Is it December Yet?

Thanksgiving felt alot like Christmas. Part of it was this: SNOW.

And This: COLD. This is my cold weather look. The look you have when you wear a down jacket OVER your running gear and pack a change of clothing so your under armour sweat soaked top can quickly be removed when you transition from that 10 min of roasty toasty heat to the " GIANT CHILL" that sets in after 10 min and 30 seconds after you stop moving.

We ran the turkey trot at the Mn Boat Club. Happy to say that my sister Elizabeth took top honors and i ran with hubby Rich who pulled out his first sub 9 min mile 5k. Way to go honey, on top of it we ran on a trail covered in fresh snow with a temp of 8 and a windchill below zero.

On terra firma i think he could have pulled out an even faster time! But he didnt want to talk the last mile so i just chatted away to entertain ( bother) him:)

I dont really know the exact number, i kinda think when anything gets below zero its all the same to me really. It's just cold.

And where can you run a 5k and win a pie? Blueberry and Key Lime.

Now we are talking....

It also felt alot like Christmas bc my sister came home from Texas, with my nephew Chippy.

Chippy Long legs, here in the orange, is getting taller by the minute. They arent usually home at Thanksgiving so it felt like Christmas to have them here. I was ready to open presents when i realized i still had month to rally on gift purchases.

We did some family tennis, and that was a ton of fun. Of course my left forearm is sore, not the arm i use to play, but the arm i use to control my backhand so i feel a bit old and creaky lately.

Speaking of old and creaky, the running news is this. I am able to start running, as I have been a good soldier and followed my return to run protocol to a T. If anything i keep telling myself I dont need a winning run time in January. But it has been tough, not only the feeling that I am old and creaky but the fear. I know that as i run a bit more, even tho its slow, I will regain the trust and JOY i have for running, but it has been rough. I feel quite thankful for the good work I am having done on my body and back, and for the fact that I was wise enough to STOP before I made things really bad. I have had REALLY bad before regarding Hamstring Tendonopathy, and so I did NOT want to go there again. This week starts week 4, meaning i am up to a 20 min jog at 1 min/mile slower than training pace. I did not say Race Pace, I said TP. So that is all fine and dandy since the cold and snow likely help take care of that all by themselves. Weeks 4-8 are a gradual increase in time and mileage, which puts me right on schedule for my Xmas present to myself. 6 miles, rolling, pain free. Pace not observed!

Sorry if you couldnt read the article in the last post. I cant tell you why i can double click on it and expand it, and you cant, sorry:(

Fall Interview

The interview below was done in August and I didnt really get around to scanning it till now!

At at time when i am grateful for so much more than Triathlon it also was a positive thing for me to read this and see that this sport and my life is so much MORE than S B R.

So read on, laugh, enjoy, wish you didnt know me, wish you did know me, take up tennis or least tune in during the Slams....and either way give thanks for all you have in your lives! Happy Thanksgiving!

PS you can double click and it will enlarge.

Yawn

I seemed to have forgotten that i spent all of November 2010 either at Mayo, planning a wedding, getting married and then here:

So it was hard to remember why November can be a month that seems to DRAG on, with cloudy short days, cold days, snow ( too early for me) and well...not much to keep me feeling like i want to skip down the driveway.

Since i am not training as much, I have had some time to bake. Maybe not the best combo:)

My sister works for Xcel, so each fall/winter she invites us to skate at the Xcel Energy center, take a tour and pretend that we are Koivu or Backstrom or Cuttlebuck ( oops, sp? molly? help me) but ooops i spaced that i dont have skates and so i was the peanut gallery watching screaming " man down on the blue line...WATCH OUT." and other obnoxious comments.

And of course the most exciting was that i could barely stand my pony tail any longer.

So here you go:

4 inches off and no more braids. I dont need to braid my hair till the first OW swim race in???

Hmm....I am not planning 2011 till i can say I am healthy and thru with 2010. Progress yes, but its slow ( meaning pace and progress). I had better get my run form back soon so i dont destroy my lats.

Yup, This is how I roll in November.

IF....

A teammate of mine sent this to me. Not the Federer version but the original. It made me think about not only my challenges, but also my triumphs. And that if I keep my head on straight, that the lows arent so low and the highs arent so high and the middle ground is pretty darn nice.
Oh and I just like Roger. If you dont, then dont watch it:)

Happy Anniversary Rich!

