An Unpostable Injury

Un-Freaking-Believable.

With a fast recovery following the Cox Providence Marathon and 50-60 degs F forecast on Sunday for the Delaware Marathon, I was thinking a sub-3:50 looked doable. But now all bets are off!

Because the ground jumped up and bit me again, this time at my first spin class in ump-teen years. &$#?$%@!!!

Now some of you may recall that I usually AVOID spin classes like the plague because I hate spin bikes (they never seem to fit right and hurt me more than the workouts) and I am not fond of riding indoors in general. But this one allowed, actually encouraged, us to bring our own bikes & trainers and the instructor is the coach of my tri club. I figured I'd be safe and it'd be more fun to ride indoors with my tri club.

Indeed, it was the best spin class I'd been to but getting off my bike would present a problem. It became very apparent that I'd not ridden on a trainer much. Who knew my bike would be much higher on a trainer than on the road, that I couldn't easily just lean it over to get my leg over it, and the floor would be so slippery when wearing bike shoes?

Man, I might as well have been wearing skates. And the spin room floor, of course, was one of those really hard tiled floors that made asphalt feel spongy.

Luckily, I did not hit my head (no helmet worn indoors) or re-fracture my tailbone (an old childhood injury). I was also able to catch my bike before it hit the floor (it got pulled over when my leg got caught on it). But now I have a most painful bruise on my left butt bone right where the left leg connects to it. Darn tush has lost much of its cush due to years of endurance sports -- WAH! And you'll just have to take my word for it as I'm not posting a photo of this injury.

Good news: It only hurts when I sit or move my left leg.

Bad news: I'll need to do both to get on a plane and run a marathon.

Good news: Ironing doesn't require sitting or much leg movement. (I have a big pile that I've been putting off doing. So much for being an ironwoman - HA!)

Anyways, Dave will have many nice pressed pants & shirts but who knows what'll happen on Sunday. Then again, whoever said running a marathon would be easy?

In the meantime, I'll leave you with some other photos from the past week:

Dave celebrated his 49th birthday down 25# from the beginning of the year, even traveling nearly every week.

His typical lunch lately (fruit salad, frozen mixed veggies, carrots & celery sticks).

Me (front left, red visor) and some folks from my tri club at Lucky's Lake, a local swim spot that has gained cult-like status in free swimming.

With no swim on my training schedule, I was there mainly to support team members who'd never swam in open water before.

But I couldn't resist getting in a quick swim myself. Busted ;-)

First-time lake crossers got to sign Lucky's "Wall of Fame", which has become so full now that folks are signing the ceiling!

Dinner with fellow ironwoman Vickie and her husband who were visiting from Michigan (sorry, terrible photo as my camera was on the wrong setting).

Nearing the finish of the Cox Providence Marathon.

My apologies for being MIA on blogs. I hope to catch up next week when I get back from Delaware and am able to sit for much longer than I can now (even with a doughnut it's far from comfortable). Good luck to everyone else racing this weekend!

Update 5/14: Able to walk pain-free today! Fingers crossed for running on Sunday.

Aloha!

This Easter, Smoosh Bunny (SB), a Giant Marshmallow Bunny that has been mailed back and forth between my hubby Dave and his sister for years, turned 21!

And he (she?) showed up with a message.

So I brought him along with me back to Kona. SB got lucky and had his own seat on one of the flights.

He hung out on our lanai when I went out for my first run in 2 weeks after having sprained my ankle at the Gator Half Iron.

He hopped and sat in Dave's patio chair and watched surfers and boogie boarders play while patiently awaiting my return.

After my 5-mile run, I was drenched but very happy that I had no ankle pain at all -- Woohoo!!! But I was NOT used to running in heat having been spoiled by an unusually cool winter in FL. Need to start out earlier, not mid-morning when it was already approaching 80!

As promised, I took SB out for a bike ride. To make sure he had a good view, I put him into one of my rear bottle cages.

