IM 70.3 California 4th time is a charm?

IM California 2015 is my 7th half ironman and 4th time repeating this course.  I know it well and I know where I break down.  I am an Ironman now so I decided this year I would work on running speed and faster half ironmans instead of another full ironman. I gave up my Big Sur Marathon entry to focus on 70s and speed training.  I have worked hard on my climbing and my running speed since IMAZ with very little time off.  My swimming skills are about the level of a 4 year old compared to the life-time swimmers my age but sometimes I can have a good day and then something derails me and all the focus is gone again.  I do my workouts with intensity but understand that even if I improve in seconds per 100, some uncontrolled obstacle like current and elbows to the head amongst the mass of swimmers or a sudden cramp can throw all my hardwork as if it never happened.  Honestly it's not only that I swim slow, but I don't sight well either in the Oceanside race .  The route is shaped like a banana and the sun is blinding on the return. So this year, my swim goal was to figure out how to ONLY swim 1.2 miles!  I tried new approaches to tackle each discipline this year to try to break 6:30.  I had high expectations with all this  hay in the barn. 4th time is a charm, right? I'm ready.

 It was the first time I had raced with one transition for California 70.3, so receiving one bag instead of 4 made it feel like a new race!  I wondered how the bike route changed and how long the 2nd loop of the run would be since it still ended at the pier.  I realized we had to run up Breakwater street on the 2nd loop too.  There were enough changes to make it seem new for sure. I was still worrisome on race day but friends kept making me smile and laugh.

I didn't stay overnight in Oceanside at my parents house because it wasn't an available option this year so I had to add a 45 minute commute to my morning.  This meant rising at 3am but it wasn't a problem as I took my niteaid pill by 7pm and slept well.  I had my Osmo and Imodium at night and again in the morning with my standard oatmeal and banana but I couldn't eat the bagel this time.  I had coffee, 2 aspirin, 2 roctane pills, 2 salt pills and decided to bring the bagel to eat in transition.  It was never eaten so my morning calories were light at 360. Marcus bought the VIP pass so we had close parking and he was pampered all day with food and drink and the best viewing spots.  He somehow snuck into the transition area and took loads of TCSD pictures throughout the day with about 700 pictures total!  He captured a great day for everyone to see.  He was as tired as I was at the end of the day!

Once again the TCSD rack was placed at the very back by the swim exit which I find a disadvantage vs where my AG racks so I opted out of the team racks.  My AG was just past a tree and along the carpet edge so it was a good spot right in the middle of transition. I laid out all my stuff nice and organized (on the down wheel side!!!) and went to the bathroom.  When I returned, the bike next to me dumped all their crap on the up wheel side crowding my stuff and she was no where to be seen.  Whatever, let it go.  I did my walk around trying to notice the buoy placement in the dark water and then it was announced the water was 66.8 degrees.  That's the warmest it has been in my 4 years and now it's not neoprene sock legal which means a barefoot run for a 1/4 mile after the swim exit.  I'm never barefoot due to my foot surgeries because my foot pads are not even.  Barefoot = pain for me. More worrying followed...

 However the carpet looked good and there were places where there were two rows of carpet.  I would just have to be careful. Thankfully I added an old pair of regular socks to my check list and wore those while I was waiting in line to swim.  I was wave 15 with the 50s and 25 year olds!  wow they looked so young!  I started to get hungry while in line for my wave start at 7:23 so I did my ritual of eating a GU and drinking my water in line and then as it got close, poured the remaining water in my suit to reduce the water temp shock.  However the water temp felt great and my feet were comfortable.


I swam comfortably following the buoys out of the harbor.  Only once did a swimmer swim over me and she was light and way off course which made me giggle a little.  I just kept swimming without interruption to the 2nd red bouy.  Suddenly it seemed choppy which is normal so close to the ocean.  I felt like I lost a lot of speed here though but kept heading to the rock jetty as my experienced swimmers told me to do and soon the next red buoy was in sight right in front of me.  For the first time I wasn't lost in the harbor swim!  I turned toward the sun and just to the left was the big building which I had never seen before!  I never saw a buoy on my left until there were only a couple left to pass and then as I wanted to increase my speed, I started to kick harder and suddenly my right calf cramped hard.  It did this on my last OWS with no explanation so I knew I had to point and flex to get it to release which completely disrupted my swim rhythm. I kept swimming the best I could until it released.  I saw a lot of racers to my left but I just sighted the tall building the entire return and it took me just along the pier dock straight into the ramp exit.  it was the easiest swim I had completed and the first race that I had swam with a cramp.  The good news was that I was happy that my yardage was close to 1.2 although still a little over.  Then I noticed my swim time was slower as well, by at least 5 minutes so yea I sighted well, but I swam 5 minutes slower. That's a lot :(  I didn't let it get to me like in the past.  I really just wanted a great run.  I would just make it up by running faster.  I just let it go because ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

