Got to Veracruz and only stopped by each and every military checkpoint.

We got stopped by all but 2 military retenes but I was thankful for the 2 that they were actual military retenes and not fake retenes. Pike was rather bothered that we were constantly targeted by the military for revision and we had a good discussion about the drug trade and why it would make sense to pull us out of line for revision. I was a little apprehensive (to say the least) going through Cardenas, Tabasco but we had no problems going through. I won't say why but Google might give info. I was pretty sure I spotted spotters along the road into Cardenas though.

The road was quite familiar from our previous journeys through this area and looked forward to the pineapple plantations of Veracruz but by the time we got there we were too worried about finding a hotel in Veracruz to stop for the glorious cold juice. This is a usual stop for us and as pineapple is pressed fresh from the field and iced, it is quite a treat on a hot day. When we had left Frontera I had looked up the hotel we'd planned to stay at on Google Maps and found they located it nowhere near the beach (and thus the triathlon route) but way in the middle of the outside of the city. The hotel website, however, showed it much closer to the beach and specifically said it was on the street name of the malecon (Google locating it on the same street name in a radically different location) so we were not sure if we'd have to find a dog-friendly hotel once we got to town or not. Mexican sineage is challenging at a minimum and were it not for our "friends" in the black truck we might still be on the road. We were very happy to find that our hotel was, in fact, right on the malecon and the projected triathlon route. Well, except not really.

We quickly got rooms on the THIRD FLOOR and headed out to find something to eat. Jesse was hoping to revive an old (ridiculous) tradition of KFC on some traveling nights and off we headed for the worst the Coronel had to offer. It was truly The Worst Chicken in the world and even the coleslaw (what I had to eat) was only barely edible. Jamie and I then headed out for water and breakfast supplies and we were in bed by very late o'clock.

On the road again...

(picture is at the Tabasco border where the military asked for car papers but I told him we didn't have them, had FM3s and the permit was valid. He gave a cursory glance at the permit and waved us on)
So in order to get to the HIM in Veracruz I'd either have to try and figure out shipping the bike, pay upwards of $1200 airfare for the family and rent a car or we'd take a 2-day drive. Drive won out very easily. The girls weren't all that happy about missing out on horse-riding time (as their lessons are on the end of the week and weekend but Jesse was happy to miss out on some of the more boring classes. Pike was looking forward to a change of pace. So pretty much everyone was looking forward to the drive. I had thoughts of leaving super early (like 5am) to get most of the drive done early in the day but Jamie had remembered that the last time we drove to Frontera (our first planned stop) we got in sometime in the early afternoon and didn't really need to leave all that early. So it was only left to find an internet solution so I could continue to work. Telcel has been advertising their G3? USB stick for a good year now so I figured the bugs would have been worked out by now and thought it would allow me to work while on the road. Unfortunately, Jamie and Jesse were never able to either get the red tape worked out (turns out they wanted a CURP as I'm not a Mexican national to register the USB) or availability worked out to purchase one, so the afternoon (like 5pm) the day before we planned to leave I headed into town to get one. (picture above is lunch stop in Escargeca Campeche) Chedraui had one but they wouldn't register or activate it, the Telcel distributor next to Chedraui did not have the stick but they could register one if they had one to sell but she located one at another distributor and we headed off there. (picture to the left is of the Tabasco/Veracruz border where there was a multikilometer backup southbound - you can see in the background)

It only took about an hour to purchase, activate and register but I FINALLY had internet and could work as we drove. I was up at 5 am next morning to get some work in before we left and we were finally on the road at 10am. We drove through many fires in southern Qunitana Roo and upon hitting the state line (QRoo and Campeche) we passed through an Aduana stop which I don't ever remember hitting before. Course it has been a few years since we've gone out that way so it is possible it isn't all that new. Unfortunately she wanted our car permit paperwork - the permit itself visibly portrayed in the correct spot on the front window was apparently not nearly good enough - and when I told her we didn't have it she had us pull over. I told her we had FM3s (though mine in in tramite) so the permit didn't really expire but she said she wanted to see the paperwork that we'd actually purchased the damn thing. If one thing I've found, patience is really key so instead of getting upset I just had Jamie pull over and I brought over his FM3 and we chatted a bit and she decided that I really did just need to go to Cancun next time I was there and get the paperwork. We were off to the next state border. (picture to right is not forest fires but "controlled" (questionable) sugarcane harvest fires - quite normal here. This completely obscured the roadway - there was NO visibility under out of the smoke.)

Work was going rather well - there were a number of dead spots where I had no internet but anytime we were at a new town I was able to either upload or download. Work was also a bit slow and I was able to keep up with no problem and I was really happy about that. Somewhere in Campeche the car's vacuum pump began going out (again, Jamie had the foresight to bring a spare as we seem to be going through vacuum pumps like air) and braking became difficult (i.e. no power assist). We had stopped in Escacega for tacos but were getting quite hungry again by the time we finally rolled into Frontera - some 12 hours after leaving home. It was a Very Long Day of travel. We quickly hit our favorite taqueria for 20 pastor tacos for $80 and giant tortas for $20 and by the time we were back at the hotel it was 10pm or so. We had a kingsize bed and a double and we got 3 in the king, one in the double and two on the floor. (to the left is the island the HIM was supposed to leave from in Veracruz. down and to the right is the truck we spotted along the road in Tabasco and them leading us, unknowingly, through the roads of Boca del Rio to Veracruz city)

I was up at 5am again next morning to work as the day before I'd used an entire month's worth of bandwidth between downloading, uploading and roaming charges and got about 2/3 of a day's work in by the time we left (again 10am). We had a shorter drive that day to Veracruz and somewhere in Tabasco state we found a black truck full of tri bikes following a little while car loaded down with more tri bikes - they both carried Campeche plates. They were doing about 120km/hr though and we watched them head out down the road. We were hoping for a 6-hour day that day and took the cuota the whole way. Expensive but definitely got us to Veracruz in good time. I wasn't sure exactly where the hotel was as Google Maps was giving very conflicting information to the hotel website. Incredibly, right when I was trying to figure out which way to go in the maze of Veracruz streets I spotted the black truck and white car and told Jamie, "FOLLOW THAT TRUCK" and enjoyed stress free meandering through the maze of Vercruz/Boca del Rio streets. We finally lost them very close to the malecon and Jamie had to completely round a glorietta in order to try again at hitting a street but it was an easy journey. (picture to the left is Jesse and Sissy racing Kilo at the beach across from our hotel)

I was so nice being on the road again and once I figured I could get a day's worth or work by getting up super early, working 4-5 hours and then working again when we got to the hotel I realized the USB stick was never a necessity in the first place.

ONLY 38!!!

