diary of a long run

I normally try to do my long run (75-90 min) on Friday or Saturday but I've never really been happy with it.  I do medium (hourish) runs on Monday and Wednesday and it always felt like a long week by the time that Friday came along so I've been toying with the idea of moving the long run around.  Sunday doesn't really work as Monday is a medium run.  I think it is more of a mental thing as my legs feel pretty much the same all the time, but I still wanted to try moving things around.  Saturday morning I'm trying to catch up on leftover Friday night work and long runs in the hot tropical sun just don't go over as well as they used to.  I can do a short run midday but prefer to shift the longer ones to early evening when the heat is not bad (or take advantage of a rainstorm and go then).

After yesterday's aborted bike ride, I figured I'd try this morning, do a short run Monday and move the medium runs to Wed and Fri and see how that went.  After this morning I'm LOVING the idea of a Sunday long run.  Who knew it was so much cooler in the early morning?  Ellen opened and obtained 7 pesos worth of coco water for me yesterday (I pay her to provide me with coco water) and it really is the best hydration I've found.  I had a bottle of Gatorade mixed from yesterday's ride (which got shortened due to too many issues) that I didn't use/need so I got that out for the 2nd loop for today's run.  Everyone was sleeping when I left, the sun had about an hour in the sky (mas o menos) and I had no vertigo.  Yet.  The first lap was lovely and incredibly cool.  It looks like one nest has either hatched or animals got into it as a flock of birds was fighting over leftovers and there were shells all over the beach.  I seem to remember it as being one of the first turtle nests on that beach so I'm hoping it was a hatching.  I was shocked to see all the "foresty" areas of jungle where the bush grows over the path were in total shade!  What a concept! 

The second loop was a bit warmer but I was really doing quite well until about 65 minutes in, which tells me that I need more long runs under my belt.  I can handle anything up to a hour with ease and feel good the entire time but after about 65 minutes it gets harder so before I bump up the runs to 5 hours per week I'm going to hang at 4.5 hours for the next week or 2 and see if that makes a difference.  By the time I hit my stretching spot the tourists were starting to trickle in and the day was heating up.  I was really glad I'd gotten my run in.  After last night's ride I have decided that I'm going to abandon the aero attempt as I really just need to get more hours in the saddle.  I'm going back to the Bontrager and if/when an Adamo shows up at our doorstep I'll think about going aero but for now I'm missing out on too much training trying to find a comfortable position in aero.  Last picture is from my stretching spot and I'm actually stretching in the picture - my favorite for ass muscles.  Love that stretching spot. 

swim motivation

After perusing Rob's most excellent blog, I was inspired to get my ass in the water.  He has a real eye for photography and I'm also now hoping this little camera hastens it's eminent demise so I can get a waterproof one, but for now I'm just going to use baggies.  So, with budding excitement of swimming a new area, I convinced Pike to accompany me to Jantan as Google maps showed I could get an easy 1300m just width-wise of the bay.  What I didn't figure into the equation was the need for depth.  It never occurred to me that the majority of what I could see of the south of the bay was pure reef and very, very, very shallow.  After about 300m with no hope for an end in sight I abandoned as I could not even make a stroke without scraping my fingers over coral and I didn't want to wait to see if sea urchins would be added to the mix.  I also had a little boy over (sibling of Ellen's friend) on the beach and getting quite bored.  So I'm now thinking I'll do some widths of our bay instead of out and back to the reef, but even if that doesn't work I'm more appreciable of our deeper waters.  I'm also thinking I need to get more to the middle of Jantan as I know it is deep enough at the middle.   Course there again I'm left with an out-and-back to the far reef swim.  Life is tough. 

The first picture is where I THOUGHT I could start from, what we call "Kilo beach" but that was way too shallow.  The 2nd picture is our 2nd attempt, which I think was also too shallow.  The far green is where I eventually went in, but it ended up still being Way Too Shallow to actually swim.
 
The last picture is where I finally got out and you can see the point in all the pictures - that was my end goal.   I think I need to borrow a kayak (or maybe even spring for one) to be able to investigate before I commit body to water OR grow the balls needed to get further out along the far reef where it has to be deeper (as evidenced by blue water) but I think that might go against the agreement I have with the sharks - they stay on their side of the reef and I stay on mine.  I need to ramp up the swimming this week so I'll probably stick to our bay.  I'm pretty pleased I managed to get 3 swims (albeit 1 aborted) this last week after suffering such apathy previously.  Course now that it is down to less than 2 months from the HIM I have that motivation to get back on track also.  The tourists continue to fill the pool at all hours of the day and night so the sea is really the only place I have to train.  Cudda or not, I need to get out there or I'm going to be suffering in September.  Thanks to Robs blog I am also considering a jaunt to Bacalar next weekend to swim Cenote Azul again and dip my toes into the laguna itself.  That would be spectacular, but again, need a kayak to accompany me.  Hope our neighbor likes to share. 

progress

I'm "dialing" in my bike fit, as they say.  Still soreness and pain in the crotch but no more open sores.  I much prefer the aero position so I just need my crotch to put up with it.  So bike is back on the schedule.  AND, yesterday I finally got back in the water

now I need to keep that up today and Friday and the week after and the week after that until I get trend going.  It was so much easier when the tourists weren't commandeering the pool but it is good for me to get out in the sea (even though I still REALLY HATE that barracuda).

nos to the left of me, nos to the right...

here I am, stuck in the middle...