Dear Rich,

There were times last fall that I never thought this day would come:

In Mid-September, after your routine colonoscopy( who am i joking, those arent just routine, I know) our lives took a different course. All the sudden we were seated in a surgeon's office, and we even had a full APR ( look it up) scheduled for the following week. A procedure that would change your life and your style of living forever. But we were told it was the safest and best way to be sure we caught all the cancer in your lower colon. The little tumor was placed just in the wrong place to resect it, margins and all, and this was the best bet.

I am so glad we found a friend in Dr. Pemberton, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Despite shock... I never doubted that you would be ok. That is the truth. I had so much faith in the staff at Mayo, that I just knew that you would emerge 100% at some point, I just didnt know when. And as for lifestyle change, I knew you would make it work, WE would make it work. And we did.

I was glad to get you out of there so that your arm would eventually heal and the brusing and scar tissue from the coumadin shots bid would STOP! I think that may have been worse than anything!

When we decided to go ahead with the wedding on Nov 7, 2009 I was so excited. My parents, who were celebrating their 50th, were so excited. We now had THREE reasons to celebrate:

1) Our wedding

2) My mom and dad's 50th

3) Your successful surgery!

Lets do it. Lets call everyone, not send out invites ( not enough time), lets hope that we can find a place for the rehersal AND the reception dinner, and lets just not worry about who is coming. We know we are going to be there, and all the people that matter to us and if we run out of food, well...oh well. ( WE did!) We have cupcakes, that is all people want anyways:)

I have had the most love filled year as well, Rich. It is love not only from you, but from the friends that i now call my friends, and the family that I now call my family. The First Light group is not blood, but they are family, on or off the bike. The love and prayers we had from friends and family, and even people we dont know ( yes my blog friends, the one's you say " is that a virtual friend, or a real one?" hahaha)

First Light Family: ( named such bc they ride at insanely early hours, with insanely bright lights on their bikes)

And what worried you the most, I know, was our plans to honeymoon. We were not going to miss the honeymoon! NO WAY. When Dr. P said, go for it, I think we both melted into relaxation mode. How appropriate to send Dr. P proof that we were relaxing. Just happened to be on the BadKitty booze cruise to the BVI:) ha!

Painkillers? Yup, Doc, we got em.

I have never relaxed as much or had as much fun doing nothing, just being with you, ( and swimming around in the lovely water while you swam with sharks, ahem) and listening to the rain pound our "hut" and somehow drinking all the rum they gave us even tho i dont like rum. We will go back, and tho we met many couples celebrating their 20th or 40th anniversary, we vowed not to wait that long to go back. I will remind you of that:)

The first year of marriage has been a total touchdown! I am glad you agree:

Here's to the new season and ongoing love and fun. I love you Rich!

PS and I was so focused on US that i forgot to wish my parents, happy 51st wedding Anniversary! Wow, pretty amazing you two. Love you both!

November

Well I kinda wanted to blog, and I kinda didnt. Like some of you there isnt anything too riveting ( to steal from Jen) going on right now. Up here in MN its the calm ( 50 and sunny) before the storm ( DLS, and colder temps and snow) but for now I am doing my best to stay in the moment, and as i told Rich today " going thru the motions " of training.

November last year is a blur, as is October. When your fiance is diagnosed with cancer and you cancel your wedding, only to decide 10 days before to hold it, there isnt much time to be thinking " wow, i miss summer, i miss the warmth, and I AM COLD." Granted we will celebrate a wonderful year on sunday, and last night as we went to bed ( well I was in bed, Mr. Politics was up glued to the TV) he said "This year has been filled with the most LOVE i have had EVER." That makes me feel warm and happy and good about my life outside Triathlon. And no matter how hard i try to act as if " I am hardcore, I can handle this s$%^" it doesnt get any easier as you get older. The urge to just take up knitting, or more seriously just do yoga or go back to tennis is there.

