This belated post is in regards to my bike wreck that occurred in July ...
I sent you three boats and a helicopter!
Labels: beginner cycling , beginner cyclist , beginner triathlete , bike wreck , cycling , road rash , roadID , triathlon newbie , women's cycling
8 Days!
Hi everyone! I know it's been a while. I had a bike wreck a little over a week ago and must have pulled my writer muscle. But I wanted to pop in, say hi and let you know what's been going on in my workout life.
Everything is going well. I had a few more off days than I'd like with the wreck and the face issue, but all that is cleared up now...mostly. I'm still sporting some lovely road rash.
With 8 days to go, I've decided that I'm pretty much at the level I'm going to be for the race. I'm very pleased! A year ago, I got winded walking from building in my office complex to another. I can now bike 20+ miles and run over 3 with pretty quick recovery times. I did the whole bike and run segments of the race a couple of days ago in 1:30. If I can fit in the swim and two transitions in 29 minutes, I will hit my goal of under 2 hours. If not, I will be very, very close. There's not a doubt in my mind that I will finish.
So when I look at everything overall, I'm a completely different person than I was last year. That's amazing. I'm about to become a triathlete. Unreal!
As a side note, during the the 2nd Pfit competition at work, I have so far lost an additional 13 pounds. The more I lose, the faster I get, so I'm very happy about that.
The rest of my week looks like this:
Today - Run
Friday - Run/Swim
Sat - Bike/Swim
Sun - Swim
18 Days to go!
That's only 2 and 1/2 weeks or almost 3 depending on if you are a glass half-empty or half-full kind of person. Tues/Wed may change up this week, depending on which ride I decide to do.
Training for this week:
Mon - Run/Swim
Tues - Bike or Run/Swim
Wed - Bike or Run/Swim
Thurs - Off
Friday - Bike/Run (@gym)
Sat - Race Route
Sun - Swim
So...how have you been?
Baaackk!
Happy Independence Day!
Labels: beginner , beginner cyclist , beginner triathlete , cycling , triathlon newbie , triathlon training
Making a list. Checking it twice.
29 days until race day!
While I'm on medical hiatus I'm trying to distract myself by thinking of other aspects of the big day. Let's get our race day checklist together shall we? There are items that still must be purchased!
Most of the big items I already have:
- Triathlon Suit
- Goggles
- Bike
- Helmet
- Water cage
- Water bottle
- Spare tire kit
- RoadID - If you don't have one of these, get one. Your identification/emergency numbers and 1st responder info all in one place and on your person. Just in case.
- Running Shoes
- Sunscreen
- Watch/HRM
- Spare goggles
- BodyGlide
- Bungee Laces - saves valuable time in transition area and are fairly inexpensive
- Sunglasses - the glasses I have been using hit the bottom of my helmet and look kind of goofy.
- Cages for pedals - will go for clipless pedals next race.
- Large bright towel for transition area. - In case they don't allow me to attach the planned-on ginormous helium Spongebob balloon to the bike rack. Worth a try, don't you think?
- Race belt
- Jersey to wear for bike/run legs of race (If anyone related to me is reading this an intending to send me a birthday present, I would LOVE a Vanderkitten jersey. hint hint)
- New running shoes - not a necessity
- Hat for running leg.
Please feel free to add comments with your suggestions.
In other news, in a show of solidarity, Eli has decided to take a break in his training until I'm back on my feet. You can see how much he is bothered by the missed workouts:What the Frick?
...wherein our heroine encounters a roadblock.
It goes to show you just never know what's about to happen. You'll be cruising along with your training, everything going pretty well, progress being made and then BAM! some unknown force will throw something your way just to see how well you handle it. And make no mistake, you won't see it coming. I've been waiting for that out-of-nowhere flat tire to come at me. I've been expecting the sore knee to show up. Old rotator cuff injury even popped it's head up once or twice to see if anyone was watching for it. You know; usual stuff for someone who's been putting their body through pretty rigorous physical demands. But sometimes the universe gets bored and needs entertainment.
This mornings episode involved me getting out of bed and stumbling to the bathroom to begin my morning regimen. Shower, hair, makeup, dressed and out the door. My brain was just awake enough as I stepped over the threshold to the bathroom to think..."My face feels funny." Not funny ha-ha; funny odd. I turned to the mirror and was horrified to see my left eye swollen mostly shut and my cheek also pretty puffy. Aaackk! I scared me. Then I noticed some tingling in my face. I thought to myself, "Self. This is not good" But maybe I just slept on my face or something. I'll give it some time. I don't get sick.
Halfway through the shower, my tongue is tingling, too. Hmmm. The situation does not seem to be reversing itself. But what could it be? I don't get sick.
Thank goodness, a rational part of me realized that I was trying to deny a very large, puffy problem and pushed through to the forefront and suggested that maybe I should call the doctor. Good idea! I rang up the doctor's office and the nice automated female voice told me that they opened at 8:30. I finished getting ready for work, sans eye makeup (yikes!) and headed to the see Dr. Hammond.
The receptionist didn't even flinch when she saw me. She calmly took my name and asked me what I needed to be seen for. "Uhm. My face is schwollen. Shee my eye". The cheek was getting puffier. She "Hmmmed" at me and took my co-pay. I thought that maybe I was over-reacting due to the fact that receptionist didn't seem to see my issue. Did the swelling go away on the ride over and I'm just being neurotic? A dash to the lobby restroom revealed that I still slightly resembled Sloth from The Goonies.
