No end in sight

Here is a brief run down of my last 3 weeks.   Post Wildflower has been 2 weeks of no activity beyond walking (horribly sick, ears totally clogged, like having ear plugs in.  Major congestion.  Wicked phlegmy cough).  Then last Saturday I got smacked in the head very hard by a softball. Very painful at the time but did not pass out.  Sunday was a sprint tri. (500, 12, and 4)  I went in to it not having done any exercise and having been sick for 2 weeks and not having slept well for 3 nights in a row. But I absolutely rocked it.  8:13, 41:02, and 36:59. Sunday night I started to feel a headache, but thought maybe I was just dehydrated from the race.  I'm not that great at hydrating for shorter things and I sweat a lot, even when it's cool out, which it was.  Monday my head was hurting a lot and then nausea hit.  Still went swimming though (I'm stubbornly stupid) and things felt really good while swimming, until after showering and nausea returned with headache. Had to go home from work i felt so shitty.  Felt like a bad migraine.  Tuesday was manageable, although still pain.  Felt better in the evening though, and biked 11 miles, felt ok while biking.  Wednesday wasn't good during the day.  But got out in the evening for a 5 mile trail run that was pretty good.  Thursday I went to the doctor.  Antibiotics for sinus infection, nasal spray for allergies and congestion. A different asthma inhaler for races.  And the possibility to get a cat scan if I wanted. Not going to get one.  Can't afford it (no insurance) symptoms are indicative of possible concussion, but nothing is scary, no vomiting, loss of consciousness, no memory issues, no change in behavior.  

I was given strict orders not to work out until I'm better.  And I cried sitting there in the doctors office.  (Then, 2 days later, I had to say goodbye to Kevin for 2 months, and an hour later go to a memorial service for my grandmother.  When it rains it pours?)

I have no idea when I'll be "better."  My head still doesn't feel right.  My ears are still plugged up from sinus crap.  Occasional cough.   I was already nervous about having enough time to get my mileage up to be ready for Canada.  If I miraculously feel better by the end of this week (unlikely), can I do it in 11 weeks?  And I feel like I'm losing everything I've spent the last 7 months working on.  

Wildflower

It's been over a week since I "competed" in one of the toughest half-iron distance triathlons in North America.  I've put competed in quotes since really the only person I was competing against was myself, but I was there.  I swam 1.2 miles while trying to avoid being whacked in the head.  I biked 56 miles over hilly terrain in the sun and ran 13.1 miles.  Ok, I walked a big portion of it.  But I ran most!

Quick Overview of Results
Total time: 7:27:57 (Got saddled with a drafting penalty of 4 minutes. So real time 7:23:57.  Probably while going uphill...since I was never drafting but did get a little close to some people while going uphill.  I don't think you can really draft when you're going 6mph.....)
Swim: 36:23 (woohoo!)
T1: 8:24 (not woohoo)
Bike: 3:58:55  (Yeah, just under 4 hours!)
T2: 4:43 (not too bad)
Run: 2:35:32 (wanted to get under 2:30 but considering circumstances and course, this is ok)


Age group: 49 out of 72 ( +5 who didn't finish)
Gender: 295 out of 420
Overall: 1447 out of 1807 (+ approx 50 who didn't finish)



And it was one of the best weekends of my life.


Transition set up

- Had to find bar ends for my aerobars.  But race officials were super nice and friendly and helped me find some of the small ones that would fit.  Also had to ask for a new cap! That was my one item I forgot.  Not too bad in terms of forgetting something, as I was able to find one pretty easy.  Sarah was great with helping me set things up in an efficient way. 
-Sunscreen.  Lots of it.

-Had time to kill so I watched the pros start with Heidi.  And then the first few men's waves and then headed back to get suited up.

(The Pros showing us how it's done)

-Took way way way too long to get my wetsuit on.  I was cutting my start time close!  Downed a gel fast and grabbed my letters, ripped off the envelopes and read them as I walked to the start.  It meant I had to stash them on the side and didn't get to keep them, but they were perfect.  Wonderful encouragement just when I needed it. 



Swim
-My wetsuit chafed my neck.  I could feel it from the first stroke.  It's a week later, it's almost healed.
-Arms felt good.  Swimming with so many people did not.  It's unlikely I'll be able to get over that before Canada.  And Canada is a mass start, not wave. 
-Managed to haul myself up out of the water and walk/jog to transition.  And got my wetsuit to my waist by the time I got there.