My swim-bike transition was 6 minutes as planned.  I exited without a problem and took off with a plan to not hammer the bike course. I wanted to save it for the run. I had pinned my number to my shirt and wore it under my wetsuit so I didn't fight with the race belt.  I only wore arm sun sleeves in my wetsuit and not calf compressions because it seemed to affect my circulation in the past.   I had my front bottle with 400 cals of Carbo Pro and 210 cals of IM Perform. I ate two half pieces of banana along the course and drank water between slurps of calorie water.  I prepared for the first hill with two puffs of my inhaler so I could breathe easier and I did fine.  I didn't have to serpentine climb the hill and my breathing and HR was under control.  I just went up and over with relief.  The other hills were tolerable too.  The new requirement to stay under 25 mph on dead man's curve was a distraction for sure.  The no pass zone suddenly appeared and a slow rider was in front of me going 18mph and I reminded her it was a 25 limit which promptly caused her to brake and I flew past her.  Sorry, I've never done that before but I didn't want to lose any more speed because then the required 25 mph timing section arrived for about 1/2 mile and I stared at my garmin the entire turn while trying to be under 25 and I ended up at 24.11 mph!  That's pretty close to 25 and I would have been disqualified had I passed that speed.


Nothing unusual happened for the rest of the course except I got bored on the long stretches while trying to hold lower power and a slower speed. By mile 40, I started getting a neck and shoulder cramp making aero positioning very uncomfortable. I also felt that same twinge in my right rib start to pinch. Finally mile 45 arrived and the 10 miles of head winds were in my face.  As always, I eat one GU here to prepare for the run. The headwind seemed stronger this year to me. It was awesome to roll back into the harbor without climbing Surfrider to get to transition BUT we had to cycle the same long chute we had run during the swim and that just totally sucked.  My speed dropped again as another rider in front of me didn't want to pedal along this narrow path.  I saw my final bike time was 11 minutes slower than the last 2 years. But that's ok because my normalized power was within range so I would have a great run, right?

I got to my stuff (including my cooling towel which is a life saver for hot runs) and swapped it all out for run gear within 4 minutes and took off at a slower pace to get my legs ready and just as I started up the small overpass hill, my left thigh cramped badly.  It stopped me in my tracks and I grabbed onto the fence while trying to massage the muscle to let go. I limped along for a bit and the pain subsided within a mile.  I didn't panic about my pace because I had a water bottle with 200 cals of carbo pro to drink.  I took 2 aspirin and 2 salt pills during the recovery mile.  Very soon after the cramp subsided, my right rib started to pinch again. This pain became a sharp knife pain for the next 12 miles of jogging.  My legs seemed heavy but not in pain.  I wasn't hot because the aid stations had ice water and ice and kept my cooling towel always fresh.  My legs were just not cooperating and the knife in my side made me feel like I was running off center. I faked my smiles for the camera but each time I saw my Chiro Doc on the run, I knew that he knew, I was hurting and the entire body was pulling on the right.

Doc, can I lay down RIGHT NOW for an alignment??

 I can't explain what happened over those 12 miles except there was a lot of begging going on to try to go faster.  I demanded that I run up the short steep ramps and Wisconsin because I promised myself that I would not walk them this year and then the glutes and hamstrings disagreed.  Each mile, my watch would remind me of my slow pace even though I thought I was actually running. By mile 11, I saw my total finish time goal had passed and it blew the wind out of my sails.  This was another ruined run making mile 12 a death jog.  I was disappointed in everything.  Holding back led to a slower race, not a better run for me so the formula is very perplexing to me.  It makes logical sense, but I can't execute the plan.

After reviewing some statistics, my normalized power and average power rates are not close and they should be.  This means my cycling efforts are not steady, but I thought they were.  How do you fix something that you can't feel is wrong? This leads to fatigued legs for the run. Yes I understand the logic but where's the improvement in my run when I hold back?  Just like I thought a controlled swim would give me better technique and a smoother faster swim result but it didn't.


I jogged through the finish chute feeling unworthy and embarrassed and draped myself over my Ironsister Elva.  My friend Dave helped me find a chair and reunite with Marcus. I was so sad. Dave asked if I wanted the finisher's food.  EWWW. It always smells horrible to me and can send me into dry heaves if I'm too close. Marcus handed me my favorite cookie instead - snickerdoodles always make me smile!




I just wanted to find my chiropractor who also raced and he cracked my neck and then said he would see me Sunday for a complete realignment. I wasn't holding my head up straight. I got a body massage for 30 minutes in the Ironman village, trying to get the knife out of my side but it didn't help much. I'd have to get a 90 minute massage tomorrow. We went home and I soaked in Epsom salt, ate chicken soup, and took muscle relaxers and went to bed very disappointed.  I'm still disappointed and wonder if I should stop setting goals since I can't seem to achieve them.  At this point, it seems just finishing shouldn't be the only goal I can meet.

