What am I Thinking?

Clarity.

2010-06-23T10:07:00.002-04:00

It's been a while. I'd love to say my silence has been because I'm off traversing the world or something, but that is simply not the case. I've been in a bad spot in life for a little while. One of those ruts that are seemingly impossible to get out of. I wasn't happy with where I was in life. I let some of the most minute things keep me down. I had breakdowns about my dad I've been suppressing for well over a year. I lost my appetite. I had no drive to train. I was frustrated with my ankle not being 100% after so long. I work all the time, and hardly ever see my friends I used to train with daily. I felt alone and like I had no one to talk to. It was depression in one of it's darkest forms.

I realized what was going on about two weeks ago. I was swimming at Jason's.... I'm usually in the lead pack that swims from beach to beach to get about two miles in. I felt like I was fumbling in the water as they swam swiftly away. It didn't make sense. I got out of the water feeling defeated, just like I had at a few prior swim practices at Providence.

Swimming to me is what Yoga or meditation is to others. It's a time where I clear my head. My breathing is focused. I'm concentrating on pulling myself through the water. Staring at the line below reviewing what's good in my life.

I got off work early last night, and, still in the glow of feeling good about my life for the week or so, I decided to go swim with the team. Hopping in the water, a little bit of anxiety washed over me. As I started into sets of 50, I realized how incredibly tight I was holding my shoulders. With one big exhale, I loosened my shoulders. I slipped through the water. I watched the lane lines zoom by as I grabbed the water... something I hadn't felt in well over a month. I got out of the water feeling elated. I stopped to watch the storm roll in from a DC rooftop before heading home for the night. I love storms, and this was no exception. The last glimmer of the sunset illuminated the storm shelf as it rolled in. Golden lightening rumbled in the seemingly harmless, fluffy clouds. A mix of heat lightening and a storm off in the distance. I went to bed with a smile on my face.

I woke up early this morning.. and wanted to see if I could replicate. I drove down to GMU's pool for some 50 meter love. I wish Hains Point outdoor 50m pool was open, and contemplated jumping the fence... but figured that wouldn't pan out so well - breaking and entering in DC? "But officer... I just needed to swim in a 50 meter pool...." The swim felt amazing. The sound of air pockets dancing around my cap as I pulled myself through the water was deafening, like it once was. It was a moment of clarity. My times were back on par, instead of the 1:40's I found myself swimming (or modified splashing) the last few weeks. I climbed out of the water with an intense burning in my lats that I haven't felt since I swam across Lake Anna (though, thats probably attributed to the fact I was hungover...). I came home and made a simple breakfast, but it tasted amazing. It's the first time something has tasted good for a while.

I'm back.... and I don't intend to let anything drag me to where I was. Bring on Florida... even if it is covered in tar. :)

The Roughest Road Wins?

2010-02-15T17:35:00.002-05:00

Who knew smashing my face into the pavement could land me in the lead on a contest?

I read Steve's post about the gnarliest crash... laughed to myself and wondered how my accident would rate. Well, first I had to decide which one sucked more... the jaw incident or the broken ankle.

While snowed in during Snowmeggedon at a friend's house.. She asked me which was the worst surgery I had. Since she knew me during the broken jaw crash, she instantly assumed that's the one I'd pick. If we're going for the longest lasting with the most inconveniences, having your jaw wired shut and going to the dentist 2-3 times a week for a few months clearly takes the cake. In terms of pain, the ankle was the worst surgery I've faced. The day following surgery I was in the worst pain I had ever experienced. No amount of Percocet even made a dent in the pain I had shooting through my legs. I suppose that will happen when you have plates and screws put in. (interesting side note: There are relatively few nerves in bone. However, the thin, film-like covering of the bone surface, the periosteum, is very rich in nerve endings. Drill through that.... yowza).
D sent me a message and told me I had to enter, as did a few other bloggers who have read my stuff. So, without further adieu:

Vote for me - Recovery Ride Face Plant

You vote for 3 female and 3 male injuries. Warning - some of them are very graphic. Bruising, no biggie... no toenail.. barf.

Dropping the Ball after the Ball Dropped

2010-02-01T10:57:00.002-05:00

Clearly, we're into February already and I've been quiet as a mouse. I promised an update in my last post, but then never followed up. Plenty of drafts were worked on, but none to completion.

For the few out there that actually care what I'm up to, here's the rundown:

December was a month full of fun. Lost my job. Went home to Ohio to chill/help mom out with some things. Missed the epic DC snow storm. Celebrated Christmas with the family.
Bought a car. Well, technically it's a crossover SUV. Nissan Rogue. I'm in love with it. The ZX2 (don't get excited, thats a Ford Escort for those not keeping up on their cars) was having some hurt. The transmission was about to go... with just shy of 100K miles, the transmission and timing belt replacement would have cost far more than the car was worth. So, without a job, I bought a new car. I have better pictures of my love but I can't seem to hunt down the camera cable right now. So, you must settle for a picture from my blackberry. This was taken on it's maiden voyage from Classic Nissan to this really good Mexican restaurant mom and I frequent when I'm home. mmmm margaritas.

I eventually ventured back out to DC on January 6th. Spent the next two weeks weighing various job options and working out like a fiend. If I was independently wealthy... I could totally go pro (minus that needing to be fast thing. Minor details). I swam, I was on the trainer every day, Hot Yoga, BOSU pilates, strength workouts, boot camp, time on the elliptical, and PT. If I could have run, I would have. I stumbled across an opening at Bonzai Sports for retail management... and decided what the hell. In a last minute change of plans, I now work at a bike shop. I've been doing the desk job thing for 2.5 years... and I feel like it is sucking the life out of me. I didn't really realize this until I went home and was away from it. I mean, legitimately away from it... sure I had vacation time, but I was constantly logging in on my work laptop, responding via blackberry, etc. I didn't want to go back into that atmosphere just yet... or potentially ever again. I need to be up and moving. I can't sit behind a computer or in a cube farm right now. Ultimately, I'd like to be a brand rep for someone... going around promoting a product, interacting with people, etc. I just don't feel satisfied sitting behind a computer. So, for now, I'm working at a bike shop (stop by and visit!) and going to work/coming home with a smile on my face. More important to me than a huge paycheck.

I'm still plotting out my season. I've signed up for the Double Mussel (sprint on Saturday, half iron on Sunday) in July. I have a few goals up my sleeve, but I want to see where I am on the running front before I make any firm decisions. One goal would force me to drop the sprint and focus solely on the half.... the other goal will be to enjoy both races. Strictly depends on where my run stands by April. Of course I have Ironman Florida in November. Looking to do Chesapeakeman Aquavelo as part of the prep for that... assuming I'm back in town from Interbike. Most likely doing Rumpass in Bumpass sprint, maybe Kinetic Sprint. Lots of officiating to make some extra $$$. Clearly no set schedule like last year.

I have some other posts on the horizon. I promise I'll actually *ahem* POST them.

Wreaths Across America

2010-01-03T10:19:00.008-05:00

I took a bit of a self-imposed hiatus of contact from most everyone I know during the month of December for reasons I'll get into in the next post. One thing I meant to get up before the disconnect was an entry about Wreaths Across America.

December 11th was the one year anniversary of my dad's death. The 11th proved to be far less difficult than the 9th; the day that he actually fell, but it was still hard. Lucky for me (though most others would think it was an unlucky coincidence) I was laid off on the 11th. No panicking necessary - I knew my last day with SAIC was December 11th since about June of this year. I ended up taking the afternoon of the 10th and the entire day of the 11th off, and convinced my mom to book a one way ticket to DC on the 10th. She needed a distraction from the clock, or she'd have sat around watching the moments tick by, knowing exactly what happened. Besides, Akron is gloomy, and at least DC had an abundant amount of sunshine those few days. We drove back on the morning of the 11th, and my sister met us at the house as well. Spirits were high, and we knew we were about to do a good thing in the morning.

Around October, I heard a radio spot for Wreaths Across Ame rica. The ad called for volunteers and online wreath donations to help the annual decoration of Arlington National Cemetery. A bit of history about the program from the website:

The Arlington Wreath program was started by Morrill Worcester (Worcester Wreath) in 1992 with the donation and laying of 5000 Christmas wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery. This became an annual journey for Mr. Worcester. Read more about this in the History of Arlington.

It was relatively obscure until 2005 when a photo of the stones adorned with wreaths and covered in snow circulated around the internet. The project received National attention. Thousands of requests poured in from all over the country from people wanting to emulate the Arlington project at their National and State cemeteries spurred the creation of “Wreaths Across America”. Unable to donate thousands of wreaths to each state, Mr. Worcester conceived the idea of sending 7 wreaths (one for each branch of the military as well as POW/MIA). In 2006 with the help of the CAP and other civic organizations, over 150 locations held wreath laying ceremonies simultaneously.

Since then, it has grown to include shipments and donations to many National Cemeteries. I saw the date was December 12th, and was a bit bummed that I wouldn't be able to help, as I knew I'd be home in Ohio at Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery where Dad is buried. I continued reading through the webpage and saw that wreaths could be donated directly to the participating cemetery of choice, so I bought a few for OWRNC, and forwarded the link to my mom. My sister also wanted to help, so I contacted the coordinator to set us up as volunteers for wreath laying.

We woke up the morning of and began to pile layers on. Western Reserve sits at the top of a good-sized hill, and is often quite windy. Despite the sunlight pouring through the windows, we knew we were in for a cold morning. Sometimes pictures are better than words, so I'll let them do the story telling:

Folks from the local Rolling Thunder Chapter. Those in DC - this is the
group that comes in force on Memorial Day on thousands of motorcycles.
Good group of people - they were the main volunteers at the wreath laying, and do so every year.

My sister laying a wreath

Bundled up and laying a wreath on a strangers grave.

Mom (the blue Eskimo) and Doug, Board Member of the local
Rolling Thunder, Marine, and worked with Dad for years.
Talking about how much Dad is missed around the CCX Terminal.

The off-center stick in the previous picture is
actually this little verse called "The Title". Doug came out
on the Marine Corps Anniversary and put these on the graves of those
who were Marines. Somehow it got pushed off-kilter a bit,
and then froze that way. Click to zoom.

Miss you, Dad.

After the wreaths were laid, at 12pm across the country all participating groups have a service honoring those who served and who gave their lives for our country. At Western Reserve, there's a flagpole in the center of the cemetery with large circular logos around the base for each branch of the armed forces. A member of each branch laid a wreath on their logo as the honors were read for the particular branch.

I can't say that it eased the pain of remembering what we went through last year, but I can say that it warmed the heart a bit to know that maybe someone will come out and see a wreath was laid on their loved one's headstone.

Gone, but never forgotten.

Seriously... AGAIN?!!

2009-12-07T14:18:00.002-05:00

Not a true post, but a quick update/venting session.

I went to the dentist this morning because it felt like one of my veneers was coming loose (if you remember back, there was an issue with some bad bonding agent and I had to have most redone). Specifically, its the tooth to the right of my right front tooth, or the #7 lateral incisor. I noticed at the beginning of last week that it bothered me when I'd bite down. Upon further inspection, I found that I could wiggle the tooth back and forth a little bit more than normal. Well, I should say normal for me - my front 4 teeth haven't 100% stabilized from the accident last year, and they all have a bit of "wiggle room" (clearly a technical term). I'm thinking they might pop off the veneer and cement it back on again... no big deal. Surely it's just an issue with the veneer.

Wrong.

The tooth is dying off.

... Are you effing kidding me?!

So, Wednesday I'll have a root canal at 7 in the morning (good morning!) in an attempt to save the tooth from totally dying. If it dies, I'll have to have an implant done. This isn't a complete shock to me, as I was warned initially that at any point in my life the teeth I damaged can just die off without warning. It's a phenomenon that dentists don't truly understand - you can be fine for years after a traumatic incident to your teeth, and then suddenly the body kills the tooth off. I just didn't think this would actually happen.

Here's to hoping my teeth stay in my mouth.

21 miles of freedom

2009-11-23T15:15:00.002-05:00

Okay, I've REALLY been slacking on blogging. Whoops. I've been busy doing ~~a whole lot of nothing~~ stuff.

The past few weeks have been filled with traveling and catching up with friends I missed while I was on crutches. Two weeks ago I was released from having to use crutches. Words can't even describe my excitement. I asked the doc what the timelines looked like for my recovery. In short, the news was promising: I could return to cycling immediately, running in about 2-3 months. I'm allowed to be on an elliptical until my hearts content.

Naturally, being tired of staying indoors, I jumped at the chance to ride outside. The team had a few different rides going on, ranging from 18 miles for our newest of cyclists, to a quick 40 for those recovering from Ironman Florida. We met at Rileys Lock (near Potomac, MD) on Sunday for a beautiful fall ride. The weather was perfect - in the 50's and sunny. Cool enough to require a long sleeve jersey, but warm enough that the toes didn't freeze.

I have to admit, I was a bit hesitant getting out on the streets with the potential for heavy leaf coverage. Those of you who have been around for a while might recall my nasty run in with leaf cover approximately a year ago. I laughed as I donned my lightweight full-finger cycling gloves, still stained in blood from last year's crash (what, I washed them...). Lucky for me, the roads had recently been cleared and there was very little leaf coverage on the ride.

So how did I fare riding for the first time in two months? Overall, surprisingly well. My left leg was definitely doing more work and started to cramp a bit towards the end. My right ankle didn't hurt pedaling. The most notable issues were my ankle getting extremely cold from metal cooling due to the temperature, and the shock of every crack/bump in the road transferred directly from the road to my ankle. Ouch.

Time to spend the next few weeks building my leg muscles back up. I've invested in some Spinervals to help with my indoor training, as well as a better trainer (sadly, not a computrainer). Things are looking up.

Shortly I'll be writing a review on Vibram Five Fingers. I'm using this ~~fashionable~~ footwear to build up my feet again. So far, I'm really digging the feel of them. I never knew so many people looked at what shoes you wear though - the number of "are you wearing socks" and "are those really shoes?" I'm getting is remarkable.

Heading back to the 'Rowdy for Thanksgiving tomorrow night. (Whats the 'Rowdy you ask? Akron is also known as the AK Rowdy.. comes from a rap song about the city. Sadly, part of the lyrics include 'AK rowdy rowdy north side of summit county'... and as you can see, we're actually to the south side of the county... Never said our rising rap artists were educated). I'm absolutely EXCITED about eating Thanksgiving this year like a normal person, instead of through a syringe. Though, I must admit, sucking mashed potatoes through a syringe at the dinner table was a very classy maneuver.

Spectating the hard way

2009-11-09T22:46:00.002-05:00

Crutches are officially ranked as one of the hardest ways to spectate an Ironman.

That begins on a beach.

Trying to catch up on some sleep after an amazing weekend in Panama City cheering on my friends! A full update later.

Into the fishbowl

2009-10-30T14:21:00.004-04:00

For many, the idea of swimming laps brings about thoughts of dread and despair. Swimming back and forth is boring. Marginal yields of improvement over time. Never understanding why they don't have the speed in the water as others do. Never feeling the water. Only in the water to "survive" the swim in a race.

I'll never understand their mindset. And I can only hope that they can experience mine.

For me, there are very few things in life that top being in the pool. Often you'll hear a runner say the run to escape. I believe the pool is one of the ultimate escapes. Even in a crowded pool, it's difficult to be truly disturbed while swimming laps. No cell phone to worry about. There is nothing worth looking at on the bottom of the pool, so your attention doesnt wander. Sounds become nearly inaudible background noise as your eardrums become submersed and devoid of the outside world. To me, it's nice to have a small part of life that involves focused external stimulus of any kind. You're insulated in the pool, and have a completely clean slate allowing you to think quite clearly for the duration of the workout. There's no person on the treadmill chatting on his cell phone. No catching glimpses of the strange workouts people do in a gym. No SportsCenter blaring on the TV. No worries about changing to your next favorite song on your iPod. Its just you and you head, which is a rather rare and welcomed experience.

I've been cleared to swim, only with limited kicking. Sunday, I went back to the pool for the first time. It was just me and Sebastian in our lane.

I sat on the side of the pool, worried. What if I lost the feel for the water? How much muscle have I lost? What kind of toll has no cardio in 5 week taken on my abilities? What if my ankle hurts too bad to swim? My nerve endings jumped at the cool water on my skin as I slid in. Goggles adjusted and swim cap secure, I ducked under the surface and pushed off, awkwardly, with my left foot. I felt like a kid playing underwater again. Reaching the surface, I began the mechanical routine: catch it in the palm, pull back, rotate... you're gliding through the water. And then I struggled. Where are my feet? I can't roll.. my strokes off. whats happening to my form?

I'm dependant on my kick. Too dependant for a freestyler, and perfectly tuned for a backstroker. Explosive, tight kicks coming from the hips. Propelling the body forward as the arms assist. Feet pointed to make the lever as long as possible. It's what I know how to do. And suddenly, it's forced to be subsided. I struggled as I awkwardly tried to mimic those I've swam with that insist the legs need to be saved for the bike. Attempted a subdued two beat kick to facilitate roll. It just didn't feel right. The electric feeling of being in the water was slowing fading. Once back at the starting side, I grabbed my fingertip paddles and took another go. 25: Nothing. I couldn't catch the water right even with paddles. Somewhere between 25-50 meters in though, I felt it. Rocketing through the water, feeling the small twinges in the lats and triceps. I was back.

Last night I did a few threshold sets with the team. Feeling sheepish, I dropped down a lane because I didn't think I could keep up with my guys. I wasn't ready to commit to the testosterone driven sprints maintaining a paceline just yet. No paddles, no pull buoy, I grabbed onto the back of the lane beside me. I don't know where the speed came from, but I felt like I wasn't even completing pulls, yet I was running over these people. Convinced to go in the front for a 400 build, I pushed off the wall, again awkwardly with one leg.

A few small dolphin kicks later, I broke the water halfway down the pool and began the stroke. Smiling. It felt good... 3, sometimes 5 strokes before nonchalantly taking a breath. Still, dragging my feet in a paralyzed state behind my hips. 100 down, turn, pick it up. Alternating 1 to 3 stroke breathing. 200 down, turn, pick it up. Feel the arms burn, starting to kick a little. 300, down, turn, pick it up. Sprint. Slicing through the water, feet in a steady, tight 6 beat kick. turn, 50 left. make it hurt. It hurt. The rest of the lane was over a length behind me. I focused on increasing the speed of each passing rung on the ropes. Reaching the end of the set, my lungs were lit on fire from oxygen deprivation. It felt amazing. Submerged up to the neck while out of breath is an addiction. No need to lean against a wall or curl over onto the knees: The cool water lends its hand to support and keep the rest of the body relaxed, like a chilled omnipresent friend.

I've missed being in the fishbowl.

Post-Surgery update

2009-10-14T10:42:00.005-04:00

Considering I have been doing a whole lot of nothing for the past 3 weeks, you would think I would be more up to date with blogging. Sadly, I haven't had the energy to do much of anything (**including, if you've emailed me... I discovered a whole list of drafts in my gmail from where I apparently started to respond, and then ended up passed out from percocet. My apologies, and I'm catching up on those emails now!).

I had surgery on 9/28. I sent the following email out to my teammates to let them know how things went, in true race report fashion:

Woke up at 5:30 am Monday morning. Tossed on some clothes and mom drove me down to INOVA Fairfax. I hobbled in and received my wristband for the event and listened to the pre-race briefing. I signed off on some papers, took my pager (think restaurant pagers) and sat waiting to be taken back. Scoped out the competition - I was totally going to beat the little girl in a froggie onesie to the operating room. I'm a seasoned pro at surgery, afterall. To calm my nerves and pass some time, I brought along a book. My mom noted how pathetic I looked with my leg propped up on a crutch, wearing a race t-shirt (to be fair, thats about the only type of tshirt I own anymore) and reading "Once A Runner". My beeper finally went off, and I headed to transition to get ready. It's always nice passing Team Z faces with smiles and encouraging words. Kitty and Jeff were back in the pre-surgical room with patients of their own, but both stopped by to chat and see how I was. Some more body markings (doc signing the leg that was being operated on) and a few more pages later, I got the good stuff and was wheeled off for surgery. Had a great time of 2 hours in surgery, and woke up in the recovery room. After making some new friends there, and heading over to the second recovery room, I was ready to be done with the day. Came home and slept. Had some visits from some Z'ers, which are always nice.Tuesday was filled with by far the most excruciating pain I've ever been in... no amount of narcotics would help. I was warned it would hurt, but had no idea what I was in for.. so if you called or wrote yesterday, sorry for not getting back to you. Life is back to okay today

Okay, in all seriousness, the surgery went well - I think I have 2 plates in my ankle... I think they decided against the third but I cant remember what the doctors said to me as I came out of the anesthesia. I don't feel an incision on the back of my leg, but I guess I'll have to wait until my next appointment to find out whats up. I go back October 12th to have the cast removed, and will be put into an air cast at that time. No weight bearing for 6 weeks, so after my mom leaves this week, I'll be actively recruiting people to do a little grocery shopping for me... especially since I'm not "allowed" to drive right now (they doubt my mad left-footed driving skills).

Columbus day was spent getting xrays and having my cast taken off. I had to have the x-rays done first before my appointment, so I scoped them out in the elevator to see what they did to me:Suddenly my ankle began to hurt. Ouch.

Once in the doctors office, my cast came off. I'll spare you the extra gross pictures of my leg looking like it was jaundiced from the remaining betadyne. I didn't even want it to be part of my body when I first glaced down. 10 stages of bruising and discolorations, and two long lines gracing either side of my ankle, crusted over with blood. Ew. I snapped a quick picture of the x-rays once they had them up on the light box, and later pictures of my semi-cleaned surgery sites:

My leg looks huge... but thats just the cast.

Blurry pictures, but thats probably for the best.

I'm still not allowed to walk - no weight bearing until sometime around November 11th when I go back for my followup. They said if PT goes well and I can bear weight slightly beforehand, then I'll to go to IMFL to cheer on my teammates (being on the beach on crutches sounded pretty disasterous). My doc expects a full recovery with minimal side effects.

After some serious soaking in the bathtub, I have a lot of the dead skin off and removed the surgery tape. The lines look pretty clean, so I'm hoping for minimal scarring. As I was laying on my couch watching TV, I noticed how sad my leg looked. I've worked so hard for amazingly muscular calves... and in 3 weeks time - POOF.. gone.

Editors note: awkward flourescent lighting makes my legs look unnaturally colored.

Oh - I also had another surgery in the middle of all of this (of course...)! I had the implant done for the missing tooth FINALLY! My oral surgeon just shook his head when I came in on crutches.

Him: Please tell me this wasn't another biking accident.
Me: Nope. I was walking.
Him: Were you chewing gum?
Me: No need to be an ass... haha

At least he has a good sense of humor. Surgery went well, and now I just have to wait another two months for the post to fuse to the bone, and they'll add the crown on top so I have a tooth again. Horray!

Hope everyone is enjoying the end of the season/taper for the last big race!

When Asthma and VCD Don't Matter

2009-09-24T17:26:00.002-04:00

When you can't train anymore.

So what might you be looking at? That'd be my right foot, with 3 breaks in the ankle. Not the best x-ray (I don't suggest going to Garrett County Hospital EVER), but you get the hint. On the right, you see a chunk of bone that should be connected to the bone above. What you can't see are the two breaks on the left that are both sheared outwards. Go big or go home, right?

How does one pull off such a badass break? Storytime. My Savageman non-race report:

I was walking down the stairs between parking lots on the way down to the race. It was very dark, but I had my headlamp so I could see. Between the bottom of the stairs and the next parking lot was a 2 foot section of grass. As I came off the stairs, I stepped down with my left foot onto an uneven patch of land and started to roll my ankle. I quickly tried to correct and shifted my weight over to my right foot, which was between the grass and the asphalt. With the uneven ground and the sudden shift of my bags, I rolled my right ankle first to the inside, then to the outside. I heard the bones snap on both sides, and fell to the ground. Hoping that I was imagining things I tried to move my leg, and noticed that my ankle didn't lift from the ground but my leg did. After refraining from puking, I decided I needed to get someones attention. So, I started yelling for help until a ranger and a few Z'ers found me. After a short ride in the ambulance and a few shots of morphine later, I arrived at Garrett County Hospital. I won't go into details, but I don't recommend this hospital, and decided against having my surgery done there. Huge thanks to my teammates for following me to the hospital, contacting the doc's on our team who work at INOVA Fairfax, and set me up for the red carpet treatment once I got to INOVA

Susan, Ray, and Annie packed up my car so Annie could drive me home. We encased my ankle with ice and I downed a Lortab to embark on a narcotic-induced rambling ride home. We pulled up to INOVA, and beat the other kid with a broken leg out of the car (noting our awesome transition times). We asked the triage nurse if she knew Dr. Miller, and she had no idea who we were talking about. Turns out we were at the wrong hospital (Fair Oaks). So, we hopped back in the car and went to Fairfax. After witnessing a woman storm the ER only to be quickly removed by security, an old lady with the swine, and a crazy man yelling about his job, we made it to a room. Scored a hot resident working on me who used to do triathlon in college... and also sent me a message on Facebook since Annie was taking pictures that she thought I should use as a profile picture. After having the worst X-ray tech ever (who knocks someone's foot that is clearly broken?!), and Annie yelling at people until I got pain killers (if you EVER need something taken care of.. Annie will set someone straight), we were taken back to the room to wait for the results. We were updated on who beat who, where everyone placed, and that Team Z got that Savage Cup again! The docs came back in and injected my foot with a numbing agent, doped me up some more, gave me oxygen, and went to work resetting my ankle. Huge props to the staff - it didn't hurt even though it looked like they were going to rip my ankle off.