So. I was diagnosed with a couple tendonopathies yesterday. After 3 weeks of rest ( and actually 2 weeks prior to BOUS) I knew that resting this was not going to help it. I cant say i was surprised. I am really proud of myself for knowing that when things get chronic and you have no symptoms and cannot reproduce your symptoms other than running, that you had better get yourself to someone that knows something about tendonopathy. I dont have the energy to write all about what this is and how i know this, but if you want to know more or want advice ( I have lots of if) comment and i will email you. So...since i had this before in my L leg I didnt think i had it again in the R side. But with all things chronic, they can set in pretty fast and before you know it those buggers are setting up housekeeping and you are screwed. Last time i had proltherapy shots in my common HS tendon and it worked. But it was laborious, hurt, and really i didnt run for about a year or more. ( The shots are just irritants, sugar or saline, sometimes now the use PRP, ( Platelet rich Plasma) but overall the goal is to annoy the tendon) and then it reheals stronger and with better sarcomere lengthening, etc...ooops. sorry.

So for now i am in good hands. I had my first TFM ( Transverse Friction Massage) to each tendon insertion, 8 min to each site, where it basically goes numb. After that I Was able to run, with no symptoms. Then its BID 15 reps, 3 sets of eccentric HS and Glute MED work. I tell ya that is tough. Again the goal is to make those tendon insertions angry. and if my sore posterior today is right it was mission accomplished. But its not the sore from the injury and that is a good thing, its sore bc the insertions are barking at me. Just what we wanted. NO nsaids, we want that inflammation around. I am to keep my normal routine and to try running as able. Jury is out on this. I want to try but i am also reading more protocols ( they are old) that says to wait till i am fully pain free. This is confusing bc i was painfree before this other than running, and I will have some symptoms running its just that we hope to delay those more and more with each treatment. I should also likely clarify, this isnt pain per se. It's a gripping or grabbing at the insertion. It is something you can work thru ( stupid) if you dont catch it.

The guy i am seeing was able to diagnose this with palpation, as i was negative for the traditional HS tendonopathy screens. This is good, as I had self diagnosed myself ( of course i did) as negative but when he got on that tendon it was a quality that was much more taut than the Left, and i felt that right away. So it goes. I am in good hands, and even tho I do know how trying this diagnosis can be, I am confident bc he is confident. I cant take it much further than that or i will go insane. My goal, dare i write it, is to go for a run on Christmas Day without any symptoms. See, Christmas made easy.

And again Liar Liar pants on fire, is that i have not swirled thoughts about next season in my head. That is just how i am. Coach can tell me to relax all she wants, but i cant deny that the feelings, maybe irrational, are there. That i wont train for an IM if i am not 100% healthy. So best to get that out on the plate now. I know i think alot about this stuff ( body, therapy) its bc its what i do for a living so that is hard to let go of. I also think i have a VERY good sense of my body and so friends, family saying "dont worry about it...it will heal" I appreciate that, I do. But it isnt always what I need to hear, sometimes i need to hear " That F'ing stinks. Yea you have a right to be scared and afraid and cautious."

So the Limbo that some of you talk about, I am right there with you. Keep an optimistic view and stay in the moment, and allow yourself to be in limbo and know its ok to be a bit ornery. At least that is what i told my husband bc no celebrex on day 1 of my cycle means he had better not expect a bright and cheery bride:)

Even the PT needs a PT

Who needs rotation when they swim bike and run? I do! And what happens when i dont rotate? I overuse things! Yup here comes a PT post:)

Below is an OLD picture of me, as a high school senior, serving a tennis ball.

Weight into the back leg, then spinal rotation Right, then forward motion ( Weight shift) into the front ( Left) leg and spinal rotation left ...along with a whole lot of funky shoulder ( gleno humeral) things that go on. That is the best and simplest way to show you the service motion and the fact that serving or any sort of proper ( notice i said proper, not good) tennis stroke...backhand, forehand and even volleys all depend on rotating your thorax/rib cage over a moving pelvis ( ie your lower body/legs)

Alas, this is somewhat easy to do when you have had the motor program and hand eye coordination hardwired since the age of 8.

Now fast forward to some random running ( court drills, time miles) that was short and fully anaerobic, and now fast forward even further to today. OR more specifically 2 years ago when i started training longer and harder and let go of the rotation that innately comes from moving to and setting up to smash a tennis ball. Or in some cases, just make contact:)

Believe it or not your thorax (ribs) must rotate over your pelvis when you run. And most importantly your pelvis must rotate over your femurs, hips as you run. The picture above shows this ever so slightly, but you can see as I weightshift Right my Left shoulder rotates forward just a bit and my Right adductor works to keep my pelvis and hips from falling out to the side ( Right) it truly is too hard to try to show this in a stagnant picture and even a video is hard unless you have slow motion. My point in even trying to show this is that I DO NOT ROTATE WELL to my left ! I have struggled in the last 2 years as my body wants my pelvis and my thorax ( think rib cage) to sit to the right. Likely due to dominance and a sport that wired me heavily to the right but when i get OFF...its like the car is sitting sideways on the chassis!

