THANK YOU!

Logan Pass

My two weeks of no training is up.  Have I indulged these past two weeks, or what!  We had a great trip to Glacier National Park and my brother's house in Whitefish, Montana, after the race.  For those of you that have never been, you have to get out there.  It is just the most beautiful place in the summer time.  We had a wonderful visit.  And I always leave Montana wanting more, and wanting to stay longer.  This stay held true to that fact.  My brain and thoughts started planning the next trip before the wheels even left the ground at the airport in Kalispell, MT.  The kids got a long so well, and played great together.  Poor Mark broke his glenoid rim on the scapular portion of his shoulder joint the day before we arrived and had surgery the day we left.  It was a bad fracture with multiple pieces --- poor guy... his shoulder was constantly slipping out of joint, naturally as there was nothing to keep it in place.  We Chace's, when we injure something, we injure it with passion!  He is okay now and back to work as the one-armed bandit,  for awhile.  He has a lot of rehab ahead of himself for awhile.

At the end of Trail of the Cedars.



On the bridge over Avalanch Creek

There are so many people that I have to say thanks for getting me through the Ironman.  Many family and friends and I hope not to leave anyone out.  So many people thought I was crazy and were not shy about telling me to my face.  A lot of friends and colleagues at work were interested in my training and cheering me on right from the get go:   “Cath, it’s quiet today, did you get your swim in?  Go get it done and we’ll page you if we need you.”  There was one anesthesiologist at work that was always making sure I ate... “You’re training for an ironman, go get a bite to eat; I’ll watch the case, but be fast!”   But I rarely worked with him so that didn't happen often, nor did slipping away early for a swim!!  To you my friends and associates at work --- THANKS!!  My family and relatives  were  always praying and supporting me on what they thought was a crazy endeavor.  So many comments, cheers and prayers to me on my facebook wall, truly overwhelming.  It would be impossible to list everyone individually, but know I appreciate each and every one of you.  You know who you are!!!  Thank you everyone!!!   My children sacrificed a little bit of mommy time and had to have patience on numerous occasions for me to get home from training.  A lot of my training was done during school hours, but there were some nights when I know they could hear the bike trainer or the treadmill whirring late at night or before the crack of dawn, so that I could get workouts done before or after work, keeping them from their slumber.  This spring a few lacrosse matches were not watched due to peak training hours and even some swim meets were not watched as well.    Many late arrivals to places because of me, you kids are iron kids for sure! 

Emily in the hollow of one
of the Cedars

Kevin never lost any sleep, as he can sleep through everything, but he had many sacrifices of his own.  He was not keen on the whole IM philosophy from the beginning, but he gradually came around and at times when I needed him most, he was truly there.  Many friends supported me from the beginning --- everyone on KBTC and some new friends on the OA tri team, too.  Thanks, you all were super at supporting me and getting me to where I needed to be.  To my neighbors, you dodged me running and biking at any and every hour up and down the road, not knowing if I would be out there on my bike or on my feet… sometimes cheering me when I got back.   I’ll never forget the Pow kids saying, Boy Mrs L’Heureux, you’re not moving very fast today, are you!”   I have to thank my surgeons Dr. Murray for fixing my knee, Dr. Asherman for the care of my gastroc tear and also Dr. Oeullette for the injections in my other knee to keep me going.   To the physical therapists at Orthopedic Associates for being there for me during the rehab of the knee and my calf injury, THANK YOU.  Owen Lennon did a good chunk of my initial therapy until he moved away before my first ironman attempt.  Jared Buzzell was very helpful with my bike fit, lots of hours of therapy on my knee, shoulder (from last year’s crash) and various other joints, as well as a  run gait analysis.  I have to tell you, I am really comfortable on my bike, I’m pretty aero and pretty fast when I want to be!!

Charlie.  I miss him so!  He's not back from Cd'A, yet
I hope he is enjoying rest and his trip around the country.

 Jared  socked it to me straight, reeled me in when I was getting antsy to do more than I should and really explained to me what it all really came down to.   I bugged him endlessly on a lot of things and he was just unbelievably patient and helpful - way above and beyond the call of duty, as was Owen when he was there.    There were many people that were involved in my training, giving me tidbits of information, workouts, advice and help.  From the trainers and professionals at Parisi Speed School including Scott Fleurant, Stephanie Chase as well as Stan Skofield, the athletic trainers and the entire physical therapy department.  Scott had done a lot of one -on- one strength training with me which proved to be very helpful.  Had I not had a firm base of strength that he had established for me, those mountainous climbs would have been walked instead of ridden for sure.  We just don’t have climbs like that near me in Maine.  The pro athlete that won for women said that the bike course was one of the hardest she had ever done.  Believe me, there were people climbing VERY SLOWLY, and struggling.   The bike trainer workouts done at OA with Stephanie Chase were a key for my bike strength as well.    I need to  line up more time with Steph for sure!!   Thanks, Steph!!!!  And two very important people in my triathlon specific -training were: Doug Welling, my very first coach who molded me from a pile of clay into one that could swim, bike and run with confidence and knowledge.  He gave me so much courage to go places that I wouldn’t have otherwise gone; patience to try new things, knowledge and know-how of equipment use and the art of training, just a truly amazing individual, athlete and coach. I still hear his voice at different times giving advice and instruction.    And lastly, one of my childhood friends who was both friend and coach to me through the last two years of training and ironman build, very tough times both physically, mentally and emotionally:  Angela Bancroft. 

Here's Ange on her way to win at the Pirate Triathlon,
 a local sprint race.

Angela tactfully fulfilled the friend and coach role which must have been really hard, but she did it with much grace and professionalism that many probably could not have done.  She is a true inspiration that words can just not describe.   Ange really understood me as a mom, a person, working professional and athlete.   I think it actually was helpful for her knowing me as a kid because she knew inside what my true potential was, and she brought it out of me.  From the first time I told her 4 years ago that I was going to do a triathlon she was behind me giving encouragement, advice and support.  I could have not made it to the Ironman finish line without her.  She kept me from hurting myself while recovering from my injuries and rebuilt my fitness back up essentially from ground zero.  She developed my athleticism, with exhausting grace and smiles.  Even though I didn’t exactly run to my potential on race day, we all know that race day can always throw some unexpected curves and that’s part of ironman for sure.  And truly, getting to finish, you can’t always expect your best because there is so much more that influences the day, things beyond your control.  Ange taught me that tactfully, and really on Ironman day, you focus on the training that you have in the bank and roll with the punches.  That’s how you become an ironman.     Thanks, Ange!  You are the best Ironman I know!!  Sorry about the picture, but I thought it would be better to use this instead of your first grade picture!!  