I have a temporary cast on now, and go for surgery on Monday morning. My mom will be in town to take me in to have plates and screws positioned to reset the three broken bones. I broke the left, right, and back side of my ankle... Good to know I don't do anything less than 110%. I'll be off my foot for 6 weeks minimum, but should recover fine. No IMFL for me; however Annie and I are planning the first annual IMFL Power Hour race.

So, there's the last 2009 race report you'll see from me. I'll update on Monday after my surgery. Possibly with some more pictures as well.

Post Epipen madness: I might not have asthma

2009-09-15T16:03:00.002-04:00

Needless to say, after having to use the epipen to open my airways (okay, I could have gone to the hospital.. but that is way more drama than necessary)... I went to my asthma docs on Wednesday to find out what the deal is. ***Sidebar - if you EVER have any allergy/asthma issues and are in the NoVa area, check out Adult and Pediatric Allergy of Northern Virginia located in Herndon. The practice has a special expertise in sports-induced breathing disorders, and routinely work with Olympic and collegiate "high performance athletes", as they call them (us?).

Anyway, after describing the issues I was having and doing a few lung function tests, the doc looked at me and said "there is no possible way you have this severe of sports induced asthma.. or for that matter, most likely any asthma at all." She handed me a home lung function monitor, explained how to use it, and sent me on my way for the time being. I have to test my lung function morning, during/after exercise, and at night. I also have to record my heart rate and general notes. She thinks I have Paradoxical Vocal Fold Movement (PVFM), or Vocal Cord Dysfunction (go ahead... "what?"). The symptoms are usually confused with asthma because they are so similar. The key difference is with PVFM/VCD, you have issues breathing in... where as asthmatics have a hard time breathing out. I head to a pulminary specialist in two weeks who will make me exercise until I have an episode, then promptly shove a camera down my throat to check out what my vocal cords are doing. Yummy.

You might be wondering where this came from... Apparently not to much is known about the disorder. Some think its brought on from stress/psychological disorders, especially after traumatic emotional stress (ahem.. possibly my accident/losing dad).. some think its from acid reflux (used to have lots of issues with ulcers in college). It can also be tied to brain trauma and injury (lets see... I slammed my head into the pavement... also the chin strap from my helmet left significant tissue damage to my throat, which is still sore to this day)... which is where the doc thinks the newfound breathing problems came from - my accident.

So much for no lasting side effects. :(

Nothings going to stop me though... Onward to Florida!

A few posts behind: Rehobeth Beach

2009-09-15T11:23:00.004-04:00

I have about a dozen half written posts in my drafts over the last month that never have been finished.. So I'll be posting a bunch over the next few days. I still need to add pictures, so bear with me.. they'll get up later.

From 8/31:

A number of us from Team Z went up to Rehobeth beach for a long training weekend. Why Rehobeth? Training in the ocean and on long flat stretches for Ironman Florida.

Since I had off Friday, a fellow teammate and I decided to make the hike up on Thursday night after traffic died down. Easy drive, got in around 10pm to an absolutely HUGE beach house. Seriously, there were 12 of us staying in it, and we could have easily fit 30. Grabbed dinner and went to bed.

Due to the tropical storm lingering along to coast, Friday was spent saying "lets go to the beach!" followed quickly by a roll of thunder and rain. It would clear up again, and then go back to thundering. No beach on Friday... Sad. Met up with the Z'ers in town for dinner and a few drinks, then off to bed for the 100 mile ride in the morning.

Woke up and felt great heading out for the ride. At least 50 people rolled out for the ride, so it was a great showing. The plan was 3 loops, each getting progressively shorter. I was instantly amazed at how fast I felt when I wasn't climbing hills. I'm a HUGE fan of flat terrain now. Unfortunatly, my airways didn't seem to agree. I felt like I was having bad asthma issues the entire ride. Around 55 miles in, it got to the point where I had tunnel vision because I couldn't breath. I called our fearless sag crew, and someone came and got me. I figured I'd be fine if I just laid down for a bit, but no luck. 45 minutes later I had Coach Ed inject me with my epipen to open my airways. I'm not afraid to use one, but he wanted to learn. So after giving him instructions and a very awkward bearhug on my leg later, he realized it wasn't so bad. Until he pulled out the needle and saw how long it was. I attempted to ride about a half hour later, but my thigh hurt to bad from putting a needle through my quad... so I ended up sitting around drinking long islands in the parking lot cheering on the other riders.

Sunday was spent on the beach. I swam about 2 miles in the ocean, getting used to being tossed around. Unfortunatly the jelly fish were out and about, making the swim a bit more uncomfortable than necessary. I had planned to get in one last time to do a swim around 4, but the jelly fish were in full force. One wrapped around my ankle as the tide came in standing on the beach.. So the plan was abandoned. :( At least I didn't get a jelly fish up the pants like someone else...

Oh yeah.. I forgot I blog.

2009-08-19T10:24:00.013-04:00

An ultra busy few weeks after Ironman has lead to a minor void in the blogging lately. I'm back on track now and have plenty of entries to update.

Last Tuesday, I flew back to Ohio for my sister's wedding. I arrived into CAK from DCA after 50 short minutes, in comparison to my standard 5.5 hour drive. After how easy that was, I'll be flying from here on out. Now I just need to convince my mom to buy a car so I don't have to drive the minivan when I borrow it.

Wednesday was spent laying in the pool, helping my mom around the house, and visiting two of the three must-go places when I'm home: The A&W Root Beer stand on the circle and Stricklands (the third being Swensons, which I sadly did not get to). This particular A&W drive up has been around forever, and same as it has always been. One of the few places I know that is still cash only. There's nothing better than a coney dog with cheese, french fries, and a frosty mug of root beer. I'm slightly sad I didn't take a picture of it in all of its glory, but maybe next time. The pictures were swooped off the internet. Stricklands is a frozen custard joint that has been around since the1930's. Prior to becoming a franchise, there used to be two - Stricklands, which is located across from Akron-Fulton airport, and Stricklands II, which used to be beside the local grocery store, about 3 miles down the road. The original was only open during the summer, and II was open year round. Both had different "Flavor of the Day" which is actually 2 flavors, as well as chocolate, vanilla, and a frozen sherbet, and lasts typically 3 days. Best.Frozen Yogurt.Ever. My friend's family growing up owned it, so I ate lots of free ice cream. Unfortunately, the two owners had different visions for it, and it has since been franchised. Still the same machines that make the custard though. If I would have been home every day, I would have stopped by. Unfortunately, I missed Banana - one of my all-time favorite flavors.

On the way to my sister's wedding, we stopped by the cemetery to place some flowers on Dad's grave. Lucky for me, the construction crews were out in full force setting up the section on the other side of where Dad is buried. So, I grabbed my camera, and I finally have pictures to go with this strange entry. I'll add them into the post shortly, but for your viewing pleasure:

A view from the road.

Sod waiting to be laid on the front of Dad's section. Not quite sure why the dug up the grass.

A view of the vaults. Note that each one is also numbered with the grave number. In the background, you can see construction on the above-ground vaults for ashes.

Construction vehicles would grab a vault from the
back and place them into the rows.

Not the best pictures in the world, but there was a group of workers right infront of Dad's grave, and mom didn't want them to think I was nuts for taking pictures.

After the cemetery, we were off to my sister's wedding in Columbus, Ohio. Very beautiful wedding. I'll post some pictures from the photographer once I have them, but here are some from the occasion (not all of them are mine..):

On the way to the church

My lats and bad tan lines came too.
The rest of the bridal party is out of the picture.

Sister and Brother-in-law leaving the church

First Dance

Cutting the cake

Bridal Table

Classy. Too bad two of those weren't even mine.
And, ew. why are my fingers look jacked up? Stupid hyperextension..

Ironman Lake Placid - DNF Report.

2009-07-30T15:19:00.003-04:00

It still pains me to type those three letters.

Lessons learned:
-Don't leave your Garmin on the cradle after it is done charging - it WILL drain the battery once unplugged.
- Don't ride the brakes without pulsing to give the rims a chance to cool down.

I had a GREAT swim - I've been beat up more in Oly starts than Ironman. I started a little to the right of center, 4 rows back. In hindsight, I should have started closer to the buoy line, as I got caught up behind a group of slower people. Came out of the water in 1:14, much slower than I should have, but alas, unscathed. Quick transition, and it was off to the bike.

First loop of the bike was uneventful. After turning my Garmin on in transition only to find the battery had almost died from sitting on the contacts, I decided to leave it off for the first loop. Kat loaned me her Polar, since she thought I was nuts for doing ironman without an HRM. I realized I took the first loop extra slow at 4 hours when I rolled through town, and planned to make up serious time on the second half.

Turned on my Garmin and planned to run it until it died. I went down the first half of the Keene descent barely tapping my brakes. As I began the second part of the descent (shown between the 55-70 mile marks), I was riding about 45mph, which was a bit out of my comfort zone. I hit the very steep section and rode my brakes hard. The brakes started to feel like the wheel was out of true. Suddenly I heard a crazy noise, looked down and saw my tube and about 5 inches of rim tape coming out of my front wheel. After pulling a Fred Flinstone to stop as I skidded down the hill, I had a sigh of relief that the road didn't claim my skin or teeth, and began to pull my front tire off. I burned my hand taking my wheel off, so I let it cool while I pulled my tubes out of my saddle bag. As I took the damaged tube out, I accidentally dropped my wheel on my spare tubes, which melted under the heat from the rim. I was able to flag down the SAG vehicle, who had no 650 stuff to help me out. So, I sat on the side of the road as they pulled away, balling my eyes out because my day was over at 1:15pm. Watched a few other teammates head down the hill, including Kai who seems to only see me in ditches on the side of the road. An ambulance picked myself and my bike up, and dropped me off at a run aid station, where after a few hours spent volunteering at said aid station and running barefoot with my teammates, I finally got a ride back to town.

Bluntly put, it sucks to train so hard for a single day, and for it to end badly. I've been through worse, so it isn't going to break my spirit (though, it was close on Sunday). I've signed up to do Florida this year since many teammates are doing the race - yay charity slots. I'm coming back with a vengeance on the MDot races. Plans are to either hire a trainer or work with one for a few run and bike sessions to see where I can improve and really blast the course. I'll need to get more comfortable in the aero position, as I'll likely be in it for about 6 hours.

IMUSA in Red, IMFL in Orange. Safe to say, I won't need my brakes.

So, following the rest of this week off, I begin training for the second Ironman in a year. I'll still do Nation's Tri and the Army 10 miler, but I will be scrapping Marine Corp, which falls two weeks before Ironman Florida.

Odd Facts about Cemeteries

2009-07-20T09:47:00.003-04:00

I am sure this was the last thing you thought I'd be writing about with Ironman just around the corner.

My mom frequents Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery to visit my dad's grave. Over the past few months, she has called with interesting stories about the happenings around the cemetery (who knew they were so.. active?). Western Reserve has plenty of land to expand to, and with the rise in death rates of veterans, has been doing a lot of work in the cemetery. Adjacent to where dad is buried is a large urn garden. They have been constructing another urn garden beside the first one, which will hold another 5,000 remains. Beside Section 11, where dad is buried, they have been prepping another "section" of land for burials.

Ever wonder what goes into prepping land for burials? Well, here's the process, as accounted by my mom's phone calls:

Step 1: Dig up the ENTIRE section, 8.5 feet deep. Why not 6 feet deep? Double vaults. At OWRNC, both the vet and their spouse, military or nonmilitary, can be buried together. So, everyone gets double deep vaults. By entire section, I'm talking about a space for about 300 burials. Make everything perfectly smooth.
Step 2: Arrange the burial vaults with about a six inches of room around each vault. Gotta have a little bit of elbow room down there. :) Place caps on the vaults.
Step 3: Fill the entire lot with gravel. Yes, gravel. Ever wonder why Arlington National Cemetery (for the DC folks) looks so perfect, whereas most of your city owned cemeteries have a more "bumpy" look to them? Gravel. It prevents any type of ground sink that traditional cemeteries encounter when they backfill with dirt.
Step 4: Spread dirt over the top few inches of the gravel.

When the lot is going to begin housing deceased, the particular plot is dug up, the body is placed at the bottom of the double vault (or top if their roommate's already there), and then the gravel is replaced along with the dirt. Once a whole row is filled, the cemetery will lay strips of sod across the grave sites.

I keep telling my mom to get pictures of the construction in action, but she says she would feel weird snapping pictures. I'll update the post if I ever get pictures, but I happened to find this whole process very interesting. Something you never really think about - I had no idea there was such a science behind grave digging.

I'll update tomorrow once I'm finished packing for Placid - including a how to on ghetto-rigging some new decals for your race wheels.

Lucky number... 6?

2009-07-16T22:43:00.003-04:00

It appears I have to rescind my recent post; no longer is it lucky number 5, my odds have moved back to 6. Another girl registered recently, as there are still community fund slots left. My guess are her intentions are to try to qualify too - I'd assume most people don't just wake up in the morning and register for an iron distance race 2 weeks prior to toeing the line. She could be fast, she could be extremely under prepared.

***Post edited for negativity. If you happen to have Reader, you might catch a glimpse of it. But, I was apparently just in a bad, bad mood when I wrote last night. ***

Work's been rough - got the layoff notice on Monday. I knew it was coming, but it doesn't make receiving it any easier. I suppose I'm young and naive.... I feel like I've done nothing but bust my ass for the company, took on jobs that I absolutely did not want, but was promised better things by taking them, and in the end, I was still screwed over. I suddenly understand why working for big companies make people calloused. It has made me calloused. I have money being thrown at me to stay, and a decent sum as severance benefits. I'm not sure that I'm going to take it though... How does someone wake up every day for 5 months knowing that you're only doing work to finish losing your job. I'm a very hard, determined worker. Everyday this week however, I've been plagued with no desire to even go into work, and have hardly done anything. What's the point - I feel like I'm cleaning up the girl before me's mess, so its easier for the folks in Oak Ridge. Why am I making their life easier? The company has officially made me extremely cynical at work.

I'm looking forward to this weekend - a massage, getting things packed up for Ironman, and a guy I used to be pretty close with is in town for some training. I went out with him Wednesday night, and realized how much I really did miss him. I'm looking forward to spending some more time with him before he goes back to Chicago.

Feed Me

2009-07-13T09:07:00.004-04:00

So. Hungry.

I've been cutting back my caloric intake so I do not gain weight before Placid. With the reduced training volume of taper, I hear it is pretty easy to pack on a few extra pounds. No need to haul anything more up those mountains than necessarily. Unfortunately, my metabolism (and subsequently stomach) are not that thrilled with my decision. Officially for the first time since about 2 weeks after my jaw was wired shut, my stomach growled at me. For the first two weeks of the liquid diet, my stomach was mad, then it realized I just wasn't going to feed it, gave up, and I haven't had hunger pangs since. Until this morning. ::grumble::

12 days left until Ironman Lake Placid. Yesterday's 55 mile bike ride turned out to be an interesting one. Rode on a busy highway at one point, took an exit ramp, looked at the Route 17 overpass (which we were supposed to be turning left on.. I left my go-go-gadget legs at home, so I couldn't hop up to the overpass 30 feet ahead), and was told "good luck getting back to Virginia. I took 2 water bottles with me on what I figured would be a short, 2.5 hour ride.

Dehydration FAIL.

I believe someone said it was 87 degrees out. And every small town we rode through only had a "general store", which, remarkably are all closed on Sundays. Around mile 40, I finally found a 7-11, and enjoyed a nice cold bottle of water. Dehydration had definitely set in though. Around mile 50, something flew into my helmet and attacked my head. I was able to stop and pull off my helmet, but lost the group I was riding with. I started to get chills and became blackout dizzy when I started up again, so I stopped on the side of the road and called Marlene (Sagging for the team) for a ride back. Luckily, the chills and dizziness stopped, as I had NO desire to jab myself in the thigh with my epipen

Lucky Number 5

2009-07-06T13:34:00.005-04:00

It used to be Lucky Number 6. But due to unforeseen circumstances, its been moved to Lucky Number 5.

So whats the significance?

Back here, I stated that I was going to focus into improving as much as I could over the next few months, and take the idea of qualifying for Kona a bit more serious. I would say there was about 90% honesty to that - in reality, I knew that I would not be able to make the physical leaps required to hit that target, but still, it was a fun idea.

While I had some downtime, I thought I'd ~~stalk~~ scope out the competition for Lake Placid using Athlinks, just to get an idea of what kind of racers I was up against. Scanning the names, one of them looked familiar. When I pulled her up on Athlinks, I saw why:

Eagleman Ironman 70.3 Triathlon 2009

4:41:21

A quick check of the Qualifying Slots showed that she nabbed a Kona slot (with that rockin time) at Eagleman this year.

And then there were 5.

The remaining 4 girls I'll be competing against are either average, or good runners but pretty bad swimmers and average to below average cyclists. There's actually a chance that I could come in second in the age group (Miss 4:41 will be first, my guess) and take a slot. How freaking cool would that be?!

So, as I enter my taper into Lake Placid over the next 19 days (16 hours 51 minutes...), I will be concentrating heavily on not blowing off my workouts, and very conscious of every calorie that goes into my body. I had hit the proverbial wall two weeks ago with the epic 2 hour swim, 20 mile run, 130 mile ride weekend (By far the most mileage in one weekend for me)... and was just ready to be DONE with Ironman. Luckily I've only skipped one workout, when my mom came in town for the 4th of July, which I plan to make up this week.

Work has been beyond overwhelming as we transition into a new financial system (try telling multi-million dollar contracts that we aren't doing any new purchasing or subcontract agreements for 10 days... not fun). Luckily thats over, and things should be relatively calm over the next 19 days (16 hours and 49 minutes).

Happy Training, and good luck to Es - rocking out Ironman Switzerland this weekend!!!!

State of my State

2009-06-18T15:44:00.005-04:00

Two posts in under 24 hours?! I know it is exciting.

Key points:

Work is overwhelming
I’m trying to figure out what to do next
Dealing with Dad’s death doesn’t go away
Training is intense

Work is exhausting right now. We’re moving onto a new financial system, which requires us to go through multifarious training courses – many with nothing to do with our specific roles in the company. Not only am I endlessly clicking through purchasing training, but I am also the POC for Goods Receipt and P-Cards during the Costpoint Conversion. That means I get to take training for 3 positions, instead of just one, and respond to everyone’s emails about their GR/PCard issues. Lucky me. In the meantime, I also have to find time for daily functions. Lately many of the offsite projects I support seem to be in a horrible mood (most likely due to the upcoming conversion) and attempt to drag me down as well. Oh, and to round out my bitching about work, I’m most likely losing my job anyways… I’ll find out the week before Ironman Lake Placid. Well, I’m not so much “losing my job”; my job is moving, and I won’t be moving with it. No hate to Oak Ridge, but its just not my style.

Which brings me to what I’m doing with my life. I have some good leads on jobs in the area that I will pursue once I have my separation date. The question becomes, do I want to stay in the DC area? Its been a great place for the past 2 years. But, I’m young and unattached… I should get out and see new places, right? Ideally, I’ll land a job that requires a good deal of travel (dreaming of a job like Ray's, sending me all across the world to do presentations, but realistically just hoping to travel a bit in the US) and I could stay right where I’m at living-wise. But, should I move to another area? California to be with a number of my friends? Hawaii to enjoy the amazing weather? Up and change countries for a hot minute? Who knows, but its got me thinking a lot. Luckily I won’t have to make these decisions until sometime after Ironman.

I just passed the 6 month mark from my dad’s death. It’s hard to believe that 6 months have passed. I have my good days and I have my bad. I’ll go a week or two without even thinking about it, and then it will consume my every thought. I ran across the adjacent picture when looking for something else on my camera. The flags at my dad’s work flew at half-staff the week my dad died through his funeral. I’m glad I caught a few pictures of the two flags flying with the trucks in the background (the closest truck being the first color scheme that they had when Dad started, and the subsequent trucks being the new line that came out a few years ago). The 6th month mark fell exactly as it did in December; he fell on Tuesday the 9th, and we removed the life support on Thursday, December 11th (actually, that's when the hospital declared him as no longer a patient… he stayed on life support until Friday for organ donation). June 9th was a Tuesday, so the week repeated itself. Last week was a very hard week… and to be honest, I feel like I floated through the week oblivious to anything around me. I shut my office door and cried almost every day. I went home and laid in bed, skipping many of my workouts. My body may not have needed the break, but it was precisely what my mind needed. I had a good weekend, until mom mentioned my aunt had a buyer for Dad’s car. I was speechless. She didn’t even tell me she was thinking about selling it. Last I knew, my brother was taking it. He decided he didn’t want it, and my mom has a hard time looking at it every time the garage opens. I get that, I’m sure its hard. But I was crushed that she didn’t even bother to check to see what I thought. I’m considering buying his car to tie me over until my next car purchase, but I haven’t made a decision. We both had 2002 ZX2’s – his navy, manual, and has a sunroof, mine – silver, automatic, and has about 45,000 more miles. I remember going home one weekend and asking my dad what he knew about the Mazda 3 5-doors, because I thought that was going to be my next car. He just started laughing and said “I’ve been looking at them lately too, and decided that its the next car I want”. He went into a long discussion comparing the Mazda 3 to the others in that same class, and why it was, in his opinion, the best choice. I’ve got my eye on the 2010’s, but will most likely wait until early next year (read: price drop because I’m poor).

Training has been intense for Ironman. Of course it has been.. its for Ironman. I’m often tired from training, and maybe even slightly grouchy because I can never eat enough. After the below outlined Mooseman Fail, I was very concerned about my ability to do Lake Placid; not because of the physical requirements, but the mental. After recovering, I’m ready to tackle it. I didn’t quit at Mooseman, so it must be a good sign. This weekend is the peak of training – 2 hour swim, 20 mile run, 120 mile bike. Bring it on.

Well, maybe. I have to have some medical tests run on Friday. Report to follow.

Mooseman Half Iron Race Report

2009-06-17T21:19:00.003-04:00

Clearly, I’m behind. Mooseman was over 2 weeks ago, and I’m just now getting around to the post. I’ve been dragging my feet, because to be honest, I didn’t want to recall how bad of a race I had. Lucky for you, blogosphere, you get the extra short version:

Swim: 35:18

The swim course is a rhombus of sorts. I lost a good amount of time between the two furthest points. I’m not good at swimming in very very choppy water. If I’m not in a wetsuit, I’m fine… but if I’m in a wetsuit, I get some variation of sea-sick. Not fun. I enjoyed the 59 degree water however, unlike many people. Newfound lake is also one of the 10 cleanest lakes in the US. So clean I probably drank a little too much of it since I wasn’t hesitant about what I might be ingesting.

Bike 3:49

A full 40 minutes longer than I wanted to be on the bike. Mooseman is a relatively hilly course. I came prepared with a newly installed compact crank. Mooseman is also known for its sketchy pavement. And by sketchy, I mean terrible. Well, except for the first 6 miles, which have been repaved. I started off strong on the bike, feeling good after recovering from the near cookie-tossing session on the far side of the lake. I eased right up Devils Hill. On the backside of the course, there are some nice descents. Well, they would be nice, if it wasn’t for the aforementioned shitty pavement. At some point, a crosswind caught my 404’s when I wasn’t paying attention, and it threw me around a bit. By a bit, I mean a lot. On the shitty pavement. I already have a fear of crashing and head trauma, and with it being almost 6 months to the day of my dad’s death, I lost it. By the time I hit the bottom of the hill, I was balling. I didn’t want to be on my bike, and if there had been an aid station anywhere close, I would have dismounted and turned in my chip. I continued to cry. I thought about my dad. The fear of crashing/head trauma finally caught up to me. I wanted off my bike. I was thinking about how I could sell my bike/tri stuff, and make at least $2000. That would cover my investment into Ironman registration, my hotel room, and recover other sunk costs. That is how much I didn’t want to be on my bike… and it was serious thinking, not just “oh I should sell my bike and be done with this sport.” But, I kept pedaling, because the only choice I had was to do so, or sit at the side of a cemetery. The tears slowly dried, and I made my way back to loop 1. I was still having issues with hyperventilating, and hadn’t eaten/drank in at least 45 minutes. As I came in for the second loop, the electricity of the race drove me out onto the second loop. I got up Devils hill again, and continued the climb to the summit. Once I reached the summit, I quickly wondered “What Was I THINKING”? I quickly went through round 2 of hyperventilating and the fear of crashing. I was more prepared for the crosswinds on the downhills this time, and made it through safely. I was mentally diminished at this point, and figured I’d rack my bike and stop.

