Ironman Austin 70.3 - Race Recap

Friday, after running painful, slow 2 miles,  I got all packed up to head to one of my favoritest places, Austin.  There was this small matter of a little triathlon several of us had decided to race.  When Dione and Music Mary asked, "How will I recognize you?"  I simply replied, "Look for all the pink!"  

Triathlon requires SO much stuff!

 It was a cold, gray, rainy day but that didn't dampen our spirits.  Neither did arriving at the wrong hotel. Seems I made reservations at the wrong location.  It worked out great though - the correct hotel was much closer to the race so, win.  We headed over to the Expo to pick up my packet and say howdy to Lesley.  There was a dog show going on as well and we stopped to admire some of the pretty pooches. One RV had SIX German Shepherds. SIX!  Can you imagine traveling with six big dogs?  Mercy.

We then spent some time wandering around Austin and enjoying dinner downtown.  The plan for Saturday? Sleep until I wake up!    And that's just what I did. It was fabulous!  I can't remember the last time I slept in.  We had plans to meet up with Dione and Dano at T1, but our inability to find T1 made us miss them.  T1 was about a mile from the expo and T2.  We eventually found our way there and checked out the swim start. The water was choppy but warm, like bathwater.  A comforting 71 degrees compared to the 40 degree air temps!  

Lake Walter E. Long, also known as Decker Lake.

I got my transition set and started to blow up my tires when...I realized that I had a flat. Urg. Better on Saturday than on race day though!

Helpful hands appeared from the other side of the curtain.  The Cyclist eventually just hoisted my bike over the rails and got to work.  Making matters even more frustrating, the tubes I had didn't have a long enough stem. Transition was closing soon and my oh-so-helpful soigneur raced back to the expo to procure the correct tubes.  

Waiting for him to return, I occupied myself by taking pictures and texting Heidi, who was in D.C. to smash the Marine Corps Marathon.  Mostly taking pictures for other athletes who wanted a picture of themselves in front of all the beautiful bicycles!  I love my bike, but I had to put my hands over her ears a few times while I whistled at some of the gorgeous racing bikes out there.  

 Playing with the panoramic feature on my phone.

Several dudes asked to borrow my pink pump.  It's nice to know mine works on spendy race wheels too.  :o)

My biked was racked right next to my tri-bestie's identical bike.  I figured that was good luck!  

We spent the rest of the evening eating some good Austin food and resting.  Every time I sat down I'd fall asleep.  I was so stinkin tired, could not keep my eyes open.  I didn't sleep well though.  I was hot all night, even though I slept right next to the air conditioner.  Keep in mind, it was in the 40's all night.  So running the a/c at all was kind of weird.  I woke up feeling barfy and hot.  At one point, I stood there in my tri-kit, watching The Cyclist in his flannel shirt and jeans and asked, "Aren't you hot?"  He looked at me like I was crazy.  Here I was, basically in a swimsuit, sweating bullets and he was in flannel.  Um.  One of us wasn't feeling normal.  

Turns out, it was me.  The ride over I felt more and more nauseated.  And I just kept sweating.  As we walked up the hill to T2 to drop of my run gear bag, I stopped.  I said, I need to make a phone call.  And I called Katie.  It's a good friend that you can call at 6 am!  I knew she would tell me what I needed to hear and I almost cried as I told her how I was feeling. Over voice mail.  Dang.  I almost cried again as I told The Cyclist, "I can't do this.  It hurts to even walk and now this.  I can't race today - it's not a smart thing."  

And with that, I turned in my chip and we got in line for the shuttle so I could retrieve my bike and T1 gear.  

DNS - Did Not Start

Oh, that was hard.  

