Florabama Tri

The opener of my season...I'm writing this report a bit belated because, well, the past month has been a blur of frantic rushing, racing and whirring about. Just look at the house and the chaos inside it - I have been living like a whirling dervish...no focus or concentration, just moving from one thing to the next putting out fires and doing just what needs to be done in hopes to survive to the next race/heal up enough to race/get everyone TO the race/etc. So...my stint as tour director is now done for awhile. I'm no longer going to be the team mom. I'm going to let my legs heal, try to get my back straightened out and get the new bike up and running and try to get some confidence back. But anyway....the write-up for the MulletMan....a bit belated, so I'm going to miss some of the nuances, but whatever.

It's a long 12-hour drive home. All the nutrition and rest and pre-race lore says the most important time for rest and hydration is actually 2 nights/days before - for a Saturday morning race that means Thursday is THE day. So...when you spend the last half of Wednesday in a car travelling to meetings, all of Thursday morning sitting still in meetings, and all day Thursday afternoon and night in a car driving from the meetings to the rendezvous with the "team car" then driving to Alabama, you're pretty much guaranteed to NOT eat, hydrate or rest right. But whatever...it's a fun race, intended to be a hilarious getaway weekend, not an "A" race for the season. So....we did our best eating ok and hydrating as much as possible. Once at the house (7a on Friday arrival, rest for a few hours) we all kind of locked in a took it easy. Went down to pick up packets and get a first look (for N & N) at the race course and the Florabama. Had a relaxing dinner and readied everything for the early start and went to bed. I've got to say that sleeping on a couch isn't my favorite - but I like my parent's couch. I slept pretty decent the entire time we were there.

Woke up and schlepped around a bit trying to get everything ready and get out the door. Took off, got to the race site and set up. It's been a pretty windy spring down in LA (lower Alabama) and that's been producing rip currents like no other. It's also been driving up some impressive surf. Most of that week had been red flagged (no swimming, rip tides) and this day looked to be no exception. Surf was coming in at an angle. There were rumblings about cancelling the swim (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO- it's all I got, yo!!) but in the end they wound up shortening it. I started to whine, they specifically pointed out that if you freaked, you could stand up and run, then realized that I didn't care at the end of the day - no one should get hurt and the Navy swimmers and lifeguards were really just trying to keep everyone safe. At that point, we all kind of said - screw it - there were a lot of people freaking out. (Having swam a few times in the Pacific out at Malibu, I wasn't worried - it IS Gulf surf after all...easy peasy. But there were plenty of people nervous. It was both N's first ocean swims. I kind of hated to see them start like this....but whatever.) The rip tides really picked up - when you hear a Navy lifeguard come running up and say to the RD - "if they go around that buoy we won't be able to save them," you know it's about to get interesting. But anyway...they pulled the buoys in a bit more (which did no good as the far one just kind of kept getting sucked further down the beach - i'm pretty sure the 1st wave had about 100yd shorter swim altogether) and off we went. Noah looked great starting his wave, one of the bigger guys standing out with no wetsuit and his CCMSC kit on - pounded out into the surf and nailed it. His swim time was quicker than mine! (read above about shorter swims....) The extra time spent swimming over the past year has really paid off - he's a rock star. Our wave started and all of my previous ocean swims just CLICKED. Knowing where the current is going and planning accordingly - I'm one of few women that went around both buoys. Started off to the left, dolphin-dove through/under the surf, popped up and just relaxed into a stroke, breathing to the left to keep and eye on the surf, got carried right out and past the buoy. I knew the run to the other turn buoy would be short with the current and surf - i also knew I would have to swim outward a bit (trying to stay inside the rip though) - NAILED that leg....had a nice, easy cruise, rolling over the crests, staying relaxed. Only had to spot once or twice, just kept pointed in the right direction. Made the turn for home just before I reached the buoy - knew the current wasn't going to magically push me the other way - grazed right by it and threaded through the other girls swimming into my right side having not been able to spot the buoy or judge the current well. Also know to not fight the current - it's much easier to run a few extra yards up the beach than try to swim against the current towards the swim exit. Body surfed a couple of times and hit the beach running. THANK YOU MALIBU! Had a great swim. I also know to not try to kill myself running through that deep sand, stay up on my toes, don't overuse the legs and just chug along.

