what will 2013 bring?

what?  what do I hear in my head?  tired of doing Triathlon? nooooo... well yes, so hopefully I get the SOAS sponsorship to hold me accountable!  otherwise I'm going back to the era of find a race and train 6 wks before it -or just do pure running-or train all the time so I will be ready to race when it strikes me fancy!

I feel old... incredibly, fatiguingly,(my own new word) wrinkly, old... I used to be able to do fancy headstands, handstands etc. in yoga class.  Not so much any more- I can do it but then i hurt something I've never hurt (or felt before) for several days later that inevitably leads into the wknd and some race or hard workout that hurts me more... tired of hurting!

Desperately need a new activity yo as my life seems to be imploding on the inside meh so maybe this is the year I start that book i've been writing bits n pieces of for 4yrs!  And do more Yoga, and more running WITH people, and find my flow again

the Faux Buffalo 70.3

what to do when an injury forces you out of a race?  you create your own race!  Ha- well provided the injury is in recovery mode.  I hurt my shoulder with a week1/2 to go to Buffalo Springs 1/2 Ironman in Lubbock!  don't know what I did but I couldn't move my left arm w/out severe pain- went to Doc JJ and a few days later it was functional but I didn't swim til the following Thurs.  No pain in a 1000 so I swam Fri. and no pain in a 2200.  Good to go? how bout NO... well JJ advised me not to race and loverboy Jeff jumped on that and insisted that I not even go to have a training day.  A few other friends also sagely advised I not participate *waaaaa*.  Ok, cry over-I knew I wouldn't race so i continued training as usual.  And some good medicinal Cabernet on Fri and Sat before my "race".  I decided I would hit the pool at 6am, swim 1.2mi race swim distance but ez, then drive home, jump on the bike and race with the guys for 56miles, THEN hit the street and run McNutt back and forth for 13 miles of hills just like BSLT.  Well, almost...
I arrived at the westside pool at 6:20 and tried to figure out in my tired brain just how far 1.2 mi is in yards-duh!  Francois gave me a clue; 2075! oops then I overswam:

Eased into the first 600, added some backstroke, shoulder was good, swam the next 600 with some faster 50's, swam the next 600 with 100's, tacked on a few more since I was feelin good, then tacked on a few more when racer joe got in next to me-oh yeah, I added rest on those repeats to check the shoulder and effort.  Jumped in the car and drove 15mins home to my waiting bike-transitioned quickly and found my usual suspects group ride-I tried not to draft, hanging out to the side, front or back off the wheel and the pace went from 20-28mph depending on who was feelin it.  We then decided to hit the "pumpstation" road which climbs and dips much like my race course. I did stop to admire one of my little friends in the road and scoot him off to the side... yea! killed myself in the wind and heat just like Buffalo :)  sweet! nailed the nutrition and effort levels.

Well, if that wasn't enough, my Faux race still had the 13.1 to run; race type transition and off I went, still totally self supported and now I was having doubts.  I had hidden 2 water bottles at 6am but it was now 10:30 and I had 5 miles to run BEFORE I found them.  I carried one bottle and one flask of Perpetuem and was feelin groovy.  I tend to think A LOT on my runs and I was going over my course paths and areas I could ditch if I needed to, and the what ifs, and the fact that I had NO SHADE, and the fact that I was totally SOLO(again), and the fact that it was 97* and the wind was mostly at my back, and the sun was KILLER, and the road was hilly.  This being the "Faux Buffalo" I could have quit after the first loop since it was just a training day and believe me i thought about that too; especially when I got a heat blister (I never get these) on my left foot and a heel blister!(I never get these either)! There are several ways to run this course; out and back McNutt, loop to Artcraft 2x McNutt or after my bottles at 5 run BACK because that's harder.  Back over those hills, up and down and turn around and do it again! I figured my feet would hold up for 10 and since those 2 bottles were sizzling at 100*+ I needed to run back thru the house and get water-COLD! On my last hill I stuffed paper in my shoe over that blister and trotted on- I was gonna do this whole thing!  Back at the house at 10.35 on the watch, I taped my foot, hit myself with the hose,  grabbed a cold Gatorade and out the garage to my Cielo Dorado loop which is like the BSLT last 3 miles except NO SHADE-at this point it was 1 foot in front of the other and "what would (insert racer's name here) do".  I thought of my 2 FIERCE competitive girl friends that were racing today as well and the answer was finish!  Believe me, when the watch read 13.10 I stopped and walked a short distance to my front door and hit the hose! usually I'm back in the lake at Lubbock, chillin in the spring fed water, but that hose sure did feel good!
Everything went as planned; nutrition was spot on, I love the 1/2 Iron distance, and proved that I can do it alone in tough conditions.
Big shout out to all my friends that did the actual race and finished! LauraB, NancyG,BrooksV, SalvadorA, JimW!
NadiyaM.-and my pro friend Jessica Jacobs! I was there every step of the way in spirit!