The next day, I read about others who had mechanical problems and physical problems too.  Misery loves company so at least I wasn't alone. I'm not the only one that worked really hard for disappointing results.  It still stings but somehow I will get back out there trying to find my 6:30 result.  I have no plans to repeat Oceanside again.  My next 70.3 will be a new course in Victoria, British Columbia on June 14 so it will be exciting from beginning to end!  Maybe I won't set a finishing time goal in the future. 

At the end of the day, I still have my bragging rights for a lifetime. I. AM. IRONMOM. and I am a finisher again today.

March Madness - pre Oceanside 70.3

March Madness was a rollercoaster ride!  I had to intertwine my final training days for my 4th Oceanside 70.3 race and try to PR my 3rd 5k in 2015 and a half marathon, and be strong for my daughter's "wedding of the century" filling my house with lots of parties and people for two weeks.

March always starts off with open water swimming which I found surprisingly uncomfortable.  I just kept hanging in there until the wetsuit feeling was ok and I could swim without stopping.  I guess I just got really used to the pool since I swam more than in the past so it just felt really different. I just kept going back to bonita cove and the water was warmer than I expected which was comforting.  I wondered if it would be this warm at the end of the month for Oceanside 70.3






My first race was San Diego Half Marathon. Last year, I was fresh off of foot surgery with about 4 months of gradual increased training and virtually no hill training but I managed to barely PR by seconds of the previous year's time of 2:05.  I trained well for this half and tried to execute a plan so that I would have more in the tank for Washington hill. I held 9 min pace first 3 miles, next 5 included the little overpass bridge in Liberty station and Noel (5% 1/4mi) which hurt my overall pace by not reaching my planned 8:45 avg. then as I ran down hill, my pace was perfectly in sync to run into a passing trolley, so I had to stop  but not for too long, however, it was a momentum stopper.  Overall I compared my year over year results:  2014 vs 2015 :  Washington Hill .75 mi:  12:18 pace vs 11:22 pace and my last 2 downhill miles: 8:56 vs 8:41 both with calf cramps.  For some reason, running down hill will cause a leg cramp but I just have to run through it until it releases.  My finish times were 2:05 vs 2:01 so maybe next year I will be even stronger running up hill and break the 2 hour mark.

SD Half Finishers downtown

I had to take an extra day off work on Friday to squeeze in my last big training day for Oceanside 70.3 and it was one of the hottest day's of the year!  Jim, Marcus and I ran 5 miles, biked 40 miles, ran 5 miles to top off our Oceanside training.  I chose a new route but unfortunately it didn't push me too hard because there were too many stop lights.  My runs felt too easy.  Marcus and I drank every bottle we had that day!

Saturday was the bridal shower and family started to arrive.  Everything worked out well for the party and Brianna got her fairytale bridal shower with lots of games and food and alcohol.  It was a beautiful day!

Bridal Shower

Monday, I had a 12 hour day helping my sister rescue a basset hound on my day off which was a heart warming experience.  Finally my sister picked Norman as her Nelson's new friend and the day was a success.

Stormin' Norman going to his forever home

Then it was back to work trying to squeeze 5 days into 2 days and I broke my back tooth which seems to be an annual event.  Now I had to  squeeze in a 3 hour dentist appointment and then pray the temporary crown would hold for 2 weeks and not become so painful that it would require a root canal like last year before race day.

rehearsal dinner family photo

Then we had a wedding rehearsal party and more family arriving.  I was working out at 5am to squeeze in my taper workouts and had a 2 hour EZ flat ride which totally threw my neck and shoulder into a cramp.  I always have shoulder and neck issues when riding in aero but this was more severe as I felt pulling contractions on my right side.  I saw my chiropractor and my sports med doctor for relief.  Sometimes my trapezius muscle contracts and won't let go so I get lidocaine injections for release.  This time it helped but I felt bruised and still tight but I was better and didn't think  I would have an issue by race day.  We cancelled aero rides and OWS so I could continue to heal.

a fairytale wedding

The wedding plans continued and it really was a perfect event.  I even wrote a speech and spoke in front of a crowd which is something I don't usually do but I felt I needed to express myself this day.  I never want to have regrets in my life.  Just Do It takes courage and I've learned that from my Ironman journey. My speech was well received and the day was full of tears and emotional release with wonderful memories and pictures for a lifetime.   However it was emotionally draining for sure.  I was excited to work on my running speed.


.

wedding cake of the century

Two days after the wedding, I had the Hot Chocolate 5k run where I challenged Jim Murff to pace me to "my potential".  I am a conservative athlete, always holding back and I didn't realize that your 5k pace should not be close to your half marathon pace.  I thought I was giving my best but my coach was not convinced.  The only way I could think of changing my average 5k pace from 8:56 to 8:26 was to chase someone and not think about it.  HOLY MOLY I was shocked when I got my bib/confirmation corral info for Hot Choc5k! I've NEVER been placed in Corral A before!! This goal is too big for me.  My friend, Jim Murff is raising funds for his IMAZ charity Smile Train so I promised to donate $5 for every second he could pace me to improve my average pace. This 5k was also my hilliest to date which made it even more difficult for me.  Jim paced me perfectly and I did meet my goal!  Not only did I donate $145, but my coach matched the donation!  It was a great accomplishment and I am so grateful for Jim's support in achieving this goal. It was also during this race that I felt a twinge on my right side ribs during my run.  I thought for sure this was due to hill running and crossing my arms in a swinging motion.  This would pass, right?