T1 uneventful, I need to get quicker at these things...but I just don't push too hard in them. I kind of think of it as a point where it's better for me to stay steady than to try to rush - I leave things behind when I do that. It wasn't the quickest, but it wasn't that slow. Took off on the bike.

Did I mention earlier it's been windy down there? Popped out of transition, on the bike and away I went. When I looked down a mile or so in and I was way over 20mph, my first thought was that the return leg was going to SUCK...bad. (I wasn't far off base) Having been down that road before, I know that it's better to just hammer the first half, then spent the second just holding form and chugging along. Watching people fight the wind and try to just hammer through it with bad form kills me. It makes me tired for them. I always remember what John used to tell us about how just focusing on form and getting the job done in the wind would pay off - every time I'm in a windy race or ride I remember those words....they save me and my energy stores. My avg speed on the way out HAD to be over 25mph. I was FLYING. I love my bike and my aero position. It just feels good all the way around. Comfortable and efficient. Came flying down off the bridge over 30mph, passed a couple of guys just rocketing along....then we turned around. The wind was REALLY gusty between the towers, it's nice being able to sort of read that and know when it's coming. I only almost got knocked over once. (Thank you Silverman!) Kept chugging along and did my best to just maintain and spin through it comfortably. Was still holding a pretty decent pace. Was also pulling a chick through most of it - annoying. But whatever. Rest of the bike was uneventful. Saw Noah headed back from the turnaround very close to the front of the race - AWESOME - also saw him early on the run looking strong. He was putting in some great effort and looked solid.

T2 also uneventful. I was worried that I hadn't seen N after the turnaround - was worried she was right behind me so while I still didn't rush through T2 I wasn't exactly taking my time. Popped out on the run and was just putting in some good effort, trying to keep my form in check, not overheat and just run - actually run hard. I started to pay for that about the end of Mile 1...I was maybe running a bit hard and I'm not used to that (training for a marathon doesn't exactly build in much speedwork). Having STILL not seen N I was getting really worried - I even saw Noah headed back in from the run turnaround (form suffering a bit but still was chugging along without too many people in front of him!!!). Finally saw her coming down the bridge as I was headed down for the run turn. She looked like she was in hell and hurting (mechanical - both front & back brakes rubbing). Knowing where she was, that it's such an early season race, I had a marathon coming in two weeks I decided to back off a bit. I wanted a good showing, but with the lack of rest and amount of stress we've been pulling I figured it was more important to have fun.

Finished the run feeling fairly ok. Decent times (though I forget them now) all through the race, though nothing spectacular. Was 4th in age group (again...why does that keep happening?) but at least it was by a few minutes this time. I'll take it. My goal for the race was to go kind of hard - blow off the dust and see if my legs had some "GO" in them. With the weather, it was all skewy, but I think it was a good first race of the season. Took one gel at the beginning of the run - normally would have taken one fairly early in the bike and then also at the beginning of the run, but I don't think that hurt me. I still managed to gulp down some liquid calories (gatorade) and didn't tear up my stomach too much...I did have to pee through most of it - almost tried during the bike but couldn't do it - so I think I still need a bit of work on the morning routines.

So that's that....finally it's done.

Flying Pig...Swine Flew...

Bad jokes abound about this. Let me just say for the record - I laugh so hard (secretly) that I almost snort at each and every one of them. However, they are bad. Bad. Bad. And my Dad should never be allowed to tell them.

That said, the Flying Pig marathon is Sunday. As in 2 days from now Sunday. I'm still having a bit of trouble with getting in and out of cars successfully without pain, let alone standing and sitting. Basically, I'm nervous as hell that I'm going to try it and it's going to hurt. Bad. As bad as those stupid jokes hurt normal people without retardedly bad senses of humor.

