Triple Tuesday

Today was just a total workout extravaganza. Three to be exact. Started off with a hilly run in Kennesaw. Why is it so hilly up there? It wasn't humid but it was hot for almost October. I ran up this wicked hill that was 3/4 mile long. I almost puked at the top. Always the sign of a good run!

Second workout was a swim. Total dud. I am apparently made of lead these days. This was my third swim since Ironman and it is my PROMISE to myself this winter to not let myself give up on swimming! It's just way too hard for someone who is a "non swimmer" to be competitive if they don't swim all winter. Got in 1000 yards. Not too terrible.

Workout number three was supposed to be a bike at Stone Mountain until I saw that there was construction work and part of the road was blocked off. Not wanting to ride in semi-circles instead of full loops I was in a tizzy about what to do. Okay, maybe that is an exaggeration. I easily could have figured something out but since Keith was there and about to run and I had on (clean) running clothes I decided that I would run again. Wha wha what? Two runs in one day? Yes I realize that this is odd behavior. I also baked muffins this week too. I think my body has been invaded by an alien.

Then after leaving Stone Mountain my gas light came on. I knew that peeps have had to wait in line for upwards of two hours for gas-this is something I am just not willing to do! My plan was to get up in the middle of the night and go to avoid a wait. But then poof!?! I found a gas station that 1) had gas and 2) had no line! Lucky lucky joy joy!

Happy racing!

I just wanted to give a shout out to all the peeps that are racing this weekend! Seems like everyone has something going on but me! Tat, Steven, Hunter, and Dave are down in Mexico Beach Florida for a race. Tons of you guys are headed up to 96, South Carolina (what kind of name is that for a city??): Michelle, Sarah, Nat, Steph, Kevin, Kellye, and I am sure that I am missing someone. For those of you who are doing your first half: Nat, Steph, and Kevin: have fun! I can't wait to hear all about it!

Happy Birthday to my mom! She turned 39 for the 20th time. What did she get for her special day? A nice big colonoscopy! Just what she has always wanted! On the way to her house to pick her up I got a bad migraine out of nowhere. It was complete with throwing up three times and hiding under the parking deck to find someplace that was dark. Once my peripheral vision returned I was okay to drive mom home. Then my fingers, tongue, and lips went numb. That is usually the sign that it's almost over. Then poof! It was gone! Wasn't as bad as they have been before. At least I wasn't crying. I need to figure out what causes these things. I have never had them before this year. Sometimes it's caffeine, sometimes it's allergies.

To everyone else riding going up to the North Georgia Mountains to ride this weekend: be careful! We were planning on going but decided to conserve gas and ride from the house instead!

Search and Rescue

Yesterday I decided to try a new trail: Stone Mountain. I love things that are new and exciting! Hunter gave me several tips 1) it is very rooty so be careful 2) there are several places where you might need to walk 3) don't wear your music. He also tried to explain where the path would take me but honestly, I didn't get it at all. I am horrible with directions, even one's like "cross over Stonewall and go around the lake" I told Hunter how long I thought it would take me to complete the run and said "if you don't hear from me come looking" and he did!

The trails at Stone Mountain are way more challenging than at Kennesaw Mountain. I am a big fan. It was beautiful out there running around lakes and not having any clue where I was. My Achilles were very sore and my soleus muscle was ON FIRE! I kept hearing things in the woods and I wanted so desperately to turn around and look for deer but I was afraid that I would fall because I had slipped twice at this point. Then it happened: I fell! It was only a matter of time. I picked myself up and brushed off all the dirt. I had no business running on this part of the trail anyways. I got to the divide in the trail and didn't know which way to go so I choose left (of course I was supposed to go right).

On the way back in I ran into Sudie who was doing an 18 mile run in prep for IM Florida. What a rockstar. I want to run 18 miles on the trails! We stopped and chatted for a while. This must have thrown off my awesome navigation skills because I continued on my path and saw a little old man, then about 3/4 of a mile later I ran into him again. Hummm.....I asked him if I was headed to the end of the trail and he said "Nope, you are just running in a circle!" He directed me back to my car and I made it. 6.2 miles total.

