IM AZ

Well, it's been a week since the race and I think I am pretty much recovered. Here is a brief overview of the race.




The Orlando Crew!





We got up on race morning at 3:30am and immediately started to eat. I had a bagel with pnut butter, applesauce, carnation instant breakfast, water and a little gatorade. We headed down to the race site around 5am. We got body marked, put some last minute things in our transition bags, turned in our special needs bags and pumped up our tires. When it was time to head over to the water, we met up with Kelly and started making our way towards the drop off with everyone else. This race has an in the water start, so we had to get in about 10 minutes prior to the start. I jumped in with Kelly and Julie and then I immediately lost them as I made my way into the crowd. I decided to try my hand at starting near the front of the pack. I knew I would be in the about the top 1/3 of the swim, so I was hoping I could hang in the front with the fast people. I was in a pretty open area to begin with, but as the time got closer and closer to the start, it quickly got crowded and I had a moment of panic as my water treading area got smaller and smaller. They sang the national anthem and we were off!







I started to the far right about 3 rows of people back from the start.





I am a right side breather, so I had it made on the way out, I could just keep my eye on the wall and not even have to pick my head up to sight. About 5 minutes into the swim I looked up and could see Kirby walking along the shoreline following me. I wanted to wave at him, but figured I would loose my pace so I just kept my eye on him every time I came up to breathe. He stayed with me for about 1/2 a mile which was really cool. After the turn around people seemed to be spreading out, so I was very comfortable. As we got closer to the finish of the swim it started getting congested and a guy in front of me kept on getting in my way, so I grabbed his foot and pushed it out of the way. The second after I did that, I got a charley horse in my foot and had to stop swimming to grab onto it. (Must have been karma!) I looked over at one of the lifeguards in a kayak and he looked at me. For a second I thought I might have to call him over so I could hold onto the kayak while I waited for this cramp to go away (you are allowed to hold onto a lifeguard as long as they do not propel you forward) But after a few seconds I just relaxed and was able to continue, but I really had to concentrate on keeping my foot relaxed. I also promised myself that I was going to be nice and not push anyone else out of the way. :) As I made the turn at the last bouy the cramp started coming back again, so I just flexed my foot upward and swam like that to the end. After climbing up the stairs out of the water I ran over to the wetsuit stripping area and then I headed to the transition bags. The day before I had seen a few bags with ribbons on them, which I thought was a great idea in identifying your bag, so I bought some red curly ribbon and put it on the outside of my bag. I spotted it in 2 seconds and snatched it up. In the transition tent I sat down and put on my socks, shoes, helmut, sunglasses and race belt. I put a flask of rasberry hammer gel in my back pocket. As I ran out I got lubed up with sunscreen from one of the volunteers and then ran to get my bike.














The bike was BRUTAL! It was a three loop course and on the way out, it was a gradual incline into the wind. I think I was going about 9 miles an hour on the way out, but after the turn around I was going around 20-22 miles an hour on the way back. Each lap got progressively hotter, I think the high temp was around 96 or so. I also heard that the wind was about 10-15 mph with gusts of up to 20 mph. At each aid station I would pour water all over myself, which felt great, but then it would evaporate about as fast as I had poured it on. On the second lap I started to feel what I thought was my sciatica pain coming on, but I was able to make it through the entire bike without it getting too intense.







Starting the first lap of the run



















Near the finish line!!












The run started out pretty rough. The sun was still high in the sky and I was still feeling overheated. At each aid station I would grab two ice cold sponges and shove them in my shirt and then I would grab a cup of ice and pour half of it down my shirt and half of it under my hat. I ended up running and walking that lap. During the second lap, the sun started going down, which offered a little relief, but I still had to do a little walking. On lap number 3, the sun was completely down and I was able to run most of it. At each aid station I would alternate between water, gatorade, cola and chicken broth. At a few I would eat a banana, orange slice or pretzels. I must have hydrated well because I stopped to go to the bathroom about 6 times. When I was a mile away from the finish I started to pick up the pace and I had a big smile on my face. I got to the sign that said 1st, 2nd and 3rd lap that way or FINISH this way. I was so happy to be able to turn off towards the finish! As I did I looked up and there was Kirby with his arms in the air and a huge smile on his face. He told me the finish was just around the corner. I think the smile on my face got even larger asI rounded the last corner and saw the crowd. I have to say that the crowd at Ironman races are incredible. You feel like a superstar going through the finish line! After crossing the finish line I immediately went over to Kirby and gave him a huge hug. I did it! I finished my second Ironman! Phew!