I'm equally scared NOT to try this thing, as I HAVE spent quite a few hours running in preparation for it. Granted, not nearly the amount of hours I SHOULD have spent prepping for it, but I DID do a 16 miler and I DID do that whole Ironman thing last year. I know just how bad it CAN suck. The question is, will this hurt THAT bad? And will I be able to justify pushing through the pain OR giving in to the pain? What's the likelihood that this could cause more damage to the rest of my season? (Couldn't cause any more damage than flipping and snapping the bike, in all reality..still working on that whole replacement thing...from multiple angles. Someone's probably going to wind up mad at some point - I just hope it's not me)

So....we're driving over tonight. I'm going to pack all of my running stuff and all the compression gear and Ace bandages I own and all the painkillers I can get my hands on.

I was scared before Silverman. It was an odd feeling to be scared that I couldn't do something. (I'm apparently a fairly confident person....) Somewhere, deep down, I knew I could do it by just keeping going. There wasn't any injury or voodooscarycrap that was inside my head telling me I couldn't. I just had to deal with it. I'm not feeling so peppy about this ordeal right now. I'm scared I can't do it - not that I mentally can't but that my body will physically not let me. Or that I will try and fail. Or that I will try and hurt myself. Or that I will not try and regret that.

Rock, meet hard place. Let's do this thing and prove again that I can do any damn thing I set my mind to. I'm not going to qualify for Boston. I'm not even sure I can beat my Silverman time....but I'm pretty sure that, to me, finishing this thing might be a bigger accomplishment than that whole Ironman in a thunderstorm and hail thing....

Positive Outcomes

Good news: There's not a single hole in the tri top. (Further evidence that I did NOT skid very far at all upon impact.) There is one small hole and a few scuffs on the bike shorts - they can be worn again (though company should be chosen carefully). I'm moving better than I have been - but I'm still sore, don't get me wrong. The bike replacement wheels are turning rapidly. All wounds are almost healed and the bruises have started fading. I will probably have a couple small scars (forearm and shoulder) but they will be minimal.

Recommendations: Anyone in the area needs a good massage therapist, you call me. AB used to work with Roomie and is on her own now. I went to see her Wednesday afternoon and got noodled all up and down my back. I cussed at her elbow as she really ground down into "ground zero" trying to loosen up the crap. I think she lessened the time that I will hurt drastically. (I think she did that by making me hurt MORE in the interim, but I'm ok with that.) And she was just funny. So....you wanna get noodled and get some of the crap worked out - you lemmeno.

Self-Pity Tour 2009

It continues for one more day. I've pretty much been a slug this week. I pushed a bit too hard on Monday, leaving me in tears by the time I got home around 9:15p. I could hardly move and everything just hurt. Making Dan tell me that I wasn't going to hurt that bad forever was a bit of a news flash. So...I backed down a bit. I swam a tad on Tuesday evening, which felt good. Had a few quality minutes in the hot tub after the short swim and felt even better. Was actually moving fairly fluid yesterday and feeling somewhat normal (despite the fact that I'm still in a sports bra and soft cotton shirts) and even was able to wear pants!! (Anything with a tight waistband or pockets on the butt was bad news....and yesterday was still a bit painful at times..)

Today is pants AND a normal shirt (no more wife-beater!!!) but still no normal bra. My shoulder is still a bit raw - I didn't really do a good job last night of keeping it "moist". I tried to go sans-Tylenol this morning and have already pumped 2000mg into my body after having a bit of a rough morning. Got a massage yesterday afternoon and think that might have loosened some of the crap up, but has left me more sore. If it shortens the overall pain period, i'm ok with it but sheesh. I'm just a bit tired of hurting, feeling like I shouldn't work out and not being able to be normal.