(I hate this picture....)

T1

-But I need to see if I can cut the legs of my wetsuit so that it won't take me forever to get it off.  Forever.
-More sunscreen.
-Almost 9 minutes.  9 freaking minutes. Waaaaaaaay too long.

Bike
-Seriously, I'd say the first 3 miles of the bike were a bit of a blur.  I didn't even register going up that first nasty hill. 

-And I felt good. 
-I felt great!
-I was cruising pretty good, battling a headwind for a while.  Some bad cross winds for a stretch. But  just steadily moving along.  I celebrated every mile marker.

-Nasty Grade came.  Tried to take it easy.  I believe this is when I fell in love with my bike all over again.  So glad I have a road bike and not a tri-bike.  I passed a lot of people.  Yes, you heard that right. I, Slow Glo, passed people going up a hill. 
-Unfortunately, on the super steep downhill on the other side of Nasty Grade, I realized my heart rate had gotten pretty high, and it wasn't going down.  And my chest hurt. 
-But I was still pedaling strong.  Although my neck and back were killing me, as I knew they would, from aero. 

(To be honest, I didn't even register going up some hills)

-Rolled into the park and saw runners shuffling along.  I started to think about trying to run and just about psyched myself out.
-That last downhill was scary.  Long.  Steep.  Other cyclists.  And runners.  Lots of braking.

-oh yeah, did utilize 2 port-a-potties on the bike.  I was drinking as much as possible.  I think I went through at least 7 bottles.  I wasn't counting, I just kept drinking and refilling.  I discovered that the white chocolate macadamia nut cliff bars are absolutely delicious. 

T2
-Managed to remember how to unclip my shoes to dismount and not trip or fall over.  Success.
-Bike racked, helmet off, shoes off, inhaler used, water belt on, hat on.  Look around dumbly because you feel like you're forgetting something important...and off!
-Oh yeah. Forgot to down a Gel. Shit.
-Didn't have enough with me.  Powerbar Gels(what's on the course) make my stomach sick.  I was already feeling a little nauseous.  This was going to suck.

Run
-Trying to get into a rhythm.  Heart rate crazy.  Breathing crazy.  Hot. 
-First couple miles go ok.  Haven't had to walk yet.
-And then we hit the hills.  And while walking I realize I'm not in great condition.  Dehydrated and underfueled and breathing is rough.
-Walked all uphills.  Jogged all down.  Tried to run flats, but a few I had to walk.
-Until about mile 6.  And things felt good.  Had gotten a bit more fuel.  Rehydrated.  Head was feeling better.  Was getting doused with water at every aid station.  Some had hoses which was wonderful.  The volunteers quickly caught on as I was pouring cups of water over me and helped out.  Great volunteers.  My attitude was positive and upbeat and I was ready to take on the rest of this race.
-Stopped to use the bathroom.  If I'd just had to pee it wouldn't have been an issue.  But it wasn't.  I was a second too late to be first in line and I ended up waiting 5 minutes.  5 minutes!  But I felt much better afterwards.

-Saw Fred at the top of the pit.  He had warned us about this hill the night before.  Psychologically it's gonna be killer he said, because you're going downhill, and you'll hit the turnaround point, and you'll have to go back up what you just ran down.  What he didn't say was how long it was.  A mile long downhill.  It's a curvy road.  I kept thinking "When the f*** is this hill gonna end?"  And after each bend in the road it just kept going.  But I'm a trooper running down hill so I just kept rocking it.  Hit the aid station at the bottom.  Got soaked again and started the walk up.  Powerwalked that m****f**** hill and then kept on running. 

-And I felt pretty good for the rest of the run.  That same last steep downhill to the finish for the bike was hard on the run but I just kept picking up the feet and trying to breathe.  And then I was there....

FINISH
...At the finish.  And I heard them call my name, and say Anchorage, Alaska and I "sprinted" in to the finish.

And got my medal.  And almost fell over my own feet.  And saw the TNT staff.  And then tried really hard to breathe right.

For almost 30-45 minutes. 

I headed down to the transition area to pack things up but I had to walk up and down the aisle at a snails pace trying to get things under control.  I'd already used my inhaler.  Nothing else I could do.

