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!

I do what I love, I love what I do!

I feel really blessed to be able to confidently say that! I've been racing triathlons and multisport events for 25 years. Now, I want to give back so I have put on my tri coach hat and am coaching 6 athletes from super beginners to just shy of intermediate experience for various distances. I announced an openwater tri clinic at Elephant Butte Lake this past weekend and had 13 people ready to roll. We had 8 show up for the 5:30am leave El Paso time to caravan up. Laura Bernal, Art Sanchez, Rob Lovett, Bates Gaddy, Michael Casteneda, Catalina D., Rosalba Bazar and her friend Rocio. I prepared a couple of handouts; one on swimming technique for OW and then other on the pyschology of training and racing. If the drive up was any sign of what was to come, well then bring it! Large meteors lit up the sky over the I-10, then the full yellow cheese moon set over the western mesas giving the Rio Grande river valley the most unusual light. As the sun peaked up over the Mtn's, it made it's way through heavy clouds to give the Hatch valley that awesome southwestern August lighting. The day started at a cool *68 with overcast skies. Most people are uneasy when swimming in OW and sometimes the wetsuit can work against you as Laura found out. She's been struggling with panic attacks and not being able to breath. Art is a fish so he led out the more confident swimmers, Rob was practicing his 2nd OW swim and learning to sight properly and not swim all over the lake, Bates was good to go, Michael also practicing his new OW technique with wetsuit, Caty was amazing as a beginner to the sport she is a confident swimmer, Rosalba WOW! she was timid at first-very timid but relaxed and took her time and amazingly by the end of the swim portion she was cruising it! her buddy Rocio really surprised me too- she swam with Art's group who rounded the 'no wake' buoys several times for almost a mile of total swimming-YEA GROUP!!! we all wore brightly colored swim caps to show up for the boat traffic. On to the transition area and on our bikes we began the course ride; you feel like you are riding over hill and dale along the lake but it is beauty the whole way, especially after a desert rain. Poor Rocio got a big slice in her back tire but we were asked 3 x if we needed help by locals and finally she hitched a ride back to camp from a nice local family. I journeyed on, catching the rest of the group just after the 2 big hills-I was pleased to see Catalina still hanging with these guys! we zipped over the rest of the course and came back to camp-quick transition and off on the technical first portion of the run-by race time it will be loose sand again from the vehicle traffic but after a rain it had hardened up pretty good-that didn't change the incline of the hill that leads out of the lake basin though! man, that thing is straight UP! we got back in the lake afterwards to cool off, clean up and into town for lunch at Bella Luka-yum! what a great group of people! we had easy conversation and everyone was easy and very open about their racing, training and life. I can't wait to do this again :) because when I give, I get so much more in return!

Holy damsites! a DamitMan race report

after competing in this race last year and having an absolute BLAST at a new race on a new racecourse, and turning around too soon on the run and getting a final DQ- I vowed to do it again and do it RIGHT! I was hoping they had gotten the volunteers squared away with directions and spot positions on the course as per my requests from last year and yes, they had a much better communication standard met this year!

Laura Bernal and i decided NOT to drive up a.m. of the race even though its a quick drive up (2hrs max) it's hard to find at dark thirty and plus, you have to leave El Paso at 3:30-4 AM to make it safely, transition set up and race starts at 7am! We got a room at the Historic Lodge site right at the race start; room was rustic but fantastic (except for the evil eye'd chicken staring at Laura) no TV, no phone... just us and the giant chicken! well, heck, time to have some fun! lets dress that chicken up with a helmet and some hammer gel and Laura felt more comfy then.

Slept badly- back and sciatica were a real hindrance but oh well, bright and early 5:;30 the cars rolled in and it was a natural wake up call. Trotted 2 mins down to transition, set it up, back to room, chill and prepare, out the door-warmup, down to the lake and boom! We are in a severe drought situation and the water level at the lake was maybe 30 feet down? we had to swim on the "other" side of the marina to accommodate the low water effect but it was all good. I had warned friends: "the run to transition is like none you've even done!" and boy was I right!

up up and up the switchbacked rocky course we ran- into transition... and focus because there is a hill right at the mount line similar to Buffalo Springs,Lubbock! get clipped in quickly and have the bike pre-set gearing wise for that climb- and time to wake up! I sprang around the bike course, watching my competition and keeping legal distance behind her- Miz Sarah Crewe, a 50 yr old RACEHORSE- we played cat and mouse multiple times on the course- before you know it you are finishing the last climb to transition, descending and starting your run. All I can say is preview the course in person, day before if you're a first timer- you will be running straight up a switchback road, up up and up! it feels like you are climbing forever but with Sarah and I starting the climb together I knew i had her, passed and gassed in the first 200 yds, I continued to put time into her on the run. I felt great! amazing! through-out this race I had achieved 'FLOW'. And then someone yelled "first woman!" and i was shocked. I'm 47, Sarah is 50 and we have realized we can't beat the younger girls much, if any anymore, for the overall title- but Today was my day! I was sizing people up that morning and it goes to show you that you can't tell how fast someone is by looks alone-just relax! and do you're own best race! and that strategy got me the win because I relaxed and stayed well within myself.