I've gotten starbucks 3x this week and basically not cooked a single meal. That has to stop pronto. I will quit feeling sorry for myself and indulging today. I don't think I'm going to be able to run tonight, maybe a quick test jaunt around the block to see how things shake out, but nothing ambitious. To bed early and a decent dinner. That's about the extent of my plans.

The good news: the ball is rolling on the frame replacement. I've dropped the 'duza at DG and am hoping the QR folks let me roll that route. I know what I want and what I'm willing to pay, I'm hoping they come through. I've been impressed thus far with the response times and whatnot. It's good to have direction. I'm still feeling bad about the poor baby though.

Oh, and a quick trip to Dick's and/or Target to take inventory on the "uniforms" for DWD. Also need to inquire about shelter reservations for CCMSC's picnic after the June race, and camping space for DWD, send my DeSoto shorts back (and hope all goes well) and line up dog care for this weekend and next. Sheesh...the 'todo' list is a bit overwhelming.

(Wo)MAN DOWN!!!

Holy hell. I've been doing this bike riding thing for a LOOOOOOONg time now..technically since I was around 5 or 6 or so. Since I lived in the hilliest area on earth (not really, but for a kid there were some whoppers there) it seems like someone was always catapulting down hills on bikes (or on the various body parts that contacted the pavement/chip'n'seal when they left said bike). I'm practically a PRO at this falling down a hill on a bike thing. (Slight road rash on the forearm and the "raspberry" on the forehead - which isn't quite as swollen now and isn't a surface wound, just a bruise...this was Sunday around noon.)

But hell, when you get older, the pavement gets harder and your body doesn't quite bounce as well upon impact. That's right kids, I bit the big one on the QR this weekend. (May he rest in peace....) In all reality, I'm EXTREMELY lucky that I'm not more injured and even though I feel like HELL I do recognize that. It could be much, much worse. Hell, it SHOULD be worse. Thank God for all of those "practice" runs since I was a kid.

Going down a hill with a late-apex turn in it (Right is a profile of the hill - the bright blue is about a 16% grade, according to mapmyrun.com), realizing I was going a little too fast a little too late. Back brake - wheel slide, front brake - wheel slide. Well, tuck 'er in boys, this could be interesting. Decided to bleed as much speed as possible, grabbed both brakes and hung on, went off into the weeds - still trying to drop speed, stay upright and avoid the guardrail (with the big telephone pole behind it DIRECTLY in my trajectory). Avoided the end of the guardrail, that's good, but hit a HELLUVA divot as the banked roadway turns away and the shoulder drops off to the cross-road meeting. Divot effectively changed the direction of travel for both me and the bike. The force of the hit buckled and cracked my downtube, dropped my handlebars straight down and sent both me and the bike flipping into the air. (NOTE: Any time you are in the air long enough to have a series of conscious thoughts - you are in the air TOO LONG. My thoughts: tuck your head and let momentum roll me, relax my body, F*CK this is going to hurt...thump) Noah says I was quite high in the air, I got a good shot of the bike as I landed a good 3 or 4 feet higher than I was (and also upside down at that moment). I flew about 10 ft. laterally, bike went another 8-10 past me, landing in the brush (and taking a good lateral hit on the downtube). (Left is a "diagram" of the action - the green "dirt" sign is where I left the road, the red cross is the divot from hell, the "end" is where I hit and the red line is apx. where the bike landed, though it might have been a bit more in the woods)