Here are some terms that may ( not ) interest you:

Sagittal plane motion would include forward and backward motions, like sit-ups, back extensions or biceps curls. The sagittal plane cuts through the center of the body, so the motion is front to back or back to front, including straight forward running. Squats involve flexion (forward motion) and extension (backwards on the way up), so would fit into the sagittal plane.

Frontal plane motion would include leaning from left to right as in sidebends and lateral raises, or perhaps you might picture jumping jacks for a good image of movement along the frontal plane.

Transverse plane motion is the hardest to picture because the plane is horizontal as it divides the top from the bottom, so it’s hard to get our heads around it being a rotating action. The main thing to remember is rotation. An example of a transverse plane exercise would be floor to overhead diagonals with a medicine ball, and a transverse activity might be swinging a golf club.

Most traditional strengthening, and running and biking are in the sagital and frontal planes.

Unless you are using pulleys or a free motion machine likely you arent working the transverse plane. And granted you can modify some of this and some of TRX in the all 4's can include some transverse plane movement engaging the core/obliques. I am thinking specifically of the side planks with the touch or dip. Also what i call the " helicopter" exercise where you are all fours and you swing, controlled, your legs /hips to the side while maintaining a neutral pushup hand position.

And all 4's means prone, hand on the ground, your hips and legs extended with feet in the straps, so technically you are not on all 4's.

So while some of you may pound yourself silly with traditional weights and strengthening i spend my strengthening hours doing things like this:

It kinda cracks me up, when I think about it. Today after swimming my friend Steve and I Walked up the stairs backwards. Shifting into our L hips, rounding our lower backs ( to engage the abs) and while the ladies tried to get down to their aqua class we looked like freaks who had too much chlorine for breakfast. But it works. And if i hadnt gone to PT School and worked for many years with my own issues and other athletes using a heavily weighted straight plane motion of thought, I may have found this avenue sooner. It's sad in someways, that when i go to Bikram yoga I have to modify poses so that i can END shifted LEFT and have to really use caution doing anything where my pelvis ( think "zipper") points Right. I have to keep that zipper pointed LEFT. Because for me, that zipper LEFT means neutral. Yup. Whacked out body.

TRX....The lastest and greatest...?? I already brought this up above but...

Now if only they could modify that so it had some sort of pulley. So as you did some of the standing exercises you could also work on rotation and weightshift.

TRX is fine, but its alot like pilates. Straight frontal and sagital plane work. Nothing into the transverse plane and no rotation with weightshift. That is a shame, bc it could help me alot more. As it is I am an accident waiting to happen if i do too many R one-legged standing poses.

And I love TRX, I think for most bodies it is great. No motive to rip on it, just food for thought.

***Now, for those of you that are seasoned TRX users it has been brought to my attention that the following exercises will get you some of the transverse plane movement. If you are just starting out or read the inserts you may not see these and i am working on clarifying what they are with those that are TRX veterans. I also highly recommend that before you start your own HEP ( home program) you consult a TRX trainer or take a class so you dont hurt yourself!

Here are some examples of transverse/rotational ex in TRX; X-ing balance lunge 1 arm row 1 leg row 1 leg chest press Kneeling Oblique Roll out Woodchop Twist to arms OVH 1 Arm Power Row or Neo Row or Twisting/Squat/Row TRX Knee Tuck Obliques TRX Scorpion

If you are feeling stuck in an injury or like doing the same old same old stuff at the gym ( and you know what i mean...the squats, the bench, the leg press ) isnt doing it for you then think about seeing a PT that does Postural Restoration. You wont get a hotpack and a massage, actually you wont get any modality at all. You may have to drink the kool-aid for a bit till you are a believer but trust me, you will believe once you can run or swim or walk like you used to.

New Friends and Bous Video's!

Today i slept till 8:30 am. I stayed up last night till midnight. I went for a walk today, with Rich. We walked slow. We went to get coffee, we sat there and didnt leave till 11. We shared a muffin, it was all cake like. Not grainy or good for you at all. Then i came home and had some halloween candy.