One of the many vistas in Glacier Park from Road to the Sun.

 

A few random pictures from the trip, scattered around!  Now, tomorrow, it's time to get back to training. I'll be in the pool for my first swim before work.   My next planned race is at the end of August.  A local, half-distance race (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run).  Let's hope the hip is okay to do that one or I may have to switch in to the aqua bike category if there is one.  it's in Old Orchard Beach.  It's the Revolution 3 branded race.  There will be some of the awesome local talent  and some pro's from around the country racing.  It'll be a great race and I sure hope that I will do it.  I really want to!!  It should be a lot of fun to see the local people that have superior talent and the pro's head it off.  THis is the first year of the race here in Maine.   I can't wait!!!     TO End, here's a couple more pictures.  One of Mary Anne and the kids, from left to right: Lucia, Gustavo, Angelina and Alonzo!  What a great bunch!! It was so fun being out there visiting  them.  I truly can't wait for the next trip!!!!!!!!

 





 

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Lake McDonald



IronMan Coeur d'Alene: Race Report Part II/II

In loop two of the bike,  we soon hit special needs at the turn-around point along the lake.  Some athletes are able to not stop at all, or grab and go, just slowing the bike down.  Me, however... I actually had to stop, straddle the bike and paw into my bag.  All I really needed to do was exchange my empty nutrition bottles with fresh ones... Well, not that they were "fresh" because the sun had come out and they were warm, but FULL bottles of nutrition.  Warm didn't taste terrible. It was EFS, so that doesn't taste bad warm.    I grabbed my bottles and gels that i needed and headed off with trepidation.     Right after this turnaround point was a short climb and then an aid station.  This was the time and place of last year's bad crash.  They had the same aid station in place and it gave me chills to come upon it.  I went wide of the station and chills went up my spine.  When the station was gone, I knew I had overcome a major thing.  I was okay!  I was smiling.   The little red letters that I had on my forehead that only I could see (DNF) were starting to fade.   Time to head through town and climb up onto I-95 and head for those huge  climbs again.  My legs felt good.  i was ready to tackle the climbs again.  There was Kevin and the kids again, cheering me on.  It was so good to see them.  It was getting hot.  The sun was out and what moved all those clouds away, was strong wind.  I was going to be climbing this second time through into the wind.  I felt ready.  I had done a lot of riding in April in the wind.  Many others had succombed to their trainers on those windy, cold days.  I went out in it.  And this knowledge gave me the confidence to know, that I would be just fine.  On the first long climb, I passed a guy that was dying on his bike.  He was weaving and practically falling over.  "You okay?"  He was fine.  He explained that he was very tired and was sick of the climbing.  Poor guy.  So I asked, "is this your first Ironman?'  "Well, technically no," he shared, " I just did IM St. George in Utah, but I didn't finish!"  Oh, that's too bad!  " Do you mind me asking what happened?"    He said, "Not at all, it will help put my mind on something else besides this climb!"  He went on to explain that he did the swim,  (and he had a faster swim on the treacherous conditions of St. George, BTW), but his nutrition plan fell apart and he died after the bike and could not run due to GI distress.  I felt badly for him.  I pushed on a head.   I wished that his nutrition plan was working better for him today.   But he wasn't climbing so well.  I was still feeling great with 3 more big hills to conquer.  Some people were walking their bikes up hills.  I just kept plugging away, tackling the climbs and eventually got to the 90 mile mark.  From mile 90 -112 was pretty much down hill, with only one longish climb.  I came down off that climb and down off I-95 and onto the main streets, flat to transition.

Riding into transition feeling home free. 
I knew this race was in the bag, no matter what.

My time was just as I had expected, maybe even a little bit faster.  I still had one gel left (peaking out of my top) which was a "just in case" I went long on the bike.  I grabbed it at the last food station, but didn't need it.  Here I was going into transition, feeling on top of the world.  I knew I had this race in the bag, no matter what.  It was only 3:30 in the afternoon!   My bike split (7 hrs) put me in 44th place for my age group (Iwas 66th after the swim).  Not bad at all!!

I handed off the bike and ran into transition.  Earlier I was Ms. conservative and now I was ready to just run, run,  run!  As I ran into transition and my run bag was handed to me, my left hip did it's little "catch" thing.  OH My GOD!!  The sharp pain was agonizing.  When it does this, I have to do a wiggle thing and it would release.  I had nothing to lean against to wiggle it free.  UGH!  I try not to wince and just keep the smile on, not letting anyone know.  I didn't want anyone see me limp because I was afraid they would take my timing chip away.  I sort of tip toed into transition and got my run sneakers on, put on my trimoxie visor and grabbed my gels and EFS and headed out to get sunscreened up and head out to the run.  There was a tree next to the sunscreen station so i leaned into it and did my wiggle to get my hip unkinked.  I figured my hip would be set for at least half of the marathon.  Little did I know that it was a harbinger of how the run would play out.

getting sunscreen on. Ouch! they put it on my
jellyfish sting from last week!

 Within the first few steps of the run, my hip started to catch again.  Eeks, I was frustrated.  It should be set!  I leaned up against a tree, did my wiggle and it freed.  There!  It felt better because it even cracked and popped a little that time so i figured that now it was really set for at least half of the marathon.  Again, across the street and up the hill I went.  My legs felt pretty good all and all.  My heart rate was in check and I felt good with the pace that I was running.  there were already people walking so I had to weave in and around a couple people.  I dropped a water bottle with EFS and it started to roll away.  I quickly stepped to the side and twisted and snatched it up off the ground.  Yup, you guessed it, my hip snagged.  Well a big sigh!  I was getting frustrated.  I bent over because there were no posts or trees I could get to because of all the spectators.  So I bent down on the ground like I was trying to stretch my calves, I stretched out into a pike/plank position and did my hip wiggle.  I didn't think it would release, but it did.  Phew!  Carefully stood back up and pretended to stretch a little and started running again.  I am not even a mile in to the run and my hip had done this three times.