Ch.4 the "aftermath" or, letting it all sink in, or, analyzing and planning for the future! ha!  after 3 days of hugeness 25lbs of extra fluids on my body, I lost it by sweating up a storm on the wknd after race-whew! Feel good but tired, not sore, just tired.  Biked sat, su, mon. easy and sitting on wheels and legs 30felt good, pulse was low.  My eating is back to normal-whew.  Short jogs the next week on alternate days to my swims-super easy and I can tell my legs haven't come back to the run.  Nothing hurts, just slowwwwwwww. 2nd wknd after I'm back on the bike w/the group and riding stronger but still staying protected and watching HR and fluids.  Feel good enough to try a brick on Sat. in the wind and heat; 45 bike, 4.5 run feels like nothing-so short! ha!  I'm looking foreward to my next race already and trying to plan.  I feel like I'd like to do BSLT 70.3 but will consult my wide variety of Ironman friends on what is smart.  Looking back:  IM race morning HR was 160; yes, that's right-was it nerves? I wasn't nervous-was it a blown HR reading? since it stayed 160-161 through-out the bike, run until I slowed run pace, maybe... I've had that happen before with the belt not seated right on the chest and man that plays with your head.  Even when you back it up with perceived exertion and that read-out is saying everything's right-relax, I couldn't help thinking I was getting dehydrated or something... I tried to drink enough- I didn't.  I tried to take enough electrolytes-I didn't.  So those are things to work on if I ever do one of these again.  Nutrition: the 5th key to Ironman! and when you think you've done it all and prepared well, you still have stuff to learn :)  In the pool this morning I did a nice warmup, 6x100's pulling on 1:30 w/10 sec rest,  then 6x100's free on 1:30 w/20 sec rest, then a little 400 for good measure with some backstroke thrown in to stretch everything back out.  Definitely feeling normal again now!