New prognostication for partially cloudy and high of THIRTY TWO (heat index 38C)! The race is ON baby!!

oooh, I'm getting antsy and scared

i keep watching the Veracruz weather and they seem to be running 5-10 degrees (Celcius) higher than we are (YIKES) except my thermometers are running about 5 degrees higher than WUnderground so who really knows. Well, I do know one thing - I'm pretty scared about the heat. I tried a last 3-hour ride on Thursday or Friday or something and just about died. I decided to try Real Food (pancakes) for nutrition and they SUCKED and it was 34C and apparently 43C with the heat factor or whatever they call it and I came home and totally bailed on the run. So today I had a 40km ride planned and very spontaneously decided to make it 60km and bricked a 1-hour run onto that. Except, I didn't actually PLAN any of this and it was 33C 65% (no clue on the heat index but Jamie's thermometer on his cycling computer (in Luddite) said 109-111 F so who knows.

So I bought about 400 mL of Gatorade and took in 1.4 L of fluid but still lost 2 kg of weight so that is a 3.7 L (or kg - isn't the metric system NEAT?) net loss over 2 hours (1.7 L/hr) which is pretty much not so good as I'm pretty sure I can only absorb about 500 mL/hr. And it wasn't really all that hot today (compared to other days) BUT I was feeling pretty fresh off the bike and quickly slammed down a GU (as I still had not eaten anything yet) and headed out for a run using an old bottle of something I found in the fridge. Really, very much a very bad idea with absolutely no planning. You know where this is headed, right? About 30 min into the run I started bonking. Headed home, got a can of coco water and another GU and headed back out. I stopped at about 1 hour 4 min (and about 9+km) and walked it in. Jumped immediately into the sea and cooled off but was still really dehydrated and even after 1200 mL of Electrolit, 500 mL of soy milk, much more water, coffee, etc., I've only peed once all day long. Still slamming the liquids even now at 9pm.

BUT, now I have a nutrition plan. I will be doing Cytomax and Electrolit on the bike with GU and Electrolit and GU on the run. And I will not fall to temptation of running off the bike (like I did today) at a good clip, but instead Gallowalk. That was another thing I wanted to figure out today - feeling good off the bike I hit the run at a good clip but after 30 min I was toast and started Gallowalking, so I now know I really need to Gallowalk from the start. I'm still not confident about the HIM but I do know I'll finish. I had plans to actually race (I was hoping to take my age group) but now I'm not sure. I think I'll just have to see.

We'll leave Thursday early and head for Frontera Tabasco and then hope to be staying in Veracruz Friday night. Package pickup is Saturday along with swim practice along the route. I have the hotel figured out and we're within walking distance to Costco and a block from the beach. If absolutely nothing else it will be a nice trip but I'm skeered enough that I kinda just want it to be over already. I'm really worried about their 46C heat index temps. I had hopes for a swim under 40 min (I've been hitting around 9 min for 1000 m in the pool), a bike around 3 hours (under would be perfect and about what I do here) and run of 2.5 hours or so. Not so confident about the run - it will be during the hottest part of the day. The only HIM I've done was likely 25 years or more in the past (can't honestly remember WHEN I did that HIM but it was likely 1984 or so) and all I can remember is that my time doubled would have been around a 14-hour IM so I did at least a 7-hour HIM. I'd really like to beat my 25-year-old self. :)

counting down

So I made another big leap and paid for Fuga (get bank account info from website, go down to bank, deposit entry fee in bank account of hopefully the right entity, come home and email pics of receipt and email personal info, get number, 498, and assume I'm IN!). I'd missed the first deadline for the $1350 price but I wasn't that worried as I was more concerned I'd be paying for an event I couldn't finish. So at the last minute I paid for entrance to Fuga ($1500) and now I'm committed. Or should be. :) I am pretty sure I'm going to have to Gallorun the run. I honestly have NO idea how long the swim is (I could check the site, I suppose) but I'm not worried about it. It should be pretty exciting - we're taken by lancha (or panga or something) to Isla de los Sacrificios...HEY, the swim is only 1900 meters? WOW! I thought it was much further having no idea how far 1.2 miles is...hmmm...maybe that means Ironman is less than 5km swim? That would be SWEET (talk about the ignorant, but I like it that way). Anyway, somehow we're taken to Isla and from there we swim to Veracruz and I've been wondering what to wear. Cause I REALLY want bibs for the ride (90km) and my running shorts for the run (21km). So 4 weeks out and I still dunno.

Um, make that THREE WEEKS out. YIKES! I ran 1:30 today, well, Galloran, just to get mentally prepared for the distance (I'm guessing it will take me 2:15 or more) since I've not yet run (or Gallorun) that far before. Today's run was Amazingly Great and I was so stoned afterwards it wasn't funny. Man, I hope my calves stay healthy.

I finally touched base with the PT and am hoping to get an appointment next week. I really do need to do that. I've been getting more swimming in, even with the hated cudda, and finally figured out to cut each lap short (to just 100m each lap) and that way I haven't seen the cudda lately. Course, I'm not really sure I'm actually getting in 100 m (it could be more or less) but so far it is working to get me in the water. For IM I'm going to need to do 8K/week at a minimum and if the cudda will just stay out by the reef this should help immensely. Pike is still out of the water due to the cudda and the water has been wicked rough. I'm almost hoping for rough seas at the HIM as that is all I'm used to. I'm not sure I'd know what to do with flat water.

I'm in the homestretch now and week before last was my longest in cycling. Next two weeks max out at 4 hours each week (not sure I'll know what to do with all that extra energy) and then around the 2nd or so we'll head out to Veracruz. I've been trying to find an economical hotel with a pool that takes doggies but so far only without a pool. We'll be there Thur or Fri, Sat and Sun nights and I know the kids will need swimming/cooling off or they'll just want to be inside. So we'll have to see. I'm also really glad we have the vehicle we do, which is not at all Cartel-attractive, so the drive should be relatively easy. Oh, I do need to renew my FM3 before we leave and hope to do that next week so it will be ready for state border crossing. You just never know who will want to see your paperwork.

trying new things

So I've been focusing on riding the drops lately. We had a visit from my sisters and my BIL brought a bike mag (actually a SLEW of them! :)) for my husband and I saw pics of pros (well, ads and such) and they were riding the drops. DOH! What a concept! So I've started riding them more and more and getting more comfortable with them. I suspect that they are a savings in the wind but I find I can actually go faster riding the brake hoods (I think I use more of my quad). But I still think it is a good thing and I'm keeping at it.

I had a nice run of swimming until we got tropical storm-like seas and I'm hoping to salvage this week's planned 7000 m with a 4000m hit today. I took the kids to a cenote yesterday and hoped I could do something of a workout there but it is the end of Semana Santa and the cenote was PACKED. So today is my last hope for getting in the water this week. I made a radical change to my stroke from the "S" under the body we learned decades ago in AAU to high elbow something and I can feel a distinct power difference. Unfortunately my swim partner (Pike) is still land-bound due to the cudda that scarred him (not physically) and I'm hoping he'll be back in the water soon. He has a birthday coming up and was certain he'd be getting a Quinceañero this year. I had to be the breaker of bad news to let him know only girls got Quinceañeros. Poor boy.

I've been dodging a GI virus that has had us all down for multiple days at a time but still running sporadically enough to know the bike calf muscle thing is now fixed. For now. I do need to find that PT though and am Going To Call Her on Monday or die trying. It has been heating up; the humidity is finally back, but I'm still able to go out in the heat of the day and workout so that's good news.