This is NOT my normal MO.

I was out last night with these fun ladies:

Kortney ( 2 kids down, one heck of a nice person and a magnified Vo2 max, hmm pregnancy anyone?!) Suzie ( lovely Suzie, who has the cutest dogs and a fabulous smile ..oh and dont mess with her on the bike), Hannah ( the nicest, and best Gear West staffer/manager/friend, dog mom who is hosting the next party in her sauna..who looks very serious here but i think that is bc the host was taking like 5 minutes to take the picture), Your's truly, and Marta( who ended up with a $52 salad after the parking ticket) Blah on that.

We kept it tame, good Greek eats and one bottle of greek wine ( for 5 of us, i would say we kept it tame!) These are my fantastic teammates. I am so lucky to have friends that are also people who love multisport. But best of all is that i think we genuinely like each other even if we werent swimming biking and running too. That is what this sport has come to mean to me. Friends, people that have a life outside of the sport, and despite our odd quirky love to tear ourselves up, I have gotten to know these women more off the race course/ training course than on. Pretty cool.

It took me a while to remember that I had these: Our group pic..I am in the middle

straight down from the E in "Best"...

As for the video they are not in order, but it goes T2, Run finish, then some swim video.

I may or may not have gotten cabin video in there too. oops. My biggest fan, Rich, took these video's and as you will hear, has a very loud voice!

I have another week of no structure coming up. That is just fine as i am taking my time getting back into the swing, searching for a pool that isnt 83 roasting degrees, biking outside on my road bike while its still above 40 and easing back into runs as my posterior allows. Not sure on that one really and since the A game doesnt need to be in full swing until next spring, why rush it? ( Easier said than done as i saw runners out today on the trails and ached to be running, not walking! ) Seems i am a huge wuss walking. I can envision running miles and miles but walking seems so long and hard and boring at times.

Anyways enjoy the video!

Recovery

So.."Are you enjoying your off season?" How many of you have heard that lately? And how many of you were SO EXCITED To get there and now that you are there, you are ready to get going again ? Anyone?

I know I had to really work at letting myself have some true time off. I mean its been a week?

It's funny how for me, it isnt really that i miss the suffering. Trust me. I dont. But i miss the organization my wko's give my day. Sorta funny, that i get up and my first thought is " what should i do now?" Obviously there is work, and lots of it, but I tend to be the person that is much more efficient AFTER my morning wko.

With the seasons changing here we have plenty of yardwork, pool closing, wardrobe switching around closet to closet and of course the box elder bugs keep me busy sweeping them up and getting them out of the house. I am also making tons of yummy eats. Baked vegggies, stuffed squash and more apple crisp than I can keep up with. ( Rich seems to have a bottomless apple appetite, so no worries there)

It was April 2010 when i did this race. Texas 70.3. What a summer it has been since the opening day!

So how is the recovery going? Really? You want to know?

It helped to spend a day and a half in lovely La Jolla, CA after BOUS. REally I am so lucky to know this area and feel like it's home. Rich had never been to the LJBTC and when i was greeted by the tennis pro's, the owner/manager Bill kellogg and many more people there it felt like i was home. Sadly there was no tennis for me. But there was lots of ocean time and of course, the sunsets:

It was warm and I napped and hung out on the beach, We walked to the pier, watched people paddle board and wipe out, surf and wipe out , and of course saw Marit and ate at my favorite place, Piatti, in the shores. I had Fro-Yo twice and decided that Red Velvet is not meant for Fro-Yo. Not a fan. Cake batter, that was do-able:)

At home it is cooler, the leaves are all over the place and its a bit harder to sit still. I am going to start moving a bit next week, yoga ( Bikram!) and some gentle walks and maybe a bike. But to be honest everytime i think about running or even riding i kinda go "Nah." I Cant tell how my butt is. It feels like my hammie is sorta frustrated with me, but since i havent run, and i wont run, I dont know. I just have to trust that the more time i give it to get happy, the better.

And it does kill me to not run, but it will kill me more if i cant run in december when i am totally house bound, so why not show some patience now. As we know, nobody needs a champion in January.

BOUS weekend and race report!

Best of the US!