Swim was a bust.  It figures that in a colonia with signs in English and Spanish (and after having been in almost all the states of Mexico and better traveled than most Mexicans in this country, I have NEVER seen that anywhere else) that they'd have RULES.  So no swimming in the canales while the kids sail.  The water is more clear over here anyway, but I know Puerto has triathletes so I might just search some out for swims but I have a feeling they do things On Time and On Schedule and dayum, but that is Not me.  Pretty much all training has gone to hell except running.  I'm gearing up to 5 hours a week next week and will hold there until the HIM in September.  So ONE thing is going well.  Bless me father, for I have sinned, it has been a week since my last swim.  WTH is my problem that I can't get in the water?  (well other than baracuddas and rough water and a pool that is now filling with tourists earlier and earlier and only 12 m (maybe?) long)  I am going to make a POINTED effort today.  I get compliant because I did 1:14 for last year's HIM on 6 weeks of training but a friend did 1:00 at a recent IM and dayum, but I'd like to swim that fast again.

I'm absolutely DISGUSTED with my weight gain.  I haven't been riding to normal amounts due to issues with saddle sores and my fing saddle in aero.  I had completely given up and decided not to chase the aerobars and just sit up but Jamie talked me into trying again and I'm back to being unable to sit on the damn thing again.  I got so discouraged last night (ride) that I tried very hard to turn around but he rallied, swapped saddles with me, I changed my lower back position and I got a glimmer of hope.  Then I swapped my saddle back (his seat tube) and spent the rest of the ride riding out of my saddle as I couldn't even sit on the damn thing.  but there is that glimmer now...  Picture is from the kids' sailing lessons, coming back from a dip in the open sea (a bit further away from the cove) and headed back to the dock.

swim motivation

I think I figured out motivation for swim.  I put the kids in sailing class and the beach/cove/area they work in is adjacent to what looks like a sweet swim area.  Course I have to trespass to get there, but anything worth doing has some risk involved.  I'm actually jonsing to swim there and I am usually trying to figure out how to avoid the swim.  Course, there could be nasty baracuddas there too but I am hoping the ship traffic (marina so lots of boats) would keep them away.  Well, I can hope.  Hope to get back to a normal training week this week after a week and a half of very abbreviated effort.  And hey, Desitin is now my friend.

I think I made a stupid mistake in trusting MexPost.  I got some nice cycling shoes (for a steal) off Ebay along with a trisuit and had our mail service ship it all down.  That was a month ago.  People have been reporting success with MexPost so I thought I'd chance it.  I guess that was stupid and I should have known better.  So now I need a mule and to figure out WTH the IRS had sent me (as all mail is now missing also).  I was really looking forward to using shoes that aren't too narrow and a trisuit and am kicking myself for trusting the mail.  I really should have known better.

La Bia

I had seen this watch somehow but figured they never got the backing and it didn't make it.  But apparently they have another week.  I have to say I'm not into technology to run and still don't have a GPS.  But I do kinda like this watch and love the "I've fallen and I can't get up" clapper aspect of the watch.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/956860865/bia-the-first-gps-sports-watch-for-womenby-women
They only need some $250K (dollars, not pesos, OUCH) to go, but it sure would be nice to see this come to market...

belly or crotch. it's a tossup.

So a month or so (or even more) ago, Jamie put my aerobars on my bike and while initially I never imagined I'd be coordinated enough to use them, I actually raced in them and had begun to try to access waterbottles while in aero and steer around obstacles and was really very much pretty comfortable after 2 hours in aero.  So then he decided my seat needed to be replaced as it had one broken rail and the cover torn in multiple places.  And that was then beginning of the end.  I had ridden about a week with the aerobars and the old saddle and was comfortable enough but the new saddle brought on issues I'm still dealing with even after going back to the old saddle.  Yeast (maybe?), open sores, friction rubs, pressure sores; I really have no idea what all I'm dealing with but it is beginning to feel overwhelming.  We tried making changes to saddle height, fore/aft, tilt and I found the Most Uncomfortable Position but never really dialed in anything "comfortable."

I've also been battling both a stomach thing and my yearly vertigo nonsense, though by today, it seems to have waned once again.  I have not been able to figure out WTH causes it, but it comes yearly and stays for weeks to months.   I got off easily this year.  So I'm going into a 2nd week of hardly any training.  Driving me insane and that is reflected in a 3kg weight gain which makes me just a little bit MORE insane.  Also when I've been sick for a while I start to doubt my illness (especially when it is vague) and wonder if I'm just being lazy or burned out or have lost all motivation.  It is a seriously sucking drain of positive thought.

But I've been trying to run and got up to 3 hours last week and have hopes that this week I'll get back into the swing of things.  But after such a long time of little to nothing, the motivation is sorely lacking.  And we still haven't fixed the bike/seat issues.  But at least I'm running.  And I need to get back into the water again too.  Hmmm...  11:00 a.m.  Good a time as any to do something. 

all marked up and ready to roll

well, this will be the proof in the pudding.  Tomorrow will be my first repeat triathlon.  Last year this was my very first triathlon and I hope I've learned some things in the last year.  For example, remember my goggles (forgot them last year), put a full water bottle on the bike (last year I totally blanked the concept of providing myself water and came off the bike rather dehydrated) and have fun.  Fun part is easy.  I really love this one even though it is a sprint and each leg is just about what it takes for me to warm up, I LOVE the swim upriver.  We start on a beach, swim out to sea and the UPCURRENT to the end of swim.  It is total madness in the river and casualties everywhere as it is somewhat difficult at the end of the swim to swim against a solid current.  Which I guess, is what makes it so fun.  Swim is longer than most sprints at 750 m, so I'll get almost warmed up.