I had 7 hours of biking on the schedule this week but was sick for 3 days of it so I did 2 monster days. I'm getting more used to the 90km ride (3 hours) and that went rather well. I was tired at the 70km point but my legs felt really pretty good throughout. Then the day before yesterday I did a 120km ride and rather than heading out the Coba road (from Tulum) to get in the distance, did 2 loops of our medium ride. I really thought the 2nd loop was suck but my water stop was David's store and I realized I could leave Cytomax powder (and maybe Electrolit) there if I do this again AND the 2nd loop was not the mental drain and mess I thought it would be. So that was excellent news. I also managed to average 4:10 for both loops riding time (with an additional 8 min of water purchase and refills) and I found I really needed 4 liters for the ride. I'm also looking into electrolyte replacement as the Cytomax was useless there (at 1 scoop/750mL water). I was quite dehydrated and cramping afterwards. I bricked a 20 min run to the end of the ride but I was in such pain from the neuroma flare I didn't think I could run. Strangely I was more able to run than NOT to - the pain went away running. Dr. Google says I need to move my cleats back and so that's next on the list. So I made some findings with nutrition, found 2 loops aren't completely evil (IM Coz has 3-60km loops so this is perfect for me) and my legs held quite strong for the ride. They were heavy the day after and I'm not surprised as I did bonk on the run (but expected it, I didn't want to deplete my GU so I rode the last hour + run without). All in all a very good experience.

Lastly, the girls have finally decided they're okay with missing riding (horse) lessons so I can do the HIM in a month (ACK!) so that's back on the front burner. I still need to get a USB Telcel stick so I have internet on the road (and can work while we're traveling to Veracruz) but I am almost certain the HIM is back on the calendar. Now I just need to convince myself I can run the 21km at the end. I'm thinking of Gallorunning as I am only at 3 hours/week running with all the sickness and injury. Not sure what to do there. I experimented with a Gallorun my last long (hour) run and it didn't totally suck. I ended up with 8 min run 45 sec walk and that seemed okay. So that's what I'll be working on this month.

April totals:
Swim 14264 m
Bike 857 km, 29.25 hours
Run 10 hours.

Pics are of me on the 120km ride at the XpuHa Maya ruins (background) and the kids at the cenote.

skeered

So my calf hates me. Pretty sure. I went to bed the night before last with a (rather) healthy calf and woke to incredible pain and a knot in my calf I could neither find nor get rid of but one that wouldn't allow me to walk much. I'm guessing I got dehydrated with the GI virus and 650 mL of Electrolit/day didn't do the replacement.

I've never had an injury that wasn't completely debilitating so this one is really throwing me for a loop. I did my swim (longest yet at 3000 m) and figured I'd walk my "run" as I was pretty sure a run wasn't in the leg. I warmed it up for 5 min and took some precautionary jogs and found as long as I went super slow it felt like I could run forever. There was a point I felt would be very damaging and painful (the pain was a great warning sign) but as long as I stayed away from that point (slow) I was good to go.

I checked the stats for last year's Coz IM and there was not one finished in my age group from Mexico. I also checked the top 3 times and each of their splits. Wondering. I think today I crossed the bridge from "just finish" to "do well".

squirts and time off and I'm mellltttting.

So is it possible to lose all fitness in a few days' time? I've been taking rest day tras rest day tras rest day. Getting a lot of work in but reinjured my low hammy/high calf and then got the GI virus making its rounds.

What is it with vehicles that drive in reverse on the carretera? It is so common here it isn't funny but as a cyclist now, it freaques me out each and every time. If they're on the other side of the carretera I'll race them, otherwise try to avoid them.

I have 7 weeks (now) to Fuga (HIM). I'm not sure I'll be ready. I have until the 15th to pay (before the price goes up) and still haven't pulled the trigger on Cozumel (though I'm just a click away from paying right now, 1 tab over).

Summer is in full swing and I'm loving the heat. Jamie, not so much. Rides are now at 30C but humdity has been low this week - 65-70%.

Oh this update sucks - too much GI upset to make any sense whatsoever. But I'm still alive. This week starts 2 weeks of Semana Santa and even though we live at the beach (where everyone heads at SS) I think we might head to Valladolid or Merida for a few days. I have my eye on a jersey over there... :)

pulled the trigger. EEEK!

So family had all but staged an intervention to get me to take a rest day. I posted on BT as well and was told it was most likely a good thing so I figured I'd give it a try. I expected SUPER legs the next day (as it had been around 6 weeks since my last rest day) but really, all I got was lethargy and depression. I hated how I felt the rest day - I kept thinking there was something that was missing and I ate pure crap. AND I didn't even have super legs the next day. So pretty much a FAIL in my book. I did, however revamp my training so I could theroetically take one should it become necessary.

I put 9 hours in on the bike last week and have also been playing around with zones. Well, I've finally figured out what they are and have been applying them to cycling. I'm not much liking that idea. I prefer to ride how I feel and go with that as obsessing over a number is killing my cycling joy. One ride I had to turn off the clocks and immediately it was fun again. I've been piling on the cycling kilometers as the sea has been wicked rough AND we had another shark attack. Decades upon decades of no attacks and 2 in the last short while and you know I'm staying out of the water when it is not crystal clear. However, my arms are getting super saggy and I'm getting worried. Not worried enough, however, to swim a bazillion laps in the pool (10 m pool I think). Jamie and I did another Tulum ride on Sunday and this one was much more tolerable than the last one AND I took 8 minutes off our ride time and 15 min off our total time AND we found a great water refilling spot (abarrote outside the Coke factory).

I am up to running almost 3.5 hours a week and feeling pretty good about that. I am crossing fingers I've hit on my injury solution but still have yet to see that PT. I really need to get my ass out there but it is such a hassle - 1.5 hours just to make an appointment. For now I'm trying to trigger-point roll my legs at least once a week.

I've also been thinking hard about the races to come and have pretty much decided against Guatemala in August. The entire triathlon is in a container port like area, 2 loops for swim, 5 loops for bike and (I think) 4 loops for run. Not the least bit scenic and it really COULD be as Guate has some amazing country. So I think it is going to be Veracruz 5-Junio where it will be a 1st triathlon but on the island reported to have ruins from Cortez (and protected, noone allowed) will be the swim start - we're taken by boat there and I assume swim to land. No idea of the Hotel sede, bike or swim routes yet. maybe a week before the event. :)

Now I need to find my training schedule the kids must have run off with so I know what I'm doing today. I really do need to get back in the water though. Still thinking about the sprint on 17-Abr but at $600 I think I might be saving my pesos for Veracruz instead.

Right now I'm running at about 12 hours/week training and I'm thinking that's a bit heavy but I honestly don't want to decrease it. I hope I'm not headed for burnout.

March numbers:
Bike: 28h 12m 45s - 857.12 KM
Run: 7 hours.
Swim 19,500 m.

Umm, a leetle heavy on the bike there.

i RAN!