heading out of transition and the first tree I used for my hip

  Well the third time was a charm because now it seemed like I was good.  I was off running again.  My legs felt good, my body felt good and I took in a gel and drank some water.  It was all going to be okay from now on.  The route took us through a little residential area that was full of spectators.  It was a cute part of the course and all the families were out on their lawns cheering on the runners and having basically a street party wth music, all sorts of entertainment and offers of vaseline or anything else.  You could smell the grills running in the backyard with steak, chicken and burgers being grilled.  It smelled really good!  Then the next thing I know, I am at mile 4 and my hip catches.  Darn it.  This time it was a very sharp pain simulataneously.  I went to the nearest tree and did my little wiggle.  It wouldnn't release.  I kept trying.  oh shoot.  how come this keeps happening??!!  It was happening  about once or twice a day in the hotel room, maybe once a week for the past couple weeks and maybe once a month for the previous few months.  But I had been doing my hip exercises religiously, and it seemed to be better until that absolute last big week of training.  I figured it would calm down during taper.  It seemed to have.  What is different??!!  I had therapy in the IM village a few days before the race and had a gentle massage two days before the race.  It seemed better!  At mile 4 I was forced to hobble for a few minutes.  At the next tree I tried to wiggle it free... SUCCESS!  I was able to get it loose.  I started to run again.  And within 50 yrds again, it got stuck.  Again, i couldn't bear weight, had to tip toe and tried my wiggle routine.  It wouldn't release.  I was starting to get mad.  But I really was still smiling, but it was turning into a little bit of a sly smile.  I had just passed fireman dude (he does the marathon at a walking pace in full Firefighter's turnout gear), he is the pacer for the marathon.  If you stay ahead of him, you are set and will finish without a problem.  Fire dude saw me doing my dance and wiggle... must have looked crazy what I was doing.  "You okay?"  Totally fine, I had answered... I didn't trust him... he just wanted to take my timing chip away, I just knew it.  "Well," he offered without solicitation, "If you maintain a 16 minute mile you will finish with plenty of time."   My hip released again and off I jogged.  I did a systems check.  I feel okay, my quads/glutes/calves seem okay.  Does my back hurt?   Everything seemed fine.    I made it to mile 5 and then it started to catch but didn't and then  close to 6 it did.  It wouldn't release for what seemed like a long time.  I felt like i had to make a decision.  Do I keep trying to run and have this thing continue to catch and potentially prevent me from finishing.  Or, do I maintain a 16 minute mile and maybe jog here and there if I can and finish intact with plenty of time to spare.  Not finishing didn't even remotely enter my mind.  The choice was easy.  I was not going to take any chances, walking it would be.  The name of the game was to be conservative and finish intact with a smile on my face.  My race goal had been to finish with a smile on my face by 16:59:59.    As time passed, and the miles came so slowly, I kept smiling, kept thanking volunteers and kept moving forward.   It seemed silly to be walking so early of a marathon --20 miles of walking.  But that really was the safest thing to do.  And, I was in good company.  I did occasionally jog, but not often.



Mile 10 and few people are running.



this guy had "hip" issues and
couldn't run.  They tried
manipulating on the side of the road.

Well, I got to talk to a lot of the people out walking and a lot of them were walking because they had GI issues.  I felt great.  But starting at the halfway point, i had been walking for quite awhile, my appeal to food and nutrition disappeared.  But I am only walking?/!!  What's the deal!  Well, yes, I am still moving forward and that does require caloric consumption.  Soon I had come upon James who was trying to look for me.  I was waaaayyyy behind where i should be.  And I warned them not to be too stuck on typical paces, because anything can happen.  So he yells, "go, Mom, pick it up!  Why are you walking?"  So, I explained to him that everytime I ran my hip would cramp but if I walked it would be okay.  I told him I was afraid to keep stopping and wiggling it to do right.  It was best to walk... not ideal, but my goal was to finish.   I was capable of walking and walking pretty fast. so I did.  But walking a marathon, let me tell you is a lot harder than jogging it.  There were so many times that I just wanted to run.  I wanted to run the flats, I wanted to run down the hills, but every time I picked up to even a jog, I was steps away from pain and a wiggle... that was no way to do the marathon.  It just didn't make sense.  I thought about all my hard training days and none of them were like this...They were so much easier than this.  Then, the other thing I wasn't sure about was my lack of desire for food.  Nothing I held, nothing at the aid stations appealed to me.  I wasn't really prepared for that feeling.   Kevin had been keeping in contact with Ange at this point and she was telling me to just eat anything.  Just keep eating.  Broth, yuck, cookies -- no --- chips --- seriously??  the next gel i ate, I thought I was going to throw up.  I was talking to people as I walked or people would strike conversation first.  Always  the questions were about where you were from, first ironman --- why was your day so bad.  I kept telling people that I was having a good day.  And I really was.  Then some guy said to me, "you know, walking an ironman marathon is not a good day.  I am going to exit the race  at the next aid station"  So, I said to him, "you know, there are people out there that can't even walk that would give their life to walk just two steps, there are people that are dying of terrible diseases and diseases, so terrible that they would change places with us in a heartbeat.  There are people that died and were never given the chance to even an attempt an ironman.  Those people are having bad days!  Me and you?  No, we aren't having a bad day... we are just having a day we didn't expect to turn out the way we had hoped.  We are having a challenging day and why give up on the challenge?  Just because it's not going your way?  You don't give up when things aren't going your way.  When people with bad diseases give up because things don't go their way,  you know what happens?  They die!!"  OOPSIE, I said too much...His eyes got big... I thought he was going to slug me.  My eyes got big!  Then he took a deep breath and said, "you are so right....thanks for telling me this."  I thought I heard a hint of sarcasm and i was just waiting for the comeback.  Then, a few minutes later, he said, "I can't walk this fast, so I am going to sit for a few minutes.  But i am going to catch up with you later.  I am not going to stop anymore.  I am going to hold my head high and smile and thank everyone like you are, because that's the way to be.  I can't believe in the past i pushed all the walkers out of the way and got so furious with my performance if it wasn't always my best.   But I never stopped to put things into perspective like you have.  Here you are in the same boat as me, but we have polar opposite ideas on what a bad day is and you have enlightened me.  There are so many people I just want to apologize to for my behavior in the past, either holding me up in transition, or in my way on the run or whatever... and I kept saying... stupid people doing something they shouldn't.  But really the stupid people are the athletes that are aggravated by the people that aren't as gifted.  Walking and talking with you has given me something to feel good about.  I am not going sub 11 hrs today, but I am out here and I am not quitting, i was going to, because I had the why bother idea.  I like your idea better.  So many people don't even make it to the start line."  We said our good-byes and I never saw him again.  But HE almost made ME cry.   I am not sure if he finished or not.  But I still had little conversations with people along the way.  After my conversation with that guy, I decided to try a cookie.  My New year's resolution was to eat more cookies this year.  How about during an ironman?  I ate half a cookie.  It was okay.  I drank some coke.  Oh Goodness! that was heavenly ---  coke on a race course!!  That did the trick; I was feeling much better a few minutes after that.  Who would have thought coke and cookies would be good out on a race.  It must have been the coke.  So I drank coke at every aid station... and if my dentist is reading this, he is probably falling over in his chair.  So it took me 6 hrs and 32 mins to do the entire marathon.  I did jog here and there, but not a lot.   And every time I did, my hip told me it didn't want to.  That was frustrating.  But that's how it went.  And really the last half of the marathon, I didn't jog, ever.    My finish time was 15:28:15, 88th for my age group and certainly a long way from last.  I did beat my 16:59:59!!



gotta love those sunglasses about to fall off!