Entrega de paquetes was "interesting" today.  Jamie accompanied me and it is a good thing he's not racing tomorrow as he was so stressed out.  First, FMI has yet to assign me a number or put me in their database but I brought my comprobante from the deposit and the FMTRI guys admitted that I was definitely enrolled and they'd just deal with the computer issues on their end.  Then at package pickup they could NOT find my name, apparently because (lacking a 2nd last name) the folks who put my name into the event database decided I must be loco not using my 2nd last name (which I do not have unlike a proper Mexican) so they just gave me one (unbeknownst to me) and changed my name a bit to boot.  So instead of Kathleen Smith, they gave me Lea Smita Kata and I have to say that is the Most Unique bastardization of my name I've EVER seen.  Jamie had smoke coming out his ears by then.



So then I get my paquete, my shirt and look for my bike number (as we turn bikes in today) and nope, no bike number.  Jamie is about ready to blow but I'm nonplussed.  The volunteer apologizes profusely and says not to worry, I'm one of 3 without bike numbers (how spayshull!) and they'll have something for me tomorrow.  Okeydokey.  I go to get marked and ingress my bike and Jamie is having a coronary that my bike has no number.  I just hold up my run number for the picture (here you always have yourself and your bike photographed before dropping at T1) and told him to wait in the shade.

So now I just have to decide what to wear.  I really like to be able to change but that ain't gonna happen in a sprint, so I'm actually thinking of my swimsuit under my tri shorts.  Should work, right?  And I'm also 4/4 in something new on race day with a new saddle (only 2 rides on it so far) but I love to thumb my nose at tradition.  Nothing new on race day, I say HA!  Should be a fun race.  I expect to win my AG and would like to get into the 1:15 time group (take off 11 min) but I'm not sure that will be possible in such a short race, so I suppose I should just be happy with any time off.  This poor lady to the left had 2 kids.  Husband had one sleeping kid and his bike and she had the other one. 

long time... many kilos

So I worked all weekend, long days, and today there is very little work, so using this opportunity to catch up while I troubleshoot a noisy harddrive on my desktop. I gained a good 5 kg over December. Hard to believe that you can't continue to eat like you did training but without doing the training part. Who knew?

Winter was supposed to be run focused but instead, while I pretty much only ran in December, I injured my injury-prone calf twice in January. I've been cycling pretty much off and on but here in February I'm pretty much cycling steadily at least 3 short (40km) rides and 1 medium (60km) a week. I'm 5 days into running after the last injury and I'm going to stay away from the Newtons and Kirvana for a good long while and REALLY do the BarryP starting this week (natch) instead of thinking I can get away with 3 hours a week in random amounts.

But I've been in the pool/water only ONCE the entire year. It has been a very mild winter so I really have no reason not to other than shaving (TMI?, well, actually waxing) and the fact that until I get my "asthma" (diagnosed by Dr. Google) under control I'm limited to the 12? meter pool which is normally overrun with tourists...I'm not sure I had a point there. Suffice to say I need to get back into the water. And I really need to lose those damn 5 kg so I can get back to continuing the downward trend. I'd really like to see 65 or 67 kg this year.

The maid is here today! the maid is here today! (gawd I love her even though I still need to teach her basics)

Wore arm warmers for the very first time this winter yesterday. We've got a norte for the first time since last November and I think winter just might have finally arrived. Boo. Go back north.

the aftermath and goals

OMG I did a MARATHON! I still can't believe it. That was such a HUGE obstacle in my head that I'm not sure I'll really believe it until I run one outside a triatlon. Yup, that's MY logic. It isn't real after 180km bike and 3.8 km swim, but done all by itself it would be real. Go figure.

I want to lose the flab I have on me - that will help much more than any toys, and work on an aero position on the bike. I want to make 30, 60, 90 (minutes) my "normal" ratio for weekly running (30min 3x, 60 min 2x and 90 min 1x) and I need to work on my swim. A 1:17 is just shameful especially on a "fast" course.

I got wicked sick afterwards (due no doubt to the norte that rolled in) and yesterday was so achy and feverish I didn't think I'd ever train again. Today I'm thinking seriously about a run. Just a very short 5k, but still something. I should probably swim too. I also need to figure out my race schedule (dayum but does that sound professional?) for next year and I really want to participate in all the great aguas abiertas (OWS) we have down here.

I don't think I could ever thank Jamie, the kids and my sister enough for the gift of their support and encouragement as theirs was over the top. I know I would not have been able to do it without them, so they are the real champions. Mil gracias familia mia.

IM Cozumel race report

I actually was nervous about the swim. I had planned to start my swim training at the point that Jesse got sick so that was out and I ended up with a short season (5 weeks) of swim. But back when dinosaurs roamed the earth I swam (AAU) so I figured that would have to do. I had done one 3000 m swim and felt strong and figured that was a good sign. I jumped into the front group hoping find a spot to avoid and melee and on the way there was a giant eagle ray in the water. I must be jaded cause I was thinking it wasn't that big a deal and when they are a meter away from you (as they are in our bay) they aren't quite THAT neat looking. :) As I started the swim it occurred to me that I had no idea where I was going. I really should have looked at the swim route more carefully if for no other reason then to know about where I was in the swim. I tried to remember to finish my stroke but honestly it was insanity out there. There were few opportunities for clear water and I mostly was looking at bubbles or scuba divers or boats. I don't think I saw more than 1 fish. It was alternatly long and short - by the end it felt shorter than 1:30 (it was 1:15ish) but I was ready to be done with swimming. Getting out was interesting but I had read it was "interesting" so that wasn't a huge surprise. My legs were more wobbly than I thought they'd be though.