Hot Chocolate 5k and 15k finishers

that's my shoe and elbow, not a spider monkey!

I went to the chiro on Monday and Dr. immediately noticed I was not holding my head straight. He aligned me but my body was resistant.  The next day I got lidocaine shots in my trapezius which cancelled out my aero bike ride and OWS swim.  It was an unexpected day off but this last week was about recovery so less was more at this point. I really took it easy to be as relaxed as possible for Ironman Oceanside.  It was my 4th effort to try to break 6:30.  Each time something would happen and my run would suffer.  My running was at a great peak and I felt great too.  I really wanted to meet my potential this time.  I had a plan very different than the past and it would require patience and trust and execution.  I would give it my best and stayed positive all the way to race day.  I was prepared to have the best race of my life if I could execute the plan.....Next up... the Race Day Blog.

February Get Out of the Way BRAIN!

Yeah!!! It's HEART month! I think I will RUN more fast races?!!!?  wow that sounded weird... Brain says... you don't like short races! They Hurt!  They are Expensive!  YOU are slow!  SHUTUP Brain! Get out of my way! GOAL:  Suffer past the comfort zone.



February 1, Cardiff Kook 5k/10k...yes a 10k!!!, 6 miles, much  better.. nope - coach says.  5k very fast, and even faster than last time.  Ugh, more pain.  NO Brain!... more fun, more speed! Attitude Change!  Lot's of TriClubSD friends were there which made it so much more fun!





This time, no more thinking about tomorrow's workout, no more holding back to a perceived max effort.  No looking at my HR zones. JUST RACE HARD!  Coach said to warm up with a gentle 2 miles but with 4 x 50 meter sprints?  how far is that?  Type A personality...I don't know what that means? a block? should I measure it first? what if it's too far, too short?  OMG....just GO!!!  I jogged and sprinted 2x each direction.  I stopped at a bathroom.  I stopped to fill my water bottle.  so relaxed that I trotted toward the corral with 10 SECONDS before the race started!  OMG my heart was in my throat, I jumped into the corral, and the gun went off!  I looked straight ahead.  I swung my arms. Nip Hip Nip Hip.... I looked at the 10k runners on the other side.  I wanna be over there!  NO I don't! I just kept going HARD.  I begged for the turn around.  I saw my Coach on the other side with such intensity and focus on  her face that it made me try harder and I turned the corner pushing into mile 2.  Suddenly, I realized, Brain says, ya know...I don't really like mile 2.  It's in limbo, the middle mile, meant to just be painful and endure pain until the last mile marker .  Well, if you don't like it, then run faster!  But what if?.....OH SHUT UP BRAIN! I can't hear the metronome beeping!


I can see the ENCINITAS sign ahead.  Thank goodness Limbo land is almost over.  Time for mile 3..go so hard you think you might throw up...yes a new goal! It was exhilarating to run so free and not think!  Since races tend to be different distances, I would try to improve my pace, even if the elevations changed.  Last month 5k #1 was 9:03 average.  Not bad since I love to run a 10 minute pace!  and THIS 5k #2 finished at 8:56 average pace and a 5th place!  WOW! I JUST RAN 3 MILES IN THE 8's?? Hey BRAIN!  I thought you said I was a 10 min mile runner!  This adrenaline rush is fun!  What's next?








Feb 8 - San Dieguito Half - this is a hard half with 5 rolling hills. I ran it 2 weeks early just to recall
 where I needed to push harder.  Alas, after a 46 year tradition, this year, they changed the course to 3 long hills.  I planned to run with two faster runners to try to stay out of my comfort zone. When we took off, my leader bolted far too fast for me but I hung on for one mile since part was down hill but I had to let her go because I was wheezing and knew this was too soon. It was magical to PR one mile though!  I listened to my metronome and settled into a slightly uncomfortable pace.  I needed to maximize the downhill and hold steady on the up hill.  This run was very painful on the body.  I longed for that flat middle 2nd mile like on the 5ks! I tried to chase runners in front of me and high five the runners on the other side of me. We were suffering together and that support was priceless.  I love our TCSD club. I hoped I could beat my 2:12 time from the previous course but this was a new course.  Coach said I could do it in 2:05 but that seemed impossible with the hills.  I ran with as much intensity as I could manage steadily and out of my comfort zone but as the last hill approached, my pace was averaged at 9:33 and my brain said I was a failure.  There was no way I could meet my goal with one more hill to go.  I was sad and the last hill

hurt so much.  I ran and trotted a few steps and ran again and then pushed harder, then repeat.  I pushed hard at the top for a strong finish and saw my coach.  Damn I would have to tell her I had failed. Of course she immediately asked how I did (she had practically already taken a shower and redressed by the time I had arrived) . I sadly saw my 9:38 avg pace but then noticed a 2:06 finish time! Well how about that BRAIN!  A 6 minute improvement and pretty damn close to the impossible 2:05! I had the wrong pace in my head to beat last year's goal!  It took 2 days to recover from that painful course.  Running downhill destroys the body.  Not sure I will be back to repeat this course in the future. They took out all the beauty and now the suffering is so much more worse.