Here i was at the finish line, starting to cry.  I wanted to run across the finish line.  I tried, but I just couldn't.  When I finished some guy grabbed me and wrapped a blanket around me and practically carried me to food and my clothes.  I saw Kevin and the kids and I was trying to keep it together but the tears just flowed and flowed.  I went to bed and when I woke up in the morning I looked in the mirrow and the DNF was erased.  I was so proud and so glad that I kept it together.  I still can't believe I walked most of the marathon.  I  can't wait to get back to training again.   And, I do want to train for another.  First, I have to heal and probably visit my  buddy, Jared, the physical therapist.  I was hoping to stay off the clinic tables there for at least half a year!  Next post will be a huge thank you to so many people that helped me get to the start and finish lines!!  Then maybe I'll throw in a few pictures from Montana and my visit with my brother, Mark.    What a great day though, and I will never forget it!!!  I will do another one, but not for two years.   I am going to give my body an ultra-distance break.

IronMan Coeur d'Alene: Race Report Part I/II

We have arrived home safe and sound from being out West.  What a great trip!  I can't believe it's been a whole week since race day!!  I have lasting, great memories of it, such a great experience!!  I wrote a poem in my last post about the night before and morning of.  It really was as magical as Christmas Day and so I chose to write it based on "Twas the Night Before Christmas."  Being able to train and complete an ironman is truly a gift... a reward for such hard training.  The training is a lot harder than the actual race is, for sure.  But, you do have to do the training to get to the finish line as so many people that didn't do the training, found out.  Sometimes you do all the training, and you don't see the end result because something happens out of your control (like last year) and always, something unexpected can pop up to put an extra level of difficulty, as did this year... but you know in your heart that you have done the training; it carries you to the finish.



before the canon goes off!



Race morning was cold and drizzling.  It didn't phase me one bit.  Many athletes were complaining, some hadn't been in the water and were fretting about it.  Not me, I was prepared.  I had done cold water swims; I had done cold, Atlantic Ocean swims and the weather just didn't even nudge me.  The water was rough; wind, rain and white caps.  It was very challenging for some people.  Athletes that had just done IM  St. George with a beastly swim were looking for a reprieve--- they weren't going to get it.  Between the 59 degree temperature and the conditions added an element of difficulty.  Standing on the beach with 2500 other athletes waiting for the cannon to go off was surreal.  The sand was cold, the water did look a little scary, but at the start the water was fairly calm.  By this point of the morning, I was calm and ready to go.  I was all the way to the outside right of the course.  My plan was to take my time unless I got cold...it was going to be a zen, serene swim, like last year.   I entered the water and was already swimming in a short time, but within minutes I found my self in the middle of chaos.  The wind picked up and was pushing everyone to the right!  Everyone was way out where I was:



the swim!



 splashing, hitting, kicking.  i was getting yanked under water.  There was no way I could move inside to near the buoys where hardly anyone was swimming.  Darn it!  I wished I had started in the middle so that I could plan to move to one side or the other depending on where the swimmers were.  It was a battle field for sure.  It was ugly and uncomfortable.  For a few moments, I had doubts enter my mind.  This was the only time during the whole day that i had doubts of not finishing.    I quickly regrouped myself and did head above water free style, it wasn't fast, but i had to find the path of least resistance.  The water was choppy and it was hard to see where to go.  i wasn't going to be able to swim rightward across 25 yards of hundreds of bodies just flailing in the water.  I stuck with my plan.  Stay as far right as possible. After the first loop I would readjust if needed or possible.  So to the far right I stayed, swimming over some people myself as gently as possible.  Sometimes in cood down laps at the pool I would swim 3 strokes freestyle and then turn onto my back and do three strokes on my back.  I realized that I could maneuver this way without plowing over people to get where I wanted because I turn on my back on someone's legs and they wouldn't know I was there....Phew!  I was able to move forward and move laterally to clearer water.    So I went left to just outside of the buoy's on the counter clockwise swim.  I never would have expected it to be clearer on the inside of the hoards of people... but it was.  That took time to do and I completed that task by the first turn buoy (which was about 900 yrds in the rectangular swim)  The second turn buoy to head back to shore was 200 yrds away.  I could see up ahead there was congestion around that buoy.  When I got about 100 yrds away from it, I did my little back stroke maneuver over bodies to get outside again so I wouldn't be stopped at the buoy like hundreds of other swimmers.  My maneuver worked yet again because as I rounded the buoy about 25 yrds away from it, I was passing a lot of people that were stuck at the buoy.  There was a race official at the inside of that buoy too watching for cutting...some were cutting out of necessity because they couldn't maneuver themselves to get outside the buoy.  I was starting to feel badly because I knew some were getting DQ'd.  I was on the straight away soon to finish the first loop.  When I got up on the beach over the timing mat, my time was 42 mins and some odd seconds... I was happy for everything I had to do to get there.   Really it was a terrible time, but considering what was going out there in the water, it was a great time.  We were warned that no one has a best time in CDA and really the race tactic for the swim here is to just get through it the best way you know how.  And that's how I was managing it.   I had a huge smile on my face.   I re-entered the water.  The numbers had thinned somewhat, but the conditions became worse.  The wind picked up, it was raining, and harder to see.  I was able to maintain position on the swim  and just stay where I wanted to be.  On the second loop though, I got picked up in the current of the Spokane River (which empties into Lake CdA, carrying lots of fast moving and cold water) and carried pretty far rightward from the second turn buoy.  The choppiness of the water was worse and the wind was terrible.  The press helicopters were too low making the water even more churned up, too.   It was hard to get out of the current.  I was one of many athletes that got swept into it.  We all made it out fine.  As I finished the second loop, I glanced back and saw that there were many swimmers behind me... I was so relieved to get out of the water and was feeling a little sea sick from all the up and down motion.  I was dizzy. Rumors were already passing around that they had removed many swimmers from the water and one was unconcious being flown to the nearest medical center.  I hope he is okay....unbeknownst to me, I would learn more about the swim later on along the bike and run course later throughout the day....