Poor Hunter was surely worried about me because he really did come looking! I was gone longer than I told him I would be. What a great guy! And NO, I didn't run with music. Mostly because I had no choice, both my Itouch and my Nano are jacked up! My phone is messed up too, so if you call me and I don't answer, it's probably decided to randomly turn itself off once again!

Have I ever told you how much I love trail running? Mountain biking anyone???

Surprise!

If you can't read this clearly it says "Welcome to the other side Grandpa" "Happy 90th". Tat was clearly the one who ordered the cake. When I picked it up the guy at the Publix bakery said "Your grandpa is turning 90 and this is what the cake says?!?" Well, kindof sorta. 90 is the combined number of years Keith and Steven have been alive, so it seemed fitting that since the party was for both of them, the cake should be too!

We had a total blast!! Some of us had WAY more fun than others, I am not naming names, but you know who you are (hint: she carried me in her womb for 9 months!)

Big thanks to everyone who made it out to help us celebrate Keith and Steven's birthday's! Thanks to Donnell for letting us use her house and to everyone for keeping it a secret! I can't believe Tat and I were able to keep our pieholes shut!

Tri 2 Remember Triathlon

Is is a good idea to race a sprint triathlon 20 days after an Ironman distance triathlon? YES! It was so much fun and so short compared to what I did a few weeks ago! Here is my recap of the event:

Race morning I was sluggish thanks to some tylenol pm and going to bed at 9:30 p.m. and getting up at 3am. I shouldn't have taken it but I am having some really bad sleep issues lately and it was my only hope.

We arrived at the race when the park was opening and it was COLD! Brrrrr! I wasn't expecting it to be this much colder than it was in Atlanta (the race was in Gainsville, about an hour north) and of course I didn't pack any extra clothing to wear on the bike. I was wearing my Luna jacket but it's like a tent so I didn't want to use it. The race was wetsuit legal but for 400 meters and 72 degrees I didn't feel like going through the trouble.

The Swim: What a total clusterbomb of people this was! They gave us three minutes between waves but it didn't help stop all the major clumping of people. I guess there really is no good way to do a 400 yard swim without people backing up-unless it's time trial start. I tried to push myself as hard as I could but there was no point-I simply don't have any swim speed right now. I have made it into once since my Ironman! I made it out in 6:57 and we had to go up a hill (why are there always hills going into transition?) so that added a little time.

T1: Slow. Need to work on getting my bike shoes attached to the bike ahead of time. I was cold and fumbled around.

The bike: Wow....hilly! Of course, it was so close to the North Georgia Mountains I expected this, but what I didn't expect was for people to be walking their bikes up the hills! I think they caught some people off guard and they were in the wrong gears. There was quite a bit of traffic out there and I was calling "on your left" and one guy ran off the road and into the grass. Oops. There really was room for both of us, but I think I spooked him. I passed several girls and lot's of guys. At mile 10 they announced that I was the 6th female so that made me push a little harder. I saw Henry and his new bike-it was really nice! Other than being really, really cold the bike wasn't too bad. I could use some intervals in the next few weeks! Avg speed was 20.1 MPH.

T2: Gotta learn the running dismount. It looks too cool to not try at least once (maybe more if I don't bust my butt!)

The run: My goal for the run: DO NOT let a woman pass me! I am always out in front on the bike and then some chick in my age group will pass me with .2 miles to go-so frusterating! The run was a tough course-hilly also. My feet were frozen but I knew I was pushing it because I was passing tons of guys. I felt like I was going to throw up after running every hill and when I went through the turnaround I looked at my watch and timed when I saw the next woman (who happened to be Fox 5 anchor and speedster Denise Dillon) it was 1 minute 27 seconds. I pushed harder and crossed the finish line. Average pace: 7:42 per mile. Denise never caught me but because she started after I did her finish time was faster. Oh well-mission accomplished, don't get caught on the run! For the record only two guys passed me! Trail running really has helped!

I was the 9th overall female and finished 2nd in my age group. Can't complain about getting some hardware! Scootsie was 2nd in his age group as well (I tried desperately to catch him but beat me by 2 minutes and 8 seconds!)

Congrats to Anna and Henry for getting out there and racing strong! Thanks to Vanessa for cheering ( I love crowd support!)