So I have this little "thing" with my leg where I suspect chronic microtears. I've tried so very many different things I can't keep track, the last being BarryP's 1:2:3 plan and I had really high hopes. I have been VERY conservative in my mileage, sticking to 5% increases and looking longterm (November) not shortterm. And I really thought it was working. Until my sprint tri last (a couple) Sundays ago - coming off the bike I knew it was going to be a problem but it was up So High (in comparison to other times) I was hoping I could just power through it. This, quite frankly, is how I usually get into trouble. I figure I can just THIS TIME (because I've conveniently forgotten all the Other Times I've done it) I'll abuse it and THEN I'll take care of it. Didn't work this time either. So I finished the triathlon barely able to walk (but HEY, I finished) and 1 min out of 1st place in my AG (yeah, that still rubs me raw cause it was MINE damnit :)) and thus it was worth it. Or so I let myself believe.

The last 2 weeks have been rather joyless as I am getting more and more resigned to the fate of Injured Runner Syndrome but I've continued to push the leg on the bike and after a hard ride yesterday I had no twinges, no pain, no discomfort and as such decided to run after the bike. Just a short run to check things out. Normally, when I get this injury running it takes a good 2 weeks off running and then a couple weeks easing into the run (4 min at a time) to be able to do it but yesterday I had no problems at all. So I'm hopeful there.

Secondly, I might have found a PT down here but unfortunately I have to go to the clinic (about 45 min away) just to make the appointment (for another day). I can't afford to take that much time out of my workday just to make an appointment so I'm going to ask an acquaintance to do so. And when/if I go to the PT I'll have a bit more hope that some day I won't have that constant threat of injury over my running head.

On the bike front the kilometers have been low (160-200) but I'm still way ahead of the training schedule there so I'm not worried about that. I did have a weird day yesterday in that I just wasn't into the ride mentally so I decided to work it really hard. I averaged a 136 hr but my time was pretty much the same as usual (with a mid 120s hr) but at least I powered into the workout and didn't let up the intensity. We normally work the outbound side (tailwind) and slack the inbound. Yesterday the wind was pretty much nonexistant and I really worked both out and back. Pretty happy about that. Swim feels pretty strong - rough water (beginning to realize that is the norm) and my stroke feels strong.

Still not sure what my next triatlon will be, there are a couple sprints coming up soon (3-Abr and 17-Abr) but I might just save my pesos for the HIM. Except now I'm looking at 3 different ones so I guess I should just decide already. Oh and the offroad (about sprint length but takes the elites 3.5 hours to finish) in May. Hmmm.

Ok, race report

I was really surprised by a LOT of things. This is my first triathlon in 25 years or so and my 2nd ever so I was really pretty much a tri virgin. I was up (without alarm) at 4:15 as the drive back home from package pickup took an hour. I wasn't sure how long it would take us to get there and knew we'd have to park out away from the site and walk in so we left at 5:00 am. Had 2 pancakes (thanks sweetie!) and cawfee for breaky. Had just about pulled up to the parking when I realized I'd forgotten my goggles. I've tried OWS without goggles before and it is pretty much impossible so I was begging in the parking area. No-one had any to spare. I rode my bike to transition and begged there and some Very Prepared (#76) individual had brought a spare pair and seriously saved my life. It turned out that he was in the next bike rack from me - almost neighbors and it was easy to drop the goggles off out of the water.

Looking back I realize now they racked us according to age and I could have taken that opportunity to check out my competition (4). I think there were only 38 women total and 148 that started. Not a bad showing for our area and a first race and super easy to get a 1st, 2nd or 3rd with the deepest category (femenil) with 8 and most with 4. So super easy to place in your AG. I setup transition as best I could (taking example from those around me) and then Pike and I headed out to the beach. I'd already scoped out the funky swim the day before so I just tried to warm up a bit and then waited. Finally we were off and I was glad I'd gotten in to warm up as when I'd gotten in to warm up the cold of the water had taken my breath away. At the last minute (literally) they put all the womens in the same wave (I was at the very back as we were supposed to have our own wave (the green hats) and I scrambled to get the goggles to fit and we were off. I just kept trying to keep swimmers in sight as the visibility was absolutley ZERO. I don't know what they have up there at Tres Rios but is isn't the clear water we have here in PaaMul. At any rate I was swimming hard - over the breakers through the chop, to the bouy and then running over the sandbar to the laguna to go up river. EVERYONE was bitching about the river afterwards. I'd swum up through the yellows, greens, blues and blacks and was battling all the black caps in the river along with manglar roots (at one point I had to stop swimming and just pull myself out of them) and at one point almost lost my goggles - had them smacked off my head and I had to retrieve them. I thought we were relatively close to the finish of the swim so I didn't bother to put them back on but at a body jam (where you literally could not move) I put them back on. Coming out of the swim one of my steps went round and round - perfect finish to that swim. Oh, and did I mention we were going AGAINST the current? Can't wait to do it again. :) I was working HARD on the swim though and was breathing every stroke - it's a sprint, right?

Transition was a fracaso. I need to practice that. Sand everywhere, lots of bikes still on racks (I was 3 minutes slower than the fastest female) and it looks like I was 5th female out of the water (out of 38 total). That is surprising to me as I felt completely underprepared for swimming. It was at this point that I really missed a water bottle but the fresh water of the river was nice to "clean up" with.

Bike was uphill to the carretera and then 3 laps on the carretera and then back down and 250 m before and after running with the bike. I HAMMERED the bike. At first I let a couple guys pass me but then I latched onto the wheel of one guy and then traded him for a faster guy on the 2nd loop and the 1st guy and I held his wheel until the last half of the 3rd loop. I honestly thought I'd have to let go of the guy's wheel - my HR was mid to high 150s the whole time, I was working hard and starting to loose it on the last half of the last loop. I held on though and on the 2nd bike run (250 m) realized my leg and I had a problem. I was pretty sure I was still 1st in my AG (and I was) and just wanted to try and hang on for the win. The leg got worse and worse and when I was passed I just couldn't limp fast enough to keep up (and eventually, as with my plan) to pass her and she ended up finishing a minute ahead of me. Our (old) age group beat the entire 40-45 AG and much of the previous. We were 17 and 18 out of 38 so we beat half the field (all younger than us). Can't complain about that.

During the bike I wasn't sure I'd want to do this again, but now I can't wait to do another. Just have to figure out the leg issues. I also need to remember to bring goggles and a waterbottle. Oh and start my watch. Well, maybe WEAR a watch! :)

Sad and happy

I killed the swim, I killed the bike but me lastime on the run. Coming off the bike I could feel my calf in a knot and I was surprised it lasted the entire 5K. Lost to 1st place in my categoria just before the finish (12 seconds?) as I was heavily limping and unable to push any harder.

Results

It is so quaint...

A lot of people, when they first move here, will remark in the "quaintness" of Mexico, how things are just done Differently and isn't that cute and all. After a few years here we started using "isn't that quaint" to mean "aren't we fucked". So I paid my moneys and I got my reciept and I knew that today was supposed to be package pickup for the triatlon tomorrow. Except the receipt says nothing except pesos paid and the web site is just an advertisement. But I'm used to this in the land of quaintness so I started googling and finally on a site completely unrelated to the triatlon, I found TONS of info. Package pickup is today from 2pm to 5pm (which means I'll get there around 5) and body marking is today (we can't do it OURSELVES?) and while drafting is allowed, no MIXED drafting is allowed. HUH? So no females with males. If I'm going to draft it is going to have to be off another female. Hmmm...

