and I love to support Jack and Adams, so in my opinion watching it would have been so much harder. And, it was not easy racing it! I am so glad I did it, and pushed my worries of "Am I 'well' enough?" out of my mind. To top it off, Derick finished in a solid 6th place among a very strong field of men! So fun to have him out there racing. Congrats to all those finishers out there on Monday, it was a hot day and no matter when you were running, it was challenging. Also, a special THANKS to Jamie and Andrea at Hill Country Running for their support, as well as Cecilia at 3 Cosas, Zoot, Jack and Adams , AJ at Advanced Rehab and Karen at Go With the Flo (my acupuncturist). You all make this entire process a lot of fun and a bit easier on me, so I cannot thank you enough.

Thanks for reading and don't be afraid to JUST GO RACE! Throw aside your doubts, worries or fears. We'll always have them, but best to just jump into the game and give it what you've got. That's living. :)

Ironman Canada... A Little Hurdle in the Journey

Try as we might, we simply cannot control for all things with our lives. We can prepare our best, we can cover all of our bases... we can 'expect the unexpected' but until the unexpected happens, we have to just push on assuming all is good and as planned. And when situations do arise that are less than what we had hoped for, the question becomes, What will you DO about it? How will you react? It is in this that truly makes us who we are and also allows us to be constantly learning, growing and improving.

I have had so many amazingly supportive friends who have already contacted me asking 'what happened?' in IM Canada. While I am the last person to come up with excuses, sometimes it's not so much an 'excuse' but a 'shit happens' situation. I went into my first Ironman as prepared as I could possibly be, extremely relaxed, and amped at the totally new challenge I was about to face. Confident, yet realistic. Additionally Derick was there, which is a nice rarity with us, as I usually solo it to races or meet my parents there. We were ready for an awesome trip to Penticton, BC with some time in Chelan, Washington; not only to do this race but to enjoy the beauty of a new trip and the WINERIES! Oh, the wineries!

Well, the wineries were not to be. I started feeling crummy on Wednesday afternoon, but with simply a strong headache, I thought nothing of it. The headache moved into Thursday, but still... just the travel. No big deal. Thursday we arrived to Penticton and after a short bike and swim, we went for dinner, some 6 hours since having eaten and I could not force myself to eat my delectable meal of salmon, rice and veggies. I may lose my appetite when tapering (simply due to less activity), but I can ALWAYS EAT! Long story short, Friday was no better, and I realized then that I was definitely not 'well'. The headache and lack of appetite turned into nausea, slight fever, body aches and again a SEVERE inability to eat. I tried to force things down on Friday and Saturday, realizing that if I did get better, at least I would be stocked up nutritionally. I went to bed on Saturday night with a fever of 100.5, after gagging down a dinner of ... rice.

I was just so damn determined to do this race. By Sunday, I was fully aware that it was likely not in the cards to finish, but damned if I was not going to swim. I know I can get through the swim! I was raised in water! I started the morning very, very relaxed. As I got into the swim, I found myself not feeling 'strong' but also not feeling awful; definitely a bit weak. It was beautiful! I did not even position myself next to the stronger swimmers, because I knew that I should not and could not push that hard... I simply put it on cruise control and tried to enjoy it, strong and steady. I came out and hopped onto the bike.

The big question here was, could I stomach food? I got out there and was doing alright with gels and some Gu Chomps. However, by mile 65-70, I was forcing it in and my stomach was reacting badly. I came through one aid station and stopped to go potty... could not go... I could not 'rid' my stomach of anything, which made it all worse. So, I carried on... stopped again at the special needs bags and debated quitting. I had this retching pain in my stomach, up under my ribs. I just thought that this HAD to work itself out! So, I climbed back aboard the bike and kept plugging away. Oddly enough, at about mile 90, I started to feel good (the climb at Yellow Lake) and was passing people. Yes, it was happening! A turnaround! However, it was very short lived. I finally descended into Penticton, and I was having to sit up on my bars because the TT position hurt too badly. Upon dismounting into T2, it hurt my stomach to run. I jogged in, grabbed my bike-run bag and spent about 5 minutes in the tent. I was so far already! But, I knew I probably did not have much more in me. But QUIT? I just could not do it. I slowly ventured out on the run.