I'd been mostly cycling while I couldn't run to stay in shape the past few weeks (unfortunately, the ankle flexion involved when swimming bothered my ankle so Coach didn't have me swim much once I could put weight on my foot). Below, we are at the bike ride turnaround. I had to hold onto SB tight when I took him out as that rascal wanted to keep going!

As usual, we had a headwind going back but lovely ocean scenery and other cyclists to try to catch made the ride back fun.

Next up for me, 3 marathons in 5 weeks, starting with the Providence Marathon (Rhode Island) on Sunday. My longest run was 16 miles last Thursday but all I want to do is finish these marathons, which should be doable provided I don't roll any more ankles.

Look forward to catching up with everyone this week!!!

2010 Gator Half Iron Tri

Thanks, everyone, for the congrats, ankle condolences and baby shower wishes, too, LOL. I'm happy to report that the ankle is MUCH better now, almost normal looking. It's still weak, though, so I'll be taking things slow. No races until May, which is good.

As for being a superhero? No, not me. I just did what I've always done when I fell down: I got back up and found a way to get home. But more on that in a bit.

First of all, I chose the Gator Half Iron Tri because it was a small race with a flat course and hopefully cool weather being held in March. Last year, my training/racing was all about hills and heat and, to be honest, I was sick of it. I just wanted to see how fast I could go in flat, cool conditions for a change!

I was joined by three fellow BPY Tri Club members. Two of us on the left were half iron vets while the other two were newbs. The other woman, Jacklynn, is the coach of the club, however, and a very good swimmer, spinning instructor and a strong runner so I knew she'd do well even if it was her first half iron. We also had a few other tri club members and family members come out to spectate and support us adding to the fun.

With only ~80 participants, the race had just one "mass" swim start and it was actually my first in-water start (as opposed to a beach start). We lucked out with 68 deg water temps so I went with my sleeveless wetsuit. How that happened, I don't know but I'll take 68 over 58 any day!!

The swim course was two rectangular loops plus some and I swam fairly hard from the get-go, another first. Still, by the second lap I was swimming mostly by myself, as usual. Man, these folks are fast! (or is it I'm still slow?)

Whatev. Except for my wetsuit pull-string wrapping itself around my right arm and my swim cap creeping off my head, I was very pleased with my swim. I was only a few minutes behind many others and with a strong bike would be seeing them again soon.

1.2 mi Swim: 39:07 (1:51/100 yds), a 5-min PR!

In transition, I had a great spot on the end right next to the bike exit as I was one of the first to rack my bike the day before. Gotta love small races where you can rack your bike wherever you want, first come first serve.

T1: 2:25, one of my fastest T1 times but mainly because the transition area was very close to the water.

The bike course was FABULOUS, one big oblong-shaped flat loop. We had a 10-12 mph headwind starting out (notice flags in swim exit photo) that grew to 15-20 mph as a front moved in. But having ridden in much stronger winds the weekend before, it didn't seem bad to me. I just stayed down in aero and kept telling myself the wind is my friend, the wind is my friend ... I passed the two male tri club teammates by mile 20 or so and gave both guys a cheer. Probably never fun being chicked but at least if it's by a teammate or someone friendly maybe it's not as bad?

Mile 29 was where the course turned so we'd have the wind mostly at our backs. I'd averaged 18.6 mph up to that point and now it was time for the fun to begin!

WEEEE!!! I never saw my Garmin go below 20 mph again. Around mile 40, I finally caught up to Coach Jacklynn, who'd come out of the water 8 minutes ahead of me (she will no doubt be much harder to catch in the future). By then it was raining but the roads were straight and I saw no reason to slow down. In fact, I decided to speed UP a little knowing the weather would be getting worse soon. The last 5 miles or so, Dave found me on his bike and a couple tri club members drove by in a car cheering, which pumped me up even more. Thanks guys!!!