I WALKED to T1. I wasn't having any of the run to T1 madness - I was there for the experience and not to make a certain time. Course that didn't last long with all the spectators egging us on so I jogged the almost .25 km to our tent. Dumped out my bag (I'd read of others doing that and it seemed to make sense) and stripped. I really brought a lot of stuff in my jersey and at the last minute had stuffed my camera in there too. I had a numbing (lidocaine) cream (which became a lifesaver on lap 2 and 3 of the bike), a normal chamois cream (which got lost) 3 packages of Perpetuem, camera, Endurolytes, GU, etc. My jersey pockets were LOADED down. I took around 12 min in T1 and it flew by. Before I knew it I was headed out, one leg down but that marathon still looming out there.

I enjoyed the HELL out of the 1st lap. I had energy and was egging on the spectators trying to get their energy up. According to the stats I was still in 3rd place after the 1st lap but got slower on the 2nd lap. I started USING the spectators then as my stomach went from bad to worse. I couldn't stomach the power bars or their gels so I stuck with my Perpetuem and GUs until I knew something had to change. I saw the family both loops which was awesome. I tried to do a bike-by kiss with Jamie and I think I managed it. I saw Zach on this loop also (he was finishing up and lapping me) and cheered him on. The last loop was harder. It seemed like everyone in the world was passing me (only 400 people, it turns out) and here I dropped from 3rd in my AG to 18th. I also lost out on the tailwind this loop as the rain hit and down here when the rain comes you're looking at serious wind. So a bit dejected I came into T2, knowing my goal of a 6:30 bike was going to be more like 6:45 to 7:00 (it was 7:00 with all the stops included).

The T2 tent had potties so I availed myself and was glad to see I was still peeing. I had been taking 3 Endurolytes each hour on the bike but there was no way I wanted to carry those on the run so I tried something brand new - GU fizzy stuff. I am frugal enough that I refused to throw away my water bottles on the bike course but instead saved them up to throw to Jamie when I saw him and picked up a course bottle for the run. I changed, vaselined my blistered toe and headed out, glad to be out of the cold downpour and worried about the run. Course the picture (coming out of T2 shows I wasn't showing that worry).

The first lap was demoralizing. I tried to go 15 min run then 1 min walk but my feet would have none of it. I was soon down to 10 min/1 min. I was worried I wasn't going to be able to run and would have to walk the entire thing. I'd finish but I really thought I should be able to do 15-16 hours and didn't want to be slower than that. I also was wearing the colors so I didn't feel like I could walk in town at all but once I saw other (obvious) Mexican athletes walking through the cheers I gave myself permission to walk when I needed to. I had never run further than 21 km and the signage was weird beyond belief. To either cut down on signs or cost and to include the Luddites using miles, the laps would have signage with mile 4, km 15, mile 25 etc. all on the same leg. I tried to convince myself that it *could* be only a 2-lap course but adding things up (I figured each lap had to be 14km) made it 3. The people lining the course, however, MADE the run. I had 2 waiters and a cook run out of their restaurant each and every lap I did to cheer me on. Wearing the colors means you get NOTICED and cheered like nobody's business. And that really carries you along and allows you to keep on keeping on. The crowd support of this event is mind blowing.

The 2nd lap was really hard. I was a bit down knowing how far I had to go and the huge doubt I had that I'd make it. I totally expected myself to be walking. My hips started hurting bad towards 21km but it actually was a good thing as during my 21km at the HIM my hips had been very very painful from way before the end, almost from 15km so I figured that was a good thing. I got bags of ice for my hips and as I started the 3rd lap got ibuprofen and hoped for the best. I tried to tell myself it was only one 4 mile lap and one more 4 mile lap and I certainly could do that. I've read enough marathon reports that I knew there was a wall out there waiting for me also and I was really worried about that. However, as I passed through the throngs (the crowd pumped you up SO MUCH) and danced with the locals (under Punta Langosta?) I started to get a 2nd wind or something. I felt strong, I felt good and I wanted to run as much of the 3rd lap as possible. Once darkness settled I had given up on 10/1 as I couldn't see my watch so I'd run from aid station to aid station. And more. This lap I wanted to maximize the run and I did it.

Until 40km. Something about knowing I had only 2 km to go and I KNEW I could do it - but man oh man, those last 2 km were the longest of the race. I had been mentally adding up the hours and my suspicion of my run (I figured the swim was 1:30, transitions were :30 total and the run should have been 2 hours a lap) I figured I was in for a 15 hour time. I thought it could be as long as closer to 16 hours and I was pretty depressed about that but just kept running, just kept running, that's what we do, we run. So I did. And I finally came to the Most Amazing Finisher's Chute in the free world. I high-5'd everyone possible and picked up the pace and then I saw the clock. I don't think I even heard the announcer as the 14 or 15 I had expected to see was a THIRTEEN! I was so stoked about my time I forgot where I was. I crossed the line and thankfully my son taped it because I didn't remember any of it other than that beautiful clock.