Only one race left of the season! (insert sad face here!)

T-R-A-I-L!

T to the R to the A to the I to the L...what's that spell? Trail! I have found my ultimate run spot: on the trails. How much do I love it? I went running four days in a row? Wha-what? Yes it is true. Anti-running Dani is having a serious change of heart.

Saturday Keith and I took the dogs to the trail off Mason Mill. I would run some with Poncey, then with Bella, while he walked (he is nursing an ankle injury) it was pretty exhausting for the dogs (they passed out and slept for 8 straight hours when we got home!) Sunday I hit the trail up again, then on Monday too.

I decided on Monday that I needed some trail shoes before I slipped on a root and broke something. I hit up Big Peach where Kate recommended some La Sportiva mountain running shoes. Painfully ugly, but they will keep me from rolling my ankles.

Tuesday I changed things up and went to Kennesaw Mountain. Wow. Far less technical. Only one tree down and no creeks to cross. Did a longer run and loved it. Calves were burning from the almost one mile total uphill. As much as I detest hills, you would think trail running would be out of the picture for me.

I think it rocks so much because you are forced to pay attention to your surroundings. If you don't you are probably going to fall. This means no staring at your watch anticipating when things are going to end.

This might sound crazy but I think next year I am training for this. A guy at Big Peach was telling me about how beautiful it is up there. I will try and decide in the next couple of months if it's even possible.

News!

Wow....heard on the radio this morning that Lance is making a comeback! Now it's confirmed! Finally the tour will get interesting again. Let's face it....Hincapie just ain't as much to look at as Lance is!

In other news I was diagnosed yesterday with mild, persistent asthma. I am still undecided on whether or not I believe it. I started having the tightness in my chest again on Sunday, same problems with breathing that I have had since the end of June. I have made two doctor's appointments, thinking I was sick, then cancelled both times because I apparently got better. Well this time I decided that I had to put an end to it! I went to Home Depot Sunday night and couldn't walk around without losing my breath! Doctor said that my lungs sounded fine, no fever, nothing. Then I blew into the inspiramotor and my lung output was only 200. They kept asking me if I was a smoker. Me: "No, I don't smoke." Dr: "Okay, then blow again." 200 again. Dr:" Are you sure you don't smoke?" Me: "Yes, positive. I really like to exercise and I don't smoke!" So I tried like 10 more times as hard as I could. They said that I should be blowing a 400 minimum and that endurance athletes should be able to blow all the way to the top. I told them I really couldn't breathe that well at all. They gave me a nebulizer treatment then I blew again. 300. Better, but still sucks on the scale of lung capacity. My pulse ox level was 98% (good) so they give me a chest x-ray to check for pneumonia or a collapsed lung. Nope. Nothing there. Then they start asking me if anyone has ever told me I have asthma. Nope. Haven't heard that before. Do I get respiratory infections a lot? Yes, like every other month it feels like! They said that asthma is often misdiagnosed as bronchitis. They gave me a fast-acting inhaler and then voila! 10 minutes later I blew a 400! Okay but they said I should really be at 600 with my training.

So I left with two inhalers and instructions to use them for one month and see a pulmonologist. They say it's not "exercise induced" asthma because most of the time I am not training when I start feeling crappy. I just find it a little suspicious that I have gone this long with no apparent "asthma attack". They said that I "adult-onset asthma" and it is more prevalent than most people think. People with bad allergies (that is me!) can develop asthma with excessive exposure to things like smoke, smog, mold, dust, (dog hair from Poncey and Bella probably counts too!)

Like I said, they said I have "classic signs and symptoms" but I want a second opinion. Mostly because the inhalers are expensive and one of them I have to use twice a day and replace every month. I need to figure out what my deductible is for prescriptions.

Today I did feel better and was able to run some intervals and get in the indoor bike for a bit. Last night I had a quality night's sleep because my chest wasn't bothering me! So that's positive too. Maybe being able to breathe will make me faster?

Pics are up!

Most of the pics from Ironman Louisville have been posted. Stupid Flickr only allows a certain amount of downloads per month, so you will have to wait on the rest. Click on the Flickr link above for the pics. Dave put together a great video and as soon as I get it, I will download it and post it here too. He got me crossing the line on VIDEO! Too cool!