It was hard admitting that I'm hurt and this isn't getting better.  It was hard worrying that I was might disappoint him.  He gave up his whole weekend to schlep my stuff around.  It was hard knowing that this race, this race I've been training for all summer, wasn't going to happen. Here's the thing, racing hurt is a bad idea.  I shouldn't have run Chicago.  I knew that going into it.  I knew it at mile 2. And yet I ran. And I jacked up my body.  I wasn't going to risk doing more damage.  Racing hurt AND sick?  Yea, that's not fun.  Not only would I be in pain, I would be miserable.  We do this to have fun - I'm not competing for a spot in the world championships.  I'm not competing to keep a sponsorship.  I do this because I enjoy it.  Hard decision to make, but only I could make it.  

I got on the shuttle without The Cyclist because the line was long and T1 was closing soon.  If I didn't get my bike now, I'd have to wait until the end of the race.  I sat on that dark school bus, texted my posse and as the replies came flooding in I finally cried.  Sat on that bus and cried like a baby, people starting at me, I didn't care.  Photos of nutria and hamster emjois popping up on my phone, virtual hugs, text after text - y'all are all amazing.  I'm a lucky Pink Girl.  

I grabbed my bike, discovered I had ANOTHER flat, sheesh, those burs are a nightmare!  So, yeah, I would have started off the bike by changing a flat.  I wasn't the only one DNS, I rolled up to two German dudes, one told me, "It's too effin cold to race."  Out of transition in the nick of time, I met up with these two.  Just plumb ran into each other in the sea of athletes!

Dione and Dano, all the way from Wisconsin. This was a heat wave for them!

Don't let the smiles fool you - we were all freezing.

The Cyclist and I watched the sun come up as the pros took off in the water.  What an exciting morning!  Is there anything more breathtaking than a sunrise over the water?

We go to see Andy Potts (and the rest of the pros)  slink out of the water first.  Dang, that's a fast man!

We watched the pros take off on their 56 mile journey by bike.

There were some interesting kits!  One women, as she passed, exclaimed, "Brr, effin, brr!" to no one in particular.  It was COLD!  Especially considering that last year it was 100.  

Got to yell for Elaine!  So proud of her completing her first 70.3!  

Hollered for Dano as he sped by.  

Then we packed up and headed back to town.  I snoozed for a bit and honestly could have slept all day.  Instead, we got lunch at one of my favorite places (Austin is known for good eatin, and we did!) and headed back to Dallas.  I slept most of the ride home.  

Am I disappointed?  You bet. I wanted this race so badly.  But I made the right choice. As soon as I turned in my chip, I knew for sure I was making the right decision.  I didn't let anyone down but myself.  As Ninja told me, live to fight another day.  I have bigger goals and bigger races to run.  It stinks that my last two races of the season were terrible. One painful the other just hurtful.  But that doesn't define me or my racing capabilities.  I'm going to focus on healing and getting stronger. 

I'd like to be Miss Suzy Sunshine and smile and tell you it's all going to work out. But the truth is, I'm pretty grumpy about it all.  I wore my "I give up pants" yesterday and today.  In public.  I plugged in the heating blanket and snuggled with my kittehs until about 10 am.  I had cookies for lunch.  A lot of them.  In the shower, I cried like little girl.  I'm disappointed, I'm sad and I don't know what happens next.  And I feel like a selfish little brat for being so upset over a hurt hip.  So I'm only allowed to wallow for the rest of the day.  

Tomorrow is a fresh start.  I've got a lot to be thankful for and a lot to look forward to, that's for sure!

And if nothing else, remembering witnessing this with my most favorite spectator, is worth everything.  

I Want to Ride My Bicycle

Sunday I watched sun rise.

Always a good way to start the day.

I put on my fancy new shoes and waited for Team K to arrive for our ride.  

Aren't they just too cute?  Love this couple - lucky to know them!  They graciously agreed to meet me for a leisurely ride.  It hurts my hamstring to ride my bike.  I have pretty much zero power in my left leg for climbing or going fast so I was thrilled that they were up for a slow ride.  It was a little chilly that morning - first ride this season that I needed a jacket!