I couldn't believe I'd run a marathon. I wasn't that impressed with the swim or bike but the accomplishment of the marathon is something that kept coming back to me over the next couple days. I ran a MARATHON! oh yeah, and other stuff too. :) I decided as we got off the ferry that I'm in for next year. I want to take an hour off. I'd love to see a 12 on the clock. :) I think I'm addicted.

We had such an amazing time with Zach and Kristin and headed to the east side the next day as a trip to Pig Island (that is what we call Cozumel in our family, due to the wild pigs on the east side) is not complete without a trip to the east side. We are going to miss them greatly. What lovely folks. And Zach got FOURTH. In the whole damn thing!

prerace crap

I really should have done this yesterday because I'm already in the post-race glow/haze and everything is already a rosy, fuzzy memory. I was really worried that Zach would be overwhelmed and freaked out by the chaos that is our family but that man and his woman, the amazing Kristin were able to roll with each and every punch (and boy did we dish them out). We had saved them some turkey day leftovers in the fridge and left them to sleep and next morning (Friday) we were headed to the island. Zach and Kristin went, accompanied by the girls, to the beach for a swim and a run while the girls hung out with Kristin. No, we didn't ask if she was okay with that. I was working and Jamie was getting shit ready to go. We planned on the 3:30 pm ferry so I was able to work until noon and then we turned into tornadoes of packing.

We teased the hell out of poor Zach. He is a professional triathlete and we gave him No Respect at all for his elite status. Kristin is no slouch either as a competitive swimmer, accomplished triathlete in her own and a RAAM rider. But since Zach is a pro, he got all of our teasing. They really rolled with it though and took it all and Zach even got a couple little zingers in on his own but the poor man was completely outnumbered and didn't have a chance. On Saturday, as we were headed out to take our bikes and bags to the dump off place (T1 at the swim start) Chris and I pretended we were paparazzi and pestered him with photos and questions as he tried to escape us down the exit to the street. I never called him his correct name until probably the last day. Jamie then started messing up Kristin's name. They either think we're insane or senile. Both are probably correct.

As the days passed, however, they really stole our hearts with their sweetness and quiet acceptance and openness and we are all of us, even the kids, missing them now that they're headed home. We hope they know that they will always have a home here whenever they decide. There aren't many people who can roll with 2 adults who can't seem to call you by your name AND 4 kids and a dog and the chaos that surrounds us. They not only rolled, they grooved. What incredible ambassadors for their support, strong competitors and just great all around human beings they are. We are so lucky to have had the opportunity to get to know them.

And yes, I will be starting a Zach Rubble (but we'll call it Nate, natch) fan club.

So, thanks to Kristin and Zach I figured out where to put the numbers and what to put in the bags and what to bring and had a plan which pretty much worked out. We all loaded up to go to package pickup where I got a cap, metal water bottle and a jacket. I think I got the Mexican special for either being an old fart or competing for Mexico. Jamie was drooling over all the expo stuff but the rest of us were just DONE with the car and the event and wanted out so too soon for Jamie but not soon enough for us, we headed to Chedraui for provisions and home. Zach was leaving 20 minutes before I did so we had to be at the start the next day really dark (as it turned out) and early.

The kids did GREAT getting up the next morning and after driving all around the closed streets (with Zach no doubt getting more and more worried we'd never arrive and visions of DNS dancing in his head) we finally made a quick stop for Pepto and Jamie dropped us off, hoping to find some parking somewhere to rejoin us. Zach and I headed in to the secure area but his bike was (pro, natch) right up by the "commoners" fencing (to keep the commoners away from the elites) so the whole famdamily (Kristin included) was right next to Zach as he readied his bike. I TOTALLY did not fit in with the pros gathered around and the TV guy was eyeing me nervously as I handed Zach the bike pump (he used OUR PUMP! We have his sweat on our PUMP! We'll NEVER wash it!) and kept looking at Zach for the slightest sign of "get her the HELL AWAY from me!" but I must have pleased the pro as he never gave the signal to cart me away with the rest of the riffraff. The kids were egging me on to go make funny faces or something more rotten behind the athlete being interviewed on TV but I (being the adult here) declined. Kinda wish I hadn't though.

Then it was off to the 45 minute portapotty line, I totally missed the Mexican national anthem (which I had MEMORIZED DAMNIT) did a quick undress and headed off to the water. I was shocked (but I had been looking for them) to find the whole famdamily (which now includes Kristin, natch) right alongside our walk-the-plank start and I got so surprisingly emotional I started tearing up. I had been avoiding thinking about the event the last week or so as I had trained thinking about it all the time and just didn't want to deal anymore. I was a little worried about the swim - I knew I could probably do it no problem but I didn't want to fail at any point. Before Jesse got sick I had specific times I wanted and after taking 8 weeks off I had to throw those expectations away but really, I never did. They were just my A goals and I was really hoping to attain them, lack of training or not. Still that marathon had me super, super worried, never having run farther than 21 km (half a marathon) ever. I tried to just be in the moment and experience each moment and not worry about the next. But that marathon was like a dark cloud looming over me and it was hard to avoid it.