Feb 15 - California 10/20 - a coastal run with 20 music bands in 10 miles.  This was a last minute add.  I have not run this event before but 10 miles sounds awesome with friends and music and mostly flat.  It's the last 5k of a half marathon that is the worst so this would be perfect....oh and then the Coach's goal arrived on my schedule. "THIS IS NOT A RACE"... what??  "This will teach you pacing and then ALL OUT on the last couple miles."  Goal was to run 5 miles 9:40 pace, 6-7mi 9:20 pace, 8-9 mi 9:00,  empty the tank mile 10.  OMG a nightmare plan, but I would try.  Again I don't see myself running faster than 9:00 min pace but Coach's vision is always clearer than mine.  We showed up to greet lots of fellow TCSDers and had a fun group picture.  THEN SOMETHING AMAZING HAPPENED!!! You know when you see other athletes that are simply amazing and just love to watch them go?  I am awe struck by so many club members and one of them is Jim Murff.  He is 6'4" and is the fastest swimmer I have personally ever
known.  We are of similar age and he runs a 7 min mile!  WOW - not human in my eyes...Jim came to me before the run and asked me to pace him!! I'm sure I blinked multiple times! WHAT?!?!?!?!?  Jim, seriously, I can't do that.  You know I run in the 9's on a good day.  Jim says, "YES REALLY, I need to run your speed because I'm slightly injured so I need to run steady and slower."  Well. hmmm. I rolled it around in my head for a second.  I told Jim my coach's plan and off we went.  Suddenly I HAD A JOB AS A PACER!! ME?!?! We took off together and the first thing I saw was that it took two of my strides to one of his strides!  That's hilarious!  I swear it seemed like he was running through sand to stay by my side!  However we got through the corral crowds and then suddenly we were sub 9min pace!  wow !  I guess I sensed his stride discomfort which made me want to run faster naturally.  I had to keep reminding him we had to slow down a little so we could burst at the end.  We naturally slowed at the first hill going out and jogged through an aid station every 2 miles to help the run average.  I felt great!  It was so odd to have to keep slowing us down as we naturally  hovered around a 9 min pace.  The 20 bands over 10 miles really wasn't that impressive.  Some were horrible and there were sections without any music and then they were too close but running with Jim was the main attraction for me!  He made me feel so awesome!  We watched the 5 min mile runners pass us on the other side and then rounded the corner.  We had another slight hill to overcome but we held our pace steady.  Finally, we were ready to run down that first hill so we picked up the pace with free gravity.  My other fast running buddy, Alexis, was with us by then.  We ran down to mile 9 together as I squealed FREE SPEED LETS GO!!!  I ran as fast as I could until it flattened out and then Jim came up from behind and turned on his turbo legs and he ran like lightning!  We wove around until the last mile 10 where Alexis and I were together and then she took off too.  Nothing like seeing that finish line banner and emptying the tank.  I was about 5 seconds behind where Jim waited for us with open arms!  Wow that was soooo much fun!  Jim said he had never felt so good running 10 miles before.  It was so awesome to run with him!  I can't wait to see Jim on the IMAZ course with Marcus in 2015!

Mixed in with all my "THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE OMG I JUST DID IT " running intervals scheduled by my coach, I have also been climbing and climbing and climbing on my bike.  Great Western Loop has become a regular cycling route with 40 miles of 3700 ft of climbing with a couple extended routes adding 12 miles and 1100 ft of additional climbing.  I have volunteered my workouts on Saturdays to other 70.3 racers at the club and have met some great people.  I'm hoping to find some women that cycle at my pace so we can be cycling buddies but in the meantime, it is rewarding to build confidence in others when they push themselves through the climb at GWL too.

I also led a group of 12 to Camp P's backside to show the newbie Oceanside racers how that first hill feels.  It is only 1/2 mile but it peaks at about 15% grade and it's tough to climb after hammering flat for 28 miles beforehand.  I'm really hoping this strength training pays off for my 4th Oceanside race.  I am willing to give up some speed on the bike this year if I can just have an awesome run.  I'm really gunning for a sub 6:30 race this time so fingers crossed for awesome weather!

January- It's all about the ATTITUDE !!

I love triathlon training because I NEED variety and constant motion.  When I couldn't swim for 6 weeks, I had to change my attitude.  My coach didn't pause for a minute when I wanted to have a pity party and whine and cry about my tattoo infection and loss of the pool.  It's like she just pointed the child in me to a different shiny object and suddenly I was..ooohhhh aaaahhhh wowww hmmmm maybe I cannnnn run faster.  I ran more in December than I ever have before and I was still smiling! My new triathlon attitude started smiling over the Trifecta results.  I was seeing improvements in my speed.  I was getting out of my comfort zone. I wasn't in any pain.