Run: 2:23

But I didnt. I realized I couldn’t hurt myself on the run, so I’d go out and get it done. Besides, there were too many teammates there. Off I went, and I got my legs pretty quickly. Miles 1-2 went by great. MIle 2.5, ::gurgle… gurgle:: Stomach’s not happy. I throw down a gel and 1/2 a glass of water at the aid station. As fast as I threw it down, it came right back up. Awesome. I walk, sipping water again, trying to get my stomach to calm down. I can feel I’m way under-fueled at this point, and throwing up the gel was the exact opposite of what I needed. I walked some more. Shuffled a little. Walked. Aid Station comes up, I sip on Pepsi. The Stomach (now a proper noun at this point, demanding I respect it) decides it does not want Pepsi either. I Pepsi’d some foliage on the side of the road. I walked… shuffled.. walked. Next aid station, after letting Stomach know we had another 9 miles to go, and surely it did not want to convulse that many times… I took some orange gatorade. Stomach approved. I shuffle a little. Stomach decides it still is okay. I drink the rest of the cup. Waited a minute, fully expecting a revolt. It didn’t come. I picked up my pace, and I ran. I ran fast. I stopped to pee, so at least I wasn’t dehydrated. I crossed the finish line. I cried (into my new Mooseman Finishers shirt and towel)

My time was faster than Kinetic, but not much. I hoped to break 6 hours. I hoped to take one of the top two slots. No luck. It was the hardest race I’ve done. Not topographically. Mentally. I joke about quitting triathlon after Ironman, selling my bike, and taking up scrapbooking. Joke. I was serious when I was on the bike. I guess that goes to show, you shouldn’t make decisions while riding that don’t pertain to navigating the course or eating.

Outside of the race, I had a GREAT weekend. Got up there Friday, swam, cheered on racers in the Oly on Saturday, got a great brick in. Monday, a few of us hung out on a dock in the lake, chattin, drinking wine, eating leftover cheese, grapes, chicken, and pretzels. If you ever have the chance, Mooseman is a FANTASTICALLY run race. I mean seriously, TOP NOTCH. and Bristol is absolutely gorgeous. The community was out in force supporting the race, which was awesome.

I had a very hard time accepting how this race went. I’ve accepted, and I’ve moved on. My focus is Ironman. I’m excited. I really look forward to it.

A long hiatus

2009-06-09T16:08:00.003-04:00

Clearly, I haven't been doing many updates. I've been stretching my time between driving, work, training, and sanity, sometimes wearing thin in each category. I wouldn't go so far to say I've been in a funk, but things just haven't felt "right". I loathe that sensation.

A brief synopsis of the last few weeks:

Went to Lake Placid. Camped Thursday-Monday. Cheap, but still a mistake when you factor in sleeping on the ground, then beating the crap out of your body for a few days. Had an awesome tour of the Olympic center. My run went well on Saturday (one loop of the course). I wish I could say the same about the bike. I'm not sure if I was just tired, too tight from not stretching post-running/sleeping on the ground or what, but my quads were on fire. I rode the course last year on a bike that didn't fit me, and I was in much worse shape. I struggled to make 1 loop. Decided it was time to switch over to compact cranks. My legs won't be that drained before Ironman, granted... but it will be a nice security blanket. Gave up on the bike, and hopped in the lake for a swim in 50 degree water. Cold, but manageable. I kept clenching my fists to make sure I wasn't going into any type of hypothermic state. Oh, and I lost a veneer. *pissed*.

The following weekend was filled with running and biking on my own, and meeting up with some people for a swim in Lake Barcroft. One of the few "gems" around the area... if there's once place to learn to be comfortable in open water where you can't see 2 inches infront of you, Barcroft is it. And, its semi-legal to swim in. 2 or so miles later, we were back to J's house for a barbeque. Ate far too much food. Found out Monday that my job's going to get moved to Oak Ridge... and I have no intentions of moving with it. Awesome.

Last weekend was Mooseman. Bad race doesn't begin to cover in detail, and I will post a full report shortly. Briefly, had a slow (for me) swim.. a breakdown on the bike- not the mechanical kind, and threw up a few times on the run. Devistating, as I was hoping to come in around around 6 hour mark. I had very high expectations of myself for the race, and I crumbled.

An embarrassing confession

2009-05-19T11:19:00.005-04:00

The weekend recap:

I officiated for the Columbia Triathlon on Sunday, so I had to adjust my weekend workout plans. Normally my long run is on Saturday, and the long ride is on Sunday. This weekend called for an 18 mile run, and a 100 mile bike. Due to the race Sunday though, I was forced to skip riding with my awesome teammates.

Except, some of my awesome teammates also needed to do their ride on Saturday. I took a group down to Prince William Forest (thanks again, Ray!). Tony and I went down early, since he had a 3 hour ride with some threshold work. He figured he'd do his threshold work trying to keep up with me on a loop. I don't know when I got the reputation of being "fast", but I digress. After a nice loop, we met up with the others who had to skip their ride. We rode the out and back to the visitors center for a quick trip to the bathroom, and then continued on our way. I kept dropping back to chat with everyone to make sure life was good, figuring I'd get my solid workout after the 40 miler's were heading home. I looked ahead, and watched Jackie go down all of the sudden. Not a major crash, more like slowly veered into the grass and fell over. Once I reached her, it turned out her chain dropped and then locked up in her triple. So, I taught her how to get it undone (which, came in handy when she raced Columbia the next day and dropped her chain!), and we continued off to the visitors center for another quick stop, since Jen's cleat was acting up. That's when the following conversation took place:

Teammate: ... How come no one makes fun of you? You're riding with long dangly earrings, hot pink nails, and yet you're a badass rider and had no issues fixing a greasy chain. Seriously.... how do you not get made fun of?
Me: uhhh. Good question.

So. My embarrassing confession: I'm occasionally girly. When I'm not blowing snot rockets, spitting up sports drink, covered in sweat and road grime, I'm kinda girly. Not overly, but I wear long dangly earrings, and I paint my nails. The hot pink nails were just to see if I could stand it (which, I can't... I usually paint them a darker red, navy, or gray). There. There first step is admitting I have a problem.

Continued the ride, stopping to teach Andrea how to fix her chain when she dropped hers as well. The girls left, and Tony and I did another loop. I wasn't really in the groove of the ride, so I decided since he was leaving, I'd go ahead and head out too.. I'd just finish my ride on the trainer, and then head out for an uber-long brick. About 5 minutes onto I-95 and guilt washed over me... so I turned around and went back to the park to finish my ride. Got in some miles on the feet after the ride, and called it a day.

I was up early on Sunday to drive up to officiate for the Columbia Triathlon. The day started off cold, windy, and misting. I've worked a few times under the head official, and apparently she likes me, because I was assigned to the Pro's in transition. Suddenly, waking up at 3:15 was totally worth it - nothing like seeing a bunch of hot guys in spandex with insanely nice bikes first thing in the morning. All of the pro's were EXTREMELY friendly, well, with the exception of 1 who was a complete tool and threw a fit because I wouldn't let him move his bike to another rack. Met fellow DC blogger Lesser is More,while he was doing his first officiating race (though I don't think I ever introduced myself regarding my blog - so.. hi!) I was the first official out after the Pro's on the motorcycle, and then came back in after a loop on the course to grab my mountain bike to head out on the run course. Its been a hot minute since I've been on my mountain bike - it needs some work in the shifters, and wow, did it feel heavy. 34 pounds vs my road bike that is around 18... HUGE difference. Stuck around after for a while, and one of the Pro's came up to thank me for officiating... He and I ended up talking for about an hour and half after we took our bikes up to the cars. Awesome guy, and he gave me a lot of suggestions to implement into my training. I'll see him up at Placid.. though he might be done with the race before I'm at mile 3 of the run.

This weekend is a huge training weekend up at Placid. Pictures to follow... Gina dared me to swim, so that means I'm getting in for a brisk swim in Mirror Lake. Needless to say, I'll be packing the wetsuit. :)

Sports Photography.

2009-05-14T13:21:00.005-04:00

First, the pictures from Kinetic Half (kindly lifted from TriDuo):

I look like I *might* fall over... Clipping in up the first hill. Good thing they got a clear shot of the rest of the sky, and not my tires.

Somewhere on the bike route.

Heading back into the park. Happy to be almost off my bike.
Probably one of the best pictures of myself I've seen in races lately...
Bike's in view, you can almost tell what I'm riding..

WTF am I doing?? I look like an albino Stevie Wonder running.
Race Photogs: WTF. I'm not moving that fast at this point... and this is the best moment you can capture?
Again, no need for the bottom of the SUBJECT here, but the trees in the top are pretty nice.

Finish line. It looks like we are doing some version of a 3-legged race.
I'd like to submit this to Steve in a Speedo - I got you beat with 3 pirates in 1 picture. YAR

Interesting selection of pictures. I don't remember seeing photographers with the exception of the third bike picture... I really do just smile that much while racing.

Race photography has been the subject of many debates: Why do they charge so much? Why are the pictures terrible? Why do they pick the worst locations? Again, WHY are they, on average, $30 a picture?! I'd like to address some things regarding race photography, based on my experience as an actual paid photographer... (I can send you some examples of my work, if you'd like).

Cost: The biggest gripe about race photos is the cost. $30 for a picture. I understand this seems like a lot, however its likely that the photog's only made around $1200 for the day (3 cameras at $400 for the day). In the photography world, this isn't much. So, they rely on sales to increase the profit once labor to upload/sort the photos is factored in. But in reality, how many people buy pictures @$30/shot. At least digital downloads have slowly become more common - though I've seen prices for them hover around $15, and no volume discount for multiple images.

Quality: No matter how cheap though, no one is going to buy a crappy picture. Its just not going to happen. Lets take for example my pictures in the above race. The first shot on the bike is crap. The "subject" of the picture is half cut off. Fail. Don't even upload this to the site. The second and third pictures are of decent quality... I can't complain too much. I'd love to see more photographers get complete side shots of the racers on the bikes, such as the one to the right. It's much more appealing to see the side angle of the rider on the bike than a front shot of us hunched over with a knee in chest. Take a picture with some woods or something nice in the background. If I had a race picture of me from a side view instead of head on.. I'd most likely buy it and send it to my mom. She collects those things, and it would look more "artsy"... On the run, it shouldn't be too hard to do the same thing, as we're moving at a quarter of the speed on the bike. Maybe 1 head on, 1 side view would be ideal.

Location: Directly in line with quality comes location. I'm not sure who told the photogs that setting up on the exit of transition, when your subject is fumbling to get situated on their bike going 8 mph is a GREAT location to get some bad ass race pictures.. but they lied to you. Nor is the corner where we turn to head back in, have slowed down, are sitting up, etc etc. Find a place where the runners aren't totally clogged up together (often at the beginning of the run), and never ever sit at the very beginning or the turn of a bike. We're slowing for the turn.. not too focused on "dropping the hammer" on the bike.

3 things that are easy to fix, and yet time and time again, I see these big race photog companies failing miserably at doing their job. They cannot possibly look at their pictures and say "wow, we captured AMAZING pictures". Looking at the pictures, I would much rather see a race contact a local high school with a photography class, offer 10 students $100 for the day, and set them out along the course. Have all photos uploaded to a single site (Use Snapfish, Google Pictures, whatever), based on location and time stamps... Racers know about what time they passed XX mile marker. All picture free for download, students are allowed to use their shots for portfolios. Sure, the first few pictures might suck, but they'll get used to it with 200+ people to practice on. Alternate options include enlisting the handywork of a family member, friend, or random stranger you pay $30.. I guarantee you will get better results than what is often captured by the race photographer.

Kinetic Half Iron Race Report

2009-05-11T11:20:00.005-04:00

Kinetic Triathlon (Half-Iron Distance)
Swim: 36.52
Bike: 3:33(15.8 mph)
Run: 2:41 (~12 minute miles)

BREAKFAST:
• Ensure Banana Crème Shake
• Banana
• 3 Endurolytes

SWIM:
This was my first half-iron race, and intimidation doesn’t fully describe my feelings as I finished my in-water warmup. I was very unsure of how to “race” the day, but figured the best was to go slow and finish with a smile. Coach said it was a “training race”, and not to go out too hard since Mooseman I supposed to be my A race prior to IMLP. I was in the second wave, and the gun went off at 7:03. The water was very murky, and I couldn’t see feet until I was practically on top of them. I settled in to my own space, and kept it very slow. I wanted to swim faster, but I decided to cut almost all kicking (which I am a very strong kicker), since I had a long day ahead of me. Kinetic is a two loop course which includes getting out, running across the beach, and then back into the water. My first loop was lethargic feeling to me, and when I felt good coming out of the water and was surrounded by blue caps (M 34-Under) from the previous wave, I figured I couldn’t be too far off. I turned up the second loop, but still refrained from kicking very much. Never felt like my heart rate went up, which was my initial plan.

Swim Total: 36.52 (42/105 Women)

BIKE:
The bike for Kinetic holds a slightly more rolling terrain on its two-loop course than expected. After a 3 minute transition (double checked everything I did – didn’t want to forget something), I climbed out of the park. I settled into a low heart rate and kept smiling. I knew I needed to nail my nutrition in order to have a successful day, and I didn’t want to go out too hard and not be able to digest well. I started out with a great pace, and stayed aero for about 95% of the ride. Aside from the pollen which felt like rocks in my eyes, the ride was beautiful. Never too hot, good roads for most of the race. I had a few issues with traffic on the roads that didn’t know how to pass cyclists, which caused multiple times of having to slam on my brakes both on descents and ascents. I wasn’t happy with the traffic situation, but there was nothing I could do to change it, so I pedaled on. Around mile 30, I whipped out my Uncrustable for the best snack of the day. It tasted like heaven in between to smashed pieces of extremely processed bread. I must have looked like I was enjoying it, because as a pretty fast looking guy passed me, he sat up, tapped his brakes to fall back with me, and asked me what I was eating. I sat up from my ~~lounging~~ aero position, chatted with him for a few minutes, and he was envious.. he’s bringing one for his next race. Around mile 40, I ran into a long line of horses, probably about 10-12. I heard something about a horse show in the area, and a group must have been out for a ride. It made things interesting – riding along with horses being freaked out by bikes/traffic on my right, and traffic being freaked out by the cyclists/horses. Bad combination, but I made it out without hitting either. I did ask one particularly hot guy (cowboy?) if I could have his extra horse for a little while. He laughed, not realizing by that point, I was slightly serious. Finished the bike, managing to avoid any incidents with people failing to know how to operate bottle hand offs. Please people, learn to grab a bottle properly, and don’t just spray it in your aerobottle then chuck it DIRECTLY behind you, nearly hitting me.

Bike Nutrition:
• 2 complete Speedfil’s of water (80 oz total)
• 2 package of Strawberry Clif Blocks, eating 2 every 20 minutes for the first two hours
• 1 bottle of on-course Heed (since I walked out and forgot my Heed. So much for the packing list..)
• 1 Grape Uncrustable
• 1 package of Black Cherry w/caffeine Shot Blocks
• 1 Gu Roctane

Bike Nutrition Totals:
• Calories: 1000 (281 per hour)
• Carbs: 218g (61g per hour)
• Sugar: 89g (25g per hour)
• Sodium: 1324mg (372mg per hour)
• Caffeine: 120mg (33g per hour)

BIKE TOTALS: 3:33 – 15.8 mph (76/105 Women)

RUN:
I felt great coming into transition, however the first 2 miles weren’t in complete agreement. I clearly need to do many more brick workouts, as my legs thought it was time to go get a beer with the teammates or take a nap, and not run a half marathon. I used my Xtenex laces, and had no issues for the entire run - I'll be finishing up my review sometime this week. The day was heating up rapidly, and after looking at the weather online later in the day, the real-feel temperature was over 100 degrees. Around mile 2.5 my legs came back to play, and I picked up the pace for the next 5 miles. I was hot and starting to get cranky as I could never get my legs to turn over like I wanted them to up the hills. I ditched my jersey and fuel belt at an aid station for parts of the second loop, until I realized without it, I wasn’t doing much for nutrition. I picked it back up on my way through, and the aid station looked at me like I was nuts. By the 3rd loop (yep, gotta go by the finish line twice before actually getting to veer a slight right into the grass to finish), I was done… I had a hard time keeping anything down on the run, so I was hitting the wall hard. I was slowed to a walk for a good portion of the last loop.

Run Nutrition:
• 1 Raspberry Hammer Gel
• 1 (4oz?) glass of head
• 2 (2oz?) shot of Coca Cola
• 1 orange section
• ice

RUN TOTALS: 2:41 – 12:15 per mile (67/92 women)

I picked up the pace along the last quarter mile, and my calves were letting me know they were hurt. I heard two girls coming up behind me, so I tried to sprint a little faster, but my legs just weren’t having it. They split either side of me and then blocked me for the last 10 yards to the finish line. A pretty bitch move for no good reason – its not like any of us were in contention for first place. I’m sure the finish photo will be classy, as I’m literally a half step behind them, most likely looking angry. I didn’t care, because I was happy to finish, and I felt generally great. After my lack of effort to race Rumpass, I seriously considered this to be my last year of triathlons for a while. I just wasn’t happy doing it. I researched distance swimming more, and was ready to hang up the bike and running shoes for a while. After this race, my spirit was refreshed… I REALLY enjoyed this distance, way more than I thought I would. Now that I understand how my bodys going to react during the race, I know exactly where I can improve (I can easily shave 5 minutes off my swim, I’d say another 10-15 off my bike, and at least a half hour off my run). I’m looking forward to Mooseman, and have a good feeling about Lake Placid. I feel like I’m on track for a healthy finish.

So this is what it was supposed to feel like

2009-05-07T10:16:00.002-04:00

If you read my Rumpass report, you'll recall I forgot how to race.

I have my packing list made up.

I've printed my medical form.

I have hydrated all week.

I'm nervous beyond belief.

I'm ready to race my first half iron...
(even if it does look to be 83 degrees and storming..)

Mail Call - Review to follow

2009-05-05T11:41:00.004-04:00

Woohoo, just checked my mail (snail mail) and found these:

Please pardon the terrible picture - this is just a quick cell phone shot and is quite awful.

Xtenex laces are elastic laces, similar to Yankz and Speedlaces. I've used both Yankz and Speedlaces in the past, but have never been a big fan. They're quicker in transition, but using them for long runs have caused problems for my feet. I don't know if it is because my feet are munchkin size (I wear 5's.. and my scrap non-running tennis shoes are 3.5's in kids..) with high arches and almost, but not quite wide, but it always seems that they become too loose on the top of my foot, and tighten up towards the toe box. Xtenex takes a different approach... these little "knots" hole the laces exactly how you want them. You can only collapse the knots by pulling on both sides of the knot. In theory, they should stay better and not tighten, because the knots don't pass through the eyelets on the shoes. I've been asked to give this complimentary pair a review, and I'll be reporting back as I try them out. I plan on running in them tonight, and if it goes well, I might even race in them this weekend at Kinetic.

Another Dental FAIL

2009-04-30T11:56:00.002-04:00

Tuesday was supposed to be one of the last stops on my Dental Express... but alas, FAIL. It seems to be a recurring theme with the dental work thus far... a series of setbacks. My oral surgeon was supposed to drill the implant in and let that start healing for the next 90 days (for those of you keeping count.. that means a new tooth just after IMLP!), at which point a crown could be fashioned and I would officially be done with the dental work. Simple, right? In a sense, yes. Compliments of health insurance... no. Nothing can ever be simple with health insurance. Apparently they haven't pre-authorized my treatment yet, so no go on the surgery unless I want to pay out of pocket and be reimbursed. Pass. Seriously though... WHY haven't they done the authorization?!?! It's not like this was a surprise. I'm pretty sure they've seen close to 40K worth of dental work from this accident (not even including my hospital bills)... this should be something thats instantly approved. Alas, no. So, I'm stuck waiting for another 2 weeks or so until Aetna decides they want to do their job and pay my insurance. Awesome.

Training and work has been taking up most of my time. I'm looking forward to heading home today for my sisters bridal shower. I'm also going to explore the Emerald Necklace in Cleveland (and by explore, I mean ride 90 miles). It reminds me of The Wizard of Oz, and I have a feeling that there will be many times I'll catch myself singing "we're off to see the wizard". If the Emerald Necklace does indeed have anything to do with the Emerald City, I'll be sure to snap some pictures of the yellow brick road.

The Unveiling

2009-04-23T12:33:00.006-04:00

Twenty-two weeks (155 days to be exact) of dental hell drew to nearly a close on Monday, April 20th.

I've been through having my jaw wired, unwired, temporary crowns, root canals, crowns, and partial crowns. I've had drilling, shaving, and sanding done. All to restore my teeth to what they used to be before the accident. I've had to wait for teeth to come in, only to find they were not correct. More shaving, more sanding, and even more waiting. Finally, the veneers came in and were attached to my teeth. Naively, I thought this would be a simple and painless process. All they have to do is glue some porcelin to my teeth, right?

Wrong.

The veneers came in and my dentist placed each one over the tooth to make sure the alignment was correct. Then he had to essentially sandblast my teeth to make sure there was absolutely no plaque or bacteria of any sorts. Did I mention that my front teeth on the top aren't completely stable yet? So pain insued as my teeth were stripped clean. Then the cementing comes, which involves a lot of pressure on the teeth and UV lights to cure the glue. Then more shaping with a drill to get the teeth to look natural, along with hacking through my gums for good measure, just to make sure I realized that this procedure would infact hurt. Armed with no novicane, my dentist kept asking me if I needed a break. I gargled "no" through the pool of spit/blood in the back of my mouth, and we continued on. I got a 5 minute break between the upper and lower set to rinse my mouth out, but thats about it.
3 hours later, I had a new smile:

Someone remind me to put makeup on in the morning. Those are some nice under-eye circles. yikes.

Monday evening I also went and had my hair cut. I wasn't planning on doing much, but the fabulous Royston disagreed with me, and told me most of the length was dead. I told him I needed to be able to put it in a ponytail, and since he styles seemingly half of the girls on the team, he knows better than to take away ponytail abilities. So, he chopped between 6-8 inches of hair, and gave me this new do. I didn't do anything with it this morning, so it kind of looks like crap, but when I actually take the extra 5 minutes to blow dry with a round brush, it looks great.

I'm still getting used to the new smile. It's weird to have teeth that aren't shaved down. I think being able to drink something cold is the best part. The front teeth still aren't totally stable, and the oral surgeon, whom I saw yesterday, wants to keep a close eye on them. I go Tuesday to start the implant - more on that later.

When I sent a picture to a friend in LA, aside from the compliments on the new grill, I got "whoa mauldin (we go by last names- two Lindsays in the group of friends)... did you have Collagen done?" No collagen here, completely natural. Naturally enhanced by scar tissue though. You see, when I crashed I almost bit completely through my lip. The result: a giant "pouty lip" through the center of my bottom lip. I've highlighted where I sank my bottom teeth:Note the bump in the center above my teeth marks

So there you have it. The new smile, complete with free Collagen-esque enhancements.

Rumpass in Bumpass Race Report

2009-04-20T14:48:00.002-04:00

I arrived in Lake Anna on Friday at 2, beating the usual I-95S nightmare. I helped set up the tents and kept Zoe entertained by throwing a stick into the lake for her to fetch. Around 4, a few more teammates showed up, so I was able to leave the trailer for a bit. J.R. started putting his wetsuit on, so I told him to hold up for a minute and I'd throw on my suit. I think he was expecting me to put on a wetsuit instead of just my swimsuit, since the water was about 62 degrees. After shaking his head at me, we frolicked into the water and got in a good 25 minute swim. Out we climbed, and moved onto a 25 minute ride of the course. Came back and went to my officials clinic for a few hours before heading back to the house I was staying at. I had a glass of wine with Brian, Maureene, and Jacquie before heading to bed around 10:30. I couldn't seem to get comfortable in the ghetto trundle bed I was sleeping on. About 40 minutes go by, and I hear the door open with a "Hello?" The other roommates were a tad bit late getting down to the house apparently... but then I hear a distinct click-click-click-click that only dogs paws can make. So I got up, and ended up sitting outside with Joe, Matt, Maureene, and Jacquie, who persuaded me into another beer after saying "no no, I'm racing tomorrow", talking until about 1am. Luckily, the race didn't start until 10am, so I was able to sleep until 6:45.

At the race site, I slowly put my transition stuff together, and sat at the tents for a while eating breakfast, hanging out, and generally doing a lot of nothing. 9:20 rolls around, and I realize I should probably put my wetsuit on and get a warm up in. National Anthem played, and I wandered over to the swim start since I was in the second wave.

Swim: 1500m swim in Lake Anna. Water temp - 60 degrees.
I started out about 4 rows back from the front for some reason, normally I'm much closer to the front. The gun went off, and I started to swim. Thats it. Nothing epic was happening, I just happened to start swimming with another 100 or so women. No thoughts of "okay, RACE TIME"... nothing. I just swam... clearly not caring about sighting as I zig-zagged all over the place. I'm pretty sure I swam at least a mile with the extended course I decided to follow. Looking back, I don't know what the deal was - I normally spot feet and make it my goal to pick them off one by one. Saturday, I couldn't have cared less about what was going on around me, I was just swimming. Total time: a terrible 29 minutes. whoa... ouch.