Of course we stopped to pat the alpacas when we found them.  Recently shorn except for their legs, it looked like they were wearing leg warmers!  The sweet little alpacas wanted attention but were a little shy.  

These guys were NOT shy at all and wanted ALL the love!  Oh mah guah, every time I pat these dogs polar bears I want to take them home!  So soft, so sweet and so friendly! You can't tell in the photo, but they are my size.  Huge animals!

 Mr. K did some @ss kissing.  The donkeys are precious and just love sugars!

We spotted a newborn calf.  No, like fresh out of the oven, hours old baby calf.  Hard to see in my phone pic, but it's the little black spec next to momma cow.  She kept her eye on us and wee one's still wet coat was glistening in the early morning sun as he wobbled around taking his first steps.  Is there anything more life affirming that a newborn?  We just stood there, speechless at what we were witnessing.  Truly a blessing to our day.

This cow approached the fence but soon grew bored with me and sauntered off.  Yes, this cow sauntered.  Unlike the dogs, alpacas and donkeys, she was totally unimpressed.

Oh yes, we did some cycling too!  Got about 30 miles in and saw dozens of other cyclists.  A few even smiled, waved and spoke to us - shocking!  It was a gorgeous day for cycling!  The sun was bright, the wind was low and the temps were in the 50's.  It warmed up soon enough but I was glad for the morning of riding with friends. Riding just for fun.  We made plans to meet again soon for a country ride - in a few weeks we'll be able to enjoy the changing colors of fall. The cooler weather is coming!

 Unfortunately, we did have a few injuries for Team K.  One slow-mo fall and one scrape up against a stationary object.  But it didn't slow them down!  I'm so blessed to have so many active people in my life.  Generous with their time, experience and knowledge, this group  of incredible people I've found.  Not just anyone would meet me at the crack of dawn!  It was a great day of riding and I'm looking forward to spending many more early mornings out in the country on my bike.  Now, I just need to get some knee warmers...

What's the most exciting thing you've ever seen on a ride or run?

Wordless Wednesday

Last Friday, Shabby Princess and I dressed up for a costume contest in the Dallas Arts District.  You know how many people were dressed up?  Two.  

Sigh.

At least we had fun!  

Inaugural Wild Horse Double Century

I have bad@ss friends. 

This is not news.  I'm not really sure why they let me hang out with them, but, shh, don't tell them what a dork I really am.  Apparently I have them fooled.  

My buddy Greg, who we all call Ninja, ran 100 miles in February.  In a row.  On purpose.  In under 24 hours.  He's pretty much invincible.  He also came with on our cycling trip to New Mexico this summer.  So when he told us that he would be riding a double century (200 miles) we were impressed, but not shocked.  When we discovered that this double century was actually 210 miles AND included some crazy climbs, well, we all just smiled knowing he would totally kill it.  

Ninja doesn't blog, but I wanted to give him a platform to tell his incredible story.  So here it is, as it was told to me in a series of text messages.  Nothing has been changed, so keep in mind, he was texting all of this to me!  

Ready to ride at 6 am.

Look at that hill!  It's one of the baby ones. 

I haven't been able to run as much as I would have liked lately, so I've been a bit down.  I really liked the challenge of this ride.  I wanted to be tested with something where there was a good change I could fail.

So about halfway through the ride, I got exactly that. I was out of water, cramping in my quads and hamstrings and had no energy.  I had to walk 2 steep climbs because I knew I could not make it up.

source

At mile 128 (yes, 128 y'all!), I took off my jersey and lay down on a bench and was ready to DNF. As I drafted a text to the RD, a crew car supporting three riders behind me pulled up.  They refilled my bottles and I drank their warm Dr Pepper and ate and ate an @ssload of Doritos.  The RD pulled up shortly and he said I had until 2 a.m. to officially finish. So after about 45 minutes on that bench, I nutted up and was ready to get off that mountain.

I had texted Fiona (his adorable wife) earlier to bring me food, ice and Mountain Dew. She met me at the bottom of the mountain.  I ate, recharged with caffeine and I was on my way.  