At the top of the massive hill climb it was rolling hills- the men had a 3 min head start on my wave and i quickly found "my guys" on the course; Art S. was climbing, BrooksV was passing me on the out and back stretch, vet Mark Lennox in his first open water tri was hammering away, I saw Fernie gettin crazy on the approach to the watertower- WOW! I hit Kori Mannon's hand 2x- her BF Scott is the RD for this race and she was "just doin it" to a 3rd place overall. At the race start they announced that one of my long time race friends and an elite male, Master Mike Montoya had had a heart attack that took him to ICU; Kori was racing for him, I was racing for him, Laura Bernal was racing for him that day. What a blow- fit, fast as heck, barely 40+ and laid down with a H.A. He's recovering after 3 stints and we were in our power and giving it back toward him on Sunday am!

I pretty much flew over this course, finishing 2 mins ahead of Sarah, had my best swim ever!!!!! and felt great afterward-wow. I will be prepping for ElephantMan which is approx. the same area but not the same course- I have had to make a hard decision about Duathlon Worlds in Spain this year. I was going until my kid's private school just closed with no notice; we have scrammbled for new schools and my purpose is to see that they assimilate smoothly into the new schools and way new curriculums. That leaves me open to doing the next race at ElephantButte lake Sept 24/25!

Buffalo Springs 70.3, Lubbock TX 2011 tried to to put me under!

I wanted to DNF 2 miles into the run... but Cherie came running by me and said "you can't quit!" so for her I finished

worst drought conditions in West Tx in recent history, combined with28-30mph sustained winds that began before day break, combined with record heat for the region all came together to make this years BSLT 1/2 Iron the hardest yet.

I was ready for heat, I was ready for wind or so I thought... Race morning started 30 mins earlier than planned due to extreme conditions-NOT a good sign. Laura Bernal and i rolled into town on Friday, played at the lake Saturday a.m. while we watched friends BobbyG., BrooksV, and TommyT compete in the sprint race. Cherie joined us for a pre-swim on the course and we were all being swamped by wind driven waves straight to the lungs on the long backstretch return of the course... we all prayed for calm water race morning

9th wave: 6:40 am start- I started well, was 5th to the first buoy, felt fast and strong, swam straight but they had jammed all the swim waves so close together and put us next to last so I immediately swam into all 8 waves of slower swimmers-ugh-didn't get clear water till the backside of the course and the water was pretty calm, not flat but not like yesterday! Came out of the water as last year-30 mins and then proceeded to fight with my wetsuit and the wetsuit stripper! DANG IT! that took a huge chunk of time before I crossed the timing mat as I had a virgin wetsuit stripper who got all stuck in my suit! brush that off... jammed on the bike, perfect gear selection for the 6% grade climb immediately out of transition but then full force wind in the face on top! I worked my way through the course despite the winds, being careful of my hydration and electrolytes but I didn't account for the extra calories spent fighting the mostly cross winds! yes, I got out my course map and plotted the wind to prove to myself that yes it was THAT bad! mostly 40+ miles of the course was crosswinds with the remaining 16 head/tail-JIMMINY! but this meant that I hit the run with nothing in the tank, I felt like nothing could save me; it was HOT, I was HUNGRY and I was facing 13.1 miles of more hills, wind and heat. I was passing people but was running aid station to aid station getting as much drink and gels as I could-once on top of the lake well into the "heat stroke" energy lab section I began putting ice EVERYWHERE! jog bra, down the shorts, down the coolsleeves, under the hat. At 6 miles I began to feel some part of myself coming back into proper pace and form but I still stopped at every aid station. Coming down the hills into the lake area again I felt like I was flying; I ran up on a girl that had really out run me in the beginning, although now, as we both stopped for COKE, and commiseration we decided to take the last 3 miles back in company, encouraging the other to get back on pace and that yes, we ideed were gonna FINISH! we picked up 2 more runners and the vibe was powerful- I began to flow as we ran and talked and suffered... 1 mile to go, my new friend from Colorado, a mom of 3 boys, 36 yrs old fell off the pace, she yelled at me to GO and I yelled at her to stick to my back. I flew that last mile, feet never touched the ground. I have never been so happy to finish a race in order to get right back in that lake and cool off, eat, have a beer and CHILLAX! I avoided the medical tent thank you God and had no cramping but i have never seen so many people struggling, walking, in the med tent, so many ambulances. Later at the awards ceremony the RD did say dispite the conditions this yrs race had the most finishers-wow and, He said "hottest race on record". I felt completely puny when I saw my friend Jessica Jacobs, a pro who ROCKED the 70.3 with the fastest bike and 2nd fastest run!

Laura and I went straight to the hotel and legs up, room temp set to 62* until the awards ceremony that night. We decided that yes, next year, we will be back :)

the rest of the summer is sprint distance racing; it's redline and whole lota quick f un!