Changing my attitude about running and about treadmills really made a huge difference.  I stopped saying I was too slow, too fat, too bored on the dreadmill, and never running a 5k because I'm not a sprinter.  I started running intervals and changing inclines and speed and testing my HR zones.  When I went outside, it was an extra treat and no longer the only way I would run.  My coach explained that running a 5k a month would get me out of my comfort zone because you would never run as fast as you could unless in a race.  My thought was... geez what a waste of time and money. All the driving, prerace, postrace time eating stuff, not to mention they are ridiculously expensive when I could run 3.1 miles for free anytime, anywhere.  Reluctantly, I agreed to sign up for the Rum Run 5k.

I had to warm up 1 mile in zone 2...geez I was practically walk/jogging...but my heart rate was always too high if I picked up the pace so I just did what I was told.  I was supposed to try to run mile one at 80%, mile two at 90% and mile three ALL OUT Fastest ever. hmmmm but wouldn't this hurt?  Coach says...run faster and it will be over faster.... well I guess that's a good point... but what if I'm too tired to do my other workouts because I gave all my energy into 3 miles?  I'm really good at holding back, just in case I need it later.  Always preparing for the what ifs....

Once we took off I tried to listen to my metronome cadence and run steady.  My previous stats said my strides were too short and my ground contact was too long.  I thought about my run mechanics a lot during this first  "race mile".  I tried to feel about 80% of my energy although I really didn't know what that was like.  Suddenly the first mile  marker arrived so I picked it up a little more and heard my heart beat a little faster.  I didn't stop at the water station like all my other 30+ half marathons.  I just carried a 10oz bottle with me because I thought I might need it, but this felt so different.  I was thinking while running!  Then the little incline showed up and my speed naturally dropped because suddenly I wanted to be comfortable.  But I saw a couple little girls in front of me and I stared at their big oversized shoes vs their little bodies.  These young girls (maybe 10 year olds) were flying and suddenly I was on their heels!

The blonde girl said she was sooo tired and the brunette girl just looked up at me with wide eyes.  I said to them,  "You aren't tired!  This is temporary!  You don't want a 51 year old to beat you right?  You need to hurry and think the boogie man is chasing you!"  The girls took off together and I chased them around the corner at my best sprint and soon the girls stopped again and were walking as I came up from behind again. 

"Come on girls!  We can do this! We can be the best we can be so let's go for it!" The blonde wanted nothing to do with it.  The brunette looked at her friend as I passed them both and I said, "I'm WINNING!"  A few seconds later, the brunette was by my side without her friend.  She looked up and said, "When is this OVER?"  I said to her , "As soon as we get to the big black and white sign with the #3, then we needed to run until we have nothing left to give because it would end very soon after that."  We sprinted together until we got to the sign and I said, READY SET GO!!!!

The little Brunette took off like a bolt and I chased her with all I could give.  She beat me and she won a medal in her division too!  It was super exciting to see that win for her.  And really exciting that my coach won the Masters Women's Overall division too.  And to my amazement,  I earned my first podium run finish in 3rd place!  Wow that WAS kindof fun and fast and...hmmm I wonder if I could have run faster?  I think I might like these little short bursts of pain.  Maybe I need to test my "perceived" limits and see what I can do!  I can't wait to see if I can run faster at the next 5k run!  Cardiff Kook 5k February 1, here I come!

December - Focus on the Positive - WARNING- GRAPHIC!!

After Ironman Arizona, I knew my next big step was to get my tattoo.  I had asked for recommendations, decided on my design, waited for my husband to return from a business trip and on Nov 21, I was laying face down in Avalon tattoo shop in Pacific Beach.  I spoke at length with Hunter, the artist, and he helped me pick the size and placement.  He showed me the sterile conditions and every tool was unique to each person and sealed in a sterile wrapping.  Even the bed was wrapped in sterile saran wrap.  He prepared the stencil and we moved the pattern around a few times, until we all decided the final location and font for my MDOT IRONMOM.  Hunter had beautiful artwork in his room and had been practicing for 5 years.  I had complete confidence in his ability.  First, he outlined it in black. The pain was only during the downward stroke and as the needle was lifted, the pain was instantly gone.  When he changed to the brushing stroke to fill in the mdot in red ink, then the pain was more intense.  However, it was over in about 30 minutes.  I loved it.  Crisp Crimson Red just above the sock cuff.  We reviewed the After Care instructions to be sure I clearly understood there would be NO swimming in chlorine or ocean water for at least 2 weeks.  He discussed using Neosporin the first few days and lotion daily but not to over do it.  He said to let it dry on its own and NOT to cover it. Simple enough.  I couldn't have been happier.