Something happened when it got dark.  I felt stronger. The cramping would subside unless I was climbing. But when it was flat, I was pedaling like crazy. Fiona would follow me for 60+ miles until the finish. Something about riding late at night in an unknown place, but I felt so alive!  And I felt stronger then than at any point of the ride.  I seriously felt like a beast on wheels.  It made me smile.

And knowing that i had good friends waiting for me at the finish and waiting on news from afar, i was determined to finish strong and not just roll in.  I was killing it at the end. Can't wait to see my pace when I get home.  I obviously was ready to finish, but felt like I could have kept on going if I had to.  No happy tears for this finish, just a strong feeling of accomplishment and a big smile.

This ride was exactly what I needed!  The end.  I love you guys!  


Ninja, you ARE a beast on wheels!  And we are so, so proud of you!  Congratulations on a HUGE accomplishment - can't wait to see what you do next!  (y'all head on over to Twitter and tweet some cycling love to Ninja!)

You Never Regret a Workout

Tested that theory today.

 Ugh, I did not want to swim tonight.  I didn't want to do anything but crawl in the biscuit and go to sleep. So tired. But the saying goes, "You never regret a workout..." So I got ready to swim.  And...and had a blowout of my favorite pink swimcap.  

Good thing I have a jillion extras in my bag. 

I don’t want to seem like I’m whining.  So just allow me one more pitiful post and I promise the rest will go back to being somewhat positive. 

So I have this wonky hip.  Official diagnosis?  Weak @ss.  No, really, in 2009 I was diagnosed with Dumb Butt Syndrome.  My right gluteus medius is weak and my other muscles have to compensate for it.  Weak @ss. See why I say wonky hip instead? 

The fix?  Strengthening my weak @ss.  It worked before. And yeah, like a cotton headed ninnymuggins, once I was strong and healthy again…I stopped with my hip strength training. Whoops. 

And I’ve paid the price. 

You see, it doesn’t just hurt when I run, it hurts All. Of. The. Time.  It hurts when I’m standing, it really hurts when I’m sitting, it hurts if I lie on that side too long (unfortunate since it’s my right hip and I like to sleep on my right side, eep) Real talk?  I find myself absentmindedly rubbing my, ahem, hip in public.  Like, at work public.  Oh, yeah, that’s just TPG over there, rubbin on her @ss.  Hurts a lot. 

So, not wanting to hobble forever, I’m back on board. Now, I’m not a doctor nor do I play one on the blog.  I actually see several trained professionals to help me with this hitch in my get a-long. So don’t take this as medical advice – just take it for what it is, me whining about my butt. 

I’m laying off the running and backing it down to just two runs a week.  And NO speedwork.  Not for a few weeks anyway.

I’m committed to my hip exercises provided to me by my magical chiropractor.  Y'all, she is ah-maze-ing.  She really knows what she is going and in addition to ART, she’s good at teaching her patients how to take care of their bodies.  Oh gosh, ART is like foam rolling, hurts so good. The exercises she has me doing are some old school Jane LaFawnduh leg lifts, monster walks, lunges, squats, squats and more squats.  Ugh.  But it cures what ails ya!  (if what ails ya is a weak @ss)

Yoga.  I go to yoga once a week.  I’d love to go every day if I could, but it just doesn’t work with my training schedule.  I went six days out of seven last week and I could really tell a difference. Consistency is key.  I still can’t make it every day, but I’m committed to going 3 times a week for the next month or so.  I’ll make time.  My favorite hip stretching poses are pigeon and cow face.  But it’s the standing/balance poses that work to make my hip stronger.  I need those too even though I wobble like a newborn calf these days.

Foam rolling.  I’ve been ignoring my foam roller.  Well, it’s time to rekindle that relationship.  My best friend and my worst enemy.  Gah.  Poor man’s massage.