Bike: Two loop course on local roads
Again, no rushed feeling. I looked at my average heart rate and I stayed in Zone 2. It should have been much higher than than... I just rode. Looked around at the scenery, passed a few people. Yelled at a few guys who were in the first wave that passed me about 8 miles into the course to learn to swim for some amusement. A guy came up on the same p2c and yelled "nice bike"... I returned with "I like your wheels better though.. wanna trade?" He laughed, and then continued to pass me with his nice Zipps and disk wheel. I took it as a no. On the second loop I picked the pace up a bit, but nothing extravagant. I realized I wasn't racing, and decided I'd just pick it up on the run since I was feeling great, and most of my age group was close on the bike. Total time: 1:24

Run: Two loop course - trail run at beginning and end, significant hills on the road
After apparently taking a nap in transition (Seriously - 3:40??! what the hell was I doing for that long), I felt good to go for the run. Came out of transition through the grass running at an 8' pace. Felt awesome, ran past the screaming Z'ers, and made my way up the hill out of the marina towards the trail run. I walked most of the trail after almost rolling my ankle on a root, and decided its not worth the risk. Came out of the trail, hopped onto the gravel road, and then it happened. My back* said "F YOU", and shot pain up and down my spine like I've never felt before. Every attempt at running resulted in this pain. Jason, part of a relay, caught up to me, smacked my ass and told me to pick it up... which sparked someone behind us to yell "That was totally inappropriate". They were kidding, and it made me laugh. I tried running again.. no. So, most of the 6.2 mile run was actually a walk. Total time: 1:21 triple OUCH.

Overall time: 3:20:24. 8/8 in age group, 86/119 women.

So what went wrong in this race? I have no idea why I didn't have my game face on. Couldn't tell you why I wasn't nervous. Maybe because it just didn't feel like a big deal, and my focus is on the two upcoming half's. yeah.. thats it. i hope.

*Regarding my back: I went to a chiro for the first time in my life last week... and had 3 adjustments within the week. After speaking with an awesome friend, it seems that my chiro, being a triathlete herself, should have known waay better than to try that aggressive of a treatment knowing that I am racing, and never told me to ice my back. So, I think that whole treatment is going to be put on hold until after I'm done racing. I cannot risk not being able to run, I have way to much work to do between now and Kinetic/Mooseman/Lake Placid.

The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging out at the tents, getting burnt to a crisp (note to self: long sleeve wetsuits tend to take sunscreen off), and then finally going back to the house to play foosball on the WORST table ever made. Joe and I represented Ohio and went undefeated.

Sunday I officiated the Sprint, which was a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to officiating Columbia - I get to ride my mountain bike to watch for penalties along the run.

More later about the new teeth :)

Panic Attack.

2009-04-17T10:28:00.005-04:00

This morning brought about a double panic attack:

OhMyGoshImRacingTOMORROW!!!!!

and then this email from Es:

Subject: Breathe In

Breathe out.

99 days to go!

Thanks for the reminder and subsequent panic attack of OHMYGODIRONMANIS99DAYSAWAY Es.

yep. Full panic mode right now.

I didn't get around to packing last night, so I need to go home and throw everything together for my race this weekend. I HATE packing last minute, but at least I have a full list of everything I need:

Or at least I hope that is everything that I need. Luckily if I'm missing something, someone on the team will have it.

Full report upon my return. Should be an interesting race. I get excited when I see only a few people in my age group, and then I realize they are all Collegiate Tri teams... from what I understand its everyone from VT and a few other colleges that didn't want to pay for National's this weekend. At least I know I'll be last going into it :)

Some days are just hard.

2009-04-11T00:57:00.003-04:00

Its my blog and I can cry if I want to.

I don't know how people who cry about anything are able to continue functioning in life. I'm not one to cry often, but when I do, I feel like it sucks every last drop of energy out of me, and leaves me with a tear-hangover. My eyes are all puffy the next day and I feel like shit. Seriously, I don't know how the criers of the world do it.

It's been a rough day. I wanted to go out running this evening because the weather was PERFECT for running, but I was just mentally exhausted. I did some shopping for my sister's wedding, finding bridesmaids necklaces and such.. and it just really hits hard when I stop and realize that Dad's never going to see any of this.. that he's never going to even meet whoever I end up marrying (if that happens), and it just spirals downward from there. Theres no other words than "it sucks". Oh, and "its not fair".

Hopefully the run later today and tomorrows ride go well. I'm looking forward to them.

A quick post about my underwear

2009-04-07T09:41:00.003-04:00

Now that I have your attention..

I picked up a few pairs of Under Armour "Active Hipsters" when I was in Sports Authority a week or so ago. I needed to pick up some new sports bras since all of mine are too big (yes, this post is full of more information than you probably cared to know), compliments of losing weight while my jaw was wired shut. Under the racks of sports bras was a line of UA underwear. I figured what the heck, and grabbed a few pairs since they were on sale, and you can never have enough underwear.

By far, the most comfortable underwear I've ever tried. I wish they weren't so expensive and came in more colors :) Seriously ladies, try a pair if they happen to have them on sale somewhere. You won't be sorry.

A Long-Winded Post

2009-04-06T13:12:00.003-04:00

Or perhaps a post about wind.

On the schedule for this past weekend was a 63-mile ride Saturday, and a 15-mile run Sunday. The temperatures looked to be great for both days, and I was excited to not have a rainy weekend for the first time in what seems like a while.

And then the wind blew. Relentlessly. I've never thought it was possible to be blown off my bike, but I'm pretty sure it almost happened a few times on Saturday's ride. We started out from Tyler Elementary in Gainesville. The first 10 miles were on Rt 245, into a direct headwind. After drafting off Es for two miles (thanks bud), I figured I was strong enough to push harder. I instantly recognized the savings of being in the aero position - sitting up, I was struggling to stay 10 mph. Dropped down aero, I was averaging about 19-20. And then we turned off 245. My bike and I, attempting to stay together as a solid unit, started to dance with the wind. Between every house and break in landscape came gusts which were so powerful, I thought I was going to lose my bike out from under me. Forget taking a drink from a bottle, I couldn't let go of my handlebars. Aero position was out of the question. A ~~quick~~ stop at a 7-11 around mile 16, which was filled with people from the 40 mile ride (left from a different location 30 minutes following the 63's) caused a long pause in my ride. Hoping to catch Es, I threw on my and went screaming down the road. Dropped into aero, I felt awesome.... rocking out going maintaining between 25-28mph. I went sailing past one of our SAG drivers, and waved as I continued down the road. All of the sudden, my coach comes up with the SAG driver whom I just passed in their car, and yells at me to stop. Thinking I was about to get a lecture about riding in the center of the road (I was avoiding potholes on the side of the desolate roads).. I pulled up to their window. Ed, trying to keep a straight face.. says "look at your reflection".

I put my helmet on backwards. Wow.

I can't even explain the logistics of how that actually worked, and how I didn't NOTICE that my helmet was on backwards... but I digress. I fixed my helmet, laughed, and continued on my way. I picked up speed again, and then hit a major pothole. I maintained control, but it beat me to the core. I listened: No flat tire, no bent rims. Life was good until I reached back to grab my Gatorade out of my rear bottle holder. Gone. I stopped, and I literally broke BOTH bottle cages in the hit (side note: I have the same set up as Ray, who also has only lost a bottle due to failure against a severe pothole. Luckily, I didn't break my seat). Rt 713: 2, Lindsay: 0. Once I got everything together, and laughed a little more about the fact I zoomed past a bunch of people with my helmet on backwards, the rest of the ride was rather uneventful. Since I had lost two water bottles in the pothole fiasco, I was way down on calories for the ride. It started to heat up, which wasn't helping, nor was the wind still gusting at 35 knots. I slowed down, and Gina along with another teammate caught up to me. We tackled Snickersville Turnpike together. I'm not sure on the score of Snickersville vs myself, but it was a close match. There were points I was going 3 mph up the hills, every turn of the cranks burning my quads in a strange enjoyably masochistic way.

And then the breakdown started. Groups of motorcyclists were coming from the opposite direction. I couldn't help but think that my dad (proud owner of a Triumph Bonneville) would have loved to been out riding on a day like today. And then came a flood of emotions I've been repressing. I'm sure my teammates had no idea I was bawling under my sunglasses, attempting to keep the tears from welling into my eyes, because I needed to see the road (not that it was passing by quickly - I was still struggling to maintain 4mph up the hills..) I think if I wouldn't have had some teammates there, I would have gotten off my bike and curled up against a tree for a few hours and thrown a self-pity party. I'm glad they were there. The remainder of the ride was good after that, and I returned a bit quicker than I thought I was going to.

I planned to ride on Sunday again with a teammate, however my ass wasn't going to have it. I switched to tri shorts on the 63 miler, and, although comfortable, they take a bit of getting used to. My ass was not that happy with me Sunday. I decided to forgo the additional biking after cheering on teammates at the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler. Instead, I came home, took a nap, got my 13 miles in (hey, I rode around town for a while.. that should count as 2 miles of running).

I miss sleeping in on the weekends.

It is April already?

2009-04-02T12:47:00.003-04:00

or, "Holy crap my first tri of the season is 17 days away"

...Holy crap my first tri of the season IS only 17 days away. I feel so completely under prepared for it, and I don't know why. I go through these ohmygoshwhythehelldidisignupforplacid panic attacks every ~~single~~ few days. As soon as I do Rumpass, I have 3 weeks to prepare for my first half iron. Then 4 weeks to prepare for my second half iron. And what seems like both a lifetime and a flash before my eyes, 7 weeks until I'm toeing the line at Placid. I watch the countdown clock tick closer and closer... 117 days. The first try of the season marks the 100 day countdown to Ironman. I'm not ready to accept double digits. I should trust the training, but I have a hard time doing so. I always feel like I should be doing more. Somehow, this doesn't feel taxing enough.

In spirit of making my life harder, I just signed up for the Army 10 miler and the Marine Corp Marathon. Deep down I hope that I'll be forced to transfer my bibs in exchange for a little race on the Big Island... but I have my doubts. A teammate of mine also pointed out that Mooseman qualifies for World Long Course Championships, enabling me to skip nationals and go straight to Australia. Added another thing to my list of "what if's"... awesome.

I should have a more coherient post, but work and workouts are killing me this week. So, this is all you get.

The day I was supposed to get new teeth

2009-03-30T21:18:00.002-04:00

I spent most of the weekend trying to ignore the nerves building for this morning's appointment. I've been worried that I'd hate the color of the teeth, they would look unnatural, or I'd hate the shape/appearance. Its been the hardest thing I've had to face through this whole ordeal - I could handle being wired shut, I missed the solid food, but I could handle it. The fact that I lost the smile that I came to know and love over the past 24 years terrified me.

And its been delayed even longer.

I went in for my appointment this morning, and when they set the teeth on to check the fit, we found out the lab screwed up and the right ones were slightly off. I'm glad my dentist is as much of a perfectionist as I am, because he was not about to cement on teeth that weren't perfect. I did get a sneak peak at what my teeth were going to look like, and, while they aren't bad at all, it will still take a while to get used to. He went ahead and reduced down the bottom teeth (yep, round 2 of sand paper...). I'll get the new chompers April 20th. In the meantime, I need to make an appointment with my oral surgeon to start the implant process. I'm hoping to just take the 20th off, have my veneers finished in the morning and have the implant done in the afternoon. We'll see what I can work out.

In other news, I officially hate riding in the rain. Oh, and also running in the rain. It seems for as long as I can remember lately, I've been doing my weekend workouts in the rain. I've cleaned my bike more times than I can count. With the cleaning though, I've been doing slight upgrades. I changed out my cassette to a Dura-ace. Not concerned with the weight, just had an awesome deal on it (thanks bro), and I needed a different set of gears to be comfortable climbing Skyline, which didn't happen due to the rain. I also bought a different set of brake pads, because the stock Shimano's suck in the rain.

I have more to say, but I'm still drained from yesterdays 10 miler prior to the 5K race. I felt good during the whole run, aside from some cramping in my calf during the 5K. I'm assuming it was just from doing the 10 miler and then getting cold waiting around for the start.

Food makes me happy.

2009-03-23T09:04:00.002-04:00

I'm one of those people that tends to not like Mondays in general. The day seems to be a constant reminder of how short the weekend really was, what I didn't finish last week that I still need to do this week, and, after a recovery week, how much this week is going to hurt.

Today is not one of those Mondays. Sure, I have plenty that I have to catch up on from work last week, and it is the start of another build cycle. That hasn't changed.

But I'm looking forward to eating all day today.

Breakfast: Grape Nuts Flakes with blueberries and bananas, fresh pressed apple juice (mmm)
Lunch: Spicy Thai-ish Beef with brown rice, topped with red, orange, green, and yellow peppers, plus a salad complete with kale
Dinner: I have a cut of pork in my crockpot with a honey mustard glaze. Semi-cooked carrots (I hate cooked carrots, but my teeth aren't strong enough for the raw ones right now... so I just soften them a bit), and a baked sweet potato. Most likely will much on some peppers while I finish cooking.
Snacks: Cashews, raisins, or granola.. whichever sounds good at the time.

After kind of eating like crap all weekend, I welcome the health foods. I'm going to try to make Kale Chips, compliments of Maggs tonight, and see how they go. I'm intrigued.

This weeks schedule includes:
Monday - Run: 40 minute z2, strength workouts, swim
Tuesday - Swim, Bike: warm up, 30 min z2, 3 z5 a/b hill repeats, cool down
Wednesday: Strength, Run: Warm up, sprints, mile @ z3, 800 z4, recovery
Thursday: Swim, Bike: warm up, 5 min single leg drills, 20 min z2, Z4 work, cool down
Friday: swim, resistance workout
Saturday: Bike - 50 miles of Skyline!! ouch.
Sunday: 10 mile run, race Scope it Out 5K, swim.

Busy busy week ahead, but I'm looking forward to it. I think I'm going to test out the new wetsuit this week. I'm pretty pumped.

Sometimes you just need..

2009-03-17T11:37:00.007-04:00

Some comfort food.

Yesterday turned out to be a rather rough day. I recently took over a position in the company that requires an insane amount of paperwork. The previous holder of this position quit to move to California, and prior to her departure, started bringing things into my office. As I started to tackle the 4 foot stack of mail, I quickly realized that this was not only recent mail, but mail dating as far back as April of 2008. (pausing so you can grasp this as well) Who the hell doesn't open mail dating that far back, and more importantly, how did she not get fired. I packed up all of her old files that have never been touched.. and ended up with 6 paper boxes filled. I'm not quite sure where she was pulling her audit/compliance information from, because it clearly was not from the information that was supposed to be processed. I decided it would be best to start working on the stuff that is directly in my name first, and then start rehashing the past mess as time permits.

Pile of FedEx packages in my office. There was another stack on my filing cabinet too.

After working 11 hours, I ditched the office and decided I needed some comfort food. Went to the store and picked up some Gemelli, cream, a few types of cheese, and breadcrumbs to make an excellent baked mac and cheese. I also decided I needed to do some baking - it always makes me feel better. So, I picked up some things that I needed to make Almond Cupcakes with a pudding based chocolate frosting. Why cupcakes? Because D talks about them non-stop, and it makes me crave them. I went home and whipped up what could possibly be the best macaroni and cheese I've ever had, and then started on the cupcakes. No pictures of actually baking, but here's the end result (crappy cell phone picture - my camera was in the trunk of my car and I was too lazy to go out and get it.)

mmmmmm Cupcakes.

Because I feared eating all 20 cupcakes myself, and I didn't think they'd ship well to Canada... I decided to draw shamrocks on them and try to pass it off to my coworkers that I was just trying to be in the St Patrick's Day Spirit. I think they could see right through the ploy and know I just wanted some cupcakes.

After ~~scarfing down 3 awesomely good cupcakes~~ cleaning up, it was time to try on my newest arrival! In the midst of all of those FedEx packages was my new wetsuit. My previous wetsuit, a sleeveless Blue Seventy, has grown far to big for me after having my jaw wired. I got a killer deal on an Orca 3.8, so I went for it, even though I'm still slightly nervous about overheating in a full sleeve suit. I had already tried the suit on at a local place about a month ago, and it was slightly tight, but fit like a glove through the small of my back which it a HUGE trouble spot for me. If I can get a suit across my chest (why can't I be flat chested?), then its huge in my hips and in the small of my back. If it fit in the small of my back... yeah, not a chance in hell it would zip all the way up. Luckily Orca seems to be made for people built like a football player up top, with no hips. It is insanely comfortable, and I wasn't roasting to death while I had it on in my apartment - when I tried on my sleeveless in my apartment to confirm it was too big, I was insanely hot. Score for me :) I sent this picture to my mom, because she needs to be entertained by my life since hers is pretty quiet now. I'm quite surprised, I don't hate myself in a wetsuit now! Again, apologies for the shoddy cell phone camera, but I wasn't running outside in my wetsuit. My neighbors already think I'm strange.

13 year old on myspace style. :) The wetsuit has no marks on it... clearly I need to clean my mirror.
Made mom laugh though, and thats what matters - I told her this is what her seventh grade students send to each other, only they're probably naked.

I got up and swam this morning after taking a hiatus from the early AM swimming, instead swimming in the evenings. 4:30 came early after staying up talking for a few hours to a teammate until far past my bedtime. My body responded appropriately, and my leg cramped up like never before while swimming. I moved down 1 lane and just practiced pulling, foregoing the kick. I think my main cramping came from Sunday's ride - 44 miles in the rain. I was good for the first half of the ride, but once we stopped for a quick bathroom break, my body revolted being out in the cold. I started shaking uncontrollably as my core temperature cooled down, since I was standing still and a good deal of my clothes were wet. Score for the new rain jersey I bought, because it kept me 95% dry on the top.. but my legs, feet, hands, and head were soaked. The remainder of the ride was predominantly downhill, which further added to the inability to raise my temperature and heart rate. I didn't stretch after the ride, and took a quick nap after going home. I was very sore yesterday, and I think the aftermath is still hanging on a bit. Note to self - stretch in hot shower next time.

Enjoying the recovery week. Happy St. Patricks Day!

Why are races

2009-03-14T21:05:00.003-04:00

so F#?*ING expensive... ugh. Signed up for Bumpass International....

I think its the stupid "internet processing fee" that pisses me off the most.

/endrant.

You're doing what to my teeth?

2009-03-09T12:42:00.002-04:00

Back from the dentist. Surprise, right? Todays fun adventure included having my front teeth "reduced", meaning the front enamel reduced so they can do the veneers. Gross.

Let me make this at clear as possible: SANDPAPER IS FOR WOOD. NOT FOR MY TEETH.

I still have goosebumps from the thought of it. Luckily, I still am under Novicane, and have no idea how bad my teeth are going to hurt once it wears off. They feel disgusting though. I go back on March 30th to have the top veneers finished, and they'll start the bottom at the same time. Until then, its back to having uneven teeth, since all of the bonding was stripped off. Good thing I dont have time for a date in the next few weeks.

I went home last weekend, which was nice. Got to spend some time with mom and the important friends. Miller was home from LA since her sister was having another kid, and it was awesome to hang out. Its amazing how insanely close of friends we are (we do share the same first name, afterall), and yet we live on the complete opposite ends of the CONUS.

I was very apprehensive about heading home - I haven't been home since I left after dad died. I guess its been my escape, being away from home. I didn't have to truly face the fact that he was gone... and being home forced the reality back into position. I kept expecting him to be on the computer when I walk upstairs, or sitting by the fireplace when I round the corner from the kitchen. For a millisecond, I would think that he was in those familiar places, but alas, he never will be again. It was hard going to the cemetary. Nothing will ever prepare you to see a parent's name on the headstone. I've lost many people in my life: Elementary I lost my principal, two teachers, and a secretary. Middle School brought about the loss of a friend, and between high school and college, more friends than I can count on two hands, as well as my grandma. I've been to all of their funerals, and after a while, I just became numb to them. Seeing my dads name on the marker was rough. It is very solemn and respectful though, since he is buried in a national cemetary. Simple, white marker just like all the others... with a cross on the top.
Phillip J. Mauldin
8/8/49-12/11/09
Vietnam
CPL
Loving Husband, Father, and Friend.

Trainings been slow lately, recovering from the sinus infection. I didnt run Wednesday, spin or swim Thursday, or run Saturday. I was only able to do 28 miles on Sunday, even though the weather was perfect. I could have pushed through to 40, but I was just simply too sick, and its not worth it to make things worse. I'm feeling good today though, and will do a short run on my own tonight, and hopefully the weather holds for tomorrows ride. I'm SO glad we're riding outside again!

All for now.

A New Kind of Pain

2009-03-05T09:04:00.003-05:00

I have a blog almost complete, detailing whats been going on over the past week and a half. I'll get it up soon.

I've been dealing with all different kinds of pain during and after my accident: The initial injuries, having my jaw reset, getting the wires off, root canals, crowns... All have maxed out around a 6 on that imaginary scale often used in doctors offices. I have a high tolerance for pain.

Last night, I experienced a 9.5. Not quite a 10, because I'm pretty sure cutting off an extremity might hurt slightly more... but not much.

Enter the new world of sinus pain.

I've never had sinus issues. When I lived in Bowling Green, I'd have issues with the mold count in the air and my tonsils would flame up, but nothing major. A few colds here and there, no biggie. I started to feel a little under the weather yesterday, so I decided it would be best to do my track work indoors, keep it very low z2, and go to bed very early. I was in bed by 9pm. Woke up around midnight with some annoying drainage, just enough to make me cough a little bit. Fell back asleep. At 2am, I woke up in quite possibly the worst pain of my life. It felt as if my entire sinus cavity between my left ear and cheek bone was exponentially expanding. I wanted my ear drum to rupture, just so I could have a little more room in my head. I tried Sudafed (the good meth-head kind), and laid down hoping it would start to relieve some pressure. Nada. My left ear was still throbbing, creating a deafening inter cranial silence. I tried laying on a heating pad. No help. Ice, not an ounce of relief. I tossed and turned hoping it would stop for the next 3 hours. I contemplated going to the 24 hour CVS, but didn't really want to take anything else. Finally, I was able to convince my body if I slept, I couldn't feel the pain. It worked for another hour, until I was up again in the same pain.

I'm currently looking up an ENT doc... I wonder if this has to do with the broken jaw?

I just want to be healthy for this weekend - its supposed to be 70!

A Food Centric Post

2009-02-24T10:15:00.007-05:00

I'm not a huge pop* drinker. It's empty calories, generally bad for you, and often horrendous for your teeth. Every once in a while though, I go on a pop-drinking binge. I actually don't like many types - I stick with the following:

Coke
Cherry Coke
Dr. Pepper
Sprite
Cherry 7-up
Ginger Ale
Cranberry Ginger Ale (mm, how I long for Thanksgiving already, since I got shafted out of it this year.)
A&W or Stewart's Root Beer
Orange Soda**.
Orange Fanta, only imported from England though.***

Do not put weird additives into any of the above. Cherry Coke, Cherry 7-up, and Cranberry ginger ale are the only exceptions to this rule... though I'm not sure they even count because none of them taste "syrup-y", ala Cherry Vanilla Coke, Vanilla Coke, etc etc. I don't drink Pepsi, ever, and yes, I can instantly tell the difference. I was born and raised in a strictly Coke drinking family - Dad would go through a 2 liter every other day (He had dentures... lucky.)

The point I'm getting to with this rambling, is, yesterday I didn't get around to packing my lunch in the morning, so I bought lunch down in the company cafeteria. I probably grab lunch there about once a week, and when I do, I always grab either a bottle of Coke or Dr. Pepper. So, I grab my lunch, (which turned out to be a sad attempt at beef stroganoff, but I digress..) a bottle of Dr. Pepper, and head back to my office. Open up the bottle, take a swig of Dr. Peppery goodness, and hey. what the.. why do I taste cherry Robitussin..???

Dr. Pepper Cherry.

What. the. hell. I proceeded to Google the socks off of "Dr. Pepper Cherry", but only found Dr. Pepper Cherry Vanilla, which this clearly is not. I even checked their main site - no mention of this terrible waste of good Dr. Pepper. For those of you thinking didn't you notice the cherries on the bottle, stupid? No.. No I did not. It was in the slot where my beloved Dr Pepper always resides. Sneaky bastards in the cafeteria. I guess we must be a test market or something for this stuff... or its really, really old and work got a good deal on it, which could very well be the case too. For those of you curious about the taste, it initially tastes like Dr. Pepper, and then you're hit with the aftertaste I can only compare to Cherry Robitussin. It's very medicinal tasting. The fizz is a slightly red in color, and the drink itself is dark black cherry in color. It is not sickening sweet like the aforementioned Cherry Vanilla Coke (which, was a failure - how do they still sell that stuff?). It also comes across very flat. I guess that's what they mean by "Surprisingly Smooth", as stated across the top of the label. All and all, it was a failure, and I was disappointed by my lunch.

To make sure my Monday wasn't ruined, I headed down to GMU's Jim McKay Natatorium. If you're in the area and haven't been out to this pool, I strongly recommend taking a trip there. Its $6 to get in, but its a very, very nice facility. There's some 25m lanes, 50m lanes, diving boards, and a separate "warm up" or recreation pool. Swimming in a 50m pool makes my day. I did a good deal of work with a pull buoy, and I really feel it today. I depend far too much on my kick for propulsion instead of my arms. Great for sprinting through the pool, terrible for triathlon, especially longer distances. I also timed my 1 mile pool swim, and was under my predicted time for the US Master's Short Course Championships coming up in April. Assuming I continue to improve, I'll shatter my prediction.