The hardest part of the bike course to me was this little maybe 50-yd dirt path between the bike mount/dismount point and the transition area. The rest I give 10 stars on a scale of 1 to 5.

56 mi Bike: 2:45:54 (20.3 mph), not a PR but only 16 sec slower than my fastest half iron bike split which was on a course that was actually 1.5-2 miles shorter.

T2: 1:15, fairly fast but the porta pottys outside of the transition area would be my next stop.

With that taken care of, I was now ready to blast the 2-lap run. The clouds, rain and wind kept temps well below 70 making this the coolest weather I've ever raced a half iron in by far and I felt very strong coming off the bike. I didn't start my Garmin until I got out of the porta-potty but ran my first mile at a 7:52 pace, which felt quite manageable. Hmm, a 1:45 half marathon might be doable?

I saw a couple of paper Gatorade cups on the ground from an aid station I'd just passed. No biggie to step on one, right?

WRONG!!! The next thing I knew I was down on the ground with a familiar sharp pain in my left ankle. ?#@$&%!!! Was there a rock or something in the cup?

I couldn't believe it. The race had gone superbly up to that point and now this stupid misstep. Fortunately, there was no one else around at the time as I HATE falling in front of people (the aid station was unmanned because they were short on volunteers). I got myself back up on my right foot and wiped off the dirt and asphalt pieces embedded in my right palm. My right knee was bleeding from a scrape but nothing major. Then I tried to put some weight on my left foot. OWWIE!!!!!!!

Crap! It was very painful so I was worried at first that I couldn't continue but then I remembered my last ankle incident at the Little Rock Marathon three years ago. Yes, unfortunately it's happened before ... There I'd rolled the same left ankle on, ironically, a little rock at mile 8. It was also very painful to walk on at first but I kept trying not wanting to have to come back and run another Arkansas marathon. At that race, the pain subsided some as I kept moving and eventually I was able to jog/run pretty well and go on to finish -- 16 more miles! Then my ankle swelled up like a melon and hurt like hell afterward ...

So I tried the same here. Sure enough, my initial very painful limp became just a painful limp, then a slow jog with a sorta painful limp, then a slow jog with a less painful limp and eventually a jog/run with tolerable pain on every left footstep. Adrenaline is a powerful painkiller! After a while, probably few could even tell I'd hurt my ankle but I knew. It felt weak and wobbly and I had to be super careful to make sure I didn't roll it again or it'd probably be the end of my race.

After a turnaround on an out-and-back section, I saw Coach Jacklynn coming towards me meaning she was a few minutes behind me. I told her what happened and she gave me some words of encouragement and a high five, which I very much needed. Then I saw a couple other tri club folks cheering for me on a corner which also helped raise my spirits. Then hubby Dave was at mile 3 helping out at an aid station (have I mentioned they were short on volunteers?). Having seen me run countless times, he knew something was not right.

Dave: What's wrong?
Me: I'm going to need ace bandages and ice when I finish.
Dave: What happened?
Me: I rolled my ankle back at mile 1.

Dave knew better than to ask me too many questions or try to baby me when I'm hurting. The next mile I felt my ankle stiffening up and was forced to slow down some more. Grrrrr ... I went through the 5 stages of grief and accepted the fact that Coach Jacklynn would probably be passing me soon but I'd try to hold off any other females if I could ;-)

Meanwhile, Dave hopped on his bike and began working at the next aid station for a bit while waiting for me to go by. He amazed some folks by appearing to be everywhere on the course handing out cups and food, snapping pictures, and cheering for folks, and not just me. What a guy!

Two of my tri club teammates.

As I came back to the transition area to begin lap 2, another tri club member who'd come to support us came up alongside and ran a few steps with me. I tried to tell him how I'd rolled my ankle, had probably blown my PR, blah-blah, wah-wah, but he wouldn't hear of it. He just kept telling me how awesome I was doing and to keep going and finish strong. Dang it, why won't he listen?