This picture was my nightmare worst case scenario for this race. Luckily the pic was AFTER the race and not in the middle of the race, so all was good. PHEW. As many of you know about 2 weeks ago I encountered a case of the " MY BUTT wants to be done" -ITIS, it was the same day as AG natz that my butt started saying " You said TODAY was our last race, what is this 2 weeks to go stuff?" Turns out the temperature change, a hard week of running and just general body wanting rest made the 2 weeks leading up to BOUS a bit of a mental and physical challenge for me.

But...I was going to go and give it the old college try. Why not? I had plenty of sleepless nights about my sore backside, and my overactive PT brain had me thinking WAY too deeply about this. Finally I had to just say " I AM NOT INJURED" over and over again and that seemed to work.

Rich and I arrived friday afternoon and got settled, we flew into San Diego bc we would spend a day in La Jolla on the backside of this journey and fly out post race. We drove up to Mission Viejo and got a good nights rest friday and saturday then started with a bang! We kept MN time bc it would prove to be helpful for a 7 am race start sunday. So we were up early friday and went to Lake Mission Viejo to swim and bike and run. Other than they wouldnt let us in the water, oh well. It is a lovely lake, and let me tell you, Mission Viejo is a lovely place if you ever get a chance to visit. I know its a big swimming town, and this lake is owned by the community who pays to maintain it. Super nice. So instead i just biked and ran, and well...the run didnt go so well. Ok. Dont cry. 9 minutes of running and my butt was not happy.

Here is Rich showing me how to cross the finish line:)

Sigh. I did meet Seeley and we talked a bit and then Rich and i headed back to the hotel for another breakfast. Rich was killing me! I had been trying so hard to eat really well, and he goes and buys carrot cake whoopie pies! Oh and Red wine cube juice boxes! ( not for breakfast!)

We had a busy day planned with packet pick up, a race meeting with a Tri coach from the area. She was SOOO enthusiastic but she kinda stressed me out bc she was SOOOOO enthusiastic. I think she must have been a 1st grade teacher or a drama major. Or just really really hyper:) Anyways we headed out to drive the course and boy was i glad i did. It was hilly but LONG hills, the kinds i love:) And i knew i would need to use the small ring a few times. But what a descent it would be when we got to go down into the canyon.

We made it back to the 2pm Bous meeting where Jerry and Trudy introduced alot of the athletes, we "meeted and greeted" ( bad grammer, but you get the idea) and got our numbers and our wine:) hee hee.

What a great race goodie. It's a local label called Wyland with wildlife on the label. Yum!

The only sorta stressful thing ( other than the tri coach lady who was doing cartwheels and talking REALLY loud) was getting T2 set up the day before. I have had separate T areas before, like at KS, but i have never had to leave my run shoes outside all night. So i wrapped them up in a baggie with my visor and my nutrition and we left those at T2. I was lucky that i thought ahead bc many people race morning were without warm up shoes since they didnt have two pairs of run shoes.

I slept ok, not great, but ok and got up around 3:45 am ( PT) The lake opened at 5 am and the parking was going to be tight so we figured we would get a spot right at 5 and then take our time getting into Transition. That worked like a charm. It was so helpful to have Rich help with my bike, carry some stuff and just calm me down a bit pre-race. I tell ya, those headlamps are pretty cool but i dont know if people who are wearing them know HOW BRIGHT they are in your face when they turn to ask you a question! Whoa, blinding.

I warmed up a tiny bit in the parking lot with my special pair of shoes:) I did laps up and down and actually felt OK! WOW. Dont jinx it, just go with it. I have to admit that i did start taking celebrex (bid) the day before ( for my period, which thank you very little arrived race day too! Alright, this is gonna be a sufferfest for real!) And then figured i didnt need to win the warm up and stopped.

Marit was arriving and i found her right before i got into the water to warm up! Pink socks and all I cant say how fun and special it was to see her, and for Rich to have a veteran Triathlete to spectate with all morning. Most the race day pics are from Marit, who truly knows how to capture a moment on film. And who knows how to say just the right thing to make me feel like a champion:) more on that later.

Ok did you want to read about the race?:) you know some of that is a blur but here goes:

SWIM: The water was about 74 and perfect. I was not hot or cold in my wetsuit and was glad to have it on for the added protection it gave me from the arms and feet smacking me around. I Did start up front, or close to it, so maybe it was my fault that i got kicked around a bit.