I also made some cinnamon swirl bread. Quite possibly one of my favorite things to make toast out of. Turned out awesome. For those that are curious, here's the recipe:

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon yeast
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon

In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, sugar, and salt. Let sit five minutes. Mix in the first cup and a half of flour. Add the next cup of flour a little at a time as needed, stirring until dough becomes too stiff to continue stirring easily. Add a little more flour and begin kneading. The 3 cups flour is approximate.. you might need less. Continue adding flour and kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. Let dough rise in a non reactive, covered bowl until doubled -usually, about an hour, Uncover bowl; sprinkle in a little more flour and knead again.

Roll dough out on a floured surface into an approx. 12-inch by 7-inch rectangle. Brush lightly with either a little bit of butter, or I prefer just a very little bit of water. Combine 1/4 cup sugar and 3 teaspoons cinnamon. Sprinkle sugar-cinnamon mixture over dough. Roll the dough into a tight log, fold under the ends, and place seam-side down into a greased loaf pan. Lay wax paper over the top of the pan. Allow to rise for about an hour, or until its about an inch over the top of the pan. (I heat the oven to 150, shut it off, place the pan in, and leave the oven door cracked. It tends to rise a little better than it will in my rather chilly house).

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until done.

All for now. I still haven't decided on which helmet I want. I'm leaning towards the black though... I think it matches my race kit a little better... but then again, I have white shoes.. so maybe I should get the white and silver helmet to match the white and silver shoes? I'm making this far more complicated than I need to.

* Its Pop. Not soda, not Cola, not Coke. Pop. I'm from Northeast Ohio, and I'm not going to call it "soda" because I moved.
** Orange Soda has always been the exception to this rule. No idea why, but that's how us northeast Ohioans talk. It's grape pop, but orange soda.
*** Seriously, the best orange soda in the world - its like carbonated Orange Juice, since they don't use preservatives or artificial flavors. Amazing. I used to be able to find it at a local import place back home, but it closed down.

RoadID Giveaway, Bikram, and a new helmet

2009-02-18T09:29:00.004-05:00

First, head over to www. healthytippingpoint.com if you'd like to have a chance to win a free RoadID. Caitlin has been given the opportunity to give away two free RoadID's, and was directed to my blog by the good folks at RoadID. I'll warn in advance - there's another graphic picture from my time in the hospital. Caitlin rewrote my story from a previous blog, and also sent over a few interview questions.

Yesterday, in my post-half marathon recovery, I decided to head to my first Bikram Yoga class early in the morning. I figured it would be a great way to stretch out my muscles and relax. For those of you that aren't familiar:

Bikram or hot or fire yoga is a series of yoga poses done in a heated room, which is usually maintained at a temperature of 105 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 40 degrees Celsius). A vigorous yoga session at this temperature promotes profuse sweating, which is said to rid the body of toxins. It also makes the body very warm, and supposedly therefore more flexible

Thanks, Wikipedia. I found the class to be.. interesting. The hot room felt very good, although halfway through I was kind of grossed out by the idea of being in a room with 15 other very sweaty people. The yoga poses definitely helped to stretch out my muscles though, and I felt great afterwards. Not sure that I'm sold on the whole hot yoga thing yet.

I ended up swimming at night again. In my lane in the mornings, its always 3-5 girls that are at my speed. At night however, I swim with Seb, Jason, Fabrice, and new guy Tim. The contrast of the conversations that happen between sets is hilarious. Although I'm aiming to swim in the mornings more than the evenings, I'll always venture to the evening masters swims for some comic relief. I think I get a better workout in the morning, because it doesn't become as much of a draft fest as the guys tend to suck me into.

I still haven't replaced my helmet post-crash... I've just been using an older helmet that matched my previous bike. Do I go white or black with the p2c?

Myrtle Beach Half Marathon: Race Report

2009-02-17T10:07:00.003-05:00

This past weekend I ran the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon, while supporting some other teammates who ran the full marathon (among others, Sarah and Es).

Friday we ventured down, picked up our packets and such, then went to dinner with the team at a great Italian place (thanks Sarah for your expert random selection!) After dinner, we met up with the others staying at a teammate's beach house up in Sunset Beach. We hung out for a while, then all ventured to bed around 10:30 (to be fair, I didn't go to bed until about 11:30; I was up talking to Sebastian since I couldn't sleep). I set my alarm for 4:00

3:55am, I was wide awake, panicking as I thought I missed my alarm. Standard race day procedure... I always wake up 5 minute before my alarm in panic. I pinned my race number on my shirt, tossed on another pair of pants over my race day outfit, along with my arm warmers and a hoodie. Went downstairs for coffee, a banana, and started drinking my Gatorade. We were out the door by 5am to drive the 30 minutes to the race. I'll forgo the details of the person I was driving with getting lost as he decided NOT to follow the person that grew up there... but we got to the race at 6:10, for a guntime of 6:30. Not ideal for me, but alas I gathered my gels, met up with Jason, Lori, Es, and Dude prior to the gun. About 5 minutes later, we were off.

I started out running with Lori, Jason's wife. Mile one ticked by at an easy 11:30. Due to being late and not having adequate time to ehm.. take care of business, I had to slow down a bit just after mile 1. If the saying "I have to pee like a race horse" is based on fact... I feel extremely bad for horses. Port-a-potties were every 2 miles along the course, but I noticed a huge line of people waiting prior to race, so I figured those were going to be filled at mile 2. I knew I couldn't hold on until mile 4, so my quick race day decision skills spotted a Burger King. Yep, ran in, went to the bathroom, and ran back out. Luckily, others had followed suit, so the BK employees didn't think I was nearly as nuts as I felt. I settled into a good grove now that business had been taken care of, and maintained 10ish minute miles for the next 5 miles. I felt awesome, and couldn't believe how easy it felt to run. Around mile 4, I had a slight issue with my jaw rattling around a bit from impact and causing pain, but I was able to tune out the pain and continue going.

Just prior to the 8 mile mark, it happened. I must have been relaxing my upper body too much, because suddenly my jaw dislocated. sonofa... Extreme pain. I stopped running and tried to figure out what to do - my jaw was essentially locked up. Every step hurt as the impact travelled directly from my feet to my jaw. Luckily, there was an aid station at 8. I looked at my watch, saw 1:36 at the 8 mile mark, and was happy with my race to that point. I sat down at the medical tent, iced my jaw, got it to work again, and took some ibuprofen. I continued to ice my face as I waited for the pain killers to assist. Another runner came in to get band-aids for some gnarly blisters, and looked at me like I was crazy for icing my face during a running race. Oh well. 45-50 minutes ticked by, and I figured I was fine on time to walk the rest of the way. So, I walked from mile 8-13, and jogged the last .1.

Given the mid-race siesta and walking, I am okay with a finishing time of 3:22:13. I know I had a great race up until mile 8, which surpassed what I thought I would be able to do with the lack of run training. I'm not sure whether my nutrition was good or not - I did feel a bit of cramping towards mile 7. I felt like I was on target with nutrition, but maybe was low on salt. Hard to say, considering I hadn't run that far since my accident.

I'm happy with a 12.8K time of 1:36. Good start to the season.

Eating: Success.

2009-02-12T11:32:00.003-05:00

Just a quick update, for those who were a bit concerned about my crazy eating habits...

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Scrambled eggs, orange juice, 2 pieces of bacon
Morning snack - apple, cup of tea
Lunch - turkey sandwich on wheat, small salad, grape juice
Afternoon snack - handful of raisins, water
Pre swim - celery w/almond butter, 1/2 sliced sweet potato, water
Post swim - chicken fingers (yeah, not healthy..), more water

Wednesday:
Breakfast - water, toast, orange juice
Breakfast #2 (I had to go to the dentist at 7am..) 1/2 blueberry bagel, OJ
Lunch - salad w/chicken, iced green tea
Afternoon snack- handful of raisins (they sit on my desk..)
Dinner - Cajun grilled mahi mahi on chedder grits (sorry southerners - i have to call a foul on grits.. they're pretty gross.), and mixed veggi's.

So, I'm back to eating healthy again. My jaw is tired from eating so much, but I guess I need to train it! I had NO idea that my calorie count had slipped that low - its not healthy for a sedentary person to get 700 calories, let alone someone who exercises. I'm going to go back to food journaling to make sure that doesn't happen again, at least until it becomes habit again.

On the positive side, I feel 129028342308 times better now.

I leave in the morning for Myrtle Beach... where I'll attempt a half marathon on minimal (4 runs?) run training in the past 3 months. Oh, and apparently its supposed to rain. At least I'll get to cheer for the other Z'ers that are out running the marathon!

Analysis: Does my Chi just hate me?

2009-02-10T10:48:00.002-05:00

Lately I've been in some sort of "funk" Not limited to just loosing my groove, as Es did with training, but something just hasn't been right. I've been very restlessly sleeping at night - I either toss and turn, or I can't seem to drag myself out of bed. I try to go to bed early, I lie awake until midnight, fall asleep, and then can't muster the energy to get myself out of bed in the morning. I love swimming, but I lose the battle of getting up to swim in the mornings lately. No strength workouts either. I started utilizing the snooze button, something I've almost never turned to. And we're not just talking about hitting it once; no no, I hit it repeatedly for 2-3 hours, from 4:50am to sometimes 8am.. I've always been the type that can operate on very little sleep, can get up at the ass-crack of dawn no problem. I've been feeling very lethargic as of late, and I can't pinpoint why.
So, I set up my own personal investigation on myself, to find the root cause of the problem. These are my findings:

Dehydration - When I do wake up at night, I'm often extremely parched. I'm not one who usually has this type of issue, so I started recounting the amount of fluids I've been taking in. I realized I've been drinking maybe 24 ounces of water per day for the last week. Maybe. Yikes. One of the effects of dehydration - weakness and fatigue. Check. Time to start major hydration strategies.

Malnutrition - I started to look at what I've been eating. My jaw continues to pop out of socket whilst biting/chewing, and is in a perpetual state of soreness. I've let this get the best of me; and, upon review of my diet over the last two weeks, I'm consuming maybe 700 calories a day. 700 calories. Psychological effects of malnutrition? Listlessness, tiredness, apathy, disinterest in what is happening around you. Dull spirit, possible irritability, and poor memory. Check. Uhh... seriously not good, time to start forcing myself to eat.

I believe those are two of the major factors right now. Underlying factors most likely include a bit of depression as a result of some recent events in my life, as well as post traumatic stress. There's been some tough times dealing with the effects of my dad's death on my family. There were some issues between my mom and sister, due to some miscommunication and expectations, coupled with general emotions out of whack... that of course I had to get sucked into to straighten out. Sometimes taking care of my mom is a very draining task, because it forces me to deal with my own emotions (I'm totally an emotional stuffer.)

Time to start taking care of myself, or I'm going to have some serious issues down the road. I'll report back how the increased nutrition and hydration alter my current state. My Chi is out of whack.

Or, maybe its just on strike?

A letter to my neighbor

2009-02-08T14:43:00.002-05:00

Dear Neighbor,

I noticed you have a road bike on your balcony. I'm not one to judge, but guessing by the overall condition of the bike, I'd guess you're not an avid cyclist. I would appreciate you not looking at me like I am OCD or crazy, just because I use a vibrating toothbrush to clean the chain on my bike. It's perfectly normal, if you really want to keep your bike in good shape. I can loan it to you, along with my red bucket, and you too can have a sparkling clean bike. I suggest topping it off with a little pledge on the frame (spray it onto a rag, not onto the bike! Overcast onto the rims would be a disaster.)... it will give your frame a gleaming shine.

Seriously. Stop staring at me while you play with your little yippy dog. I'm not crazy... I just like my bike.

---

I went out riding with the team today, just a 90 minute very flat ride. The weather was awesome. It felt great to be on the bike. There were a few bumps and ruts in the road that sent my heartrate skyrocketing from fear, but overall, I enjoyed myself. I can tell the strength workouts are helping - I could hold aero with back issues, though I sat up half the way to enjoy the scenery. I might look into having my bike re-fit in another month or so... between weight loss and increased lower back strength, I may be on my way to a more aggressive fit.

Ironman, here I come. :)

It's beginning to wear on me.

2009-02-02T15:38:00.004-05:00

I never thought I'd say this... but things were so much easier when my jaw was wired shut.

The dental work hurts. A lot. And its wearing on me. I've been to the dentist 4 times in the last 2 weeks. Each time, more teeth are drilled into. Then later in the evening... my mouth throbs. I'm repulsed by the thought of eating or letting anything even touch my teeth... and then I lay in bed nearly in tears that evening because my mouth is in an intense amount of pain... even after taking two Vicodin Extra Strengths (which, probably isn't even healthy to do). Who would have thought having my jaw wired shut was the *least* of my problems in this whole mess? Because I'm young and never had any issues with my teeth, the nerves are still very large. Apparently the older you are or more work you have had done, the nerves shrink up. Every chip he goes to fix, he runs into a nerve. Then he has to move the nerve, do some more drilling, and finally start to seal it up a little while we wait for the crowns and partials to come in.

I go back Wednesday for a cleaning. Then I have to wait until February 23rd to have some crowns done. And then another 3 week wait assuming the insurance stops being assholes and they can do the veneers. We're talking into April before this mess is done. I'm hoping to have all the work done before starting the tri season. Its taking a huge toll on my workouts - I can't get my heart rate up too high or I end up with severe pain in my mouth. I'm worried about my race season.

Sorry for the extremely whiny post. I'm just frustrated.

Comments on Readability?

2009-01-27T21:21:00.001-05:00

Just curious on how the new blog is shaping up.... can everyone see the new formatting? Terrible to read, or fine? prefer this , or the older layout?

Poll added to the right...

Thanks for your comments

2009 Race Schedule

2009-01-27T11:17:00.004-05:00

Since it seems to be the thing to do this week, I thought I'd update my previous post regarding my upcoming race season.

Myrtle Beach Half Marathon - February 14, 2009: Not really a "race" for me... More like, I entered the full prior to eating pavement, and was only able to reduce down to the half. I'm going down to have a good time, and support my teammates racing in the Mary. Goals: 2:45? No real goals here.. I've run twice since November. Ooo- Goal - don't get injured.

Backyard Burn Series - March 8, 2009: I'll probably register for the 5 miler, just for a fun trail run... It should give me a good idea how my run has progressed since, well, no running? Goals: average a faster pace than I did at the MB Half. Should NOT be hard to do..

Scope It Out 5K - March 29, 2009: Our team volunteers as "polyps" (the race is to raise colon cancer awareness). Goals: Given that the IM'ers will most likely have a 10 mile run prior to the race, I'm shooting for a sub 28. Goal 2 - get a picture in the giant inflatable colon. :)

Cherry Blossom 10 Miler - April 5, 2009: Only if I can get a transfer bib number. Goals: Break 1:30.
Backyard Burn Series 10 Miler - April 4, 2009: If I can't get a bib transfer, I'll do this local trail run instead.

Rumpass in the Bumpass - April 18, 2009: Olympic distance triathlon down at Lake Anna. Serves as a good triathlon kick off, and will get me ready to race Kinetic Half in a month. Goals: A race for the 3's - Top 3 in age group, at or below 3 hours, or top 33% of age group.

Colonial Zones 1 Mile Swim - April 24, 2009: Just a 1 mile time trial. It's held at the George Mason aquatics center... a nice 50m pool. Goals: Hardware. Shouldn't be to hard to obtain at this one.

Kinetic Half Iron – May 9, 2009: My very first Half Iron triathlon. I haven't decided whether I will go all out on this one, or save my absolute peak for Mooseman. Both races are qualifies for the HalfMax National Championships. I'm leaning on this to be my A+ (yes, I'm making up a system as I go..) half race over Moosey, which will be an A- race. I suppose some of my deciding factors include how I feel race day, and what my field is like. Being in the 20-24 AG, there aren't too many entrants. Goals: A goal: Top 3 in age group, qualify for HalfMax. B goal: Sub 6:15 C goal: survive.

Kinetic Sprint Tri – May 10, 2009: I wanted to do a back to back weekend last year, but had a pretty shady season due to injury. Goals: Actually wake up and attend the event. Not out to race or place, just to complete.

Mooseman Half Iron – June 7, 2009: This will be my final prep before Ironman Lake Placid. Set in Bristol, NH, the bike and run routes supposedly are a great mix to finalize all IMLP nutrition plans. As mentioned above, this is also a qualifier for the HalfMax National Championship. Goals: Shave some amount of time off the Kinetic Half final time. Nail nutrition, and feel ready for Placid.

Tour De Cure - June 14, 2009: I'm riding the metric century with a co-worker and his fiance. Nothing exciting here, no goals, other than the joy of raising funds (aww).

=PRR= Twilight 4-miler - June 27, 2009: Again, a race with no real goals. Just out to support a local run shop.

Ironman USA – July 26, 2009: This will be my very first Ironman. Looking forward to the challenge Placid will be. Also, hoping for no rain, unlike last year's torrential downpours. Goals: A Goal: finish around 11:45, hopefully qualifying for Kona. B Goal: Finish while its still light out. C Goal: Survive.

Nation’s Triathlon – September 13, 2009: 80% sure I will register for this one prior to Feb 13th (price increases again!). The first year I did this race was my first Oly race. I didn't end up training, and thought I could just poof, go out and do it. around 4 hours later, I realized you really DO need to train more than riding your bike twice in 4 months, and run more than 3 times. Second year, I became a victim of the Potomac Plague. I have never had such an awful race. Despite better training, I still finished around the 4 hour mark. For an olympic distance. TERRIBLE.FAIL. The course has been redesigned again this year, and I think they finally got things right. Goals: Kick this course in the ass, as it has done to me the prior two years.

No real plans are set in stone after Placid. For all I know, I may never want to compete in the sport again after Ironman. Or, I may qualify for something. TBD races include:

The TBD Races, in order of importance:
- Kona – Ironman World Championships – October 10th, 2009: As Ray stated - Simple enough – either I qualify…or I don’t.
- HalfMax 2009 National Championships - September 19, 2009: Again, straight forward. Race in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
If I fail to qualify for either of the above, I'm undecided between:
- Savageman - September 19, 2009: Not sure, either Oly or relay the half. Or, if I'm super adventurous, race the half. Goals: 1) not wreck like it seemed half our team did during training rides. 2) If I race the half... take a shot of liquor at the top of Miller Hill. 3) If I relay again...drink up on Miller Hill with Es again.
- Ironman 70.3 Augusta, GA - September 27, 2009: Might as well do a race my birthday weekend... right? This race is new to the IM circuit, though it looks flat and fast. Goals: attempt to qualify for Clearwater?
- ChesapeakeMan Aquavelo - September 26, 2009: Again, a race on my B'day. Might be interesting to see my times for the AquaVelo.
- Bassman Triathlon - October 4, 2009: Options include a half or a sprint. Team Z is racing.. final tuneup for our Ironman Florida peeps. Goals: Finish the season with a podium finish?
- End of the season marathon? Akron Roadrunner Marathon (hometown.. though this year they are ALLOWING headphones? sounds like there's going to be no one to talk to...), Marine Corps Marathon, The Richmond Marathon, Goals: improve my marathon time from IMLP.

I also have to fit in some time to lay out by the pool to erase the inevitable tan lines that are going to come with biking so much... My sister's wedding is August 15th, and a close friend's wedding is at the end of October. Ha, maybe I'll ride in a strapless top.

Wow. I just realized how much I'm trying to pack in this year. Cheers to being young, recovering quickly, and ::knock on wood:: injury free.

My Secret...

2009-01-24T19:13:00.002-05:00

I felt slightly less than adequate today, considering at this point, I *should* have been running 20 miles with the rest of the ironman hopefuls. Obviously, due to the whole face injury... my training is sharply less. Post-brunch, I went out for a 6.5 mile run... first run over a few miles since the accident. Aside from the throbbing in my mouth, it felt good.

Tonight I'm going out... and wearing heals. To help stave off crazy calf soreness tomorrow, I put my compression tights on under my jeans.

I secretly feel like a superhero when I wear any compression clothing under my street clothes.

You call this music to your ears?

2009-01-23T14:20:00.003-05:00

Today I went in for what I thought was just going to be pictures and xrays to start submitting to my medical insurance. Doc looks around, checks some things out, says "here, put this in your mouth for a few minutes". So, I stick a cotton swab with some brown goop on it back by the severely fractured teeth. No biggie (please note, I've NEVER even had a cavity, no dental work done aside from having a few teeth chipped by a basketball when I was little.. but they put me out for the bonding. Read: Naive). So they take a bunch of xrays, and the doc comes back in and lays the chair back. I tend to close my eyes because, well, deep down I'm terrified of dentists and all of their tools. So, I'm laying there, doing my best to become some deep spiritual/meditative person and completely remove myself from the element. Apparently the first instrument he used was actually a needle filled with Novocaine.

I realized this instantly when I heard "bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz" what the!? yep, BAM root canal. As he was grinding away at various parts of my teeth, telling me what he's doing the whole time..
me: I don't know how you handle that noise.
doc: what noise?
me: umm.. the horrific sound of grinding someones teeth off?
doc: ::chuckles:: how dare you call it noise! It's music to my ears.
me: Freak.

Luckily, he's actually a really awesome guy. I feel 100% confident in everything that he's doing, which is a first from any dentist I've ever worked with (well, him and my jaw surgeon). We'll finish up the crown next Friday (there were some issues with my gum growing into the cracks in the teeth post accident). I had to give him a bunch of pictures of before the accident, and he took some in their current state to submit for pre-authorization from my medical insurance. The manager of the office came in and talked to me, which was thoroughly impressive. They're pushing for 100% coverage, and in the meantime, I just pay $20 a visit. Not too bad.

Current timeline: next week, finish up work on my back 2 molars on the upper left, put the post in for the implant. Following appointment, work on the bottom left 2 molars for partial crowns, repair the cracked tooth on the right. Next appointment following: start work for 6 veneers on the top, 4 on the bottom.

Oh, as a side note, doc ended up using one of my senior pictures and this picture for the insurance company:

Addicted

2009-01-22T11:18:00.002-05:00

I'm completely addicted to the Republic of Tea's "Get Heart". No, I don't believe that this is in any way improving my cardiovascular health in the least.. but it's so incredibly good tasting. A medium intensity red tea with blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry flavors, with an ever so small hint of something like cloves.

I seriously drink 3-4 cups a day.

Thank goodness my teeth are being replaced, or I'd be worried about surface staining.

And this is why I should post more often.

2009-01-21T11:05:00.007-05:00

I end up with extremely long posts. My life goes from dull to action packed in 2.2 seconds, apparently.

Highlights from Friday:
I'm planning on doing some, if not all of the Backyard Burn series this spring. In doing so, I wanted to pick up a pair of trail runners, as I tend to be accident prone and would most likely fall without the additional traction. I was looking for a pair of heels at Off Broadway shoes, and of course, wandered back to the running shoes. Normally I buy my running shoes through either =PRR= or Metro Run and Walk (since it was across the street from my apt). To my surprised, I found a pair of Asics Gel Kahana's on sale for $39, marked down from the usual $75. I love end of season/color changes/whatever sparked them to reduce these particular shoes.
Now the next task, after containing my excitement on cheap shoes. To find a pair of 5's. Yes, I have miniature feet. I can wear a size 3.5 in kids. And, often, if I need a cheap pair of kicks that I won't be training in or will be destroyed, I'll buy kids.. They're like $29. It sounds glorious.. but try finding a size 36 bike shoe. Nearly impossible. I digress. I did find a pair of 5's though, and now I'm a happy camper than can run better on trails. Oh, and I didn't find heels, but that's okay, I had a pair I could use anyway.

Saturday
A friend of mine hooked me up with tickets to this club in DC that had been rented out by some top notch celebs. I'm far from a Hollywood chaser, but it was pretty cool to see how some of them acted when cameras weren't around (everyone had to check cameras at the door). I don't drink much at all anymore, but top shelf liquor was flowing, and free, so of course I partook in the festivities. Lots of fun.

Sunday
I was supposed to be a sag vehicle for my team ride in the morning. Being a recovery week, cold, and a 4 day weekend for most, a whole 7 people from the team showed up to ride. Needless to say, Ed told me I didn't need to sag, and I went around the corner to Providence Rec Center to get some exercise in. I looked at the packed treadmills, and decided to head to the pool. Only a few swimmers in the public swim lanes, and a few classes. Side note - why is it, that old, larger women doing water aerobics wear what appears to be shorts and a sweatshirt into the pool? Do they honestly believe that the additional fabric clinging to their body is more flattering than a swimsuit? And, its not like the water was even cold. Anyway, so I suit up and snag my own lane in the deep end. I brought along my Zoomers to continue strengthening my ankles. For those of you that don't know, I have abnormally flexible ankles (think Gumby), and it causes problems because my ankle (tendons, ligaments, etc) moves around too much, occasionally causing some minor, but annoying and painful issues.
3 hours later, I stopped swimming when I realized I had been in the water for 3 hours.
I initially started with a few sets of 200 drills, then worked on my flipturns which have suffered immensely when I stopped doing them in Masters. around the 1 hour mark, I just started swimming... and swimming.. and swimming.. After looking at a few averages time wise, and knowing my own swimming abilities, I estimate I swam just over 5 miles on Sunday. AND IT FELT GREAT. Not sore in the least Sunday evening/Monday.