I wanted to get out in front not because I expected a strong swim but because I wanted to find a spot out of the melee. Ironmans are notorious for WWF-like swim starts and I did not want my goggles ripped off, bloody appendages or broken bones, after all blood + bull sharks just couldn't be a really good equation. I wanted clear water and I figured that being up front I could scout that out. I think I would have had to go about 2 km out to sea to find it though. I was way in front but since the field was so stretched out it wasn't the bloody melee of normal swim starts, just jockeying and thumping and bumping. I did get one particularly nasty blow to my quad which made me wonder if I'd be able to bike, but that was around a buoy and not the start. So the start was good.

I really should have gone to the "mandatory" meeting though because I had no idea what the swim course was. Zach and I both figured in Mexico, where we ignore the cops and stoplights are mere suggestions, the "mandatory" meeting wasn't really all that mandatory after all and he'd rely on past experience and I'd rely on....well...I was screwed. The swim started and I figured it was probably a big rectangle and I'd just keep the buoys in sight and since there was no chance I'd be leading the field I'd just follow everyone else. Like follow the leader.

a 3 hour tour...

So we took a little trip on a barco (larger than the Minnow) and ended up over here on Cozumel. For some strange reason that are lots of REALLY FIT people here! and lots of super expensive bikes! And people with weird helmets. and lots of athletic stuff for sale along the malecon. It is a strange place. Not our usual Cozumel. Oh, and there's this guy with us who says he's a "pro" but I forgot to ask pro WHAT? and yeah, forgot why we're here.

I'm on that lovely river...de Nile.

Feels like I've been going a million kph between work and getting palapas ready for people and cleaning and working and a teensy bit of training (forgot why) and packing half the palapa for a long weekend and today I figure out where all the outlets in the new construction go.

We picked up Nate (damn, I keep calling him Nate but his name is really Zeke. No, not Zeke; it is Zach) at the airport late Thursday after having a nice potluck dinner at home. Their plane was a little late and Jamie and I were incredibly entertained with the "invisible man", the planeload of Germans from Frankfurt and the Panamanians who were obviously athletes and carrying 6 large bike bags but assured me they had no idea what "Ironman" was and no, they had no bikes. Shrug. Today I was up early to get some work in before packing like mad and manuvering the power brakeless van onto and off of the ferry. Poor Nate/Zeke/Zach must think we're trying to kill him. Got to the house we usually stay at here and headed down to check in. I am pretty much relying on my sister and Nate to keep me informed as to what to do and I'll just translate as I'm too Mexican to be bothered with knowing what needs to be done and when. I figure everything will sort itself out evenentually and what will happen will happen. Got a cap and a metal waterbottle gift at checkin along with a nice Iwanman jacket.

My sister is documenting everything so lots of pictures to follow (most are on Facebook now). Zeke wants to bike tomorrow - he swam and ran at our bay this morning - so that's what we'll do. I'll figure out bags and T1, T2, whatever tomorrow. I guess I also need to figure out what I'm supposed to put in the bags at some point too. BAGS? We don't need no stinking BAGS!

Between the jungle and the road

Pike (15yo) has been riding with Jamie recently and the other day I was able to join them for the first part of my ride. We have now nicknamed him "El Zorro" as he tends to wait and then jump, very predictably, on certain parts of the route. He is a little hammer and just needs some endurance now. I've been wicked tired lately and last night finally got a solid block of sleep - I passed out around 7pm, woke at 3am and managed to get back to sleep (!!) around 5am and finally got up around 7 or 8 am. I'm hoping that will help with the washed out feeling I've been having. I also have been using the rescue inhaler much more often than usual and doing 2 puffs on the long-acting one. I wish Dr. Google would diagnose me already and put an action plan together. I think once the IM is over I'll drop the Advair and then get some PFTs. I recently read that swimmers have a higher rate of asthma and wonder if that is what is going on - all those hours as a kid in pools and with the recent storms I've been swimming in the pool more than the sea.

I went for a run the other day and finally identified the weird sound out in the jungle I've heard before - I wild pig. The next day I smelled a smoke fire and I'm hoping someone roasted that big bad boy and are enjoying a tasty dinner. He was not too keen on backing down but when I made weird guttural noises took off into the jungle but each time I go down that stretch of path I think of it as the "pig's home." Just like the crocodile stretch (got turned around once during a storm by a croc who was snapping his jaws at me) and the snake stretch - well the snakes own the entire path but I almost stepped on one hiding under a palm branch. On my last ride with the boys Pike managed to run over a snake (on his bike) and almost immediately afterwards we all had to avoid a croaking, jumping frog. I was waiting for locusts, but instead I got RIDERS. For the first time in a year we came across riders! They were going pretty slow (at that point) so we chatted for quite a while and I found out one of them had won the Veracruz HIM (I later googled him and found he came in 2nd in his AG at the Miami HIM). It was such a treat to ride with others and 2 of them are training for Cozumel.

The cudda chased me out of the water again the other day - I hate that damn cudda - but for some reason swimming in the sea is much easier on my old shoulder injury than the pool. Can't quite figure that one out at all. I'm beginning to wonder what the hell I was thinking earlier this year in signing myself up for this - I've never run a marathon - what makes me think I can do one at the end of an IM? and also worried I've lost all my "distance" bike fitness by not having done anything longer than 120km for weeks but then I got such a sweet email from the pro we're picking up on Thursday that I got a ray of hope.