part 2: the actual race or, another day at the office, or, what the HX(( am I doing again? or, WHAT have I done?
arrive Houston, Thurs. pm put bike together and did a short test ride, test run at 3pm, went well- race packet in hand, athlete's dinner prep w/ Waco Tri Club-very moving but long... drank lots, slept well, up fine the next morning... bike to transition and check that out, over to the swim start and in the water to check that out- NICE- I'm calm now- Cherie tells me "another day at the office"  dinner w/ WTC again, ate well, drank a lot, in bed by 8pm- slept great til alarm at 4:30- seemlessly moved through race a.m. prep and on to the course-that's when things begin to get twingy...you choose! that line a mile long just for air in tires? or this line for Mechanical which also has air-air is all i needed so... mechanic finds my rear wheel is not holding-rips it off an resets the valve stem which was LOOSE! then tightens all my bolts and I'm set. Rack and run to the swim start 1 mi away- as soon as the pros start we are called to the water w/ 15 minutes to wait, treading water for our start? no way! I hang out on the side waiting until then shove me in-i get on the right side and stand on the waters edge-watching-thinking- about 2500 swimmers at one time.  BOOM and we begin-never had clean water, got clobbered constantly by men.  Women would swim w/me but were polite and moved if they needed to, men? no way, they would hit my feet and then proceed to come right over me rather than slide off to the side a little- they would steal my draft, they kicked, they elbowed- it was mean so i swam harder- the final channel and last 1/3 of the race is narrow, 25 ft wide at most so enter the washing machine of waves and bodies.  I exited in fine time adjusted to swimming with my legs getting constantly knocked down etc.-in and out of the change tent, in and out on the bike course-wow! Beauty of a course, felt downhill for the first 10 miles and then the small hills began... constantly rolling but beautiful scenery.  Clean fast pavement-some wind and lots of sun! eating, drinking and feeling fine until 80 mi. girl #1 in the AG was over on the side of the road 2nd time and another AG gal went by me asking where i thought we were-we talked and agreed to stay legal that is until another pack of men and 2 more AG girls blew by us and she hopped on!  completely demoralized at this blatent cheating for a Kona slot- that's when several more groups of blatent drafters started to go by- the last guy on the end was the look-out for the motos-ick! I'm doin my own thing-my own race and Francois told me to ride easy which I stuck to but why the heck is my HR 20 beats higher than norm and why are my legs cramping? this NEVER happened in training... I begin to worry.  At 100 miles of the bike I'm ready to get off but nooooo- 12 more miles of torture! finally off the bike and into the tent-it's HOT now and i'm thirsty but hey, onto the run I feel good! legs feel great! mood is great! just run right? ease into the pace and again the course is a beauty; trails, woodlands, shade... but when the sun was on you and the wind was at your back? OUCH-people walking in the first loop? I felt fine so trotted on getting on course nutrition as well as my own water to cool myself and my salt pills... 2nd loop felt that tired feeling comiing on... just hang in there to loop #3 I felt sorry for the people just entering the course for their lap #1-then it struck- I got dizzy.  Mind you, there were people all over the place, passed out, on IV's mid course, ambulances running back and forth like crazy-it was scarey and when it hit me I was on a wooded secluded part of the trail.  I got scared! I walked, 1 mile from one aid station to next, and then again onto th e next section of trail- my HR was low, I had been eating and drinkiing on target so what was this? my HR was actually now 15 beats lower-at mile 20 I resolved to trot and get this over with... trotting on to the final 6 miles lined with so many people like you've never seen! high fives galore! saw my first chicken broth at mile 23 so took some, then again at 24, 25 felt better but stomach was sloshy... final 1/4 mile was deafening! as I rounded the corner and saw the clock it read 11:59:)) I kicked in to get under 12! 11:59:something I didn't care! and now the emotion smothered me- I couldnt breathe! I wanted to see the faces of my family!  i wanted someone to be there besides my "catcher".  He did a great job tho-steered me iin for a pic-then steered me over and turned me around to get my medal from "do you know who this is?"  I screamed! "no! it's not you!" and she said "yes, it's me, give me a hug you are an Ironwoman"!  came outa Chrissy Wellington's mouth :)  :)  :)  once in a lifetime and then I BAWLED!!!!! to myself of course and asked to be taken to medical- I didn't feel right...
Chapter 3:
I wasn't right- started shaking violently cold-nervous-they wrapped me up and after 10mins of shaking drs decided to strip me to get me warm-get some blood and hook me to an iv-ice cubes fell out of my clothes-nurses were shocked-Dr. said "get a blood panel, her temp is 97"  still shaking uncontrollably- the nightmare began.
i sat bolt upright:  "I don't feel good- I'm gonna pass out' and pass out I did- HARD- woke up to Doc in my face screaming at me-nurses never left my side- now I'm scared witless which didn't help my shaking and i'm still COLD- they start trying to get me to eat bannannas and chicken broth- I do and they pull more blood- Doc comes back and starts the talking coherency test :)  he does tell me I'll be fine in a few hrs and i look at the clock; i've been in the tent for 4 hrs now-2 hrs til the race is over-he looks at the latest blood panel and says " off ya go to the hospital- you need a potassium bag and a magnesium bag now!"  Noooooooooooo- I say noooooooo- i'm all alone!  he then says well you better get to eating a lot and now then and i'll check you in a bit- 11pm no better so I call him over and said " send me away" tucked up tight by the EMT's I take a sweet little ambulance ride over to Hermann Memorial ER-and proceed to spend another 4.5 hrs there getting bags of this and that until I finally feel good? call husband and parents to tell them the bad news/good news.  THAT was scarey- now how to get back to hotel?  call a cab- cab driver was good but 20$ for 1.5 miles? fine! I'll pay anything at this point.  Good Grief!  what did I do? and NO I will never do this again!   ( oh  yeah, I said that after my first marathon too).  i keep repeating "one and done!" 2 hrs of sleep later and into Sunday morning I go find my bike and bags in the back of a truck at lost and found and amble my way back to the airport to fly home....
Chapter 4:  the aftermath....

Its that last minute detailing... and I waited to say it for fear that I wouldn't make it through 4+months of training for Ironman Texas.  I don't know how i kept it together;  family, kids, school, work, training 20+hrs a week AND remaining lively and lovely.  Yes!  I will be at the start line for my first full Ironman distance triathlon; 2.4swim, 112 bike, 26.2 run.  I entered on a bet with coach well after I had already decided to do IMMOO in Sept. same year.  "Lets see what Francois can do with me for IMTX" I thought to myself.  I 'd seen other athletes go through his rigourous programme and it wasn't pretty-SCARED!  weeks, months, racing and I'm feeling fine! actually ridiculously great!?  maybe I can make it to the start injury free? ready to race?  y ou betcha!  Thanks Francois for a fantastic programme and I see ya'll on the other side (Sunday May 20th!).
Goals: to finish? perhaps a slot? there, I said it... KQ
Training:  mid week long runs, wknd long rides, swimming A-LOT! everything else QUALITY work-summing up to 20+hrs a week.  I had no "need" for a massage, I felt only latent soreness after a race or two but I was able to race and train right through with amazing results.  How did I manage?  up at 5am sometimes running then, otherwise kids to school and then run before hitting work at 8:30am, lunchtime swims 1:30 long,  biking eve.s or stationary until the weekend then out the door as soon as it was light.
Nutrition: well, it's simple really: eat good! practice with everything on those long bikes and runs and change nothing before a race.  Get good sleeps-I'm lucky as I'm a good sleeper :)
SWA flies straight to Houston Hobby so there I'll be tomorrow! I'm all alone but I have a huge cheer base back here in El Paso and I'm meeting up with some old/new friends and race participants from my hometown of Waco, Tx.
 part two will have to wait for next week!