I cant say i had the best swim. I got my goggles knocked off/ or at least the left goggle got wedged off my eye in the first 200 YArds from an errant foot. I was going to stop but it was chaos and i realized i could still see out of the Right goggle and so i soldiered on. I was VERY trusting of the women next to me, bc i could not sight a dang thing. There was one buoy about 800 Yards out and a lifeguard boat with a flashing light in btween that first buoy ( where we would turn right and i would get kicked again) and the 2nd buoy where we would turn back intowards shore. So i just kept that red light to my right and prayed i would suddenly see a big yelow buoy. Horray there it was! I turned right and SMACK, i got kicked again. Oh well.

One more turn and i was able to catch up to a few people but now the sun was right at us and again, I prayed i was headed in the close vicinity for the boat ramp. It wasnt a straight shot back, it kinda veered to the left and i just kept the shoreline parallel to my swim and then veered left at the final buoy and seemed to find the boat ramp. Phew. I made it in!

I ran up the ramp and headed to my bike!

Bike:

I debated shoes in or shoes out. I just have tried to be consistent and they stayed in, despite a real uphill T area and start. I started in the small ring so i thought that would be adequate.

All was fine till i was getting my Right foot in and UGH, AGAIN. my shoe liner bunched up. I nearly had to come to a a full stop, but i just pushed my feet in so hard that the liner bunched in the toe area and i said " Ok i can ride 24 miles like this. it will be fine" and off i went.

I do need to figure that out bc its the 2nd time i have had to come to a nearly complete stop bc the liner slides when i put a wet foot in.

Somehow out of nowhere i pulled my next Bike 101 error, I pulled a Schleck. I really cant tell you what i did, but yup, my chain was off. I tried to back pedal to get it to catch but it was too far off so i did have to stop. And that just added another UGH to the early ride. I Was happy with how easily i just let those both go. I kinda forgot about them until i saw another gal drop her chain on a major climb and it made me feel a bit better.

The ride was so fun. It was alot of climbing, and as it was about 7:30 am you would go thru these hot and cold pockets as you climbed up Santiago Canyon. When we dropped down into the canyon it was alot hotter and the roads were so fun to ride. I am not sure if it was my Coffee Powergel or that i was having so much fun but i felt like i was flying! I knew we had to climb back out of the canyon and that was going to be hard, but then i knew we had a great descent to look forward to. The bike went by super fast and i played cat and mouse with a few gals and that kept me honest and made me work hard. Coming into T2 we had to get on a bike path the last 2 miles. That was super fun and tho i was a bit cautious ( one of the things the hyper Tri lady told us was that we would have to SLOW DOWN to get on the path, and it was no passing on the path) well the path became as wide as a road so there was plenty of passing room but since it was dark, and the shade made the road hard to see i just rode fast ( at times 30 mph!) but safely behind a few gals. All the sudden they are yelling dismount line! What?? I did nearly throw myself from my bike but i got it together in time to do this:

My ride was good ( despite the early mishaps) but this was the sweetest dismount ever:)

Now to be honest I didnt even know who that girl was but she bolted past me in the first mile and i think she ended up like 6th. But it was sweet while it lasted ! I got my stuff out of the bag, and didnt fumble too much and i was off on the run. My mantra was " I am not injured" and i planned to focus on anything that did not hurt. So for mile 1 I was thinking " LEFT ARCH LEFT ARCH!" you see i spend alot of time working on my foot strike and NOT falling out to the outside of my feet. I tend to oversupinate ( spend more time on the outside of my feet) and that can lead to peroneal issues and of course the big bad ITBS. So left arch it was. The first few miles are downhill, gradually down hill, and on the same path we were biking in on. I passed a gal right away and then just kept chasing. The Hammer gal who i passed in the dismount area was not impressed with me and had left me in the dust:)

They had said there would be water stops "about" every mile, but that was rough so as i was starting to get tired i just sorta zoned out and had no idea where i was on teh course or what my pace was. I never race with anything, HR or clock, i just have to GO HARD. The first of the hills came about mile 3, i think. Up up up a woodchip path and i thought it was hard but not too bad. I passed another gal and we exchanged " goood jobs" And i thought..."HMm, they said the hill was at mile 4, we arenot at mile 4..." knowing deep down i wished we were. Then all the sudden i see it. a sharp left turn up Vista Del Lago. That sucker went on and on and on and it was not a gradual hill. I thought about staying up tall bc i felt like my 5 foot 9 stature had shrunk to at least 5 foot 4, i felt so hunched over. Lots of volunteers greeted me at what felt like the top of the world ( i guess it was about 500 yards long?) and said "That is it, no more hills! "

Um not really.