In transition I couldn't feel my fingers.  They had wetsuit strippers outside of the tent and the wetsuit was off in a flash!  I remembered the same from last year.  My bike bag was tied so tightly I couldn't get into it because of the lack of dexterity.  There was a wonderful helper in the tent and she was able to undo and open the bag for me.  She put my bike socks on for me, too, latched my race helmet and sent me off to my bike.  I actually walked to my bike.  I wanted to run, but my hip had been hurting and "catching" over the past couple days.  I didn't want to put undue stress on any part of my body to save a couple minutes.  My motto for the day was safe and controlled, watchful vigilance on every part of the bike course.    I was extremely nervous getting on the bike.  I was super conservative on the first loop.  In fact, I kept my watt average at the way bottom end of where my coach wanted me to be.  I just didn't want to take any chances.  I wanted to be watchful of all the going on's.  I didn't want to be anaerobic ever, which I wouldn't be in that wattage zone anyway; however, I wanted to conserve as much as possible for the climbs.  As soon as I started pedaling, my heart rate was way above where it should be for the effort and I attributed that to the adrenaline and anxiety.  For the first 20 minutes I rode very casually.  I wanted to settle my body so that it would accept food and be in control.  Those hills were ahead.  Through town and down along the lake to the first turnaround point and back into town were uneventful.  I felt great!  My smile returned and I was having good feelings.



 First set of hills complete!   Big Smile that never left!
Also note: guy just coming on bridge with "King of the Mountain shirt", NOT!

 I entered the I-95 overpass and was greeted by Kevin, James and Emily, cheering me on.  I had a huge grin on my face.  The next 40 miles were going to be all climbing, but I was ready for it.  I was fueling well at this point hydrated and feeling super!  No sooner than I left the family did the first climb in a series start.  There are no hills in southern Maine that even compare with what I had to climb.  I attribute my strength with climbing to strength training early in the training season with Scott Fleurant and awesome coaching (THANKS ANGELA BANCROFT!)  and doing local hills in a harder gear than necessary.  I knew in training I wasn't being an efficient rider a lot of the time, but I knew I wasn't working on big long hills like I needed to be on.  I just didn't have the time to travel to Northern ME or NH and I wasn't exactly sure where the hills were. I knew a few people that were doing hills out by Sebago and north of there, but it just never seemed to fit in my schedule to do those group rides.   I put faith in what I had done; I stuck to local roads that I knew and increased the difficutly by pushing a harder gear and did them into the wind as much as possible.  The hills in the Berwicks, Lebanon, Limington and  most of York County was what I had to work with and of course the hills  on and around Mount Hope in Sanford.   I can't afford a computrainer either, so I couldn't even attempt to assimilate the hills on an indoor trainer.  Not once on the bike course did I feel under trained or under prepared.    I was climbing those steep, long grades as comfortably as possible.  Eating and drinking well.    It was cloudy, cold and windy... If anything, I was underdressed for the first loop.   The first loop went great!  I was happy and coming down off the I-95 overpass on to local roads and seeing my family, again, I was still very happy.  Onto flats for a few miles and gentler grades.  I poured in more nutrition, fluids and went out along the lake to special needs at the halfway point.  To be Continued.....

James and Emily on the rock outside our hotel.

Twas the night before Ironman

I have quite a few posts to blog.  In separate blogs I will be writing an Ironman Race report and I will blog a thank you, but for now.  I wrote this little poem to keep you entertained:

Twas the night before Ironman, when all through the place
Not a creature was stirring, not over the race.
The bicycles were racked in their places with care,
In hopes that tomorrow soon would be there.

The athletes were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of finishing danced in their heads.
And pappa in his C-PAP, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a pre-race nap.

When out before dawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the backpack, I flew like a flash,
It’s race morning already, I’m off like  a dash.

The volume of items, inside it you know
the luster of readiness, was all set to go.
When, what to my wondering ears should I  hear,
the sound of the clock, time to get it in gear!

On goes the clothing, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment, I just may be sick.
More rapid than eagles, the nausea it came
the stomach gurgled and rumbled,  and called me by name!

"Now Helmet! now, Backpack! Bottles  and Water!
salt tabs! And wetsuit! Race watch and fodder!
out of the doorway, to enter the hall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

Off to transition, the athlete does fly,
The long day has started with stars in the  sky.
Arriving in time, to marking she flew,
With a sack full of stuff, not the least of which -  gu.

And then, in a twinkling, I saw on the rack
My bicycle shining, best of the stack.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down with the backpack, onto the ground.

Now dressed in neoprene from her head to her toe,
The bags were all sorted and set for the go.

.
A bundle of bags she had flung on her back,
To take to be sorted, bike/ run and post race snack.

Her eyes-how they twinkled! Her dimples how merry!
Her cheeks were like roses, her nose like a cherry!
Her droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the pride on her face, so happy to show.

The stump of a gel, she held tight in her teeth,
The cold of the sand, was felt underneath.
She had a game face and a little flat belly,
 once shook when she laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

SHe was jolly  and pumped, and proud of herself,
She couldn’t have done it, without the help of an elf!
The guidance of Ange, and help to her head,
Soon gave her the know,  there’s nothing to dread.

She spoke not a word, she had done all the work,
let go of bad feelings, she did with a jerk.
Positive thoughts and feelings she chose,
OFF goes the cannon! And swimming she goes!

She sprang from the water, and off to the bike,
and peddled away for a long day’s hike.
Then I heard her exclaim as she ran  into sight,
“I’m an Ironman now, THANKS to all, a good night!"