So what DIDNT we talk about?  This is an OPEN WOUND which is located in the worst possible place that attracts dirt.  What's in dirt?  Very Mean Resistant Bacteria....the kind that doesn't care about antibiotics. They are little Ironbugs.  So another thing you DON'T do is RUN IN DIRT until it is healed, UNLESS you can SEAL it from the environment. (Lesson #1)

Fast Forward 7 days.... Thanksgiving is here.  My training peaks schedule says "go for a turkey trot race!"  YES there is a new one in Bonita around Rohr Park that looks fun because I've never run the route before.  I don't even know the elevation !  Hubby and I sign up for the 10k.  That morning, I thought, hmmmm maybe I should lather up the tattoo with Neosporin so it's coated for the race?  We walked a bit from the parking to the start at Rohr park.  It's so pretty with leaves and soft dirt trails everywhere.  Dogs, horses and kids...what a great park.  Just before the race begins, I felt something on my leg and looked down to see my entire tattoo covered in dirt and small debris.  The tattoo was buried alive!!  The ointment became a magnet for everything possible to stick to my leg. YIKES!  I found a wipey, rubbed off all the dirt, and took off for the 10k.  I didn't think anymore about it until we returned to the car. It was filthy again, and I remembered running along lots of loose dirt and debris on parts of the course. I squeezed my water bottle over it, wiped it off again.  That was enough, right?  I will shower later and all will be good.

A few days passed, and the tattoo started to change.  It was oozy and although some of my friends said they could swim in 7 days after a tattoo because the scab was complete, mine hadn't even started to scab.  I called to make an appointment with my sports med doctor but he was busy so they sent me to a PA.  However when I arrived, they had neglected to tell me the PA was in a different place across town and I couldn't make it on time so the appointment was cancelled.  I made another one for the following day with a Family Medicine Dr. (lesson #2 THIS IS A SKIN INFECTION!!! see a dermatologist!)  On my way to the gym, I sent a picture of my tattoo to my tridoc friend (internal medicine) to ask him what he thought. (He doesn't work in my network)  I was alarmed when he told me to go to the urgent care IMMEDIATELY!!!! I really wanted to run for an hour but WOW he was persistent so I left the gym and went to urgent care. 

 I was so happy to be seen within 15 minutes!  This is absolutely unheard of!  The doctor came in to see me before my vitals were done!  She stared at me for a few seconds and then said WOW I just read your record and You Are A Rockstar!!  What?  oh my other doctor was treating me for neck pain for cycling at IMAZ so he must have put that in my chart!  ANYWAY!!! let's focus!  I showed her the tattoo and MORE STARING!!!  hello??  she said... wow!  What??? You do know the tattoo is SUPPOSED to be red, right?  It's a red MDOT for my ironman finish.  She says OH thank goodness you told me that! I thought that was your flesh!  Oh geez it's not that bad is it???...then she gives me an injection and antibiotic and says it will be good as new very soon and leaves within 5 minutes.  This sounded about right to me (as if I have any experience in this area to even have a valid opinion!!) .  I told my tridoc friend the news.  He said.. did she culture it?  what? no, she seemed confident this med and shot would fix it... Tri doc says... Well I would have cultured it but hopefully this is the right antibiotic.  (Lesson #3 anytime you have a skin infection, get a culture BEFORE the antibiotic is given or otherwise the culture won't grow and you won't know about the resistances).

Guess what happens next??? OF COURSE I am growing a concave hole in my leg now and the puss keeps running down my leg and it's really soggy like a cake that's not cooked in the middle!!!  I'm taking my meds and watching my leg disintegrate daily.  I remake a new appointment with Family Med Dr. (hello ! skin infection needs a Derm Dr!)  She  looks at it.  I show her my daily pictures on my phone and her expression is alarming.  She cultures it and says it probably won't give good results because of the current antibiotics but we'll see. I requested new antibiotics per my tri doc friend so I was at least armed with knowledge.  The culture gave some mild bacteria growth.  I'm starting to panic a little because my skin is gooey, I can't swim, and no one knows what's wrong.  My tridoc friend takes all my pictures to his Derm Doc friend - Head of Dermatology.  He guesses Atypical Mycobacterium which requires a special request culture.  He tells me the double antibiotics to request from a Dermatologist.  Yea, more knowledge.  Family Med Dr refers me to Derm Dr and I go in with a script to read to the doctor and show him 25 horrendous pictures showing the slow decay of my leg!  Derm Dr says very nonchalantly that the special culture requires him to cut out a piece of my DEEP TISSUE under the tattoo,  and there will be a stitch but hopefully the scar won't mess up your tattoo!  HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND!!!!  No one is cutting or stitching me!  We are going to ASSUME the Head Of Derm knows his shit and I'm taking these antibiotics he recommends. You can beat me to death with cotton swabs and culture the surface but THAT IS IT!  He swabbed it vigorously and sent me away with ointment and 2 antibiotics.   Within 48 hours, I saw improvement.  6 weeks later, my scab has healed and fallen off but the tissue is rough and still healing. 