So I've been doing recovery this week and while it was Really Hard at first to dial the intensity meter down, by today I started thinking I'll never remember how to hammer or go hard again. And while I got 3 swims in last week I was totally unable to do any hypoxic sets (3.5.7) unlike before. So I'm starting to have grave doubts as to tomorrow's race. I was really thinking I could actually race it (funny as it will be my FIRST tri, full of myself, yes I am) and now I'm thinking maybe I'm living in the land of quaintness.

At any rate I'll find out early tomorrow or freeze to death trying. We got hit with a norte yesterday and it was FREEZING this am for the bike. I can't imagine being WET and doing the bike. If I don't die of frozeness tomorrow it will be from exploding swelled head or from the quaintness.

Didja know the 20km bike has THREE LOOPS? And the 5km run has TWO? Now THAT is quaint. :) I'm not sure but I think that either we will swim from the sea up a laguna and river or will be running a fair amount from the swim to the bike. SO quaint.

Double oh, I was down 2 kg last week but the legs were dead so I increased my food intake and plopped on another kilo. Sigh. Was hoping for less rolls of fat tomorrow. Now I totally need to rethink my wardrobe choices for jiggle AND frozeness. Sigh.

Coming out of the closet

So I finally came out to my husband and it did not go well at all. He found the entire idea completely laughable and pooh-poohed the idea I would attempt it. This was coming off a week of doubt and discouragement as I compared current speed and ability with November. Well, even June. I talked to him a couple days later (on our 90km ride) and he confessed that he was so flabbergasted at the idea and knew HE wouldn't be able to do it, he couldn't imagine anyone doing it. Even though MANY do. But he totally does support me. I did know it all along because the man has a mouth/brain with absolutely NO filter whatsoever. Normally I don't let stuff like that get to me because he is really very Homeresque in his talk, but it had been a tough week for me mentally. Physically I'm great. Runs are increasing at 5% weekly, bike has been over 200km/wk for the past 3 weeks and we're just going to ignore the swim portion. The sea has been wicked rough, then the sea lice came to visit (baby jellies which sure do sound cute but give you a 2-week rash) and that put a stop to most swimming. This week I was supposed to concentrate on swimming but the baby jellies came to town so next week, PROMISE must be a swim day every day before I forget how it works.

Next weekend I lose my trivirginity with my first tri in 25+ years, and as such, I'm reinstating tri-virginity and calling it my 1st triatlon. It is a sprint and I have no idea what I'll be doing but I will be having fun (unless I'm battling sea lice or puking). Pike is going to come with me and I'm going to make this a recovery week. Except I really can't imagine DECREASING workouts when I've been on a mission to INCREASE since November. "They" say it is a good thing though, but it sure will be weird. Another reason to push the swim next week. :) I'll run as usual and just decrease the bike (though that might kill me). Jamie and I did a new long ride - down to Tulum and back - some 90km and it only took 3.5 hours (ouch, yes we were on couches for the ride and took 3 stops (pee, pee and store for Poweraid). We have a lot of work to do there. So now we have short (40km), medium (60km - our old "long" ride) and long (90km) rides. I was humbled at the end of the 90km ride to realize I'd only done 1/2 the ironman length. yikes. Very scary. Almost as scary as the snake in the picture. Yes, that is from our Tulum ride and I have more respect for the jungle (looks out the back window at said jungle). Today I saw a dead coral snake but this road kill was so impressive that it took us a bit and then I told Jamie we HAD to turn around and go look at it. It was amazing in a very weird way.

February totals:
Swim 17.5M +
Bike 770km
Run almost 8 hours.

Last pic is Xel-Ha ruins along the medium (60km) ride.

quandry

I got maybe 2 hours sleep last night and then another (maybe 1.5 to 2). I had 40 km bike and 13 min run planned for today. I'm thinking of blowing off the ride and moving my 39 min Friday run to today and doing today's run tomorrow, or I could take the day off. Looking over my calendar my last day off was 2/5 (I only ran 10 min).

Should I do Friday's run today, do today's run and skip bike, HTFU and do both run and bike or take a full day off? (last full day off was Jan 24th - when I was recovering from my hospital stint)...

FEN and me inscribi!

I'm not sure why all the neonatologists use that abbreviation for Feeding and Nutrition, but I hear it all the time. Some use it for Feeding, Electrolytes and Nutrition and that makes perfect sense and it is a huge challenge for me. I figure out finally I need to eat before a bike ride. For some reason I don't bonk, but I have little to nothing left in the tank on the backside (return) of each bike if I don't eat first (and we always ride first thing in the am) so I started experimenting. I found 1/2 a scoop of Cytomax does nothing. I found eating right before exercise is a bad idea. I did, however, find that a bowl of oatmeal (or cereal) 1-2 hours before a ride gives me energy (or at least, I'm not STARVING and dead) on the backside of rides. Which makes the bricked run all the better. I tried yesterday eating too close to the bike and only puked a little bit but was nauseous the whole time. So now I just have to get the electrolytes dialed in. All our water is dead here (purificada) so when we sweat a lot we have to take in some kind of suero to replenish the electrolyte deficiency. Jamie uses Cytomax but my stomach can only handle 1/2 scoop per bottle of that stuff and that is not enough. I am going to experiment with Electrolit (along the idea of pedialyte) and see how that goes.

I FINALLY got signed up for the triatlon! So now I can officially worry. It is only a sprint (750m, 20k, 5k) so it should be a blip on the radar but the weather has been so awful this last week I've only been in the water twice. And I have no idea WHAT to wear. I'd love to just change clothes for each event (swimsuit, bibs and jersey, running shorts) but I think I'd get laughed at for that and the event is so short (just over an hour, I'd guess) it really would be laughable to do all those clothing changes. But I'm horrified at the spectacle of my ass jiggling all over in spandex on the run. Sigh. Yes, these are the important things. :) I'm thinking of using the top in this picture but (and thus the reason for the blurred pic) is that headlights seem to be an issue with this one and I wonder about chafing during the swim.

Today should be medium run and swim day but the sea is still a whirlpool and wind is super high (so you actually get a "current" both ways - wind pushes top water one way and current takes you the other) so I have my doubts. Also Jamie insists I should be taking 1 day completely off everything (and I have my doubts about that also) but he's a cyclist so that probably applies to cycling but I'm not sure about triatlon.

kilometers under the bridge

That was a long week of riding for me, and I feel like such a poser for feeling like that. I see other workouts/weeks that are much harder than mine but all I can do is to continue to plug along. I don't know what happened to swimming this week - Jamie talked me into an extra day of riding and by the 4th day (in a row) my legs were pretty dead but I could also feel added strength that had not been there before - like stressing them with hard days (I had 2 days were I PR'd the turnaround each day) only made them stronger. Weird. I feel like I *should* make up my swim workouts this week but during my run this morning I decided to just do my normal 3 and see if there is time on the weekend for a 4th. So I'm "behind." Who really is keeping count? We're into our windy season too which makes the cycling a challenge. Pic below is from the "long" ride turnaround (59 km RT) and shows the wind (which is a headwind on the returns). Jamie had a challenging week with 2 flats and a broken seat rail.