Pre-Race Jitters

DNF-  I feel like those letters are branded on my forehead much like the letter "A" on Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorn's "Scarlet Letter."  This race has been looming over my head for two years.  There is only one other race in my life that I have not finished in my life and that other one was my Freshman year of high school in the finals of 300 M hurdles in the regionals to qualify for states.  I was in the second to last heat, and I was running well that day.  I was winning my heat in a landslide, ensuring a qualifying spot for States, when i tripped over the absolute last hurdle of the race!  UGH!!!  Yes I would have qualified for states in that event as a freshman.  The person that past me when I was on the ground qualified as the 5th seed for States.  The disappointment i felt was huge, but it was okay because i was going to states anyway in other events.  But that disappointment is nothing compared to my attempt at the Ironman race last year.  I have thought about that day every day since last year.  Not one day has gone by where I didn't get up and think about that race, the two crashes, the disappointment, the pain....I have lived it every day and ultimately my family has too.  The only way for me to overcome it was to comeback and conquer the defeat.  Every training session while training for this new event, this new day, has had reflections of the outcome of last year.  It's hard for me to reflect on the actual race because there is so much of it that I can't recall.  If i could just banish the thoughts of last year, but I can't.  It's branded in scarlet letters on my forehead that only I can see.

Arriving here in Coeur d'Alene has been nothing short of surreal, dream like...almost nightmarish because the dream started so pleasant.  This year...I know it's going to be a pleasant but emotional ending.  i have pent up stress, pent up energy, pent up anger, just so many emotions that i have held in.   Several people have asked, "what's your goal time?"  My goal time...16:59:59.   An athlete has 17 hrs to complete the event and really that is what it is all about for me.  I have heard it all... "come on Cathy, that's not a goal, you are so capable of going under 13 hrs.... What is your far reach."   I have also heard, "are you going after a Kona slot?"   And the answer is, no, NO, NO!  I will be ecstatic if i go under the clock at 16:59: 59.  For me, it will be nothing short of miraculous.  I know what my avg times are for Half Ironman distances, I know what I have been recently racing and I know "statistically" with all the crazy calculations --- just double your time and add and hour, add 10% for each hour of your half and multiply by two.... yada, yada, yada... I've heard it all and for this race I am ignoring it all.  My goal is to finish.... Not to finish as fast as I can, not to get a Kona slot... TO FINISH!!!  And, I will finish with a smile on my face and body, mind and soul in tact.   My race will be a comfortable race... I am not taking any risks... a long training day with a party at the end!

You will see me swimming on the far right of the course on the outside of all the athletes taking wide turns at the buoy's.  I am a fairly strong swimmer and so I don't have to worry about meeting a cut-off time.  I will swim comfortable in my zone to reflect on the day.  Calmly breathing and stroking, it will be my Zen time.  I will be calm, relaxed and away from the melee.  I will be away from kicking, slapping, sinking bodies swimming over one an other... I will be swimming a different place, peaceful, serene.  it's actually what i did last year.  although, I do remember migrating inwards last year and getting involved in a traffic jam at one of the turn buoy's.  I will stay wide and avoid that this year.   I suspect it will take me 1.5 hrs for the swim.  Last year I finished in 1:20.   the water is cold - mid 50's, so i may speed up to stay warm or to just get out of there.

The bike, will be ridden in my own training zone.  I will be controlled and relaxed, my breathing will be in control.  There are some serious climbs on this new bike course.  And some screaming descents.  I heard an athlete claim that he was going 70 mph on one of the big descents.  Well the fastest I have ever gone down a descent in Maine  is 47mph.  And, I rode down the steepest descent on Wednesday on the course (yes, i did have to pedal up it first) and when I did peek, I was braking at 38 mph.  I was feathering the brakes 3/4ths the way down.... it's a full mile and quarter down.  There were crosswinds, I was blowing everywhere....my goal is not fast, my goal is to be in control, as much as possible every second of the race.  And you know, last year i was too, but I took a sharp turn too fast last year and that was crash number 1.  That turn has now been eliminated from the course (and I wasn't the only one to crash there either).  My other crash --- the bad one, I really have no idea what happened.  It was at a bottle exchange... 1 minute I was flinging a bottle into the drop box and the next I was over the handle bars lying on the ground in a puddle of blood.  And, you know for those that didn't hear or read the story: after they made me stay there for an hour before progressing with my cracked helmet and broken bike with only two gears that worked for the rest of the 50  miles, I finished the bike leg, in time to proceed to the run. Although, my timing chip was removed in transition with the option of taking a DQ for a violation of riding with a cracked helmet, or the option of taking  a DNF.   After I made my choice, they also highly urged me to go to the medical tent....That's being, polite, they practically made me go...and inside there, they sent me to the hospital....but there won't be any of that this year.  This year, it will be a smooth ride, comfortable, in control.  There won't be chasing anyone one.  There won't be staring at age group calves... It is my race against myself and the ironman distance.  It's me against my ghost of last year.  That's the only think I am chasing.  I suspect it will take me 7.5 hrs to do the bike.  (I know some of you are thinking that I just did 60 miles a few weeks ago in just under 3 hrs --- I am riding this race differently, this is a different course, the hills are bigger and more of them... it doesn't compare!!).

The run will be steady and in control as well.  Obviously I didn't run the course last year.  I will be patient with my pace this year, be in control and take in the moment.  My goal is to keep moving forward.  My running since April has not been stellar.  I have been plagued with aches, pains and fatigue off and on.    I will run fast enough to get to the finish in my goal time of 16:59:59.  Age calves will not interest me, if I pass anyone I will give praise and words of encouragement, and will cheer those that pass me.  I will look for the fireman in full turnout gear running the 26.2.  I would say that I will keep an eye out for Crowie but he will be finished before i even start my run... i fully suspect this will be a 5 hr marathon.  yes, i know I am capable of being faster...fast is not my goal.  So at the half,  if it's been over 2 hrs... don't say "she did a 10 miler in 1:25 where is she....??"  I am fine...

Yes, I am nervous beyond belief, but writing this has helped me calm a little.  I am anxious and excited.  Tomorrow at this time, I just might be out on the bike...Race start is 7AM local time 10 AM for you folks on the Eastern seaboard.   My number is 603, in the 40-44 age group.  Tomorrow's weather is predicted to be high of 77 with 30% chance of rain and scattered thunderstorms.  I have received so many text messages, FB messages, and emails of support from so many family members and friends.  I thank you all for your love, thoughts, words of encouragement and prayers.   If I appear to be slow tomorrow, don't worry!!  Be happy, I am still moving forward and I am comfortable.  So don't be staring at the clock saying "she should be at this check point by now, what happened??"  Know that I am okay, I am in control, it's going to take time to erase those scarlet letters on my forehead... and when  the branding is gone.... that's when you better lookout!!!  See you at the finish!!!