Then I realized that Coach Jacklynn hadn't passed me yet so perhaps I was doing OK. Maybe I still have a shot at a PR? No, Silly, your goal is to just finish this race. Focus on the ground and make sure you don't fall again!

The second lap required even more caution and concentration with more people on the run course and the thunderstorm fully upon us. We were running in squall-like conditions at times and everyone was encouraging each other while doing their best to avoid huge puddles, cars and each other. Jokes were being made about the rain coming down so hard that you wouldn't need a shower after the race and the rivers of water on the roads making you wish you had a canoe to paddle your way to the finish. And, the volunteers, OMG, what few there were, were still out there holding onto their umbrellas and raincoats while also trying to do their job in the driving rain and wind. Crazy!!

They actually made me think that running was easier, even with a sprained ankle. At least I was moving and staying warm and would be done soon. That is, provided I was able to stay upright on that same little stretch of dirt to the transition area that also led to the finish line, my least favorite part of the run course as well. Here's a little video clip of me finishing (TRT 14 sec):




So, as you can see, no heroics. I just kept moving which kept most of the swelling and pain at bay. The "No Way" comment was because I couldn't believe my ears when I heard my finish time (the overhead clock was knocked out by the rain but there was someone calling it out). I hadn't looked at my Garmin since my fall and had no clue what pace I was running or what my race time was. It was a total shock!

Final race time: 5:12:22, 1/3 F45-49, 7/22 Females
12* mi Run: 1:43:42 (8:38 pace).
*Again, the course was short.

Then I headed straight to the EMT to get my ankle wrapped up and iced as I knew it was going to balloon up as soon as I stopped. Coach Jacklynn finished a few minutes later with big smile on her face.

Oh, as for gators? The only gator I saw at this race were chunks in a rice dish they served at the finish. Tasted like chicken :-)

Thanks to Dave and my tri club buddies for a great day of racing, smiles and photos. And thank YOU, Dear Readers, for your patience!

Gator Half Results

The run was about a mile short but no complaints. It would've been a PR either way.

Euwwww, a cankle.

Oh No, Not Again!!!

As some of you know, I have weak ankles. I can almost just look at a rock and roll my ankle on it. In fact, this one I never even saw and still went down. But, I did finish the race. Back with more after the final race results for the Gator Half Iron are posted.

I Wanna Be ...

Like my lemon tree.

About 10 years ago for my birthday, I got a little lemon tree from Home Depot and planted it in my backyard. I had one in my backyard growing up and have always loved fresh squeezed lemonade.



The tree came with a couple green sticks to help support its skinny branches. I watered and fertilized it but it didn't look look happy. It lost some of its leaves and other leaves were curling. A year or so later, our area had a citrus canker threat and I thought my tree might be destroyed when inspectors were going door to door but the leaves problem turned out not to be canker. In 2004, some hurricanes flooded my backyard and part of my tree was underwater for weeks. I worried again that I might lose it.



But my little lemon tree survived.

A couple years ago, it really started growing, flowering and is now a good sized lemon tree. Some green fruit appeared that slowly became bigger and bigger. This year, finally, I have some ripe lemons!

So now as I'm enjoying my long-awaited fresh squeezed lemonade, I realize I need to be tough like my little lemon tree. We have had some "cold" weather here lately in Central FL that is making working out more difficult, particularly swimming since my local (outdoor) pool is not being heated during the winter.

The lifeguards say I've been the only person coming to swim the past week. With a wetsuit on, the hardest part is really just getting there.

57 degs *inside* our house is also calling for some toughening up, but Dave is loving it. Revenge for me getting to keep the thermostat set at 82 degs when it's hot, which is most of the year.