I had been a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to FINISH the sprint coming up (and finally, last week they got inscripciones so I just need to pick one up now) but my running legs made an appearance last week and I started negative splitting runs again. Nice to find those guys again. I missed them. I've been keeping it super slow - last week was 12-24-36 and this week will be 13-26-39 but the legs are feeling much stronger and I think I'm probably picking up the pace. Running with a purpose instead of just plopping along.

It has been alternately cool and dry (desert dry - hovering between 40-65% humdidity - INSANELY dry) and we're finally getting some warm weather. We had some days where I had for it to warm up to exercise and a couple days I was sleeveless. Must be spring. Mozzies are coming back and the DDT truck has already made an appearance.

Hoping to bring swimming back this week (the water is UGLY though) and keep the cycling strong and keep the running strong. I've also been rolling my legs once a week in the hopes of preventing another tear.

Stats:
Swim: 2487 m
Bike: 212 km, 7 hr 18 min
Run: 2 hr 12 min.

the earth is flat!

because for about a week I fell off the end of it! I think I've exhausted my picture options and can't think of different ones to take so I had no reason to post. My swim partner (my 14yo) had been sick earlier and missed a few swims, but he did go out on one very rough sea day. We've had (actually typical for this time of year) rough seas far too often that make for really squirrley days. First and foremost in my mind is the recent shark attack and when the seas change from crystal clear (normal) to anything non-crystal clear (what I would call murky but the tourists claim is clear) I get super squirrley.

We had a ray on one swim that really drove my son nuts. He HATES those rays. I've seen super giant eagle rays and a baby ray, but this was just a normal either manta or sting ray and we saw him on 3 or 4 laps. He was just swimming (flying) around and I'd always see the long tail first. These days with these old eyes, I see lots of "tails" that turn out to be simply floaters in my eyes. Yesterday we had a baracudda follow us one lap to the reef (6th of 7) and my son was REALLY freaked at the cudda. I've seen them a number of times before but this one was swimming with his mouth closed and didn't bother me that much. I hate it when they just hang out in the water with their mouths wide open, showing off all those terrible teeth. I make a HUGE detour (even though they supposedly don't bite) and always make sure I'm not wearing anything that sparkles.

So yesterday when we got a calm day in the water (the photo above is from my morning run and it was a little more choppy when we swam but nothing like the huge waves and chop we'd endured the past week) it was absolutely lovely. My shoulder has been bothering me the more mileage I add and I finally figured out it must be an AC separation. However, since it happened decades ago I don't have much hope of 'fixing' it so I guess I just keep the swim mileage down as much as possible while continuing to train.

We never made it to the Operacion Periferico - last weekend Jamie's back was too hurt for the 5 hour drive to Merida and this weekend just doesn't work so it is looking like that will be a bust. I'm also not going to register for the 5K swim on the 26th, but have been patiently waiting for the inscripciones for the triatlon on the 13 of March to arrive. Even though it has been open to inscripciones since beginning March, they just don't have the paperwork here yet. All pictures are from my run route. It is always a crapshoot if the shot will work or not so I just take 3721 pictures and hope for the best.

I've also had my first week where I wasn't chomping at the bit to go out. I'm not sure what I would have done yesterday if my son hadn't come down to drag me away from work and hit the water. I just wasn't looking forward to it. Too many injuries - shoulder for swim and 2 weeks into my BarryP plan I'm waiting for the ax to drop on my calf. I've stopped expecting I will be injury free for the run, but keep hoping.

So, this week by numbers (I'll add in today's workout even though it is early):
Swim 8840 yd.
Bike 180 km 6.5ish hours
Run 107 minutes.

I finally looked at training plans and I think I'm going to loosely combine Trifuel and BT HIM plans and then see what happens after June's HIM.

total bummer, dude

So the ice storm (or whatever) that hit somewhere up north apparently pretty much closed down all consultations at the hospital I work for so Tuesday, Wed and early Thursday were such busts in work volume that I added some more workouts. I did a full triatlon on Wednesday and it really hammered home the realization that maybe I bit off a LOT more than I can chew. I have to keep reminding myself I'm no longer in my 20s or 30s (or even 40s) and can't expect my body to do now what it did then. Then I smack myself upside the haid and tell my self to stuff it.

We were supposed to head to Merida this weekend for Operacion Periferico (80km bike) but Jamie's back seized up last night and he can't even tolerate the 5 hour drive there. Jesse is off school on Monday (signing of the constitution today so holiday is bumped to Monday) and it would have been a great long weekend. Plus there is some athletic event to be watched via satellite (we don't have here) in the middle of North America or something - I'd have to ask the Wisconsin-born husband exactly what it is. :)

I'm really surprised that I'm bummed about missing etapa dos of the ride (they'll have stages 3, 4 and 5 on the weekends to come) but I didn't want to go by myself as I was looking forward to a family weekend and I need a driver so I can work on the drive home. So I'm hoping for next weekend.

January wrap up

I'm very slowly finding local events and adding them to the sidebar and wishing there was a central location for all this. I just today found a swimming event that apparently has been open for a while and the price has jumped $50 after 1-31. Swimming season apparently runs Oct to something here. I've been out of swimming so long I don't even know what it used to be when I was a swimmer in the US. I'm also having a really hard time afiliating myself. FMTRI has a website for afiliacion but it isn't working. The local QRoo contact says it should be working yesterday. The national site doesn't work at all. I asked them for bank info (it is very common here to make a purchase by going to the bank and depositing the price of the item in the holder's account and then sending them the transcription info) and am still waiting. I think I'm going to have to try loading the site on my laptop (and XP versus W7) and see if that does the trick. Meanwhile I'm still pondering the 5K on 2-26 as the incripcion price is $450 now, $100 to FMN as I'm not affiliated (but an aguas abiertas or masters afiliacion would cost $300 anyway) and that is a far cry from the usual under $100 I am used to for 10K runs. Running is definitely cheaper here than swim or tri. Course, Jamie and I are planning an 80km ride this weekend in Merida and that is only $40 so I suppose both bike and run are cheap here. I have to be honest that I'm a little skeered of the bike ride - it is a 5-stage event and I'm worried they'll all be fast pro boys and I'll get left in the dust for 2 hours.

I'm a mess of nerves lately - can't inscribirme, worried about that ride this weekend and most recently we had a shark attack 80km north (Cancun). SO not looking forward to today's swim. Pretty much all we have here are bulls and they are territorial and I'm really hoping they AREN'T temped to head into our bay (though they tend to like shallow water). Now I'm really obsessing.

So, January by the numbers...
Swim 16,380
Bike 231.23
Run 2 hr 45 min
Super low numbers but I do still have that hospital card...
lastly yesterday reached 77.5kg (from 80kg roid weight)

Heading out for my run and since it is only 29C I just can't justify sleeveless. Since all the nortes the warmer weather feels so much warmer than it really is. Should hit 33C today though.