Open Water Swimming Safety

As June arrives, the water temperature rises with the air and everyone is excited to get to the beach, go to the lake  and/or just get out in the open water and boat, swim, fish and play.  We triathletes wait all winter long swimming endless laps staring at a black line at the bottom of a 25 yd lane; back and forth, lap upon lap; it's mind numbing.  We long to get outside and escape the monotony.    Some of us visualize swimming on a surf board, we breath out... talking to the fish or various other mantras to keep our minds active and focus on our swimming to help pass the endless laps.  It seems though that at the beginning of every open water swim season we forget how vulnerable we as adults are in the water.  So, I thought I would tell a quick story of a serious situation that occurred today swimming and review some good water safety habits that EVERYONE, no matter how good of a swimmer you are, should practice. 

A bunch of triathletes, myself included, from a local triathlon club decided to meet at Kennebunk Pond for a Saturday morning swim.  We headed out early to beat the boat traffic that would be occurring on such a beautiful weekend.    We arrived just before 7 AM.   The air was brisk, with a slight breeze and the water was somewhat choppy.  The sun was low and glaring in the direction that we would be swimming in.  Between the choppiness of the water and the sun glare, the visibility, despite the clear air conditions, was not great.  The water temperature was a very comfortable 66 degrees -- remember we are all wearing wetsuits.   A group of us were going to head out to swim around an island in the middle which is just a hair over a mile swim (I was planning to do the loop a second time with a group arriving at 7:30).  Then there was another two swimmers that were going to be going to "the rock and back."  That distance was about half of going to the island and back.  One thing good we did was that we knew who was doing what -- supposedly... But in actuality, one of the swimmers was confused of the landmarks and distances and really planned on swimming out to the island and not just to the rock and back.  Her misunderstanding began with her thinking that the island was "the rock."   First big mistake: one, we didn't really discuss our specific route,  and two, what to sight for and landmarks to be watching for with everyone... A HUGE and potentially costly mistake.  Off we went.  I was swimming with the group going around the island and all was well.  On the back side of the island we stopped and talked amongst ourselves briefly about the route our swim line should take heading back.  Two of the swimmers weren't too familiar with  how shallow the rocks were and if you didn't position yourself well, you end up either kicking or scratching your hand on these big boulders underneath the surface of the water.   I led the swimmers around the island to head back to the beach.  When we circum-navigated around the island to head back to the beach and cove, where we had started at, we came upon the swimmer by herself that was going to just go to the rock and back.  It didn't really register with me at first because I was thinking that the swimmer that was going to the rock and back wouldn't be there because this swimmer was 1)alone and 2) gone a lot further than she had told us she was going to do.  Well, then I wasn't convinced that the swimmer was she  and this maybe another swimmer that might be doing her own thing.  Because, despite all these group swims we are involved in, we do all tend to do our own thing.  Not really a good philosophy or SAFE philosophy to have.  So here we are swimming back to the cove and the beach.  Just as we are heading into the cove we stopped and one of the swimmers said, "wait where did the other swimmer go?"  Ummmm.... none of us really knew.  "well wasn't she just doing the shorter rock and back swim?"  Apparently she changed her mind she joined us as we were coming back around the island.... "well where is she now?"  We all turned around and stared out at the water.  We couldn't see anyone, so we started swimming back to the rock and then to the island to look for her.  We were calling for her.  We could not see her or her green cap anywhere!  The water was choppy so we couldn't always see clearly.  We got about halfway out and still couldn't see her!!  We were all getting nervous.  Did she get out and take the road back?  WHERE IS SHE!!  Two of us swam back to shore and I told the others before heading for the shore that  I would go see if her car was still in the parking lot.  I sprinted back to the beach and told the two new swimmers coming in (the one's I was going to swim a second loop with) that we had lost a swimmer and what she was wearing: green cap, goggles, orca wetsuit.  I sprinted up the beach,  crossed the street and into the parking lot.  Her car was still there.  i was starting to get really nervous.  As I was running back to the beach I shouted to the swimmers in the water that her car was in fact there.  The other swimmers had already swam back to the island, grabbed a kayak and were paddling around, still no sign of her.  One of the really strong swimmers came in and yelled to call 911 as all the areas in and around the island where we had been swimming were checked and most of the area had been scanned.  We had sent another person up the camp roads to check and see if she was coming back by foot.  While on shore, I grabbed a cell phone and called 911.  By this point, we had 6 or so people in the water searching and people checking the roads that abut the water.  No one was coming up with her.  The dispatcher asked about how long since the last person had seen her...  As i glanced at my watch I choked up the reply -- 20 minutes....   The area we were looking in and swimming in was not that big!!  This was way too long for her!!  we were less than a half mile from shore when we last saw her.    She should have been back long by now!!  the dispatcher told me to stay on the line... "well i am going to give the phone to someone else... i am going back in the water with a partner to search way over on the left where we don't usually swim."  So i headed in with one of the guys and off we went out of the cove heading to the left.  As we got out and looked to the left, we saw a green cap.  I think that is her!!!   There she was!!!  We raced toward her.  "Are you alright???"    Her reply was that she was fine, she got disoriented, started to get  little cramps and panicky and floated on her back and then she didn't know where she was.  She said a boater asked her if she needed help and she asked where the beach was.  Well thank God we found her!  The Sheriff's department had already arrived but we could tell the dispatcher that she was found.  The sheriff took down her statement as to what happened and that she was fine. 

Today could have ended very tragically.  Even one of the other swimmers kidded to her afterwards saying, "boy, I thought that was the shortest friendship I would ever have."  All is well that ended well.  But, in all seriousness.  1) don't swim alone, have a buddy 2) know where you are going -- make sure everyone is clear on the landmarks, distances, sighting markings for heading out and returning on the swim 3) even if you have no hair or lots of hair, WEAR a Bright colored swim cap!!  This swimmer almost didn't swim with a cap and an extra was provided for her.  Had she not been wearing the cap, she would have been impossible to spot.  4)  Don't change plans for your swim or distance once you leave the beach and make sure you, yourself know the landmarks in case you do get separated. 5)  have a properly fitting wetsuit, goggles that fit tight and fog free--- in essence wear the proper equipment.  6) Make sure there is someone on shore that knows where you are going and your expected return  7)  on an organized large group swim, is to have  experienced kayakers present that have been trained in water rescue, that can spot the swimmers in the water and corral, direct and offer support as needed    and 8) consider swimming with a torpedo buoy for an emergency flotation device.  It is compact and a life saver if you get into trouble and there is no assistance nearby. 