Monday
I was a waste of life, actually. I put together my desk, unpacked some more stuff, took a nap, made a really tasty dinner, and watched a movie. Lame, right?

Tuesday
Inauguration.
Also, I had an appointment with my cosmetic dentist. We went over everything that is going to have to be done... 3 crowns upper left, 1 implant, bottom left, 2 partial crowns, possible root canal. Top right, 2 partial crowns. Bottom right, good to go. Front, top and bottom, veneers as needed, most likely 5-8 (read: most likely all but maybe 1). I have to go on Friday for some imaging, as well as bring along some pictures from my past that show my teeth, so they can file the claim with medical that they are restoring my teeth, that its not purely aesthetic. I had my mom scan and send me a few of my closeup B&W shots from my senior pictures. Awww.. I look so young. Not the best scans, they kinda washed out a bit:

Also, I jammed in an interview on Tuesday as well for a side job, and am now the marketing director at a design firm, meaning I'm responding to RFP's essentially. Sounds pretty easy, and I used to be very involved in graphic/web design and programming, so I have a good idea of how it all works. I ended up with this off of SlowTwitch, a triathlon forum I occasionally visit. I had to laugh though.. its interesting to meet people in person - you'd be surprised at the demeanor and general presence of the person when they're not trying to get a rise out of people online.

Now that you're all caught up... I'll give your eyes a rest before I make my next post regarding RoadID.

Accountability

2009-01-14T12:19:00.003-05:00

What happened to my request of NOT letting me fall off the blog bandwagon? 1 post in 14 days isn't too spectacular. I blame you, readers. Kidding.

My wires were removed on Friday! Woohoo! One step closer to being DONE with the broken jaw series. My teammate Mere took me in for surgery, and didn't make fun of me for any ramblings post-surgery. Its amazing how that works... one second you're breathing in the nitrous as deeply as you can, and then next thing you know, you're sitting in a chair beside your teammate. No recollection of walking and sitting in said chair either. Its kind of scary, actually. I go back this Friday to get (hopefully) a final count of what needs to be fixed. I should be able to start scheduling appointments with a cosmetic surgeon at this point. It will be nice to be done. Mainly, so I can bite food again vice tear off small pieces to eat. Also, I've grown quite self conscious about the state of my teeth. Looking at me, you wouldn't know I had been in an accident 2 months ago. It just looks like I have really bad teeth. I never knew how vain I was, but really.. I miss having perfect teeth. I get very nervous speaking with people now and showing my teeth. At least I'm almost done. Training is back on hold due to throbbing as soon as I get my HR up. I am doing some core and strength training though.

That thing, that I was excited about a month ago? Its surfacing again tomorrow.. so keep your fingers crossed. :)

I've been busy cleaning lately. I just moved (yet again.. ), and am still in the process of unpacking. My living room, den, kitchen, and bathroom are unpacked... its just the closet in my bedroom that needs immense amounts of attention. I'll have to post pictures of the place later. I love it, and its nice to have a place that finally feels like "home", and I plan on being there for a few years. Moving every 6-8 months has been exhausting. That said, it makes me a little queezy to know that I'm not moving anytime soon.

New Beginnings

2009-01-06T16:47:00.007-05:00

Cheers to a new year. With the rough watered year of 2008 in the past, I look forward to 2009 and whatever it may hold. It has started out far better than 2008 did already, as I've yet to drop a chef's knife through my toe. Horray!

Since 2008 was a bust, I decided to wait until 2009 to resume training, for fear of another strike of whatever bad omen I had looming over me. Saturday I planned to head out on a 4 mile run, following a 7 week running haitus. Terrible, I know. Sadly, it ended around 3 miles, when I could no longer take the pain and throbbing in my teeth. You shouldnt feel teeth... and I could feel 158 beats every minute in at least 12 teeth. So, scratch the outdoor running, and back to the elliptical which, in the warmer rooms, doesn't phase my teeth nearly as much.

Sunday, I decided to go for it... time to get back on my still unnamed beautiful bike. I met up with the team for a flat ride out in Nokesville, VA for a 30 miler. Semi-fail. I was relieved that I had nearly zero fear getting back on the bike. My only fear was that someone in front of me would crash, and I'd have no choice but to hit them and go over as well. I guess this just means I need to lead the pack. Unfortunately, about 14 miles into the ride, I was having the same throbbing issues, in addition to a general soreness from holding my jaw open against the force of the rubberbands to breathe (my nose was taking charge of the running I've been missing). Luckily we had someone SAGging, and they took me back to my car. I came home and did the trainer for an hour. I must say, its a whole new ballgame on riding when you're instantly 25 pounds lighter. Unfortunately, some of that was muscle mass.. but its crazy how quick you feel. Not to mention, spandex looks better (a relative term... spandex doesn't look great on anyone).

I took Monday off to do some errands, and got back in the pool this morning. I was looking forward to being able to breathe in the water without the restriction of the jaw being wired shut. It was much easier to breathe, and I felt like I was gliding through the water. That is, until my jaw started throbbing from the vibration caused by exhaling. Sonofa.. So, I resorted to a few hundred meters of kick drills on my back. *sigh*.

Even with the past 3 workouts not going to plan, I'm still very pleased. I'm out there and working on getting better, and thats all I can ask for right now. The remainder of the wires come out on FRIDAY(!!!), and I'll start the dental work to once and for all end this saga. As soon as the teeth are capped/crowned/implanted, I won't have to deal with the throbbing/exposed nerves that I'm dealing with currently.

I don't make new years resolutions, but I do keep an ongoing list of goals. I have some on an "easily obtainable, so just do", "really, really want", and "not really important" list. I've joked around about going to Kona, being that there are only 6 people in my age group at Placid. It's just been a 'wouldn't that be funny/cool if I qualified'? I've decided to elevate the idea of Kona off of the "not really important" list. I've decided that my new goal is to be able to look back after Lake Placid if I DONT qualify, and be able to honestly say that there was absolutely nothing I wished I would have done up to 7/25/2009 to improve my chances. If someone is just flat out better than me, than they are.. but its not because I didn't train, and because I didn't push myself to do as much as I possibly could to be my best.

Kona, here's to you.

Cheers.

(no longer) Broken Jaw Series

2008-12-30T18:30:00.006-05:00

I felt as though I should give the below post its own space. To update on the chronicles of my broken jaw:

I had the wires that kept me closed cut on 12/19. I could open my mouth about ½ of an inch. That night, I managed to get a few small pieces of White pizza in, and some Italian wedding soup after I gave up on the pizza. It hurt to chew, and my mouth forgot the process. I couldn’t get my tongue to move the food around properly, and I didn’t have the strength to chomp down. So, really, it was like having my mouth wired shut still, only I had a slightly bigger opening to swallow food, and didn’t have to shove small pieces through a pulled tooth. I had a few pieces of a filet on Sunday.. which was far too ambitious. I had a cheeseburger on Tuesday, which was delicious.

I went to the oral surgeon today. He looked at my mouth and said “lets get all that junk out of there”. So, I have an appointment scheduled for January 9th to have the remaining wires that are wrapped around my teeth taken off, and to determine the fate of my teeth/get me set up with a cosmetic dentist.

Woohoo!

Rest in Peace...

2008-12-30T18:20:00.005-05:00

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. What does, makes others realize how strong they can be.

I’ve had quite an absence on my blog lately. To be honest, I haven’t really had much to say. Shock would be the best emotion to describe. Its been a hard few weeks.

On Tuesday, December 9th, my dad fell off the back of the semi while making a delivery (he was a truck driver for Conway Freight), or at least that’s what we think happened – the whole thing is still going through attorneys since it’s workmen’s comp. He must have had a box of lights or something in his hands (he was delivering to Whitmers Lighting in Akron) because he didn’t brace his fall at all, and hit directly onto the back of his head. He wasn’t on a loading dock, so it was a good 10+ foot fall. He immediately was unconscious, though regained slight consciousness in the ER and was very combative, so they sedated and intubated him while they got a cat scan and stitched up his head. He never opened his eyes, but his blood pressure showed he would respond to pain. Wednesday morning around 2-3am, he stopped being responsive and his pupils dilated out. He’d still cough on occasion with the tubes in his throat, but that stopped around 4pm. The neurosurgeon put a “bolt” into his head, which reads the inner-cranial pressure, around 5pm… told us “he’s in very serious condition.. he has a few hours, maybe a day to live” and walked out. Excellent bedside manners. Normal cranial pressure is 8-10… dads was 130 (mental retardation sets in around 45-50). We decided against pulling the life support on Wednesday since we were all drained. After talking that night, we realized we hadn’t even seen the cat scans or anything, so we had another cat scan ordered (so we could compare days 1-3), and the EEG for brain activity. There wasn’t any brain activity, and the cat scans were a mess. His skull was split all the way from his eyebrow to the back of the head, and the central divide between the halves of the brain were more in an S shape instead of a straight line from all the swelling. There was heavy bleeding in the front too. They did the final apnea test at 1:30 on Thursday (pull the machine to see if he could breath on his own), and he failed that, so it was official. Talk about sudden. We had calling hours on Monday night, and a full military funeral on Tuesday (dad was a Vietnam vet – marines.), and had him buried at Western Reserve National Cemetery, since its one of a few military cemeteries in the country that allows non-military spouses.

I’m sad my dad unknowingly canceled the plans we had for the weekend following his accident. He was going to come out to DC, go to my tri team’s holiday brunch, help me move, take me to get my wires cut off.. I wanted it to be a great weekend. I wanted to spend time with my dad since I don’t often have a chance for it to just be him and I. I guess I’m the most upset that he unknowingly canceled plans of the rest of our lives. He was supposed be at the finish line at Lake Placid to give me a huge hug. He was supposed to walk my sister down the aisle 2 weeks after LP, after celebrating his 60th birthday. He was supposed to go to work following these events, and tell every person he came in contact with about how proud he was of his children, just like he always did. He was supposed to be around for so much more.

It was incredibly moving to see the number of lives my dad had touched. He was an amazing person, and it showed by the number of people we had never even known, be brought to tears over my dad’s death. He was a simple, hardworking man that liked to see people smile.

Miss you daddy.

And the countdown continues!

2008-12-07T12:32:00.008-05:00

Only 1 more week until the wires come off... woohoo! I did have a sad realization however. I'm most likely not going to be eating solid food until almost FEBRUARY. Why, you might ask? Well, I'll have rubberbands on the wires for a minimum of 3 weeks. During this time, the main focus is to teach my jaw how to open again. I've talked to 2 people who have had their jaws wired shut, and both said not to expect to open more than a finger's width for the first 2 weeks, and it took them close to a month and a half to have a semi-normal range of motion. That 6 weeks put me around the end of January. Unfortunately, however, I'm going to have to have some crazy dental work done once the rubberbands come off. Come Mid-January, I'll have to have another round of surgery to get the posts in place, a few root canals, crowns, etc etc. Soo, take another week of healing after that, and you've hit February.

This brings me to a new question. I scrapped my Marathon entry for a Half Marathon Entry at the Myrtle Beach weekend. Can I successfully run a half marathon on 1 month of training plus a 2 week taper (not allowed to run until after Monday)? I had a few 10 mile runs prior to the accident, but the last Half I did was in September. Never done a marathon. And I haven't trained for a month, with the exception of 2 swims. Hmm.

Other changes included to my list of events include scrapping the Jingle all the Way 10K, and the Celtic Solstice 5 miler. Doc said no. I am, however allowed to participate in the Christmas Light Run through DC on the 17th, due to the fact that its not a high pace environment. Should be interesting to see how well I can sing christmas carols while running through the city with bells on my feet. :)

I'm also sad I won't be able to go ice skating downtown this year :( I have to avoid any activities that increase my chances of falling and busting up my face again. I'm good at ice skating, but you never know when a small kid might fall directly infront of you and trip you (read: this happened last year, and I had a nice ice-rash on my chin). I will have to go get some pictures again of the trees. These are from last year:

National Christmas Tree on the lawn of the White House (seen dimly in the background). The National Christmas tree is surrounded by a small tree decorated by each state and territory.

There is also a Menorah during Hanukkah on the front lawn, a manger scene, and the Yule Log (which is a giant fire pit about 6 feet deep, fueled by large pieces of the "yule tree" . Keeps you quite warm while looking at the tree's) You can see the smoke from the pit in the picture above.

Trees at the Botanical Gardens. There is also a very elaborate miniature train set that goes around the front of the Gardens. The track is handmade, fabricated by little twigs. It is definitely a work of art, and I hope it is there again this year.

Capitol Christmas Tree. I personally think the Christmas Tree on the lawns of the US Capitol is much prettier than the tree at the White House. Less tacky, just simple and beautiful.

I'll post pictures of this years decorations once I manage to get Downtown. This year, I won't pick the coldest night of the year to go down like Austin and I did last year. Most of my pictures were blurry. Longer night exposure time combined with uncontrollable shaking didn't work out so well.

Oh, and also in the Christmas spirit - if you are doing a Secret Santa exchange this year, check out this site: Secret Santa. With this site, you can set up a list of people to be included on the exchange, they can go in and create a "wish list" to share with the group, and you can set up so certain people are unable to be secret santas (ie: husband and wife in a group). Gotta love technology.

12 Days.

2008-12-03T10:27:00.004-05:00

Until they cut the first set of wires binding my jaw closed. I'm stoked.

I went back to the oral surgeon for my week 3 checkup yesterday. No x-rays this time, just a glance at my teeth, asked me to try to open my mouth (Umm.. buddy, you wired me shut remember, I cant. I'm guessing he was checking to see if it needed to be tightened at all), and told me to set up an appointment around the week of December 15th to have the wires cut. Apparently my eyes must have grown wide with excitement, because he quickly stomped on my dreams of cheeseburgers, noting that I still wouldn't be able to open my mouth much. I'll have rubberbands replacing one set of wires so I may begin strength training in my jaw. Needless to say, I scheduled for 9:30 on December 15th - the first possible appointment.

Feeling brave and adventurous, I went to swim practice last night; my first physical activity since the accident, unless you can count walking to the fridge for another Ensure as activity. As I pulled into the parking lot, Coach Ed was walking to his car. Before I could gather my towel and such, he was standing outside my car door, asking "Are you here to see me for something? I'm heading home since we have 2 other coaches on deck, and I'm swamped with paperwork for the fiscal year." Nope. Here to swim sir. He was impressed that I was already trying to get back on board, and as he admired how much better I looked that last time I saw him, and how phenominal the healing has been I think I saw a slight tear in his eye. Awww.
I was extremely nervous to get in the water. Will I be able to breathe? What if I can't.. I'm just going to get frustrated and dissappointed. How much will I have to throw my form off in order to breathe? How much slower have I become since I've been out of the pool for 3 weeks? And, with that, I slid into my normal lane with Matt, Sebastian, and Fabrice. Iwan hopped over the lane divide to give me a huge hug when he realized I was back in the pool. And so began swim practice. I was a bit late after talking to Ed in the parking lot for a while.. so I missed most of the warmup. Matt suggested we add a little time to the w/u so I could adjust. Good call. The first 50 yards might have been the scariest lap I've swam in a long, long time. We're talking since I learned to swim with my face in the water, circa 1991. I found it easier to attempt to breathe on my left (weak side..), because I have a missing tooth from the accident and am able to suck air in a bit quicker on that side. I had to really focus on the glide part of the stroke, so I could leave my head turned upwards long enough to breathe. It was difficult to get used to turning my head high enough to have my lips completely clear the water. I have very little feeling in my bottom lip-post accident, so I couldn't make my lips do the strange contorted movement we all normally do when breathing during freestyle.

The first set was Kick, Catchup Drill, Tarzan Drill, Fist Swim, 4x100 (we're on a recover week) Kick, no problem. Catchup, no problem, Tarzan.. okay starting to get tired, having to breathe more often = sucking in more water = starting to panic inside my closed jaw, Fist drill... Pass, I'll just kick instead. Each set of 100 lost another drill off the end, so the final set I was just doing pure kick drills for 100. Luckily, I LOVE kick drills, and stay on pace with the guys doing the other swim drills. We then started a set of 800 Z2. Since the four of us suck at counting after a while, we rotate every 200. I mentioned I probably would just hang in the back - they don't want me leading, I'm going to be pulling the pace down. Sebastian looked at me and said "Nope. You're going to have to lead sometime!" I focused on staying as calm as possible during the first 600. Somehow it worked, and I actually stayed on Seb's toes until he peeled off and I lead the final 200. I felt very accomplished, and I'm glad Seb pushed me. We had 3 more sets of 800 prior to climbing out of the pool for the evening, and I only skipped 1 lap after sucking in too much water. Not too bad. I felt like Darth Vader trying to swim though... Not the easiest thing to do, but I guess I'll have excellent breath control once this is all over with.

Nothing else too exciting is going on. I'm not tired of Ensure yet (surprisingly), and I'm excited to get a new flavor sometime this week - mixed berry, to add to the stash of high protien Chocolate, Vanilla, and Banana currently stacked in my room. Mashed potatoes are slowly losing their appeal though. I find new smoothies to make daily, keeping the taste buds happy. I have yet to attempt making any common food into a smoothie - I'm not that desperate, and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, I don't think you'll see me drinking a processed steak.

Off to get ready for that thing I was extra excited/nervous about a few weeks ago, that was supposed to happen the day after my crash, and they were kind and understanding enough to move it to today. :)

23 going on 3

2008-11-25T15:22:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I went to the doctor for my first of many, many followup visits. He took out the stitches on my chin, so those aren't itching anymore, and took another X-Ray of my mouth. Not just the old school xrays; no no, I stand in this contraption that then rotates around my head, pausing occasionally to extend some sort of plate. Its like a mini bone scan. The images showed tons of wire all through my mouth. Kind of scary. He also explained why he didn't want to have me admitted to the hospital and instead come directly to his office the following day - if I would have been admitted, chances are he wouldn't have been able to get a surgery room until Tuesday or Wednesday to do the surgery. No thanks... I'm glad he kept my costs down! I go back to him on Tuesday morning for another scan. He's guessing I'll be wired shut for at least 3 more weeks, then the wires will come off and I'll get rubberbands to start strengthening my jaw. I can't wait for the rubberbands... even though I'll feel like an awkward teenage with essentially braces and their mouth in rubberbands (glad I never had braces..). I'll be able to sneak extra tiny pieces of food in. I miss meat the most, but not enough to blend it (yet).

I was excited to be able to brush my teeth today. That's the type of thing that brightens the day of a girl with her jaw wired shut. My doctor gave me a baby toothbrush to brush with. Gee. Thanks for making me feel 3 years old.

Smiley faces... nice touch.

This is my current toothcare - a baby toothbrush, complete with smiley faces, Crest Pro-Health rinse, and salt water rinse (featured in a dixie cup). Do you have any idea how much I wish I could brush the OTHER side of my teeth? Ugh.

I'm home in Akron through Thanksgiving. Mom drove me home last night since I'm still on a few pain killers unfortunatly. It's snowing here, and that makes me happy.

View outside my window.. I guess we had 8 inches earlier this week

Safe travels to everyone for Thanksgiving!

New Grill

2008-11-21T11:37:00.003-05:00

Not as much bling as some in hollywood... but its pretty shiny in there.

I took this last night. Lots of the bruising is going down, and the road rash is healing. My neck is still massively swollen, and although the picture doesn't show as well, I have very dark dark bruising from where my chinstrap for my helmet went.

I'm going nuts being in bed. I just want to go out and run, or swim.. or even ride my bike. You would think that laying in bed eating pudding all day would be pretty glorious. Its not. It gets real old, real quick.

Unfortunately I don't have the energy to do much else right now. Maybe by next week. Es dropped off some books for me to read though, bunch of endurance books. I should be well read on all things triathlon by the time this is over. :)

Not too much else to report. I go back to the oral surgeon on Monday. Not sure for what, but I'll be sure to report back.

-Linds

Now that I'm coherient..

2008-11-18T21:07:00.004-05:00

Here's the full story:

Sunday morning I joined up with the team for a quick 20 mile recovery ride. Nothing big, I've been on this route a few times before. It starts at Falls Church High School, and heads through some of the local back roads. Some are busy, but most have a very forgiving shoulder to allow cyclists plenty of room. Harriet, Robin, and I set out on our journey just after the "A" riders.. and lost site of them, apparently when they turned at we didnt. We realized our mistake after about a mile, since we had all made that mistake on the ride the previous time. Turned around, grabbed the right road, and continued on our way. Met up with some of the 15 mile riders, and chatted it up with them. I passed the girl who was borrowing my old bike, and Nelson and Kate decided to ride with Robin, Harriet and I. We got to a 4 way stop prior to a car, so we took our left turn. Well, this crazy old man slams on the horn as he's running through the stop sign... turns, and proceeds to yell at us for running a stop sign. Nelson clearly explained that he ran the stop sign while slamming on his horn. We told him he was a grouchy old man, and went along on our way. I almost had a dog run into our group, after the owner was checking us out as we rode by.. pretty funny. :) One part of the ride featured an out and back around mile 13 or so. We saw the "A" riders heading back, so we decided to cut out the hill and join back up with them. Tagged along, and I was the last to turn around so I was bringing up the tail end. We headed up a hill, and Robin and Harriet spotted Luke, another teammate on the side of the road waiting for a SAG vehicle. They were slightly ahead of me, so I assumed they would have regained speed from the downhill as I approached, however I don't believe they had. Here's where things get fuzzy. I'm not sure if I just clenched on the brakes to hard and went over, or if I was braking and hit something in the road, losing control and going over. Either way, I went over the handlebars around 25mph, skidding past Robin who was still riding, while I was on my face. I don't remember much other than crawling on the ground for a minute, gasping for air, spitting out blood, and Luke saying he was an Army EMT(?). Then nothing again for a few minutes, until being loaded into the ambulance, refusing to be backboarded because my ribcage and neck hurt. I remember Ed knocking on the door, and just waving to him through the window as I was bleeding everywhere. I don't remember much of the ride to the hospital, but I remember being wheeled through the ER. Then the questions came - "Do you have your insurance card?" No. "License?" No.. I was running late because I fed my friends cat and forgot to grab them and put them in my saddle. "Where do you live?" I umm.. 7706.. no thats not right. 23.. no, thats not right either.. oh my gosh I can't remember where I live (in my defense, I just moved about 3 months ago, and have had about 8 addresses in the past 3 years). They start checking my vitals and hooking me up to a saline drip. Finally I remember and just blurt out 6614E! They looked at me like I was nuts, but then realized that I was repeating my address over and over through my blood-gushing mouth. Coach Ed and Robin came into the ER to see how I was and fill the doctors in with info I was missing. They told me my helmet was cracked, and I showed them my now ruined sunglasses (who knew so much plastic could be shaved off and STILL not bust. Thank you, Smith sunglasses). I was wheeled off to my CAT scan, where I had to try to explain to a nurse how to get all my piercings out with a jacked up mouth. Finally, I got everything out, and was able to be scanned. Returned to the ER, then was wheeled off to x-ray for my face, neck, and chest. The doctors come back in amazement that I didn't have a concussion, no skull, neck, or chest damage. I didn't break my clavicles either. Instead, I broke both hinges of my jaw, broke directly down the center of my jaw, shattered the plate behind my upper lip, and rearranged a good deal of my teeth, chipping most of them. I have stitches in my chin. So the painkillers flowed, as a good 10 or so people from the team came to the ER to visit. I have never been so overwhelmed with feeling than seeing people come in and out of the room to see me. Special thanks to Robin, Sebastian, Ester, Jason, Ed, and all the others came through. And especially to Coach Ed, who almost puked while they stitched my chin closed. My roommates came to pick up my car and bikes. OH my bike! The only damage it sustained was a bit of scratching the brake levers, and the right aerobar is a little out of whack and scratched up. Apparently it was the second question I asked Coach Ed - is my bike okay? He called my mom to suggest she come out, and her first question was did I look okay.. and the second? "Is her bike okay? I know that meant the world to her right now and I don't want to think about what happens if that bike is totaled". Ed came in the room laughing, telling me it was my moms second concern as well. My mom knows me well. :)

I had my jaw wired shut yesterday. I'll most likely need some new teeth, as they've already pulled one, and they don't think a few others will reestablish their presence in my mouth. I'll be wired totally shut for the next few weeks, then rubberbanded so I can start doing some PT on my jaw.

Overall, I'm damn lucky. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes.

The Bike is Okay

2008-11-17T10:45:00.003-05:00

But I'm not...

Full story this evening after I have my teeth fixed and jaw wired shut.

Missing Posts

2008-11-13T15:11:00.002-05:00

I'm not quite sure how I deleted my last post, but I did. So, I did have a post between November 4th and now, but its forever gone. Simple rambling about how I can't dye my hair successfully.

I still can't dye my hair successfully. I attempted to go a medium auburn color, with some different highlights. I headed off to Sally Beauty Supply and picked up what I needed... mixed up all the chemicals which surely will kill me one day, and went to town. I have a few good friends who are hairdressers, and they taught me how to properly dye hair (ie, NOT out of a box from CVS). Most of the time, they bleach the color out of hair, and then apply the desired color. I skip that step, because the one time I've ever had my hair professionally colored, they did this.. and then when the color didn't hold to my hair for more than 2 weeks, I was left with extremely light blond hair, even more so than my natural color. Anyways, I finished everything up, washed and dried my hair, and admired the results. Not as dark as I wanted, but still a pretty color.