Of course every little incline felt like a hill after that:) I knew there was a gal behind me, i coul hear her and i had a gal in front. I just could not close the gap on the path bc it was weaving andup and down. But i sure tried. When we turned onto the final mile they take you past the finish area, down about 200 Yards then back up to the turn into the Lake MV park. I Tell ya I HATE seeing who is behind me on those out and back! IT's funny how the people i see in front look liek they are going SO Fast, but when i turn around i see the people chasing me and i think " WOW they are going fast I am gonna get caught!" So i tell ya, it was ZONE 5 from that point on. I didnt want to look back bc i didnt want to know and its a waste of energy to do that. CAtch me if you can was my thought, and i just picked it up as hard as i could.

Not until I turned into the park, and the slight downhill towards the lake did i glance and see nobody. But i still was gonna get this done ASAP.

IF you want a glimpse into the pain locker here it is:

My lovely hubby was there to greet me, and i still look a little bit wasted.

I was really really happy with the run, the race and how my butt held up! I would be lying if i didnt say that even tho i went into this race with a slight mental hurdle of the sore butt, i was still going for top 10. I knew i was close. And when i found out I was 11th by about 20-30 sec's I was heartbroken. I wanted nothing more than to podium for our state, for Jerry and Trudy, and for me new Gear West Bike and Tri team. I told Marit that i was bummed. I felt like it was so close, and then i realized that I had all the sudden gotten SO GREEDY. 3 hours earlier, or even 43 minutes earlier ( before the 10k) I was not sureI could even run!) and all the sudden i am pouty lipped ( not really) at finishing 11th? When i looked at Marit i felt selfish, and i quickly apologized. My good friend has been faced with more challenges than any young person should have to, and I am thinking....boohoo I didnt podium??! Julia, pull your head out.

Thankfully Marit ( as i said, she knows what to say!) said " Julia you are a great athlete, you set goals and you extend yourself beyond your limits to try to reach them, its normal to be disappointed, but that doesnt mean you didnt have the race of your life."

And how well said, that sure made me feel happy and proud of myself, proud of Marit and so grateful that my butt let me do one more race!

It didnt hurt that Jerry came up to me and said our MN team had gotten 3rd! Woohoo! And that was quite a treat as well.

Me and the fastie Matt Payne, who got 3rd OA! What a nice guy, It was great to meet Matt and his wife! They headed to San Diego and Sea World after the race.

and a few more images from Marit:

This is a great picture that i am thrilled to end the race season with. I gave it all I could and I am so thankful for the chance to go race with the best in 2011.

Thanks again to Jerry and Trudy. You seriously know how to make us feel special and i applaud your quest to give back to the amateurs that are racing day in and day out for the love of the sport. Many thanks to my husband of course, my coach who led me to the pain locker but never closed the door on me, she let me do that myself, and to all the super fun friends on blogland, fb land and in real time that are so supportive of me and this amazing sport! I am super excited, as i said, to be joining a new team for 2011 and racing and laughing with the Gear West Tri Team.

We already have our first race this coming weekend. The Beer Mile. I am not sure i can race but i will do my best to sherpa for anyone that needs me:)

More on the recovery later!

But it started that night with dinner in La Jolla at Piatti with Marit:)

Race Week

Yes.

Original title I know:)

But here we go. I am ready in spirit, the body is lagging but if it can hold on for one more race I will be quite happy. To be honest I havent really thought too much of the "what if's??" That doesnt mean i havent had my fair share of restless nights and dreams about stress fractures and odd things that likely as a PT I know WAY TOO MUCH about. Yup I can tell ya all the worst case scenarios from one little symptom. So my mantra continues to be " I AM NOT INJURED." Bc I really dont think i am, I think i just need some extended rest.

Lots of peeps i know are in Kona, a few going to Dallas, and a few doing Chicago.

For all of us I think the comraderie of "Getting it done," Should help along with my motto of cross the line smiling no matter the outcome. That may be hard if i am throwing down a 50 min 10k, but i know what i am capable of healthy and i have every intention of working towards that on sunday!

Good luck to everyone racing. Have a blast!