I had a massage yesterday to try and work out the scar tissue in my calves and was sorely disappointed. It was a 2-hour massage but each and every time she came close to the pain she would back off. Incredibly frustrating. I wanted the pain, I wanted the knots worked out, I was ready to suffer, but she was all "energy" and "center" and "light" and "negative" and whispers and scents and woo woo. I should have known; she lives in Tulum. :) Jamie and I are off on a 90km ride and now I will be adhering to the real plan and go into serious taper next week. I've been going over the plan up to now but next week will be serious sloth taper week.

Caught between denial and dread

So I finally got the courage, after almost the entire season, to go topless. It finally got warm enough (we've been hit with norte tras norte) and I've slimmed down enough to wear just a jog bra. Well, maybe those around me didn't agree wiht the jiggle. :) I'm starting to realize that the long brick I did the other weekend is what has put me into the blahs. It was just too much I think. I just hope I recover in time to do Cozumel. All my big talk about a short taper turns out to be just that, talk. I rode only 5 some hours last week and ran only 4 or more and with only 3-4 hours swimming that made for a short week of training - lowest in at least a month. So much for taper. Fortunately I think I have the saddle issues on the run (so to speak) and will find out for sure today. Jamie also fixed my lack of shifting and what a nice surprise to be able to shift again!

So this week I think I'll adhere to the taper schedule and really back down on the running as I think this is where I really need to be careful. I'm alternately scared about what to come and excited (as my sister is muling down a SHITLOAD of crap), oh and there is that Ironman thing too (lalalala I can't hear you). I know it is going to hurt. I know it will be awful (Jamie keeps telling me about his horrific Terrible Two experience) but I'm hoping it won't all be hell. After all, I'm planning to do it again next year. (the ignorant are so cute, aren't they?) Yesterday I swam a straight 3000 m set and I was surprised at how strong I finished. Hoping it all holds together. Maybe duct tape?

Taper but not like the worm

because here, we definitely got the worm part DOWN!

This last week has been hard. Either the long brick I did last Saturday did me in or all the training has caught up with me because I was hard pressed to hit any of my workouts this week except swimming (which is coming along....(yes) swimmingly!). Run is always good after the first 20 minutes. Bike is hard. I don't want to and yesterday I was so tired after the 1st loop I came home, lay down (in the dust, still under construction) and waited. Then joined by my 15yo (and Jamie, again) I headed out for loop 2. I have some open sores and sitting on that seat was just torture. So I only did 4 hours and headed out for a run. I was STARVING hungry when I got back - I figured out I way underfed myself (630 cal for 5+ hours) and it took a croissant and a bowl of rice with avocado to bring me back to human. It was scary and I almost took off my 15yo's head with my insane rantings at one point. I've never been so hungry before in my life.

I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that I probably have some kind of asthma. I used the rescue (albuterol) inhaler before yesterday's ride and got great relief from it - I've been doing the long-acting stuff (Advair) since my last attack (2-3 weeks ago?) and had one instance in the pool where I needed albuterol. I need to find a good lung doc and see what is what. For now, I think I'm doing ok with 1 puff 2xday of the Advair and albuterol when needed. I'm starting to think my triggers are common cold/respiratory illness and exercise but only together as we're all fighting some cold right now and my first attack (4 days hospitalized) came on the heels of a really bad respiratory illness.

Cozumel is 2 weeks away. That alternately bores me (denial) or terrifies me (no denial). I am looking forward to meeting seeing my sister (who is coming down for the event) and have been busily sending her all kinds of stuff to mule down. Poor dear will be loaded down like a sherpa.

Confidence

that last long training session was probably the most important one I have done to date. I totally expected that my legs would not be able to handle 2 hours of running after the 180km ride and I would immediately realize I NEEDED to walk/run the marathon in the IM. What I found was that my legs were GOLDEN. I held 32 min for each 5k until the last one (33min) but found afterwards my feet were mashed meat. I have Morton's neuroma with both feet but haven't been bothered (yet) this season. I'd also done a stand alone 2-hour run with no problem so I was pretty convinced that I *should* be able to run the entire marathon in the IM but needed a solid brick to prove it (or not) to myself. I found my legs were great on the brick but I'm going to have to run/walk the marathon and stifle that ego to get through it. Maybe next year. Yeah, I'm already planning for a do-over for next year. :)

Before and After

Gawds it has been forever and so much has happened and I can't even hope to catch up. Getting nutrition nailed down - will do a 2-hr run after ride tomorrow to see if I want to contemplate NOT doing run/walk (my head keeps telling me to go for it - i.e. no walk - so I need to show it how wrong it is) and I think I will do another 6-hour ride next weekend too. Most plans start the taper (3 weeks) after this week but I would like another long ride under my belt (in my head - I really have become to dread them but since I learn something new each and every ride I know they are good for me). So now the 90km Tulum ride is no longer that big of a deal but every time I go for a short (40km) ride I worry about nutrition (so NOT necessary).

I've been chasing cramping issues and it happens mostly at night or in the water. I had one DISASTEROUS swim around the hurricane where my hands were so frozen that they stayed numb for hours afterwards. I was dreading the next swim So MUCH that I stayed away from the pool for almost a week (well, there were other pressing reasons to miss the pool also like a HURRICANE) and day before yesterday had a good swim (except for the damn cramping). I have GOT to get my mule list together as I think the answer just might be electrolytes. We'll see tomorrow.