Apparently Atypical Mycobacterium infections have 30 species with a wide range of problems from TB to Leprosy to affecting the lung and brain functions!  It's difficult to control and takes 4 weeks or more of double antibiotics to kill. This is SERIOUS SHIT!! (I literally got animal "shit" in my wound apparently)  While taking 1700mg a day of meds, my GI went into complete distress and I was regularly dizzy and nauseous until my coach mentioned probiotics!  I think drinking Yakult 2x a day saved my life!  Suddenly I immediately felt like a new person! My coach also controlled by hysteria due to not swimming by focusing on running.  It was like a new shiny blingy thing that kept my attention.  She made me run sprints and intervals far out of my comfort zone but it consumed me as I saw improvement in my stride and pace.  She told me I was going to run a sub-2 hour half marathon on 12/28.  I didn't plan on this and I couldn't see this in my future.  Running PRs hurt like hell and 2:05 was my best ever. Dropping 5 minutes is a lot but it gave me new focus so I grabbed on to this new goal like a life line.  Running kept me sane through the month of December.  I ran over 30 miles a week at some painful paces with my inhaler nearby!  My son, Ryan said he would pace me at the race too!.  The course is slightly downhill so maybe if I worked hard on the positives and trained hard, and chased Ryan, then maybe I could SEE what my coach saw in me already.  Over the year, my coach/athlete relationship has become SHE BELIEVES & I TRUST...SO I JUST DO IT!

So Christmas passes and my tattoo is still slowly changing every day but I still can't swim. So sad....but I can run and I can bike so Life IS Good.  It's all in the attitude. Now it is Dec 28 and although the weather has been remarkable warm, today it is 32 degrees!  Ummm well I will wear arm warmers, long compression pants, and thin gloves and I WILL BE HAPPY!  I will gain strength from my son and my TCSD tri top and I will go for it!  I will wear my MDOT necklace and Just Keep Moving Forward bracelet too!  I want to be in the sub-2hr running club!! I have all I need to achieve this goal!

 

This course starts with a little uphill for about a mile and then a longer downhill so it was comfortable.  Ryan was ahead of me looking backwards and making sure I was close by the entire race.  I pushed on the downhill because I knew the 2nd half was more difficult and I would be tired.  The rollers were great.  The crowd was not as packed as I expected on the narrow 56 bike path.  Many runners were supportive and said GO TRICLUB to me!  I just LOVE that!  I tried to hold steady around 9min miles unless downhill.  About mile 10, we had some slight uphill and it hurt and I dropped to 9:30 but Ryan kept urging me forward.  (BTW he took THREE phone calls during the race as he pranced along at a comfortable pace in front of me!  He had only run 3mi, 6mi , and 10 mi runs before the race to ensure he could hold 9 minute pace for me! Wow, youth is grand!) I picked it backup mile 11 and then mile 12 was a little up again so I slid back to 9:30.  There was a little out and back leg as a teaser before the last section to the finish line.  I knew I was slipping physically and mentally so it was time to push through the pain and really go for it.  Ryan stayed close by my side and ran with my new surging pace of sub 9min mile as I was pleading for the finish line to arrive quickly before I blacked out!  We turned the corner and I picked up my knees as best I could and we blasted across the timing mat with 20 seconds to spare!  My distance run was 13.13 THANK YOU RACE DIRECTOR FOR PERFECT MILEAGE!!! and my finish time was 1:59:40.   Wow, the pain instantly stopped and I was so elated!  Having my son by my side was so spectacular as well!  He really pulled me through this one.   What a great memory for us!



The best part about running hard is the swimming that follows!  It's amazing therapy and makes me relax and recover fast.  Oh wait, I can't swim. :(  Grouchy again... Then I saw a post on Facebook for our club swim challenge which I was unable to participate in all month.  If you swim the last 3 days of the year, you will be in a raffle.  I looked at my leg. It really was much better.  I sent pictures to triDoc requesting swim time. He said YES!!!!  I swam with my heart on Dec 29 2300y, and Dec 30 2600y, and twice on Dec 31st for 5000 yards total! 

My shoulders hurt and I was really slow but I WAS SO HAPPY!!!  My scab had completely fallen off as well.  I am still on antibiotics and it is still healing internally.  I can still see some superficial healing in the works but it is improving.  My tattoo is much lighter than day 1 due to the infection and antibiotics and it will need to be reinked but I won't be doing that for at least 2 months and during a 2 week period where I can live in a bubble.  My tridoc friend may have saved my limb, and my life.  Trifriends are the best! - a tri doctor is even better - and I am so fortunate to have more than one !!






December was HARD.  I missed swimming so much.  Swimming is my ZEN therapy.  I actually NEED IT! I think my Ironman training helped me mentally though.  Focus on the positive.  Do what you CAN do , prepare, and give it your best.  Change your goals when you must but GO FOR IT!  Thank you TEAM IRONMOM.  You were all AWESOME!! It was amazing to end the year on such a positive note!

Looking forward to 3 Ironman 70.3's, One hilly marathon and watching my husband become an IronDAD !