Not feeling too hot today. Chest congestion for the 5 millionth time. Perhaps I didn't allow myself enough recovery before working out again (took one day off, light workouts, Tuesday and Wednesday, ran Thursday, swam Friday, spin class Saturday). I think I will just take today off-why? Because I can! :)

Tracking IM Wisconsin right now. Super-fast swim times from the Atlanta peeps. Two guys are signed up listing their profession as "smarty pants wannabe" love it!

Ironman Louisville

You asked and here it is: the race report!

Let me start off by saying that doing an Ironman rocked 10 times more than I ever expected it to. This was one of the most incredible experiences of my life and I will cherish the memories that I made forever and ever.

The night before the race I started to not feel well. I got flu-like symptoms and got up a million times just generally not feeling well. The morning of the race I couldn't keep anything in (read 6 dukeouts, isn't that like a record?) but I was really ready for the race! Walking down to transition there was actually people getting out of cabs drunk! So funny! They must have thought that we were totally insane.

Before the race I was anxious, but I didn't cry! (I did cry in the shower, but that was more about not feeling well and being so upset it) I got to see my mom, Tat, Steven, Hunter, and Dave which made me feel calmer. There was a lot of craziness standing in the dark getting ready to swim and I kept thinking "I hope the sun comes up soon!" I was lined up with Keith, Bob, and Sue which meant that we were all racing together-awesome! Joe started a little later in the pack. The people that owned the boats at the dock were sitting out there drinking their morning coffee like it was no big deal that 2200 athletes were lined up getting ready to swim 2.4 miles. That's Kentucky for you!

The Swim: Let's just say that I made it through the swim! I am a TOTAL slacker when it comes to doing my long swims and my longest this season was 3800 meters (2.3 miles) and I only did that once about 6 weeks ago. I took a little break from swimming but when I got in the water I was pretty comfortable. Although it was a time trial start, there was still tons of people everywhere and I wasn't expecting to swim into so many people. Made it out of the water in 1:26, I'll take it. Lesson learned: it's okay to just swim 3000 yards.

T1: Didn't feel too hot. Actually, felt really hot, like fever hot. There were some very nice volunteers who wanted to help me out of my bathing suit and into my cycling clothes but I declined. Lesson learned: accept the help, you are wet and it won't take as long with two people!

The Bike: Things heated up pretty quickly on the bike. I felt pretty good and was on track with my nutrition until around mile 20 when I tried to drink some ensure. Bad idea. My stomach totally turned on me. I was so nauseated that the thought of the ensure or my amino vital made me want to puke. I threw out the ensure at an aide station and grabbed Gatorade but couldn't drink that either. So I was relegated to just plain water. Good when it's hot, not good when need to bike 112 miles. I couldn't stomach my clif bar either. Keith caught me on the bike and we played cat and mouse about 8 times until I finally pulled away. Knowing that he was behind me was a big motivator for me to not snivel about my tummy hurting. The bike course was hilly, pretty, and had the best cheering squad you could ask for. There was an odd amount of wind out there....crosswinds...not something that I expected to see in Kentucky. I stopped at mile 66 to get my transition bag and try to use the bathroom. No go. I had two honey buns and ate one which revived me some. I saved the other one to nibble on the rest of the ride. I got passed on the bike by Bree who was winning the race on the woman's side and cheered for her. She was cutting hills in half. 12/27 was a rocking gear choice for me on this race! I was able to get a couple gel packs in between miles 85-100 but then I didn't feel too great so at mile 100 I switched to just water. My back and girly bits were ready for this ride to be over with, but I never really got bored. There was no talking or anything on the bike, just riding, and it wasn't all that bad!

T2: I let a nice lady help me with my running clothes. She set everything up into neat little piles and applied my body glide onto my back for me. The volunteers are the greatest! I spent a couple minutes talking to a nice lady who lost the feeling in her toes. She made it out onto the run and finished!