A new way to RUN

yes, I'm going to go there ;)- trash in El Paso drives me to distraction. I'm overwhelmed by it. Last fall when I started running on the Pat O'Roarke running path it boggled my mind on how such a high volume usage trail had so much trash all the time! I mean, there are at least 6 trash cans along the 2.2 mile route. Then, if you turn up Northern Pass in the Cimmeron Development, there's a big can in the park... so... on my easy runs I have a game where I collect the trash and put it in the next available can. Today was a winner! I made 2 stops with handfulls of plastic, styrofoam, glass and then *I found a trash bag* God himself was listening because I filled that sack along NorthernPass uphill running with a trash bag full of plastic, metal, rubber, styrofoam, plastic bags... then back down the hill to return to my car, through the construction opposite the new apts-another Hefty trash bag! not even used-waiting for me and i filled it right there; plastic everywhere, dancing in the wind adorning the creosote bush, yucca and purple sage bushes. My little part did a whole lot- so I challenge YOU! pick up just a few pieces each time you run on your easy days, wherever you run and lets clean up El Paso!

it's been some time...

but time affords a lot of consideration, reflection and insight

THAT being said... my A race in sprints was Eagle in the Sun Sept. 4http://www.ceptiming.com/results_misc.cfm?year=2010&raceNum=289 for results. It was a day I felt like Lance-seriously!- pool swim was not seeded well but that gives me something to chase right? on the bike, wow what a feeling of power, speed, flow as yes grasshoppa- I did this w/out any garmin on my wrist, just a start watch I didn't look at- goal was to push the limits, to go to edge of sustainability, well... MAX OUT!!! goal #2 was to race the boys (of course) and goal #3 was to try to get under 1hr...my run was awesome too- clouds came through, some wind to keep me cool and darn it! you can't beat a flat flat course (mi especiality!) I raised my arms to 1st female OA again, improving last yrs time by-yes! 4mins and some...but best of all was that I was in that supreme state of flow the entire time :) BUT, invariably the wave comes in...

my best friend here in El Paso, way back from when I first started racing around the World, my training partner, travel buddy, Team USA compadre was dying of ALS in Dallas, Tx. It was her time now, she had fought an incredible 3yr battle with this horrid disease, she lived VIBRANTLY, she raced with COURAGE, she fought back with her Run Proud for Dessert 5k's, she sought every treatment and experimental treatment to the ends of the earth (Greece). Diane Proud suffered from Bulbar ALS that affects the face, chest and then progresses downward, inward. The evil thing is, your brain is FINE! you know what's happening to you yet you have no control. I last saw DP in El Paso as she received the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame Induction-WOW!!! that was April. Now I got word that she had slipped into a coma, found not breathing for who knows how long, at hospital, 4 days from her birthday, 2 days after the last RPfD 5k. Via Con Dios Diane love, the McElroys

well- chapter 3: going forward as they say in the pro work market (and I hate that saying) but I must forge forward, last race of the season: Elephant Man Triathlon Oly distance Sept. 25th on the radar as last race of the season. Life is going well, boy children have assimilated well into public school, my tri-coaching is going very well, already have made the All American list for USAT triathlon again, work-eh- I miss DuWorlds on this wknd-bobby and V go in my sted, LauraB, my other training bud doesn't do EMOly this yr so I fly solo as la familia is tied up back home. Racing for Diane, racing to find myself again- lovely day dawns on ElephantButte Lake-great water, great weather, tired legs and a 5th OA finish, 1st AG finish for the year-what that means friends is from now on, I will race but you won't recognize my name in the results-heh heh heh until 2012.

Yes, IMMoo is on the schedule courtesy of my good friend and she was an instant friend, Jessica Jacobs who won OA 2011 and in honor of Diane Proud, multi Ironman distance racer. I know I swore I'd never do one of these crazy races but here goes!