Mike-Kicked ass in the race!
Me-I finished!
Julie-First Ironman!!
David-First Ironman!!






My stats:

Swim 1:12:59
T1 7:10
Bike 7:36:56 (14.7 mph pace)
T2 6:50
Run 5:43:07 (13:06 pace)

Total 14:46:59






My biggest fan!

Getting Better

Had an MRI on Saturday, going to review it with the doc on Thursday. Yesterday went for a sports massage with Stephanie and it was amazing! She felt the spot where I having pain and was able to work out the stiffness. I felt like a new person when I left! I went to see a physical therapist today who was recommended to me because she is also a cyclist. She was also great, I think between the massage and the physical therapist I am going to feel okay. I rode on the trainer for 30 minutes tonight and didn't even feel a tweak in my butt, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that I am at least partially cured! 12 days to go until the race!

On a different subject, Kirby's dad is very sick. His mom and dad went on a trip to tahiti and on their way back his dad was feeling tired so he went to the doctor and was put in the hospital. It turned out that he has a very bad case of MRSA Pneumonia. It was a little touch and go yesterday, Kirby's brother asked him to come home asap, so he got on a flight this morning. It sounds like he is doing a little better, but he still has about 3 more days of treatment and they have been keeping him sedated. I have been praying that he pulls through this okay. The scariest thing I can image is loosing a parent, especially when you aren't even expecting it. I know it's just a part of life, but that doesnt make it any easier. Kirby's dad is in his 60's, so I have a good feeling that he is going to be strong enough to pull through this.

What is happening to me?!?

On saturday I was attempting to ride 100 miles with the gang and at about mile 55 I started to get what felt like a big cramp in my right butt cheek. I just thought maybe my legs were getting tired. As I pressed on, the pain started to radiate down my leg to my calf. I tried different positions on the bike and it helped a little, but the pain continued to get worse the farther I got. I stopped to stretch, which seemed to help a little, but shortly after starting to ride again the pain came back. This time it was so intense that by mile 75 I couldnt even pedal anymore. I made it to a gas station where I waited for about an hour and a half until Julie was able to bring the car to get me. When I got home I took an ice bath and elevated my legs. The next day I just took it easy and rested most of the day. On Monday when I went to work I was having lower back pain and I could still feel a slight pain in my butt, so I made an appointment with an Orthopaedic doctor. He took x-rays, which didn't tell him anything, and then he did a few tests on me to see if it could be my piriformus (sp?) muscle that might be pushing on my sciatic nerve, but that proved to not be the problem. Now I am awaiting an MRI which I will have on Saturday. He thinks I could possibly have a disc in my back out of place which is pushing on the sciatic nerve, which is causing the pain to go from my butt to my calf. If I do indeed have a disc out of place, he recommended that I not do the race and risk further damage. At that point I started to cry. Yes, I am a baby, but I have also been busting my ass for the past 6 months getting ready for this race, not to mention all of the money I have invested in this. I am praying that it was just a fluke occurance and that I will be better by the time of the race. I ran into a friend at the Y who is a PT and she gave me her thoughts, which sounded promising. I am just going to hope for the best, keep doing small workouts and plan on racing. Once we get the results from the MRI, I will decide how this all plays out. Hopefully with a fairy tale ending! :)

Moss Park Tri

Yesterday I raced in the Moss Park Olympic Distance Triathlon. This was the first tri I have done since last May (Gulf Coast Half) so I felt a little nervous.

The swim sucked in the beginning. I always hate how I get so out of breath in the very beginning from charging into the water. It took me until I was close to finishing the first lap to get into a comfortable rhythm. After the swim there was a ridiculously long run back to the transition area, which got me really out of breath! I finished the swim in 28:29.