The Run: Wow it was hot on the run. Really hot. I saw a sign that said 95 degrees when I started. I got to see Brian and Kile as I was starting and they were super pumped up. When I left transition I asked Hunter "Where are Bob and Sue?" For some reason I was really concerned with where everyone else was! I saw Keith as I was running out onto the bridge and he promised that he was going to catch me. I felt okay, just a little depleted and I was surprised that my legs were as fresh as they felt. At mile 4 I ate a gel with some gatorade and then started throwing up! NOOOO!!!! So that started my cycle of jog, puke, walk, jog, puke, walk. Two times the EMT peeps came up to me and tried to get me to come to the med tent. I wasn't falling for it, I was going to finish this race if it meant crawling! It was great seeing everyone on the run, but hard to tell whether they were one their first loop or not. I cheered for peeps when I could but lost my voice around mile 12. I learned that there are some people who can walk REALLY fast and I am not one of them. I tried to use the bathroom a couple of times hoping that if something came out that end I would feel even better but it didn't work. The run should have been called the "speed walk" because every time I saw someone they were walking. Except for Joe. He ran the whole way! Right before the special needs area Keith caught me. He told me that I HAD to get calories in or they would end up carting me off the course. We stopped at the bags and I sat down for a minute and changed my shoes and socks. When I got up I felt a little better so at mile 14 I drank a little coke and didn't throw up! I took one sip of coke at every aide station until mile 19 when I started to get lightheaded. I realized that I was on the verge of passing out and told Keith I needed to stop and get some calories in. I managed to get two gel packs, some gatorade, coke, and a pretzel in before we started back up. Wow, what a difference some calories can make! At that point I wanted to run faster but my legs only knew one speed. I got in one salt tablet and gave Keith my last one. We kept seeing Bob and Sue, looking really strong and in great spirits. It started to get dark around mile 23 and at that point I wanted to keep going, no more stops at aide stations, let's finish this! Hunter and Tat were close to the finish, maybe mile 24 or 25. When I saw them I knew I was almost an Ironman! Hearing the roaring crowd at Fourth Street Live was incredible. I don't even remember them calling my name, but I do remember crossing the finish line and being surprised that I didn't cry. I sprinted as hard as I could and didn't feel a thing. I AM AN IRONMAN! It was an unbelievable feeling!

The craziest thing is that the entire race was so much fun. Even while I was throwing up I loved it because I knew the end result was me crossing that finish line. I was thinking the entire race, I can't wait to do another one! Florida? Wisconsin? Which one? I know I said that it was just going to be this one but I fibbed!

When I crossed the line the lady wanted to know when the last time I went to the bathroom was. I was bone dry and had stopped sweating. I went to the med tent and got a couple bags of IV's and some medicine for my stomach. They took blood and said my sodium level was low and I needed to eat salt. I visited with Bob, Sue, and Keith (also getting some IV's) before heading back to the hotel to shower and get some WHITE CASTLE! Good at the time but now the thought makes me sick. If I even think about anything that made me sick during the race it will make me throw up right now!

I must say how impressed I am with all my fellow Ironman Louisville competitors. There were lot's of DNF's and people on the side of the road with oxygen on, convulsing, and one guy had a major seizure at the finish. So finishing this race was a huge accomplishment! Sue overcame major issues in the water to complete her FIRST triathlon! Sue rocks! Bob, Keith, Joe, Misty, Sandy, Bree, Lee Ann, Rivi, and Jim all finished strong and enjoyed it.

Keith and I hardly said two words to each other while running. I told him to go ahead and leave me but he said "we have a pack". Apparently while I was in the hospital we made a pack to finish our first IM together. I didn't remember it, but Keith did and it meant a lot to me. Thanks.

Iron-spectators: YOU ROCK! Knowing that my mom, Tat, Steven, Hunter, Dave, Kile, and Brian were out there made such a difference! Every time I saw them I got some strength from it. It was a long day for them too and they were so supportive, I will always cherish and remember them for it! Thank you so much for everything!

How do I feel now? Pretty good actually. Walked two miles on Tuesday. Stomach still a little on the upset side but body is okay. Going to spin my legs out on the trainer today for a bit.

Thanks to everyone for their calls, e-mails, texts, facebook messages, etc, etc. Your support was truly incredible and this wouldn't have been the same without you!