Can someone do me a favor and see if you can get this to load? I cannot select "selecciones" there is nothing to select (and thus I cannot afiliate myself)
FMITRI afiliacion

swimming monday

Today was my longest swim so far and my first foray back into something other than freestyle. Robin posted a "swim meet workout" and I thought it sounded fun. I had to give up after about 2400 yd as the fly was destroying my bad shoulder but the workout sure made the time FLY! I had to rely on Pike to remember how many laps (9) as they were flying by for me. Water should have been calm with the lack of wind but it was medium choppy and a challenge for backstroke. Still an good workout followed by a 20 min run. This was much better than yesterday's run - it always takes me around 1-2 miles to warm up and my legs were just feeling good when I had to stop. To be honest though, my legs are so out of shape that I was READY to stop (after only 20 min. sob!) Picture is of my swim partner, my 14yo. He has a really nice stroke - we just need to work on his breathing. Feels like the last norte is on its way out - warmer today and it was warm enough to run sleeveless and swim sans t-shirt. Hoping we'll get a few more days before the next norte. Actually ran the AC today.

old skool or senile?

After my last post I decided to suck it up and schedule out my runs. I have had 2 years of injury with running - tearing my calf muscle every 3 months like clockwork - and finally decided to do BarryP's 1:2:3 program to try and avoid that. However, I managed to tear one last time, then we had an international trip, then we all got sick (due to airplane air, I'm guessing) and then I ended up in the hospital. So while I ran a week in January, that was my first consistent week since November. And honestly, I'm scared to get excited again just to get injured again. HOWEVER, I do have a plan and I have a trigger point roller (much easier to use than the fire extinguisher I was using before our stock-up trip to the US) so it is time to suck it up and deal.

So I planned running out to May. And I'm excited again. So excited that I'm going to run today BEFORE cycling if I can time it right between work and Jamie waking and temperatures. He hates riding in the heat and it looks like today the last norte (#24?) is leaving us (and we'll finally be able to thaw out a bit). I also scoured the web for local events and FOUND some. This is pretty rare as for running events, we generally get the convocatorias about a week before the event. So that was pretty exciting. I added them to my sidebar so they wouldn't be lost and now I have RACES!

So then I figured I'd look at IM plans. I mean all the cool kids do them and there seem to be a LOT of them out there. But honestly, they are doing Nothing for me. I looked at a few and they are Very Specific (and maybe this will come back to haunt me) but I ride hard when I want to ride hard, I swim hard when I want to and well, running, I'm just trying to stay uninjured. I can't imagine doing the intervals and times and sets and blah. I enjoy riding, I enjoy kicking Jamie's ass (VERY INFREQUENTLY) and I enjoy looking at the fishies and hoping the Big Giant Fish Who Will Not Be Named leaves me alone when I swim. I enjoy increasing the effort and increasing the distance but I'll be damned if I start doing cadence this and one-legged spinning that. Yuck. I'd rather not even train if that is the training. I might really regret this come November, but I've found some earlier races (and even an HIM in June over in Veracruz) so I can see how things stack up. My first (and only) triatlon was an HIM and I did not train more than 1 sport a day and refused to train running. Yeah, WHAT WAS I THINKING? But it was okay (okay, the run SUCKED ASS) but I did it. And I wasn't dead last. I'm only doing Cozumel for myself and I really have no desire for X time or placing - it is the most local race around here and very easy for me to get to. Plus I'm looking forward to challenging myself.

I got out on the run today and 10 minutes about killed me. Jamie and I WORKED the last 2 days on the bike and I'm totally feeling it now. Tomorrow to swim and 20 min run.

This week by numbers:
(did nothing Sun or Mon)
Swim: 5440yd (around 2 hr)
Bike: 160km (5:20 hr)
Run: 10 min.

Looking forward to next week.

too skeered to run

My first love, rediscovered, because I started swimming at 11 (in my mother's swimsuit) on the Auburn Tigers' swim team and kept at it until my early 20s and discovered cycling in my mid 20s and triathlon was a natural extension of that (but I hated to run) so I never ran until my first triathlon (Santa Barbara in the mid 80s) and hated the run (half marathon) so much I stopped running until I hit middle age. Gawds. I guess I'm middle aged. So a couple years ago I decided I finally wanted to lose all that baby weight. I was around 90kg and I eventually lost 15 of those (but those days in the hospital on 'roids have added 3 kg I'm trying hard to lose, and honestly I could stand to lose another 5kg on top of that) by walking and then running. I LOVED running. Until I started cycling again. And now that I've added more laps to my swims (I do 8 laps now - just under 3000 yd per Google Earth) I'm starting to enjoy swimming. And poor running, which was my absolute new found joy is now the black sheep of the family as it causes me one injury after another. I think I'm skeered to run. Right now I'm using the excuse that I am now just a week out of the hospital and one sport a day is enough. That and all that extra jiggly weight and I don't want to scare my neighbors or the palaperos or workers here with my jello flesh all to obvious in shorts.

I had a great ride today - totally worked the outbound (with tailwind) and hit 32:30 at the turnaround which Jamie thinks might be close to a best time. Expected the return to be a huge fail as we're all still sick, I have that lovely hospital excuse (riding that train all the way) and the headwind should have been brutal. Except it wasn't. So either the tailwind we had going out died as we turned around or it wasn't the tailwind I thought it was. Came back just under 19mph average for the 40km.

Tomorrow is the Copa Gobernador but I'm not sure we'll head over. I thought we might ride the course in our new jersey (well *I* would) especially since work is so slow and we still might. I found a nonprofessional cycling event over in Merida I've talked Jamie into doing (didn't take much) and although it has already started (it is a 5-stage event complete with stage, point and overall jerseys) but they'll let us in. Sweet.

Tomorrow I run. Only 10 minutes,but I've officially run out of excuses. Hard to believe I was doing 10 mile runs last fall.

Pictures from the end of yesterday's swim and today's bike. I had a weird swim - really rough at the start but by my last lap it had totally calmed down. Swam late - I hate swimming in late afternoon/feeding time. Last couple laps had me looking over my shoulder to the deep blue and hoping for no company.

Grey and cloudy sea swim

I didn't want to go out today. It was cold and grey. I did it anyway. Another 2740 in the bank (8 laps to the reef and back). I had a lot of trouble coughing and tight chest but an hour or so after exercise was fine. Ended the swim with 3 x 170. Funny set. Got my HR up though. How about my "poor man's" wetsuit top? Cold days I wear a tshirt over my grannysuit. Nice for insulation.

Languishing in indecision

So yesterday was a GOOD day. I was up all day, took at walk with Jamie and the dog on Janten and had no lung issues. Up at 6am today and still waiting for the work to come in, and am waffling about exercise. Docs said to wait a week - it has been 4. I have the desire to head out now but (excuses) flat tire on bike and scared to run or swim. It is definitely the temperature for both - (our thermometer walked off a week or so ago so I have to go with Accuweather which says 23C but I'm sure it is warmer than that) but I don't want to land back with issues again. So I'm waffling. DOG doesn't even want to go for a walk. Sheesh. Aren't dogs supposed to LIVE for walks? He wants to sleep and maybe, when I'm mired in work and homeschooling, later on today will be DYING for one. Um, who's the alpha here?