Derick saw me between miles 1 and 2, and as he said, my belly up by my ribs was sticking out. Every step hurt, but again I thought maybe it will go away. I was resigned to a walk by mile 3 and up through mile 6, it was mostly a brisk walk, as any attempt at even a slow jog and the pain got worse. Any gel consumption and it got worse. I finally stopped and got into the ambulance, was taken to medical and spent about 2 hours there. They had to give me IV's to rehydrate and gave me magnesium to help calm the stomach. I finally saw Derick at about 6:00, when we went got out of there.

And there stands my official first Ironman. Well, I will not really call this my official 'first one' since I did not finish it. I wanted so badly to finish it, and I could have yes walked for another 21 miles, but my biggest worry was that there was something seriously wrong in my stomach and I could be making it worse. I was already questioning how 'tough' I was to start today, or how 'stupid and stubborn' I was. There is a big difference between being tough and being stupid. Luckily, since I came out of this in one piece, I think I can say I was the former. We had planned to stay in Canada until Tuesday or Wednesday, however for fear that I may need to see a doctor, we headed back to Washington on Monday. It was not until really today (Thursday) that I started to truly feel 'normal' again, and I am able to eat fairly regularly, without any nausea.

All in all, yes, it sucked. And I did get very sad when I was packing my bike back up, it seemed the 'emotion' kind of hit me. But, what here was GOOD? Well, I did have my first IM experience. I experienced the HYPE (oh, the hype! it really is bigger than any other race!), and I have now actually ridden 112 miles... my longest ride before this race was 100 miles. I have seen the course, which was by far the most beautiful consecutive 112 miles I have ever seen, and I know the climbs (I loved the climbs!). I got to spend a week with my husband in a beautiful area that was new for both of us (whom, by the way, could not have been more supportive). I have always wondered how truly slow I might be in an IM bike... well, now I know on a pretty bad day with a few stops, I was just over 6 hrs... so on a good day, it cannot be THAT bad! I really have a lot to be thankful for. I got to the start line healthy (well, physically speaking) and I know I was prepared to put up a great effort. My body had other things in mind, and I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason. At the moment, I am not quite sure what that reason is... but, I will figure things out and move forward. Life really is so short. This is just one little, tiny hurdle to jump over. I guess it's these unexpecteds that keep things interesting and keep us on our toes.

Thanks for reading, and thank you again to all those who showed your support and concern. It truly means so much to me, and it makes this journey all the more fun to know that there are those of you out there who care.

3 Cosas Massage

I just finished up with my FINAL massage before Canada!

Just a little shout out here to Cecilia Llanos, who has been helping me out immensely this season. She opened her own business awhile back, 3 Cosas , which is Massage, Yoga and Mental Skills training. Cecilia is attentive and always hits those areas that I need working on... for me, that is often my upper back and my quads. I have had scoliosis since I was young, and while it has not limited my physical activity, I frequently get huge knots in my back right where the curvature is (near my shoulder blade). Yoga and pilates help, but this summer I have been lacking the energy to do much of that, so massage has been a great supplement to my regimen to keep me moving comfortably. The higher cycling volume this year has contributed to also very knotted, fatigued quads, so she is great at working on this as well. The added riding in my aero bars this summer too has made the back problem even worse; I have to hope that 112 miles on Sunday will not cause me pain, but all I can do is try to shift position as much as possible. The hillier course will be good for this.

So, if you are in Austin and looking for a great massage therapist, check out Cecilia; additionally, her rates are very reasonable. Never a bad time in this economy. :) While it is easy to overlook getting regular massages, I think it is very important, especially when you are training more than you have in the past. They can get to things that we cannot do via simple stretching. And of course, it just feels good, too.