And then I went swimming the next day, and lost almost all traces of color.

This year is officially the year I give up trying to color my hair. Its blond, and its not going to change no matter how hard I try. Maybe I'll start investing in wigs.

My reasoning for delaying posting, is I keep wanting to put pictures up. Unfortunatly my camera cable is MIA, and, until I find it... I can't add any pictures. Last Friday I had off work, so the P2C and I went adventuring. Since it was gorgeous out, I took advantage and hopped on my bike by 11am. I set out on the W&OD for a while heading west, and then after about 15 miles, decided it would be a PERFECT day to go to Gravelly Point. This is one of my favorite places in DC, when its not busy. I turned around and headed towards the city. Along the route, I think I was on the Custis by this point, I spotted The Italian Store. I became a huge fan of this place after going there often with a guy I was dating a while back. So, I stopped in, picked up a small Milano Sub, and a little container of the Veal Tortellini. I was able to fit both in my jersey pockets, and continued along my way. Along the Potomac, I captured some great pictures of the fall colors with the Monument and Jefferson Memorial in the background. If only I could show them to you right now... grr. Anyways, the park was mostly empty, saving a few other cyclists taking advantage of the 65+ degree weather and sunshine. I laid down on the hill facing the runway, and enjoyed a solitary picnic watching the planes land and take off. I never get tired of that. My return trip was equally as relaxing. I wasn't training, I was just having fun. I did have two pretty good looking cyclists come up and tell me I had a hot bike. Pretty much made my day, and I instantly picked up my speed, stayed with them, and continued to chat. Unfortunatly, they were splitting off to go the opposite way on the W&OD as I was, so thats all the further I got with them. Bummer. I had another guy admiring my bike when I ran into Spokes... I came out and he was standing infront of my car which creeped me out for 2.2 seconds, but then I realized that he was staring at my bike. I just laughed and said "yeah.. its shiny and new, and I love it." We talked for a few minutes, and he asked me how I could maintain that steep of a position. Luckily, I was a dancer for most of my life and have a lot of flexibility and generally good core strength.

Sunday I ran a local 5K with a friend of mine. Nothing too exciting, I didn't "race" it... I just went out and we ended up chatting up a storm the whole run (yep, I was one of those people). Kept a rather pathetic 9 minute mile... but it was fun to catch up with my friend. I rode my bike a bit more on Sunday. I was still sore from my long run and a few intervals on Saturday... so the run and the bike hurt a bit. I finish up Sunday night with swim practice. We were working 4x 100, x 200, and 4x 400's, with focus on form, stroke count, and consistant times. I kept a 6:07 400 for my zone 2 work. Got booted up a lane for the Sunday swim class (in a different pool with less lanes). I was with some people that are definitely faster than I am (ex college swimmers), so it hurt a lot towards the end, especially with already dead legs.

I recieved some very very exciting news yesterday. Unfortunatly I can't really say what it is due to some people that may or may not read this blog. In the coming weeks though, I'll be following up on this, but for now, I can't disclose publicly (if you're extra curious, send me a note and I'll tell you). Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping everything goes in my favor, because I'm stoked about the possibility of this happening.

Thats all for now.

PSA, great companies, and generally good stuff

2008-11-04T15:32:00.007-05:00

Public Service Annoucement:
GO OUT AND VOTE IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY!
We are lucky to choose between who we want to lead our country. Exercise this right that so many other countries do not have!

(End PSA)

I went this morning and hopped in line for voting. I was AMAZED at the turn out... there had to be at least 250 people infront of me at George Marshall HS. Impressive. Actually, shocking! It made me smile though - its good to see such a turnout for this election. I'm excited to see the number of voters that actually turned out, in comparison to previous years. It is a historic race to say the least. I am, however, ready for the end of the political nonsense plaguing the airwaves. If I see one more commercial regarding who to vote for, or which candidate is trying to screw over the country, I might scream. I'm so glad these are only once every 4 years.

I skipped swimming this morning to vote though. I'll have to make that up this afternoon, most likely followed by some running. I have some new plans of attack regarding my training and my plans for the upcoming season... but I'm keeping those a secret for now. They are written on a piece of paper that I keep on my nightstand, which have my general "self improvement" list. Being in plain sight, I'm able to constantly scan over the list as a reminder. I got the idea from a guy I used to see. I've never let anyone read the list though.

I have to give a huge thumbs up to the folks over at Beaker Concepts, makers of the Hydrotail H5c. I recently purchased the hydrotail and mounted it on my new steed Sunday. I had read a few reviews of people mounting it upside down, which effectively changes the angle at which the bottles sit. I liked this setup, and decided on attaching to my bike this way as well. During bike ride number 2 of the day, I hit a fairly decent pothole, which almost threw me from the bike (note, do not get mesmerized by leaf colors). I stopped immediately when I heard a nice *crack*. Instantly panicking and almost tearing up, I hopped off my bike to see what I just broke. It was my hydrotail (THANK GOODNESS!). I wrote to Beaker Concepts this morning, to let them know what happened, and that they should consider doing some testing on the product in the upside down position (which was actually mentioned as a way to mount on their website), as my tail broke at the u shaped juncture. Within an hour, I had a response back, and it was not a generic response. The following is what I received (I'll forgive for the misspelled name):

Lindsey,
1st, thank you for letting me know this! Many people tend these days to just blog their disgust before asking the manufacturer about it. Yes, I believe you are correct and I have some tests going on now. The website which has been plagued by a rogue person this summer does not show the position anymore as well. The unit was meant to be only used in the low position till it was pointed out that it could be turned upside down. But it is not perfect there and is being redesigned along with a complete new style unit for the Spring. Please give me your address though as I will gladly send you a new unit if you desire. Also what color. Again I am sorry this happened to you and thanks for letting me know what happened.

Send me a free replacement??! Talk about PHENOMENAL customer service. I had full intentions of buying a replacement unit and mounting it in the original manner, but this is just awesome. So, A++ in my book for Beaker Concepts. And, don't mount them upside down.

Adjusting my nutrition is going to be a big task. I used to have a variety of nutrition drinks for biking, so I didn't get tired of just one. All of them contain gluten, which I have to minimize intake of while on meds (which, I'll most likely be on for a few years.) I don't get bothered so much eating gluten products during meals, but I found out Sunday, using only gluten products on the bike is not going to be an option. I was doubled over in stomach cramps for a good hour after the ride. Not fun.

All for now. Cheers (well, not really because I can't drink much anymore.)

An awesome evening

2008-10-29T11:05:00.004-04:00

Last night, a teammate invited a bunch of us over to make pasta and carve pumpkins. Although we never got around to carving, we did make a fantastic dinner and enjoyed a few drinks. It was awesome to just hang out and have fun. I also learned many things about some people that I figured I pretty much knew from spending so much time together. I had no idea what some people's jobs entailed.. and it was cool to learn more about the people I spend 10-15 hours a week with.

My bra made the news. Seriously. :) That's my hot pink bra I donated for the Bra's across DC event benefiting Breast Cancer. On my day off Friday, I went down to the mall to see the exhibit. It looks pretty strange to see the Reflecting Pool outlined in bras.

I have zero motivation for Halloween this year.

I received my test results back from last week. Yep.. officially have PCOS.... starting on the meds immediately. Here's to hoping it doesn't affect my training.

Blog? What blog... Ohh.. that blog.

2008-10-28T08:46:00.005-04:00

I figured I should probably update my severely neglected blog. In my defense, I've been training. I think its a very good excuse to be neglecting the computer a bit.

Where to start..

My brother got hitched on October 18th. I made my way down to Chapel Hill, NC for the festivities. It was a nice, small wedding. Nothing exciting to report from that weekend really... I'll post some pictures up eventually of me and the fam.

I have a new love in my life. He doesn't have a name quiet yet, and I haven't gotten around to snapping pictures when he's not looking. In the meantime, I'm stealing a picture from a hilarious tease written by another awesome tri-blogger.

Only, its much, much smaller. I'd guess his to be a 58 or 61... mines a 48.

I took the new investment out riding this past Sunday to the 3 covered bridges ride. First, a rant about DC's traffic - I picked up my friend Iwan for the ride.. he lives in NW DC. I read all the road closure times for the Marine Corps Marathon (which, congrats to all those who ran!), and planned my route accordingly. Embarked on my drive, and of course, every road I had planned was closed. I stopped to ask a cop what the deal was, and apparently they had a "security breach".. so they needed to close all of the roads early on in the morning. So much for being early to the ride. It was a stunning 42 mile ride through the historic covered bridges in Frederick, Maryland. Have I mentioned, I LOVE fall? Its my favorite time of year, when the air is crisp and cool, and the fall colors are lit up by the golden hue of the sun. I think Ohio gets a slightly better glimpse of fall, more intense shades of orange, red, and yellow; however, this area has this hillsides to really showcase the array of colors. Back to the bike though - I felt extremely comfortable on it, aside from occasional neck soreness as I got used to the aero position. I felt like I had much more power as I pedaled along, and felt much faster. Unfortunately, I cannot back this claim with data, as I forgot to adjust my polar computer from my 700c wheels to the 650 wheelsize. According to my computer, I rode 59 miles, and averaged around 27 mph. Pretty sweet for a rolling terrain, no? I kind of want to leave the comp as is - it makes me feel super fast.

I feel like I'm also getting stronger running, but I need to make more commitment to the activity. Instead of just plodding along, I need to focus on form, my weaknesses, and building strength as well as speed.

I got to do the "moving on up" song/dance combo this morning at swim. We were doing sets of 500, and I led my lane. As I ended the set, the coach was standing at the end of my lane.. looked at me and said "you aren't even breathing hard. Did you start the same time as them?" I turned around and looked, and I was about a full length ahead of my lanemates (? new word..). I just kinda smiled and let out a sheepish "well.. yes.." "move. you're not allowed to swim in this lane anymore.. move up another lane. Say goodbye to Lindsay" Well damn. Another lane up.. only 2 more to go until I'm in the ultra fast lane. Goals... I gots 'em. :) On a more serious note, resistance bands are my secret. Strap some of these puppies to a stable anchor, and work on the freestyle stroke. I tie loops in my therabands (I have tons, from years and years of PT) for my hands, then work a freestyle set on land 3 days a week. I may invest in some of the swim cords, with the paddles for a more realistic feel. Oh, and lose a little weight too. Thats gotta help something. I was pretty excited to move up, but now I'm further and further away from the people I always sit around and chat with! Bummer.
**Edit: I dont know what happened to a few lines in that paragraph at posting, but it made no sense. Fixed.

I went to an endocrinologist on Friday (sorry, this is a very non-chronological blog... stay with me). I don't normally talk about any strange disorders I have, but this one might prove to be very interesting. I'm being tested for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). One thing that strikes me about this, is the associated insulin resistance - meaning my muscles don't properly absorb glucose. As we all know, glucose is one of the feeding agents for energy in the muscular system. Its treatable, with a daily dosing of a drug often used in diabetes, Metformin. How will this affect my training? Doc thinks I would become a much, much better athlete, as my muscles will be fueled efficiently and firing properly. Interesting. Now I just have to wait for the lab results (which, by the way.. they took 8 large vials of blood... not those little tiny ones I normally see, after being on an 8 hour fast. I give blood routinely, but this was the first time I stood up and almost passed out. Scary feeling.)

Before this post drags on any longer.. I'll go be productive. Looking forward to making pasta and carving pumpkins with some friends tonight. Again, I LOVE FALL!

-Linds

"I don't know how you do it"

2008-10-16T11:16:00.002-04:00

A very close friend of mine just sent the following text to me:

"I don't know how you do it. I do P90x and feel horrible after. I can't imagine [doing an] ironman"

And my response was this:
"I never said training doesn't hurt. I guess the accomplishment drives me.. it overrides the exhaustion"

I think this is kind of my mantra. There are plenty of days that I don't like training. But then, when I reflect back on them... I see the change in myself; be it becoming stronger, faster, or just overall more confidence in my abilities. Thats why I am pushing myself to do what I'm doing. That, and I have always had a slightly masochistic streak. :)

I never got around to updating my blog last week. I've been in a bit of a funk, but that is over now. Last weekend's run (7 miles) was very promising. I almost enjoyed it, and I wasn't sore. The ride, on the other hand... was supposed to be 48 miles. And then my seatpost decided in the cold morning air, it was not participating, and I slumped down onto the base. Hopped off, wiped off the bit of grease that had accumulated, and retightened the bolt. Rode another 3 minutes, only to experience the same issue. Sonofa.. Hop off again, have one of the guys on the team tighten it (maybe I really AM girly?).. ride another few minutes, and I begin to feel it slipping. So, that was the end of my ride. Another guy had twisted his chain and bent a link, so we both rode carefully back to the cars together. Total mileage: 10. Swam in Barcroft for about 1700 meters, and called it a day.

I just received an email with the option of buying a 48cm P2C for around $1800... brand new. hmmm. Thats a seriously viable option right now. To buy, or not to buy...

My first experience...

2008-10-12T22:26:00.002-04:00

Of having an ex get married. This guy I used to be with about 3 years ago got married this past weekend.

kinda strange. And makes me feel old. And uncomfortable.

I'll write on training experiences from the weekend tomorrow.

Primal Diet

2008-10-08T11:47:00.001-04:00

I found this article very interesting:

The Modern Primal Blueprint® - The Rules of Living Today:

1. Eat lots of animals, insects and plants.

Focus on quality sources of protein (all forms of meat, fowl, fish), lots of colorful vegetables, some select fruits (mostly berries), and healthy fats (nuts, avocados, olive oil). Observe portion control (calorie distribution) week to week more than meal to meal. Eliminate grains, sugars, trans- and hydrogenated fats from your diet.

2. Move around a lot at a slow pace.

Do some form of low level aerobic activity 2-5 hours a week, whether it is walking, hiking, easy bike riding or swimming. Ideally, and when possible, find time to go barefoot or wear as little foot support as possible. Low-level activity is necessary (especially if you find yourself chained to a desk every day). The combined effect will be an increase in capillary perfusion, fat-burning and overall integration of muscle strength and flexibility.

3. Lift heavy things.

Go to the gym and lift weights for 30-45 minutes, 2-3 times a week. Focus on movements that involve the entire body and in wider ranges of motion – not just on isolating body parts. Emulate the movements of our ancestors: jumping, squatting, lunging, pushing, pulling, twisting, etc. This will stimulate your genes to increase muscle strength and power, increase bone density, improve insulin sensitivity, stimulate growth hormone secretion, and consume stored body fat.

4. Run really fast every once in a while.

Do some form of intense anaerobic sprint bursts several times a week. This could be as simple as six or eight (or more) short sprints up a hill, on the grass, at the beach… or repeated intense sessions on a bicycle (stationary, road or mountain bike). These short bursts also increase HGH release (HGH is actually released in proportion to the intensity (not the duration) of the exercise).

5. Get lots of sleep.

Get plenty of quality sleep. Our lives are so hectic and full of things to do after the sun goes down that it’s often difficult to get enough sleep. Yet sleep is one of the most important factors in maintaining good health, vibrant energy and a strong immune system.

6. Play.

Spend some time each week involved in active play. In addition to allowing you to apply your fitness to a real-life situation, play helps dissipate some of the negative effects of the chronic stress hormones you’ve been accumulating through the week.

7. Get some sunlight every day.

Contrary to the “Common Wisdom” dispensed by dermatologists (who suggest you shun the sun), the Primal Blueprint would insist that you get some direct sunlight every day. Certainly not so much that you come close to burning, but definitely enough to prompt your body to make the all-important vitamin D and to support the mood-lifting benefits. A slight tan is a good indicator that you have maintained adequate Vitamin D levels. Natural sunlight also has a powerful mood-elevating effect, which can enhance productivity at work and in inter-personal interactions.

8. Avoid trauma.

Eliminate self-destructive behaviors. These concepts are self evident to most people (wear seat belts, don’t smoke or do drugs, don’t dive into shallow water) yet so many of us live our lives oblivious to impending danger. Develop a keen sense of awareness of your surroundings.

9. Avoid poisonous things.

Avoid exposure to chemical toxins in your food (pesticides, herbicides, chemicals, etc) and on your skin. But also try to avoid the hidden poisons in foods like sugars, grains, processed foods, trans and hydrogenated fats, and mercury in certain fish.

10. Use your mind.

Exercise your brain daily as our ancestors did. Be inventive, creative, and aware. If your work is not stimulating (or even if it is), find time to read, write, play an instrument and interact socially.

As with the Original Primal Blueprint, this list is very general, designed simply to allow you to understand that everything our ancestors did can benefit us as well. Except that we can do it having fun, enjoying every aspect of the lifestyle and without worrying about our survival! In future blog posts (and to a much greater extent in my book) I will be going into much more detail as to how and why these behaviors work and exactly what foods to eat, what exercises to do and how to otherwise find ways to allow your genes to recreate you in the healthiest, fittest way possible.

Taken from: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/definitive-guide-primal-blueprint/

My Big Move

2008-10-07T21:51:00.002-04:00

I completely forgot to mention!

I moved up 2 lanes in swimming today... I'm now in the third fastest lane. I'm not sure what happened; either my normal lane I lead took major downers, or I have gained some serious speed lately in the pool. I guess the extra workouts I've been putting in, coupled with strength training is allowing myself to pull through the water much more effortlessly than before. The lane I normally lead was struggling to stay on the same length as I was, and were all out of breath while I was just meandering along. The coach was standing at the end of my lane once I finished a set of 100, while the rest of the lane wasn't even complete on the 75.. and told me to turn around, look at my lane, say goodbye, and move at least two up.

I'll miss ya lane 5. We used to sit at the end of the pool and talk! And today, you were happy to see me go, as you were all gasping for air on what my z2.

Whoops.

My Thesis

2008-10-07T09:07:00.005-04:00

The following is my completely non scientific, non researched, and most likely not really accurate thesis:

Food can be directly related to depression.

I spent a few days last week at Bowling Green - the university I used to attend. It was a very strange feeling to be back in that city (those of you who don't know, I took an internship, and ended up staying on with the company without returning). I used to walk into my favorite bar, Downtown, and would know at least 20 people in there any given night of the week. When I went up Thursday night, I knew the bartender, and that was it. Back to the original topic of the post though - I indulged in every place I used to LOVE when I lived in BG. Campus Pollyeyes has these stuffed breadsticks to die for (chicken and cheese, with a side of ranch and marinara please), and of course there's El Zarape which has the best margaritas known to man, along with excellent food, and Mr. Spots cheesesteaks, and Jimmy Johns... It all just tasted so good.
... however
I felt like crap after eating like this for the 3 days I was there. I craved fresh, homecooked food. I didn't feel happy and full of energy after eating so much food out. I wanted to make sushi, or a fruit salad with greek yogurt. Just anything natural and not greasy.
I noticed a decline in my workouts while rocking out in the Cooper Pool (shown below.) My per 100 pace slowed down dramatically too.
I always used to roll my eyes at people who claimed the felt cleansed or what have you after switching their diet. Maybe because mine was such a gradual change that I didn't really notice, but when I went back to old habits, I quickly realized that I love the way I eat currently, and what it does for my body and energy levels.

I did get a chance to stop by my favorite piercing/tattoo shop. I seriously spent a lot of time at On The Edge during my collegiate years. It was my outlet from depression or something, I'm not sure. I had 17 piercings just prior to the job fair (had to take a good deal out to look professional). I ran into John, the guy who did every piercing with the exception of my two original piercings in my ear from my childhood. We talked for a while, and ended up deciding to add to my collection again. I settled on repiercing my tragus. I went and got dinner, and couldn't help but go back and the nape of my neck. As weird and masochistic as it sounds, I enjoy the pain of triathlon (legs burning, exhaustion), but I do love the focused pain of piercings much more. I coughed a bit while he was feeding the piercing through the needle, and it caused the needle to disconnect from the jewelry. Unfortunately, that means he had to fish the jewelry through by hand, which took about 5-6 minutes, and is quite painful. As I laid on the table with essentially a stable digging around in my neck, I thought of a quote one of my teammates had sent out. "It only hurts to a point, and then it doesnt get any worse" Very true. I'll add pictures once I have my camera back in two weeks (left it at my parents house... I'll get it back at my brothers wedding). Needless to say, my mom is not too happy about the additions, but my dress covers the neck piercing.

I'll make some training updates later in the week.

23 years ago yesterday

2008-09-27T23:20:00.005-04:00

For some, New years brings a time of self reflection, revelation, and for some, revolutions. I, on the other hand, tend to use my birthday as my mark of reflection on the past, where I currently stand, and where I hope to grow.

Thursday night I met up with the team for a happy hour/Savageman Wall viewing. My friend Robin is a flight attendant, and came back from Frankfurt shortly before the gathering bearing gifts from Germany.

Here is Robin presenting me with a beer straight from Germany..
in her awesome dollar store dress from Frankfurt.

**note: and then I got sidetracked... and never finished writing this post. So, here goes the rest:

Robin brought back a German beer, fruit bars (really good to eat on the bike!), and an absolutely fantastic poppy seed pound cake. I will fail any drug test I have to take, but it was totally worth it.

Friday I woke up, ran some errands since I had the day off, and went to Tysons. While driving around trying to find a parking spot, I encountered this:

.... Are you kidding me? We now have spots reserved for Hybrid Vehicles next to the handicapped parking spots? After I sent this off to a few friends out of state (who all wrote back "f'ing hippies...") I wondered though the mall to find a dress for my brothers wedding. FAIL. What is it with dresses these days? They are either weird and tiered, which kind of makes me look like the trunk of a tropical plant, or short and ruffled. Seriously, who is buying these dresses, and where are they wearing them to? The fashion industry sucks. While I do love the malls in DC, I'm going to opt for looking for a dress in Toledo, Ohio while I am visiting friends at Bowling Green State University. For some reason, when I absolutely must have a dress, I've had awesome luck finding dresses at Franklin Park. They just carry more practical clothing, instead of wannabe high fashion or whatever that Tysons sometimes seems to endorse. I dread dress shopping, to be honest... I'm not very comfortable wearing a dress. On a side note, anyone want to go with me to my brothers wedding October 18th? Since it seems like I'll be the only one there not married or engaged... Moving on.

Began my trek home to Ohio around 4:15pm.. on a Friday. Again, not one of my most brilliant ideas. It took about 7 hours to get home, versus the usual 5 hours and 45 minutes. Met up with my friend Matt, who took me up to our favorite spot on Headlands beach in Mentor. It was a cool, crystal clear night, and we just laid on a blanket in the sand, listening to the waves crash in while drinking Jester's Blush (one of my new favorite wines..) Sounds quite romantic, but anyone who knows Matt and I understands we're just dysfunctional like that. Lived together for almost 2 years, attempted dating on an off, but we just work better without the relationship stress. I had a wonderful night though.

I'll update more tomorrow with my adventures though the rest of the week. :)

But its only September...

2008-09-24T17:38:00.005-04:00

Yes, the 2009 race season is now upon me. I've been evaluating what our team is doing, and what races I want to do.... so without further ado, I present the 2008-2009 Race Calendar

Jingle All the Way 10K
Sunday December 14, 2008
Washington, DC

Christmas Light Run (4-5 miles)
Wednesday December 17, 2008 (7pm)
Washington, DC

Myrtle Beach Marathon
Saturday February 14, 2009
Myrtle Beach, SC

Cherry Blossom 10 Miler
Sunday April 5, 2009
Washington, DC

Kinetic Half Iron Triathlon
Saturday May 9, 2009
Lake Anna State Park, VA

Kinetic Sprint Triathlon
(I've always wanted to do a back to back..)
Sunday May 10, 2009
Lake Anna State Park, VA

Ironman Training Weekend (Team Z)
May 22-25, 2009
Lake Placid, NY

Mooseman Half Iron Triathlon
Saturday June 6, 2009
Newfound Lake, NH

FORD IRONMAN LAKE PLACID
Sunday July 26, 2009
Lake Placid, NY

-------------------------------------

Okay, well, thats actually all that is planned so far. In the running for post Ironman include the Nation's Triathlon, Patriots Oly (Nice flat course), or Bassman sprint or half in October. I guess it depends on how much I like the half iron distance.

I'd also love to throw in some sort of cycling race. My brother is big into road racing, and I'd like to do a few and earn up in the "cat" division.

So there you go. The season ahead looks both challenging and terrifying. I'll be shattering all sorts of records for myself in terms of distances.

Ignore that last week...

2008-09-23T14:59:00.005-04:00

You know, the one where I didn't post for a week? Shame on me.

I didn't do anything overly exciting last week. Had my VO2 Max test done, and thats about it.