But perhaps most of all, I need to be careful and patient. I have some new right shoulder and elbow pains (rotator cuff and elbow tendonitis?) that have cropped up recently. UGHH! In my zeal to get back to doing push-ups, dips & pull-ups during the holidays, I think I overdid things. Just started taking ibuprofen twice daily and modifying my swim stroke some. It seems to be getting better, or at least not getting worse. I know I will get through this ...

In other news, Dave was recently published in Road Bike Action Magazine (page 29). His answer to Why He Rides:

Because I can. How lucky are we to live in a place that all we have to worry about are inattentive drivers and not check points, roadblocks, land mines, and bored armed militias? To us, town lines are sprint goals, not borders of warring clan's turf or boundaries that limit our safety. The simple freedom of getting on a bike and not worrying about where, how long, etc. you are going is a luxury many people don't have.

Enjoy your workouts, everyone!!

My First Race

First of all, big congrats to Jen and RBR who both completed Barb's Race, their first half iron tri, under scorching sun this weekend, Calyx on completing her first half marathon on what looks to be a postcard-perfect San Francisco day, and Rural Girl, Pharmie, IronWil, Nancy, TriCajun and many others who did Steelhead 70.3, which turned into a duathlon due to wicked waves and a strong undertow that made swimming dangerous. Man, am I glad I decided not to do that race. Not only would it have been disappointing to have traveled so far to do a duathlon, my hamstring would probably have balked at all the walking around in sand they did before the race and then having to do two run segments. Funny, though, it wasn't long ago that I would have wished every tri I did turned into a du ;-)

But the hammy is continuing to improve and things are looking good. Last week, I was able to do some short runs pain-free at a normal easy pace as opposed to super slow. Like I'd be probably faster if I just walked. During the swim workout after the one where I dragged that dam parachute, I clocked a 1:48 for 100 yards, which is like a speed record for me. No drafting, fins or pull buoy used, I swear! And this weekend on the bike, I was able to hold 20-22mph on Saturday riding in front during much of a 38-mile route and do 50 miles on Sunday at an avg pace of 17.5mph without much difficulty. So I feel I haven't really lost much fitness as a result of the injury, which is good.

But I am missing racing and running, in particular. I started thinking back to my first race when I didn't know sh*t about training, nutrition, pacing or any of that stuff. I just ran and had fun. Life seemed so simple back then ...



My first race was the 2002 Kona Half Marathon. I'd always been one of the slowest girls to run laps in P.E. while growing up and never thought I'd be in a race. Yet, here I was in one of my favorite places in the world lined up with hundreds of others at sunrise. I was scared. Scared of running alongside so many people, scared of aid stations (didn't know how to drink out of a cup while running and didn't want to stop for fear of cramps) and deathly scared of being timed.

So I brought my own little 6 oz bottle of water to sip along the way, wore no watch and planned to view this race as one of my many nice leisurely jogs. Well, that lasted for about a mile.

After the crowd had thinned out, I turned into someone else. I'd never felt the thrill of adrenaline pumping during a race, running in the middle of the street with no cars around, passing people or having spectators cheering. I was like a drug addict craving it, pushing for more and completely oblivious to the consequences. Gels, bonking, what's that?

Approaching the turnaround, things had only gotten worse. I was feeling quite good by then and was now counting (yes, counting!) women going the other way. Several people were slowing going through aid stations and I was secretly happy they were so I could pass them, yet wondering too if maybe I should grab water since my little 6 oz water bottle was pretty much empty.

But people were cheering for me and telling me how strong I looked. How could I slow down?

As the last few miles clicked off I was breathing harder than ever before. I worried that I might have a heart attack or pass out but knew I was close to the end (of the race). I just needed to hang on. Upon making the final turn, I saw the finish line and it never looked so good (it was the first one I'd ever seen :-). I crossed it not having any idea what my race time meant. I was just so happy to be done!

1:43:59 (7:58 pace), 2nd place F40-49, 7th Overall Female.

Best of all, former Olympian Frank Shorter was the one who gave me my first race medal. Back then, not all half marathoners got them so the medal was the AG award. And that's how it all started.