It wasn't crowded so I was called back very quickly. The doctor's assistant didn't appear to see my problem either. "So what are we seeing you for today?" she asks as she takes my weight and blood pressure. Uhm, hello? My face is either having a reaction to something, I've been bitten by the biggest spider on the planet or my body is, after 34 years and 9 months, finally trying to expel my previously unknown twin. "Ok! The doctor will be in in a minute!"
Sure enough, a minute goes by and the door opens. Dr. Hammond walks in, says hi, looks me in the face and says. "So what...oh wow."
Thank you! I felt a huge amount of relief. Now we're getting somewhere. I hopped up on the table and she poked around a bit. No ear infection, no eye infection, no fever, nothing to indicate there is a problem other than the extra bit of face I was sporting. No drooping which indicates no Bell's Palsy or stroke, thank goodness, and after calling a colleague of hers to get a 2nd opinion on treatment options, I'm told I am probably having an allergic reaction to something I ate and sent on my way with an antibiotic and steroid prescription and directions to get my butt back there immediately if the swelling gets worse.
Then something makes me say, "Thanks! Glad I'm getting this cleared up. I have a big run and swim tonight."
She replies, "Oh no you don't. Not until this is gone" and heads off to heal another patient.
Uh-oh. The tri-borg in my head calmly asserts "Can't miss workout. Workout is vital." But I know that you just can't risk your health. Much. So ok. Fine. I can take a day off. But that's it. One day. I'm 5 weeks away from my race. One day is all I can spare and that's pushing it.
Then I get my prescription filled. It's not one dose of steroids, it's 6 days! There are a billion little pills stair-stepped on this card! I called the office back and find out that Dr. doesn't want me doing any strenuous activity for 3 or 4 days. "But, but, but I'm training for this race. I really need to.."
"Sorry. You just don't need to risk it." She says.
And over the course of the day I admit that she's right. Fine, I'll do what I'm told. I'll be graceful about it. I've heard enough horror stories of people disregarding advice and pushing on anyway and then being out of commission for weeks or even months.
Deep inside though, I'm freaking out about what these 3 days off will do to my training and momentum and goal of finishing in under 2 hours.
sigh...is it Friday yet?
Labels: beginner triathlete , illness , motivation , newbie , roadblock , training roadblock , triathlon , triathlon newbie , triathlon training
Week 7 Training Plan and Comeuppance from a Wager Lost
Week 6 was an interesting week. I had some great cycling moments. Amie and I went on a 22 mile bike ride through Sellersburg/Utica with the LBC on Tuesday night. The ride on the club site was listed as a #2, which is up to 1/3 hills and the words "mostly flat" were included in the description. Hah. Mostly flat my patootie. A few of those hills were killers and there were many more hills than there were flat spots. It also didn't help that I was running late and completely frustrated with a wrong mapquest turn and some belligerent drivers en route to the ride. So I started out the ride with a crappy attitude. I swear to you this isn't a theme! I am usually pretty good natured when starting out on a course. Promise. With sugar on top.
It took until about halfway through the course to start feeling warmed up and just more like myself. Then it started flowing more smoothly. At one point I did take a slight detour off-road through some thistles but managed to stay in saddle by incorporating my, to quote from Amie, "mad recovery skillz". I got a teeny bit scratched up, but each new bump and bruise is starting to feel more like a battle scar than they are a negative thing. Want to see where I jammed my pedal cleat into my shin on Sunday?
I made it through to the end of the ride. Honestly, if Amie hadn't been there riding with me, I might have chucked it all 2 miles in and begged a ride back to starting point. She's pushing me more than she knows. Thanks Amie!
Thank you also to "mostly flat" Sellersburg/Utica ride. Those hills are what is advancing me in my cycle training. We then rode the race course on Sunday and two hills that tried their best to kill me a month ago were attacked and conquered with breath left to spare and a victorious war whoop at the top. Ride of the Valkyries could be heard faintly in the distance. It was awesome. Also, after doing a few 20 milers, the 14 mile race course felt over before it should have been. I heard Amie tell Ben that she could have done another several miles and I concur. I briefly thought of suggesting going around for another loop, but that would have just sounded crazy!
The runs and swims for the week were pretty normal with the only oddity being an orange road traffic cone at the bottom of the pool on Sunday. I dunno.
Here is this week's schedule:
Tonight - Run/Swim
Tues - Run/Swim/Kickball
Wed - Strength/Early am spin class
Thurs - Off/Drum lessons for kiddo
Fri - Bike
Sat - Morning Run/4th of July!!! Happy Independence Day Everyone!
Sat - Bike/Yoga
Now on to the lost wager.
My friend Joanna lost a bet and had to kiss a gnome. Joanna has Gnome-a-phobia. She is scared to death of these happy bearded little fellas. No idea why. We don't ask; we just exploit. Here she is in a little piece entitled 'Oh gnome - how I love thee!"
Enjoy!
Labels: beginner , beginner cycling , beginner cyclist , beginner triathlete , bicycle , biking , cycling , running , Swimming , training partner , triathlon , triathlon newbie , triathlon training