Over the weekend, I went to Deep Creek Lake, MD to compete in a relay for the Savageman Half Iron. I drove over on Friday evening, arriving around 8:30. Since our team has close connections with Kyle Yost (Sadist himself who created this monster of a course), I went over to his house and had some dinner, made smores, and generally just relaxed. Saturday a group of us rode the Oly course. Brennimen road is tough, to say the least. .4 miles or so, around a 23% grade in spots. I'm not a magnificent hill climber as it is, and this one hurt. There are some very fun descents along the course, however some are a bit technical. One particular decent ended with a 90 degree turn (I was riding the brakes going around 35), which then goes into a 15-20% pitch back up hill. There were 4 of my teammates ahead of me. Frank, who had taken the lead down the hill, forgot to close his front brakes. He knew he wouldn't make the turn, so he picks the woods on the other side of the road, flips over a rock, and lands soundly on the ground. I didn't see him go over; however Kerry (next down the hill) and another girl ran into the woods to see if he was okay. Damon, who was infront of me, yells back "Was that Kerry?" I hear "Is that a bear?", look up, and see a bunch of rustling in the wood. I turn the corner, go 20 feet up the hill, and unclip to see why we were stopping if there's a bear in the woods. As I look down the hill, I see Kerry and Kitty running out of the woods like crazy people, waving their arms frantically. Then Frank comes running out, doing much of the same dance, only with his bike strewn over his shoulder. I come to find out, Frank landed directly below a hornets nest in the woods. Apparently, hornets do NOT like to have a 200# guy slam into their tree at high rates of speed. Kerry and Frank ended up with stings, and frank a few scratches, flat tire, and untrue front wheel. Things could have been much worse (there could have been a bear...). We continued our ride, headed back to the houses and went to packet pickup. Enjoyed a nice dinner out, and hung out for a while before heading to bed.

Deep Creek has become notorious for its fog. The race was delayed for 30 minutes to allow some more fog to burn off, but it wasn't happening. Unfortunatly, there was a misdirected kayaker on the course, who told the pro's to turn when they still had one more buoy left to go. Shattered my hopes of beating a pro in the swim. I finished my swim around 37 min, which was about 5 minutes over what I expected. Not sure if I was having an off day due to sighting, or if the course was long. A few others felt that the course was long too. I ran up the steep hill and steps to transition, and passed off my chip to Will, who smoked the bike course. Meanwhile, my teammate Es and I dressed up like angels (to compliment the devils on top of Savage Mountain) and headed up to Killer Miller. With a bottle of rum. Needless to say, 1/3 bottle of rum after not really drinking much anymore is not good. Nor is going back to the team tents and shotgunning a few beers (classy, I know). Ended up being quite a mess, and called it a day around 7pm when I went to bed. Lessons learned, and I'm going back to not drinking anymore. I'm sure I'll have a glass of wine at christmas, a glass of champagne at new years, and maybe a post-marathon drink in February, but that is most likely it. Sunday ranks as not one of my proudest moments.

The next two weeks will be short recovery runs and rides, maybe a few swims. I'm going on vacation next week, which I am looking forward. I need to get some things straightened out in life, and so far I have not had the time.

I'll try to find some pictures from Deep Creek to post later.

Projectile Potomac...

2008-09-16T13:02:00.002-04:00

Sunday was the third annual Nations Triathlon (first year being a duathlon that I did not participate in; however, I raced last year). The Nations Triathlon was my first olympic distance race, and I did so on essentially zero training. I had completed two other sprint distances earlier in the year, but complications from improper healing with my broken leg (snapped the bone, damaged my Achilles, and tore all ligaments on the outside of my foot). Work picked up, and I didn't have any time to train through August/September. I hadn't joined Team Z yet, and at that point in my life, I was planning on returning to Ohio in a few months anyways, so I was out doing as much as I could in the city outside of work as possible instead of training. I posted a time around 4:18 or something of the sort. Flipped out on the swim and had to swim parts on my back, couldn't battle the headwinds coming back around Hains Point, and was just overall exhausted by the time the run came around.

This year, I had a few goals in mind for the race. The morning started very warm, and I knew I was in for a rough day. I took down most of a bottle of Gatorade AM, suggested by a friend of mine. I stood in the swim pen forever, until my race started at 8:20 or so. Hopped into the water quickly, swam around for a few minutes to get accustomed to the water, and lined up right at the front of the pack. Started my watch at the 30 second countdown (otherwise I forget..), and then we were off. I was easily leading the pack at first, dealing with a bit of contact. The girl next to me couldn't swim well, and was flailing into me. I gave her a kind push to get her out of my water... first time I've ever intentionally moved someone in a race. It felt slightly empowering. Water was wide open, and I continued my trek towards the Memorial Bridge. About halfway, there was a good deal of wake in the water from boats going to pick people up. I turned to breath on my left side (bilateral breathing..), and got slammed in the face with a wave. I swallowed a good deal of water, but continued on, rocking back and forth in the continual wake.
And then it happened.

I felt sick... Oh my gosh... I don't GET sea sick, EVER... whats going on??? I make it to the turnaround buoy, and promptly get rid of all the gatorade and potomac water I had drank. I'm not sure how many people have thrown up while in the water, but it is not a pleasant experience. Matter of fact, it made swimming in the already murky river a little less nice for me. 2 or 3 minutes go by, and I decide I'm okay to move on. Surprisingly, no kayak came up to me to see if I was alright, as I was spewing orangish red liquid all over. The rest of the swim remained uneventful. Passed back under the bridge, and had a hard time sighting the final buoy; however I made it back without too much issues. My swim was far slower than it should have been, coming in around 34 minutes or so. It should have been down around the 25ish minute range. No problem up the ladders, and out to transition. I fumbled through my bag for a minute to find some anti-nausea chewables I had still in my bag from a while ago. I ate one of those on my way out to the bike. Hop on, no issues, and I was feeling okay.

And then I tried to eat a cliff block and some gatorade.

I think I permanently scarred the woman from the wave infront of me, as I began to hurl Gatorade right back up while riding shortly after passing her. I didn't have the reaction time to stop and unclip, so I just kept trying to pedal to keep speed. This continued for a majority of the ride, and I realized that there was no way I was keeping calories down. Excellent. Finished the bike, and headed out on the run. Ran a 7:50 for the first mile, and my legs felt great coming off the bike. Unfortunately, my head decided this wasn't a good idea, and I became extremely light headed and felt like I was going to throw up again. I was reduced down to a pathetic 45 second jog, two minute walk. I was pouring cold water over my head to cool down, and tried to eat some ice. Came back up. At this point, I completely gave up on putting anything else in me, I just wanted to finish. By about mile 3.5, I had stopped sweating, and I was completely covered in goosebumps. A medic on wheels came by me and asked if I was okay. I explained to him the situation, told him I had raced a lot and I know my body pretty well, and that I was sure I would be okay to finish. He didn't really like my answer as I continued to shake like it was 15 degrees out instead of 95, but I wasn't being pulled off course.

My parents came into town, and I saw them around mile 5, and my mom knew something was wrong since I was walking. They walked along the sidewalk and I explained everything that happened, and told them I just wanted to be done. My dad jogged (I don't think I've ever seen my dad jog in my life...) along with me for about a half mile, and I was tearing up a little under my visor with that support. I hurt bad and from lack of any calories, salt, fluids, etc, but I kept pushing because my dad was out there jogging with me. Amazing what a simple act can do. :) I finished at a miserably embarrassing 4 hour time. Somehow, inbetween all the puking... I still managed to finish above 10-12 other people. And slightly ahead of my time last year.

My oly's this year have generally been around the 3:10 mark, so this was a complete failure in my book. Lessons learned. Third times a charm, right? My goal for next year will be top 10 in my age group. I'm sure post Ironman, it shouldn't be much of an issue. My bike time is what kills me on the oly's... so that will be this winter's focus. I think a proper fit on a new bike will also assist in my goals.

I'm taking this week off from the bike and run while my blisters heal up. I'll most likely be swimming only this week in preparation for Savageman, where I'll be relaying the swim portion for the half. I'm looking forward to a pure swim segment, as I always feel I need to hold back so much on the swim to get through the bike. I have a running VO2 Max test scheduled for Thursday, which will help with the winter marathon training as well. Anyone up for the Myrtle Beach Marathon?

All for now.

Oh my gosh, thats MY car

2008-09-12T22:00:00.005-04:00

So last night, I hop in my car to go test ride a few more bikes, and then to my Thursday night swim. I head out of the parking lot, and there's a Honda in front of me. I think to myself, man, that's a loud exhaust. Upon rolling down my windows, I realize that it is MY exhaust that sounds like a dragster. So, I immediately call my dad and ask him what's going on... as if he should instantly be able to tell me from 400 miles away. After pulling into the parking lot of a LBS, I checked the front of the car, nada. Look in the back... and my tail pipe is corroded off, and there's a hole in the side of my muffler. Sonofa.. Called one of my co-workers who had previously recommended a mechanic and had him send me the info. Continued with some bike testing (which, fyi LBS employees, i do NOT want a pink bike. Stop trying to sell me a pink bike. I realize I'm short, blond, and a girl, but that does not mean I want a pink bike. Nor do I want a a light blue bike. I want a predomenantly black, carbon fiber bike), and then went to swim practice number 2 for the day. I went to our 5:30-6:30 practice, and did the same z4 work again at night. Slightly exhausting. Went out to grab some sushi with a few teammates afterwards (forgoing the beer due to the onset of some resperitory thing, and an upcoming race).

Result of 5 years living in the snowbelt... salt corrosion.

Today I scheduled an appointment at the car doctor, and decided it would be a perfect opportunity to get in some extra riding. I planned on stopping by a bike shop on my journey, so I looked up some directions via Google "walking directions". FYI - these do not work well for walking, nor bike riding. I rode across multiple on ramps for 95/395 following these directions.

Google or Garmin - please invent an "Avoid Ghetto" option on your maps and GPS. I wandered down Duke street and some other side streets today, and rode through some areas even I, the "bad ass city girl", was nervous riding my bike through. I passed a bum fight, a taxi driver and their passanger in a screaming match outside the car, and a bum who actually got up as I was approaching near him, and started yelling "Hey baby". Needless to say, I rode as fast as I could, prayed for no flats, and wished I would have eaten breakfast. The plan was to take the remaining few sips of gatorade along with me from last night, and then stop along the way at CVS, 7/11, or something of the sort. No chance I was stopping. On my way back to the house, a Starbucks came out of no where, and looked amazing. I'm not much of a starbucks coffee person, as I can make better tasting stuff at home, but today it sounded delicious. I grabbed a light coffee frapp, sans the whipped cream. Just as I got it, the mechanic called and my car was ready. So, I decided ride back since it was only about 3 miles away.

I was excited it fit in my cage. I had to stop though and pour it into a bottle.. the lid was rubbing against my legs as I pedaled. And, to avoid getting flamed - I realized I was out of CO2 cartridges today, so i had to strap on my old school hand pump.

I got in a good 4+ hours of riding, and realized I LOVE LOVE LOVE my saddle... this is the most I've been on it at once since I bought it. Ass is still happy. :)

All for now. Next update will most likely be after the Nation's Tri... My parents are coming into town. Hopefully the upper resperatory crap clears up. Its supposed to be in the mid 90's for the race... ugh. Can't I have DECENT weather for a race this year? Its either been pouring rain, rained out, or scortching hot.

okay, I'm sticking with it this time...

2008-09-11T11:33:00.006-04:00

Seriously. Its been a month since my last post! My new resolution is to post every day in the morning, so I don't forget about it later on. This works well, considering now I get to work around 7:15 in the morning, and often don't start charging my time until 7:45. Perfect half hour to update the blog. Kinda like how my 30minute lunch is turning into right now.

Since the last update, the training has been rather.. relaxed. I built up some longer distances cycling, in preparation for the Patriot's Half Iron that was supposed to take place last weekend. Thanks to Tropical Storm (formally Hurricane) Hanna, the race was washed out. Now all that's left is Nation's Tri, and the swim for Savageman Half. Kinda a bum way to end the season, but thats okay. Its all about prep for Ironman next year anyways.

I'm working on upgrading my bike. First investment was a better saddle. The previous was a $30 saddle from a magazine, which I bought to replace my brothers saddle on his mountain bike when he let me use it for my first triathlon. The seat that came on my specialized Dolce Multi-sport was horrendous, so I switched it out for the cheapo saddle I bought previously.

It's pretty much AMAZING. I used to be very anti-thin seat. Okay, well more or less I just thought they looked insanely uncomfortable. I instantly feel "perched' ontop of my bike, effortlessly pedalling away (on the W&OD at least...). Its surprisingly wonderful to bike on. I had my sit bones measured by the Specialized ass-o-meter, and I need a 130 saddle. Apparently thats very rare. I guess I really do have small hips. It came at a bit higher price tag than I would normally have spent, but, I do love my ass, and I had some spare cash from dog-sitting at my old bosses house. The folks at Conte's hooked me us as well after our Tuesday night rides.

I'm actually in the market for a new bike. I have it narrowed down to two bikes, based on price range and fit. I need to ride both again a few more times before making the final decision

2008 Trek Madone 5.2 (Carbon in Black and Pearl White)

2007 Cervelo Soloist Team (Aluminum, in Anodized Gray)

Both are absolutely stunning bikes. I like the anodized gray frame on the Cervelo, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to join the Cervelo Mafia. It does have the flippable seat post, which is a plus, but I'm not sure if I really want a tri-set up anyways. On a course like Placid, the key is to get up the hills. I have no issues on decents whatsoever. I'll have to throw clip-on aerobars to both bikes anyways. I'm not sure if I'd really ever change into the "aero" set up. Being as short as I am, the aero set up isn't much different than the way the standard seat tube angle for the 51cm Cervelo, or the 50cm Madone. The madone is one seeeexxxy looking bike though, and not one that you see often. I like it a lot. I'd love to see a set of Hed 3's on either of these for race day!

All for now. I need to eat my turkey sandwich and yogurt before getting back to work. :)

-Linds

See? I'm terrible at this.

2008-08-12T10:16:00.004-04:00

There's not enough hours in the day it seems to keep up with a blog, work, homework, training, friends, and sleep. I just have to get through the next two weeks to finish out class, move, and get set up in the new place. I'm going to miss living so close to work, but, alas, cheaper rent means I can spent more on triathlon stuff.

I swam at Lake Barcroft for a bit on Saturday. Easy 1000' or so, then worked with Lynn on her stroke. I have to laugh, every time I tell someone I'm only 22, they are very surprised. Lynn's comment was "if you would have told me you were 32, I would have completely believed you, and envied how young you still looked. Maturity wise though, I would have believed 32." I feel young and old at the same time. Went to the Redskins game Saturday night in the SAIC Corporate suite (I can't lie, it was pretty sweet). I was looking forward to the "OMG-WTF? :-(" ride on Sunday, so I only had a glass or two of wine, and drank a lot of water. Unfortunatly, the food decided not to like me, and I was throwing up around 5am. So much for the ride. Went back to sleep, got up around 11, and went out to get the miles in on the bike. Didn't get the full 68 I wanted, more like 45, but it was good to be out riding at least. Stomach still hurt a bit. I didn't swim on Sunday or this morning.. Trying to let my shoulder heal up a bit. I have a 60' Z2 ride tonight on the W&OD, so that should be nice and relaxing.

I was looking at our workout locations and such for the next month and a half, through the end of September. I'm excited that my vacation coincides with the TeamZ vacation too. Sweet! Then it hit me. When the next set of training documents go on... I'm going to be on the 140.6 track. Holy shit. I'm training for an Ironman.

In other news, I'm hoping the team does the Gasparilla Marathon in Tampa Bay. I mean seriously... a PIRATE themed marathon? How entertaining is that?! I would totally wear some sort of Pirate striped socks or something. :) But, Austin also sounds entertaining, though a heck of a drive. At least with Tampa Bay, we could crash at the house in Hilton Head.

All for now.

I'm starting to enjoy training.

2008-07-31T09:46:00.010-04:00

Training this week has gone pretty well.
After work on Monday I went up to Hains Point to swim. Walked in around 5:45 - score, no attendant taking $$ since it was near the 7pm closing time. This pool (pictured below. be jealous) is by far one of my favorite places to swim.
50 meter outdoor pool, has a few lanes roped off for swimming, and usually a plethora of decent looking triathlete guys to swim with. Heading away from the starting blocks, if you look up to practice sighting, you can see the tip of the Washington Monument ahead. It just reminds me that I really enjoy living here, and wouldn't trade it for anything right now. Some days I still can't believe that its where I live. Must be the lack of 8th grade field trip to DC, so its like I'm still experiencing all of this for the first time.
Did a few loops around HP to get the legs spinning, went to the roomies softball game. I was looking forward to a nice, deep sleep, however I had to go take care of some unfinished business. Guys confuse me, and I remember again why I should swear them off and just stick with my training. Though I have interest in someone on the team currently. This would make life easy, because they understand the need for sleep and the time commitments triathlon takes.

Tuesday, did an easy early morning swim, went to work, and then rode from McKinley afterwards. Helped Marie with her riding on the W&OD for about 45 minutes, drafted Matt most of the way back (which, is awesome because I hardly had to peddle. He did notice though, saying he could hear a lot of coasting going on behind him), did two hill repeats (ouch. I need to get better at those), and called it a decent workout. Took Talia home, and met up with Collin, Benke, and Matt for dinner at Rincome Thai on Columbia Pike. Tim joined in later and told more stories about the 'boys' and their chaffing from Ironman than I cared to hear about. :) Walked over to Baskin-Robbins for a scoop of icecream, and called it a night.

Wednesday, I went for a short jog in the morning, came home, preceded to fall asleep until 8:30, and frantically got ready for work. Went for a 2000m swim at Tysons Sport and Health, where I was able to really develop the catch phase of the swim, and work on my flip turns.

This morning, I swam with Chris Wren. Yep, the age group record breaker at Lake Placid... sub 1 hour swim for 2.4 miles. Tuesday night he made a comment that no one was in his lane and he was sad, so I told him if no one was there again on Thursday, I'd swim with him. I laughed that he was alone again when I walked by, and he was like "join me.. I dare ya!" So, I did. What a freakin workout to keep up with him. Almost embarrassing being 23 and barely able to keep up with a 60 year old man. But, he's a damn good swimmer. It made me realize that my catch is finally where it needs to be, but I don't have the muscle power to really pull me through the water like I need to. We had a lot of fun, and he didn't lap me at least... so it was a good work out. Haines Point for some speedwork tonight, though I'm most likely donating blood, so it will be a nice slow ride.

3 Covered Bridges ride this weekend, pretty excited. Not so excited about having my shoulder drilled into tomorrow. More on that later.

-L

Warning: Blogging Inconsistancies.

2008-07-28T11:41:00.006-04:00

Its true. I'm terrible at this.

So, lets get to the point of things.

Last weekend, I was in Lake Placid, NY. The Adirondacks are absolutely stunning. Reminds me how different the terrains are within the confides of our nation's boundries.

Team Z tents out in full force.

Here's a picture of Mirror Lake. What you CANT see, is that by the far tree line is the turn around point for the swim. Note, 2 loops of that. Oh and let me tell you how bad it is to be at that turn around point and have a severe thunderstorm including hail hit. Not fun.

Pretty much the best sign ever, considering there are 2300 people in the water just aft of this sign. :)

While I was up there, I swam 2 loops of the swim course, rode the bike course, went for a short run, got stuck in a monsoon (okay, 14+ hours of pure rain for race day. Poor racers), and then

I signed up for next year. Yep, there's my official registration. #900. Registration info is blacked out for security reasons, but this piece of paper is hung in my office, in my bedroom, and might very well become the background of my computer screen. 363 days and counting. I couldn't be more excited/terrified by the road that lies ahead. Today marked the official training endeavor (took a week off to recover from the drive, etc for ironman.) Woke up at 5:45 this morning to get a quick run in before work. I headed out my door with the intents to run to George Marshall high school and do some timed miles on the track. Upon arriving? Gates are locked. They're reconstructing the football field. So much for that idea. I continued my journey around the apartments and finally back home. I learned I love watching the sunrise while I work out. Its something I've loved about swimming in the early AM's (okay, well, when I'd actually go).. Dawn just beginning to break as I left, and the sun being up on the drive home. Many times it seemed half the neighborhood was just waking up by the time I had 2-3000 meters in the pool.

Life is good.

-L

I wonder what I'm actually drinking...

2008-07-10T08:52:00.002-04:00

I'll admit it. I'm a sucker for anything that promises quick recovery and no soreness after hard workouts. I've recently become a fan of Endurox R4, and it really has made a difference. I'm not sore the following day after a ride or run. This morning, after the swim, I took down my usual 8 oz (I cut back from the 12oz serving.. Its not like swimmings THAT hard), and got halfway through it before I started to question what I was actually ingesting. For those of you who have never enjoyed Endurox, Fruit Punch being my flavor of choice, its a semi thick, semi milky tasting drink. I feel like if I tossed scoop of ice cream in when I shook up my bottle of it, it would make a delicious milkshake. Sans the ice cream (which, now I kind of what to try), its just a little odd. Oh well, its "good for you", right?

Swim this morning went well. One of the very few times we've completed a full workout. It was only 2000 meters though, versus the normal 3500 that tend to appear on the sheet. Tuesday I had a bit of an issue getting up. My alarm went off, I stared at the clock, and began to have the following internal conversation with myself:

me: Ugh... I really don't want to get out of bed at 4:45.. Maybe I'll just go back to sleep.
me: C'mon. You already told yourself you were going to get up and do the swim early today.
me: Then again, I'm biking later tonight.. I COULD just go straight to the night swim instead, and sleep in.
me: Shit... I am supposed to clean my room and get some things done before mom gets here this weekend. Thats why I wanted to get my workout in this morning.
me: there's always tomorrow to clean my room.. I could get up early tomorrow and knock out some laundry.
me: but 2 workouts in 1 day is really good for the metabolism. And I want to shed these pounds.
me: Okay.. I've had a 5 minute internal debate.. I'm freakin awake now, might as well get up.

::stands up:: damnit. I should have just stayed in bed.

Head to Tuesday's practice before the birds are awake (seriously, there's a bird that stays on the top of our porch light. I opened the door and the bird nearly fell to its death, albeit the fact s/he had wings to catch him/herself. I'm pretty sure the bird was like WTF? I'm not even up chirping yet, what are you doing up? Practice consisted of a decent amount of Kick drills. I enjoy those - I'm insanely fast at kicking. The rest of my lane dreads them. I enjoy them even more since I've been having shoulder issues. I suppose I should schedule the arthrogram, and face the fact that I'm most likely going to have shoulder surgery. It'll be for the best, and hopefully I can return to my faster swim lanes and keep up.
Biking on the W&OD was uneventful. Matt tightened my brakes for me before the ride, since apparently you aren't supposed to be able to pull the lever to the handlebars. He tightened the front a bit too much and it was rubbing, so I had to disconnect it midway through the ride, and have him fix it when we got back. I had to laugh - after all that debate in the morning, I ended up going out with Matt, Annie, Dave, and his wife to a little mexican place in Clarindon. We ended up there until 10:30 at night.

Bike tonight at Hains Point, maybe a short run (or out to eat with the standard crew), finish cleaning my room before my mom gets here tomorrow, and rest.

Diamond in the Rough Saturday. Its supposed to be so freakin hot. :(

-Linz

Lazy Sunday

2008-07-06T21:11:00.004-04:00

I was supposed to get up this morning and ride Skyline Drive. Instead, I didn't set my alarm, and woke up around 8:30. Since Skyline is an hour and a half away, and the other ride option of Rileys Lock started at 8, I had to ride alone today. So, I decided to sleep in until 9:30, got up, tossed my bike on my car, and headed to the W&OD. Started out at a good pace, shifted into my big chain ring, and all of the sudden it felt like I was braking. Looked down, not in the big chain ring. Shifted back and forth again. No luck. Hopped off the bike and pretended to be a mechanic. Turns out I'm not, and I made shifting my back derailleur more difficult than before, and still couldn't switch into my big chain ring. I accept this, and continue plugging along in the little chain ring for another 12 miles, and then turned around and headed back to my car. Passed Ken along the way... always nice to see Team Z'ers out even when its not an organized ride.

I went to the pool this evening and worked with hand paddles. I love those things... it makes you swim correctly. My strokes after I took them off were as close to flawless as I know how to get. Awesome. :) Came home, ate some Naan and strawberries, and came to check mail/post.

Off to do some yoga, then sleep.

-Deezy.

The Beginning

2008-07-03T10:57:00.009-04:00

(ignore this picture.. using my own blog to host images..)

We are judged by what we finish, not by what we start. -Anonymous.

I figured it was about time to start one of these blogs where I keep track of my training and bitch about random things along my now Ironman Journey.

My race season so far hasn't been to great. Lake Anna was a flooded mess, and I injured my knee at Columbia, forcing me into yet another knee surgery. Back in the saddle and trying to gear up for Diamond in the Rough though. I'm excited... Mama Mauldin is comin out for the race, and will get to see the hot mess that is Team Z. Should be good times. Hopefully my race proves to be good times as well.

Looking into the future a bit, my long term goals include Ironman Lake Placid. Since I'll be investing thousands of dollars and countless hours training, I've decided I'm not just going to finish, I'm going to compete. I've been complacent with merely completing triathlons for 3 years now. Might as well pick a big one for my all time "A" race. I've been researching Placid finish times over the past 3 years... looks like I just need to break 11:30 for my finish time (Not hard for 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking, and then a marathon... right?).. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

All for now. More updates as the week moves on. Just wanted to get the ball rolling on this.