Now I just have to be patient.

Progress

Back in Kona now where I've managed to do my first workouts since the bike crash. 15 min upright exercise bike (no weight on upper body = no pain), 15 min elliptical and 20(!) minutes on the treadmill. I kept the intensity level low but did indeed break a sweat -- YAAAAAAY!!!

Then I put on my bathing suit to go for a short swim -- ICK! The big ugly bruise on the side that got slammed onto the asphalt was glaring at me (my right side, the photo is a mirror reflection). And with parts of it still swollen and puffy, it not only still hurts like hell, it makes my thigh look HUGE :-(

I managed about 20 min swimming with a pull buoy before I had to stop due to rib pain. Breast stroking actually hurt worse.

But, I've done more today than I did all last week. Time to enjoy the sunset :-)

Aloha! (Second photo added)

Patience

Well, it's been a week since my bike crash and my road rash has been healing up pretty well. The knee boo-boos are now just itchy scabs waiting for me to pick off and the stuff on my arm, while still nasty in appearance (so I'll spare you photos), really does not feel that bad. Unless someone or thing rubs against it. Yowza!

Darn it, though, my ribs feel only slightly better than last week. Breathing deeply, coughing, laughing, sitting up from bed and the worst, sneezing, still hurts, a lot. I mowed my lawn today much like an old lady would with my elbows tucked in close to my body (as opposed to outstretched) to minimize using my chest, back & abs. How nice it would have been to have a self-propelled mower!

But that was downright pleasant compared to riding my bike yesterday. Yes, indeed, having to support my upper body weight on my arms hit all those major muscle groups and I went a whopping 3 miles before I decided to head back. Felt like I was breathing through a little straw while someone was punching me in the ribs and forcing me to pedal. Not good.

So, I've decided to take my first ever DNS (Did Not Start) at tomorrow's bike time trial event. IMO, there is nothing to be gained by doing it when I'm injured. I'm better off resting and continuing to recover. I've already volunteered to be the person who marks the turnaround to help Dave and others who missed the turn last time trial. My bike is now in the shop, too, because I found out that it has a bent dérailleur hanger (thing that holds the thing that controls where the chain goes on the rear things -- make sense?). Nothing serious but it needs fixing in order to be in tiptop shape for when I'll be in tiptop shape, which will hopefully be soon!

On a completely different topic, I am ecstatic to announce that my sister, Jade Lady, has started her own blog, finally! She has run a few marathons and done a couple tris but needs help staying motivated, especially having just had shoulder surgery last Thursday. If you get some free time, please drop by her blog and say Hi!

News flash: Just heard that the bike time trial event has been cancelled due to bad weather. No DNS after all -- woo hoo!!!

Scratch That

I'm still falling off my bike ...

This time I rounded a corner too fast and my bike slid from underneath me. The bike is fine and I'm OK, just some road rash and bruises, the worst of which is along my right rib cage where my right arm jammed into it upon hitting the pavement. It hurts to breathe but I'm pretty sure I have no cracked ribs (the pain is not sharp enough). Got a nice crack in my bike helmet, though. I'd be a good ad for bike helmets and Neosporin right now.

On a brighter note, I had a great time in Austin. Didn't get to do much else other than create my Evotri video, meet up with fellow blogger Ellie for lunch and spend time with my sister and her family. My little niece, who's now 3 1/2 years old and full of energy, gave me quite the workout playing balloon volleyball and made sure there was never a dull moment for Auntie Shirley.

Me & my niece.

Brother-in-law, niece & me.

My sister, Ellie & Me.

It was supposed to be step-back week in training anyway and, well, this week may be light as well depending on how I feel, we'll see. My next big race, Ocean Drive Marathon, is end of March so plenty of time to heal up and get back into training.

Tomorrow I find out if I've made it to the first round of voting on Team Evotri. Stay tuned!