I was doing ok after a while, but I had to get my bike out of the transition.  And all my stuff.  Loaded it up in the backpack and I hauled my bike up a flight of stairs.  And boy am I glad I ran into Bobbie at the top.  As I triggered another complete closing of the airways by walking up the stairs and then seeing people I know trying to congratulate me.  But got it calmed down.  And she told me where the team was, which was great.  Finally sat down.  Got more food in me.  And eventually started to feel remotely like a human being again.  And it was fun.  Really fun to be hanging out with everyone and enjoying the scene.

So I had my first real asthma attack.  Not really wanting to do that again.

And after watching everyone come in and cheering....we get to walk up that big hill to get back to camp.  With heavy transition bag and bike.  yay!  But I made it.  Went super super slow. 

Showered first, before anything else.

Then ate dinner. Best brownie ever. 

Drank 2 beers.

Felt drunk (woohoo!)

Went to bed.

And in the morning I packed it all up, said goodbye to some of the most amazing people ever, and rolled away.

And I only sunburned two symmetrical strips on my back next to my Jersey.  Yay for weird tan lines.

And that cough I had, that I was almost over before the race, turned into a raging sickness.

I'm still sick.  I haven't worked out since race day.  Mucus mucus everywhere.  Chest, nose, sinus, ears.   If I knew I'd get this sick for this long, would I have still done it?  Oh yeah.  No question.

Now it's time to get refocused.  101 days.

Canada here we come!!!!

Where did I put that packing list!?!

I'm not sure where to start.

My plane leaves in about 10 hours. 


Here are a few negatives:

I have pretty much all my packing to do.

I am wired like an Energizer bunny.  Unlikely to sleep.

I am worrying about every little thing.

Always nervous about packing my bike.

I don't think I can get to Fresno in time for my return flight home.

I still have a cough.  I'm on my 4th super huge glass of water for today trying to wash it away.

Here are some positives:

Last few workouts have been ok.  Legs are tired but they have 2 full days of rest coming up. 

Was under 39 minutes for my last swim on Monday.  Fairly positive I can break 40 for the race.

Set a PR for a 5k during the Heart Run on Saturday!!!!! 25:09

I had a great dinner with friends last night.  I have wonderful notes to read while I'm gone. 

Kincaid trails were runnable this morning, so I didn't have to run the same boring coastal trail or on the roads!

I had an unexpected but pleasant surprise of getting to see Kevin this last weekend. 

I reached  my goal race weight. 


And I'll adress that one. Because it's both a positive and a negative.

Why would that be a negative Glo?  Because I'm afraid I've lost it too quickly and I'm concerned about that.  I didn't plan on reaching my goal race weight because I didn't think I had time to get there. 

I am about to say something that I never ever EVER would have imagined myself saying.

I might need to eat more.

I haven't really been that hungry.  I'm eating 3 healthy meals and some snacks.  And I am always eating after my workouts, and I normally time them right so that they are after I've eaten something too. 

I cut out ice cream at Lent.  It's a trigger food.  I have one bowl, and then another, and then maybe find something else, etc.   I haven't had any since Lent started in February.  Easter was a few weeks ago.  I gave up chocolate after spring break.  It too is a trigger.  I have been staying away from sweets and have only had a few beers for the last few months.

But maybe it's not so bad.  I've lost 15 lbs since Valentines Day.  That's 10 weeks.  So I guess it's ok.  But at this rate I'm going to need a few new shirts that fit better, and maybe pants.  Even if I do gain some of it back after Canada.   

But maybe I should add some more calories in.  I stopped tracking what I was eating (weight watchers points)  I figured my weight was doing well, and I was eating a pretty balanced diet. Lots of fruit, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, a lot of water, and no junk (except gold fish crackers.  They remain my one vice).  But I suppose I might want to see where I'm at.  This last week has been fairly hectic and stressed.  My mom leaving for Nana's funeral, making sure Nayyer was doing ok, Kevin being here, (not actually a stressor but an added event that isn't normal) and being sick. 

So I guess I just need to not worry about it. 

But I'm worrying about everything.  It's one of the few things I'm exceptionally good at.

What I should be focusing on is how wonderful this trip is going to be.  Sunshine.  New people.  A challenge unlike any before.  And hopefully, if it all goes right...that feeling of accomplishment that is unlike any other. 

So that's my focus.  This is going to be great.  And I CAN DO THIS!