Too many choices perhaps.

If I ride Jamie will totally freaque out so no riding. I should get out there and swim then. I was bursting at the seams to exercise while hospitalized, so why the indecision now?

Oh, and yes, the dog chases coconuts. He wouldn't know what to do with a ball if it came covered in peanut butter and flew in front of his nose. Born in Belize and reared on the Caribbean, he's a coco dog.

Update - I did it! I got super freaked when my hr rose and it took about 45 minutes before I felt comfortable with the (normally) elevated hr and I had to keep taking experimentation deep breaths to make sure I wasn't going to have a recurrence. I guess I was more freaked out than I thought. By the end of the ride, however, (40km) I was VERY comfortable riding and are our jerseys gorgeous or what? Not sure if I'm going to run or not, but tomorrow is definitely on for a swim. I am pretty sure I'm back and glad of it.

Progress?

So I was upright all day today! Woohoo! (snark) I gobsmacks me that I have gone from 2 sports a day to considering the day a success because I wasn't horizontal all day. I had hopes for a walk today but I wasn't up for it. I had very few episodes of coughing today and did some light cleaning so I'm hoping for a walk tomorrow. No meds today - I think getting a good night of sleep has restored more health than any meds could. Lung function seems to be almost completely back. Still a bit lightheaded but that's to be expected after 4 days horizontal. I have to wonder if I would have been hospitalized in the US and if the docs here are just more conservative with treatment.

tired lungs and hospital stay

So Tuesday Jamie and out headed out for our 40km normal bike and about 23 minutes in I had to stop and eventually ended up in the ER and then admitted for 3 days. It wasn't until today, when I could take a full deep breath without coughing that I realized it hadn't been all in my head (psychosomatic). I'm still not sure what happened but the docs called it bronchospasms secondary to hyperinflation. I was unable to get more than 1 word out at a time before dissolving into coughs and was only able to take half breaths. After a full day with Dr. Google, I'm thinking it was exercise induced bronchospasm due secondary to a respiratory viral illness and I'm really hoping it just goes away. I've been home for a full day now and I'm totally wiped. For some reason I had it in my head that once I was released from the hospital I'd be jumping right back into my training program but right now I'm just working on being upright without lapsing into fast breathing and coughing.

And our glorious Mexico jerseys got here (actually on the 18th but they couldn't figure out where we live so Jamie picked them up at the office yesterday). Jamie headed out for a ride this morning and I was jealous beyond belief. Hoping for walking tomorrow. Well, hoping for upright and walking maybe. This is insane.

rough seas, long swim

(pic is from the "military point" on janten - point in the picture is end of Janten and beginning of Paamul bay - almost home)

I have been feeling the need to increase my swim workouts. I usually aim for 6 laps (1920 yd) but was thinking on the run today that I really need to aim for 10 laps (3400 yd). So as I was doing my longest run this year (30 min!) I figured I'd go for 10. The water looked a little choppy at JanTen but I wasn't sure if it would hold for PaaMul bay also.

As I started my run I was wondering if I should do 10 (since I didn't run yesterday) or 20 (planned) or 30. My reasoning for 30 was that I was going to do it some time this week and I was already a bit nauseous so in the event I got too sick to run I'd at least have gotten in my "long" run. I found it incredibly ironic during the run that last year I was running 10 miles and now my hard, long run was 30 min. It was nice and warm today - low 30's I'd say and the sweat was ROLLING off me after that 30 min run just like in the summertime. Looks like this past norte is HISTORY.

I was hoping my stomach would cooperate for the swim and as I headed out to the beach I realized the water was much rougher than I expected. I then scaled back my expectations and figured I'd figure it out after a couple laps. It was actually easier swimming directly into the waves than coming back with them - there were times it felt like my feet were going to summersault me over as the wave would pick them up and my arms tried to keep going forward. Good times. Pike was too sick to come out with me and it gave me a chance to really work the swim. I ended up doing 8 laps but I was D.O.N.E. after the 8th one. I'm hoping that with calmer water I will be able to handle more because if 8 laps are my limit I'm in SERIOUS trouble. So, this next week will be 8 laps each swim (or 10 if it isn't rough). My bad shoulder was starting to twinge so 8 was a good time to stop. Oh, and a couple swims ago I found my seabed landmarks again so I don't zigzag across the bay. Oh x2 the tourist boat is back. Kinda slows down the swim as I wait for it to come across the reef and then again to drop anchor but nice to see the guys again.

It's those changes in latitude

I don't know how people from northern latitudes do it and I'm growing a batch of kids who think the same. We've had 2-3 days of grey and rainyish weather and after about 4 hours of grey the entire household (palapahold? we don't really live in a house) fell into a funk that was not removed until the sun peeked out. I've been on a swim strike since early December (when the thermometer fell to the teens (Celsius) but finally sucked it up (literally, I'm carrying about 5kg of holiday "cheer") and the 14yo and I headed out. THREE TIMES this past week. I had to wear a shirt one day (poor man's wetsuit) but it was definitely tolerable after the first 1/2 lap.

After the swimming success I headed out for a ride yesterday in a drizzle! Normally we just don't ride here when it rains - there is only 1 road to ride on (the carretera) and it gets slick with rain (concrete) AND when it rains here it is a tropical rain normally - a HUGE DUMP of water in a short period of time. It is very common for cars to simply pull over until the deluge is over and wait it out (rarely more than a few minutes). But this looked like it would be a short drizzle and by the time I got to Pto Adventuras (4 km south) it was dry. I've seen rains where one side of the carretera was dry and the other side had rain. It is amazing rain here. I was feeling really good on my ride but ever since this norte came to town the winds have been back to tailwind out and headwind home and it seemed like I was flying at around 30kph average on the outbound (and 35:30 to turnaround) but I only averaged 25kph for the ride, so the headwind coming home must have been worse than I thought.

My long (20 min) run this week gave me the feeling that I'm finally getting my run mojo back - I wanted to keep going and went long on the outbound forgetting I had to turn around at 10 min. I really hope this program helps me to stay healthy. I also picked up a trigger point roller in the Huenited States and Really need to get using that RIGHT NOW. I still haven't done a long (30) min run yet as due to sickness, injury and travel (the trifecta?) this is the first week I've put in a regular routine. But if nothing else over the last year I sure hope I've learned not to push the miles, instead I need to back off more. It is killing me to see the tiny amount I'm running but if I'm going to get over this chronic injury and run a marathon in Cozumel (YIKES!) I really need to get this under control. So 10-20-30 it is.

This week by the numbers:
Swim 3840 yd
Bike 63.44 m
Run 1 hour
Probably well under 10 hours. I'm guessing around 6.5 hours (2 hours swim, 3.5 bike, 1 hr run)
next week planning:
Swim 1920 x 3
Bike 160 km
run 1:30ish
so, 2.25 + 5.5 + 1.5 = 9.25

And since the GD raccoons woke me at 3something am getting into my neighbor's garbage (right next to my head) and I finally gave up at 4:45 and got up, it is time for another pot of cawfee before heading out on today's 40km bike and 10 min run.