Massage. This isn’t the cheapest form of therapy but boy howdy it is worth it. Find you a massage therapist you trust and it will pay off in spades.  It is beneficial in so many ways – stimulates muscle repair AND well, it feels good! 

Rest. This is the hard part.  Resting feels like missing training instead of a reward!  I want to go balls out with my training right now and that just isn’t an option.  I’d like to be on my bike several times a week but it hurts to climb or, you know, pedal fast.  Yoga and swimming will have to satisfy that craving for work right now.  I won’t lose ALL Of my fitness in just two weeks.  I won’t.  Better to arrive on race day slightly undertrained and injured.  Right?  Right.

It’s gonna take time to heal and then to get stronger, but I’m patient.  I can do this, I’ve done it before.  And THIS TIME I’m not going to get lazy once I get there!

How do you deal with forced rest? Does it drive you batty?

Wordless Wednesday

There's only one me and I've got but one lap.  The fact that there was already a kitteh in my lap didn't stop Perry from getting priority position.

Cats.  Sigh.

I Do Other Stuffs Too

You know, 

I do things besides run. And yet, I still seem to write more about running than anything else.  I am training for a triathlon and I do swim and bike.  A lot.  And yoga.  Is that a verb?  It is now.  So here is a random post full of shameless self pics, detailing some of my recent non-running training. 

Week before last I swam the farthest I've ever swam - 3, 000 yards.  Yep, this Pink Raccoon (oh, the tragedy of goggle eyes!) swam 3, 000 yards.  In a row. Without stopping.  The biggest accomplishment, I think, is that I did not lose count!  Since you're really not supposed to take pics in the locker room, it is my goal to make the most ridiculous face possible.  Mission accomplished. 

Goggle Eyes Galore

I got my 75th class bracelet in yoga.  Y'all, believe it or not, I don't like being recognized publicly.  Quel embarrassment!  So when she called my name at the start of a very full class, I half considered just looking around like everyone else, wondering, "Who is TPG, where is she?"  But Violator was right next to me and I had a feeling she'd start pointing at any moment.  So I sheepishly raised my hand about 4 inches and accepted my bracelet.  Bendy.  That's me.

Yep, I'm that brown and that veiny. And my wrists are that much smaller than my man hands.  

I've been on my bike too.  Oh, I just love to ride my bicycle!  Here is a lesson in cycling from TPG.  First, put on as much pink as you possible can manage.  My toes even match my kit - that is dedication right there, folks.  And no, I don't have cleats on my flip flops, although you can get sandals with cleats.  Crazy talk right there.

It's a good idea to try to take panda shots while you're zooming down the street. Yes, it is terribly unsafe and crashing is a real possibility, but we've got a blog responsibility, right?  Exactly.  No, I don't have a hunchback, I've got bottles stuffed in my jersey.  It's still pretty warm here and I only have one bottle cage on my bike. Right now.  

When you see the first sign that simply states, "Trail Closed" just ignore it and figure if it was really closed, they'd have the sign in the middle of the trail.  Oh, wait, yep, they meant it.  Okay, well then, scoot around the barricade to see if maybe they are just joshing. They weren't.  Oh wells.  

If you come across what you assume is a dead snake in the road, it is best to turn around to investigate.   If you tap your foot near him and he moves, welp, he's alive!  This snake.  I was just trying to move him off the trail so that he wouldn't get run over.  Because he was all lying there like it was the snake beach or something.  And you know what?  He tried to fight me!  He rared up all aggressively and I was like, "Whoa, snake, I don't want any trouble!  Get run over if you must."  Silly snake, everyone knows if it came to blows, I'd win.  #97hamsters

Above all else, smile.  My bike is my happy place.  When I'm in my car or out running and I see a cyclist, I always think, "I wish that I was on my bicycle!"  (and when I'm on my bike and see a runner, I think, "I wish that I was running!")  I loooove riding my bike, zooming through my community - it's like being a kid again.  The best.  

What is your favorite type of cross training activity?