When I got on my bike I was crazy out of breath, but I didn't want to slow down, so I dealt with it and finally caught my breath around mile 6 or 7. I had one bottle of gatoraide/carbo pro mix with me, which I thought would be sufficient for such a short race, but after taking my first sip, my stomach didn't agree with it and I was wishing I had some water with me. I also thought to myself "what if I accidently dropped this bottle, I don't have a back up" Note to self: No matter what the distance is, always take 2 bottles. I had to keep drinking the gatoraide to stay hydrated, but it made my stomach feel worse and worse, so being in the aero position wasn't good. I sat up alot, which slowed me down, but felt a lot better on my stomach. Bike time was 1:17:55

When I got back to the transition area, I walked most of the way back to my stuff. I took a swig of water which I had been craving and headed out on the run course. A few minutes into the run I had stomach cramps and a side cramp like you wouldnt believe. I started to walk and tried putting my arm over my head and stretching out my side to get the pain to go away, but nothing seemed to help. I walked/ran to the first water stop and then after drinking a little water I felt better, so I ran more than I walked to the next stop and had a little more water. I think the water really helped because I felt much better and was able to run the rest of the way with little to no cramping. Run time 56:11

Total time: 2:45:47 (a 12 minute olympic distance PR for me!)

49 Days and Counting....

Only 49 more days until the race.

Yesterday I swam 2 laps at lucky's and ran 1 hour on the dirt roads in Windemere. Today David and I rode 95 miles starting from Windemere elementary and out to the Van Fleet trail in Polk City. It was overcast all day so it made for a great ride. I was hurting a bit after 40 miles since I was trying to keep up with David, but after that I actually started to feel better. Last weekend Julie and I rode 95 and that ride felt better than this one. I'm guessing that's because we went a little slower. Next weekend is a long brick.

Gasparilla Half Marathon

This was a tough weekend of working out. We rode a pretty hard 56 miles on Saturday, my legs were beat afterwards. Then on Sunday we ran the Gasparilla half marathon. I wasn't sure how I was going to do because I have had IT band problems for the last few months, which has made it hard to run more than 4 or 5 miles at a time. I also fell while on my bike 2 weeks ago and banged my self up pretty bad which also kept me from running for 5 days. So I thought I'd run about half of the race and then run/walk the rest. But it didn't happen that way at all. I got to mile 7 and kept on going, I was feeling really good, my heart rate was comfortable and I was happy. When there were 2 miles left I looked at my watch and realized I was going to finish close to being under 2 hours, so I kicked it up a little bit. At the last mile I kicked it up even more and I thought I was going to throw up, so I backed off a bit. I ended up finishing in 2:01:03. I was very happy with that given the fact that I haven't ran anywhere close to that distance so far this season.

67 Days to go!!

I can't believe it, where has the time gone?!?!

This season I bought myself a new Tri bike. I got a Cervelo P2C. As nice as the zip wheels look in this picture, I definitely couldn't afford those, so picture this bike with regular wheels. I figured after 5+ years of doing Tri's, including 6 half Iron distance races and with one Ironman under my belt I deserved it. Julie got the same bike first and after trying it out one day, I fell in love with it. It is a Tri-specific bike, so it feels alot different than my road bike. The thing that has been hard to get used to is having the gear shifters on the end of the handle bars, but I am finally getting the hang of it. I also went through a few different seats. I started out with the seat that came with the bike, which was hard as a rock. Then I bought a Serfas Tri-w, which was also pretty hard. Then I ordered a Terry Butterfly Carbon, but the carbon rails wouldn't fit so I thought I would try it on my specialized but it wouldn't fit on it either. I guess the carbon rails are a bit thicker than titanium rails, so I have no idea how you are supposed to get the seat to work. I then returned the Terry butterfly carbon and got the Terry Butterfly gel, but in the meantime I took the seat off of my Specialized and put it on my Cervelo and I am actually pretty happy with it. So maybe I'll but the Terry Gel on my specialized who knows. Wow, that was probably a very boring story about bike seats.