I landed with a good thwack and turned my head to see Andre and Noah slowing down. I did a quick fingers, toes, ankles, head, knees check to see if anything was hurting (or missing feeling). When all of the requisite parts let me know they were present and accounted for (and pissed off and hurting where applicable) I started to sit up. Now I know that's not the best idea usually, but my back was hurting MORE THAN ENOUGH to let me know that I hadn't broken it - I still had feeling, after all, and the pain was all lateral across my back and more in my ass than anything else. I took these as all good signs. (You can't see them, but there are 2 clean cracks all the way through the foam on the bottom of this helmet. There are also marks on the front, the top and enough gravel inside it to not surprise me that I keep finding it in my hair...) I also started running through the checklists internally - I knew what had happened, could run through it step-by-step, knew my name, who the guys were, were I was (or a good idea of about where I was) and that I was still upset about who the President was. Took the helmet off and took a look at it, same with the glasses. Asked the boys if I had any cuts on my face (I had started crying at this point and wanted to kinda start wiping off...). I also asked them to check if I cracked my frame. I knew I had done major damage, and I know I don't EVER want to hear the sound of carbon fiber snapping again, WOW that's a freaky sound. There's NEVER anything good about to happen when you hear that crackling and pop.

My back hurt, but I was crying much harder for my beloved bike than for myself. Sure I was scared and figured that I had more than a couple bloody spots on me - but my poor little guy all broken was way more distressing, still is.

In reality, I'm lucky AS HELL. Knowing how to fall helped a lot. Knowing that crashing a bike is NOT the end of the world, it's going to happen if you ride long enough - helped me a lot. But knowing to stay calm and stay present through the process and try to affect the outcome and travel the best line possible was my biggest bonus. Noah says we were going about or at least 35. (My computer and tool bag were in the garage at the house) I know I bled quite a bit of speed before the shit hit the fan, but to fly that high, that far and land that hard (just ask my ass) I was still traveling at a good clip. Objects in motion...blah blah...unless acted upon by another force....divots suck. But to come out of it with ONLY a BUNCH of bumps and bruises, some gravel in my hair, ears, butt crack and shoes - no concussion, found both water bottles, all the components on the bike are salvageable, and I don't think I'll even have to trash the tri-top....I've already sent more than a few "thank you" prayers upstairs.

Gar says I've joined the elite group of people that have cracked a frame. While not a group I really WANTED to join, if I means the outcome I've had, I'll take it. That blessed little frame probably saved me quite a bit of pain. And as the boys keep saying every time I start crying, "Bike frames can be replaced, you can't."

Good news: I didn't hurt Gar's new Rudy Project photocromatic glasses (I still think the one spot was snot) and my RUDY PROJECT Slinger helmet kept my brains in. (I would recommend they put just a smidge more foam at the very front - my forehead has the same request.) I will, from here on out, only be buying Rudy Project helmets. The Slinger's their new helmet in 2009 and one of the entry-level helmets. I'm probably going to upgrade a bit to the next level, but I will forever be thankful for that helmet. I know my head slammed into the ground hard (it took 2 showers to get out all the gravel in my hair - and to have the impact mark on my forehead from the SECOND thump it took...) and, well, enough gushing, I'm just a fan. A big fan. Good stuff. Other positives: as of Monday morning, almost all wounds have stopped oozing (one small spot on shoulder) and started healing, we got a helluva 25 or 26 miles in BEFORE I made it interesting, no concussion, the socks and the top washed clean of Gu (chocolate mint sacrifice in the back pocket of the top - scared the hell out of Noah when I sat up, looked like blood, but provided a snack while waiting for Gar and the car - also ensured that the paper towel "seat protector" didn't move in the car), never riding alone and always having good friends around to take care of me.

The bad news: sQekR has bit the big one (Bike frames can be replaced)...the bike was one of my most prized posessions....so it still sucks and I'm still crying about it...but it took the hit and the impact and i didn't....my shorts are probably toast (they, too, took the brunt of the impact and are a bit stretched out) - I can't say enough about my Pearl Izumi shorts....minimized road rash taking the impact of 160lbs travelling downward at a HIGH rate of speed onto gravel....no gashes deep enough to even cause concern, more good stuff....HELL MY ASS HURTS...as does my shoulder, my back, my thigh and my hand. (We'll just not mention where this bruise is, other than to say it hurts..taken Monday morning.)

Looks like I'm eating Ramen for the next few months as I try to replace my bike ASAP. Anyone know where I can find a 2006 QR Seduza, size Small frame?