We're going to help a profession triathlete come to Cozumel - we'll put him (and his fiance) up here Thursday night and then we'll all head over to the island on Friday. Yikes! The event is creeping up on me. I'm starting to envision parts of it (visualization used to be big when I was a swimmer) but I still have so little hope. I figure 1:30 for the swim (hoping for 1:15 but I've been out of the water so long it isn't funny), 7-7.5 hours for the bike and the "run" is going to be a HUGE question mark. Doubling my HIM run I should be able to do 5 hours but I highly doubt that. HOWEVER, my runs off the bike are getting faster. Weather is changing and midday runs/bikes are not even a second thought. It is still nice (warm) but no longer too hot to go out.

There was a thread at BT about weight loss and since I've lost weight over such a long period of time that I've never really had the opportunity to see the change. I've been around 70 all week and today hit 69.8. I still have some to go but nothing like before. The pictures really kinda shocked me - I had no idea my back end had lost so much. Kinda scary to put the photographic evidence out there...

long ride finally done

Today my goal was to finish 180km and dial in nutrition. Last ride I'd found the Perpeteum and Cytomax were a bad mix and I dumped all the Cytomax (powder) with Jamie when he rescued me from the flats/no spare/unable to patch due to rain. But I was cramping horrifically last ride and wanted to address that. I'm getting there. I headed out this morning, after waiting for it to warm up a smidge as we're under frente frio No. 6 (!!! already, and it is only OCTOBER) and wasn't sure where I'd go. I'd mapped out the distance to Coba and there and back was a neat 180km but I was worried about the dogs along the route. I considered doing Tulum twice (another 180 km) but I am so Sick To Death of riding back and forth to and from Tulum I might die of boredom. I also considered going past Tulum for 45 km and turning around but I had no idea of what the abarrote support was south of Tulum and I knew I'd need another liter of water at the turnaround so I finally nixed that. I also considered 3 loops of Xel-Ha becasue the Ironman course is also 3 loops of 60ish.

In the end I went with Coba, mostly because I told our abanil I was going there (and his eyes bugged out) and because I've not been there yet. I was right to worry about the dogs but after I figured out to stuff rocks under my shorts and throw them at the dogs it got easier. I was pretty done at 4-4-1/2 hours and super hungry at that point. For some reason I hate using GU (I take it for emergency) but couldn't find candy anywhere until Tulum the 2nd time (135 km) and by then I was doing better.

I had 2 packages of Perpeteum (270 cal each), 1 Cliff Bar (240?), 2 GU (180), 1 bag of lifesaver gummies (180) and half a PB&J and a Poweraid. I figured it was about 1000-1100 calories at the 4.5 hour point and I'd probably burned about 3000 cal so maybe that's why I was hungry. Who knows. I scarfed down some lifesaver gummies and than added a GU and all of a sudden I was bloated. I worked that down and took only Poweraid and water for the rest of the ride (almost 2 hours) and was almost better when I got home. So I found I can do real food and bike+run. It was super duper low humidity today (60ish and temp only got up to 29) and I was covered with powder when I got home, so apparently the humidity hides all the salt. I took Endurolyte tablets - 2 whenever I thought I needed them - and never cramped and am only very minimally cramping now at home.

So a good day all around but TBH, I'm not looking forward to more 6-hour rides. Tomorrow is a 2-hour ride and then we're off to Home Depot to try and stay ahead of the construction.

lack of planning or trying?

We're under all the red/pink/white. I suppose I should have put on my big girl panties and gone out yesterday because I'm not sure the winds and rain were any better today. The traffic must have been less today though. I had a pretty good first 2.5 hours and then flatted and my spare was a dud. So I tried to patch the original (spare already had 1 patch) in the rain and finally gave up and called Jamie. Like a knight on a white horse he showed up with the heater blasting and gave me 2 spare tubes AND changed the bad tube. He then headed back home to meet me at David's with a new bottle with Perpeteum (I'm loving the caffe latte flavor) and a Cliff Bar and water and he'd accompany me for the first 18 km of my 2nd 90km loop. Unfortunately he was running late so I headed back to the palapa only to find out work was screaming for help. I was really pissed I was going to have to cut short my ride (the flat and coming home put me 1.5 hours in the hole) and was a lousy companion for about the first 18km or so. Since I decided to cut my ride short to get home in time to help work out Jamie decided to come with and we slogged through the wind and the rain together. Except the rain was somewhat acidic and he couldn't see. He had to stop occasionally to clear his eyes and I just tucked my head down and rode. If you can call 22-23 kph riding. I was so discouraged. I was going to miss out on my 6-hour test ride AND a brick run AND I was going slower than molasses.

I finally got my head together and got out of the 21-23kph doldrums and headed home. Once home I found work didn't need me after all! ARGH! So I went for a run and walked the puddles (our puddles get super slick with the limestone+flour sand) and came home to a wonderful meal - jamie had made salmon, potatoes and broccoli. I'm not sure about the Perpeteum. It totally worked today but I'm not sure it would work on a hot day. I'll just have to try again and see. I had 2 envelopes of Perpeteum (540 cal), 2 GU (180 cal), 1 Cliffbar (240) and 3 scoops of Cytomax (270 cal) over 6 hours (bike+run). I was not starving at the end but I definitely was hungry. According to BT I only burned around 3700 cal and at 1230 cal taken in that averaged about 200 cal/hr. That Cliffbar went down REALLY well at about 2 hours in and I think I should probably try for 225-250 cal/hr average next time. So while I didn't hit my goal of 180km and 6 to 6.5 hours, I did get 150 km in and that's pretty close. Next weekend will be the ticket. I think I'll head to Coba.