The Dog Days of Summer Have Arrived!

    I knew I wouldn't be too consistent about writing in my blog!  I haven't written in a few weeks.  That's purely because i have been working and training and carting kids around to work, swim practice, lacrosse practice, etc, etc. 
  This past weekend was an absolutely gorgeous weekend! I can not remember a Memorial Day weekend in Maine where it was nice for all three days of the weekend.  Boy did we luck out!  Saturday was super hot and that brought my third 100 mile bike ride of my training for ironman Coeur D'Alene.  I was curious as to how it would shake out because I just had done 75 miles in the damp drizzle two days before on Thursday with a T-run immediately following it.  I was already kind of pre-fatigued for this century.  Waking up in the morning it was already muggy and warm.  This is the first time this year that at 6AM I could be warm enough in a sleeveless bike shirt.  NO SLEEVES AT ALL!  I had tons of fluids with me for this ride.  i knew from the weekend before - my second century -- on a 70ish day I ran out of fluids twice, so i wanted to avoid that.  And I did.  But the other issue with riding in Maine on Memorial Day weekend is the official start of summer and tourism.  Between the construction going on everywhere and the tourist traffic, it is nothing short of a nightmare getting around.  Hence, the early start before the traffic picks up, is the key.  But it takes me 6 hrs to ride 100 miles on a bike so the traffic picks up dramatically halfway through your bike time.   Places that would take you 5 mins to drive, turns into 30 mins.  It's tough.  It's a nightmare and the roads in Maine just weren't  built for the volume.  And, I hate to sound a little prejudiced, but drivers from a certain nearby state, are just completely rude with bicyclists on the road.   I try to be as considerate as possible and ride as close to the edge as possible as reasonably safe, but most drivers out there expect me to ride in the dirt.  I am sorry folks out there, but I am not on a dirt bike, a hybrid or even a trail bike, i am on either a road bike or a time trial bike with skinny tires and I can't ride on the dirt and sand.  And for all those out- out- of staters --- (that won't be reading my blog so I am wasting my precious finger energy) there is a 3 feet rule for passing cyclists.  There!  At least I feel better!!!  So Saturday was hot. Sunday, I did two runs that equaled close to 18 miles combined.  For those of you that haven't tried to run the day after biking 100 miles... it's pretty hard.  it's almost easier to run on the day where you do bike 100 miles.  i can say this with certainty because after my 100 mile bikes I run for a couple miles... and the couple miles off the century are much less tortuous than the first two miles of the long run the next day for sure!  But I made it through the heat and the week of almost 20 hrs of training.  I have one more huge week of training and then it's taper time.  My body is ready!!
    This weekend also brought the prom for James.  he looked pretty handsome in his tuxedo.  this was his second Prom of the Spring.   I am feeling a little bit melancholic about this summer.  Letting go is so hard.  to see your kids grown and going off and out on their own, but yet so vulnerable.  He has a list of Colleges he wants to visit this summer... ALL OVER the country, I might add.  I can't believe at one moment I am asking him to pick up the 11 towels off his bedroom floor and the next moment we are talking about going away to College.  And the squabbles between he and his little sister are less and less and the conversations get more and more grown up.  It's just a really weird and big change coming up.  I was so nervous and scared about the beginning of the teen years.  But I am totally freaked that next year he will be registering for the draft, registering to vote and leaving home to go to college.  Wasn't I just praying for his survival in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit just.... yesterday? And now i pray for his safety, that he makes the right choices and  that i have given him the right advice and tools for him to survive and be successful in the real world.  Wow... what a digression here... So really what I meant to say was... Poor James!  He was so hot in that tuxedo this past weekend.  Wish I knew how to upload a picture of him and his date.  They looked great!!  It was great weather for the prom.  It had poured buckets my junior prom!!  I was crushed because the shoes I had dyed to match my dress for the prom, the colors ran in the rain and the shoes looked horrid.  Not one person even SAW my shoes that night.... they were either off my feet or hidden underneath the dress...but I was pretty worked up about it. 
    I was appreciative this weekend as Emily didn't have any lacrosse games either.  She would have been hot running up and down the field.  It gives me great pleasure to watch her play.  She loves it.  It reminds me a little bit of my field hockey days way back.   When i was a kid, I think I was politely aggressive with my field hockey stick.  That's something I am sure she will develop.There wasn't lacrosse for girls when i was a kid, but I think I would have enjoyed it.  although, on the same token,  I am not sure I would have played though.  i was pretty stuck on running on the track team.  I was surprised that the skirt to her uniform is actually a skirt and not a skort.  i don't know why I am bothered by it.  We wore kilts with field hockey, but we wore shorts or bloomers underneath....i just figured with sport skorts so popular now that they would do that instead of a skirt, you know?  But there were no games, no uniform to wash at the last second, no practice to rush off to.  It was nice!
    Monday was a nice day, too.  A surprise because rain was predicted and it didn't happen until these huge loud thunderstorms in the middle of the night.  my parents came down and we grilled and ate outside.  It was pretty nice!  We had walked the beach before they came and got Callie all worn out.  plus we had special company.  We had a swarm of honey bees come visit, too.  That was totally weird.  A bee keeper came and collected them up late in the evening, once the queen returned from her outing, and while the bees were resting.  But all and all it was a gorgeous Monday and i finished that off with an open water swim in Kennebunk pond with James. 
     My last comment about the dog days of summer is about dogs.  I love dogs, but every now and again I come across a loose dog out on the road and even though I am a lover and don't fear them... I do on the bike.  There is one that chases me down on Harriseckett Rd in Wells and then there's this "cujo" of a dog that lives off of Rt 11 in Lebanon.... (i know i sure do get around on the bike).  However, they both love these treats i carry for dogs.    The treats are  the Newman's heart shaped, chicken flavored treats.  My dog loves them too.  I LOVE carrying them.  It's a great trick... the dog approaches the bike to  bite you, you pull out the treat and when you throw it, it goes far enough away so that the dog goes after the treat.  I can make a break away out of the dogs territory.  those treats have saved me a couple of times on long bike rides.  A few years ago, Cujo almost took me down on the bike as well as another loose big dog.  And ever since then, i have carried dog treats on my bikes and my long runs.  Dogs don't bother me anymore...when they get close, i toss the treat.  It sure as heck beats hitting them or giving up one of my water bottles to throw at them.  or worse yet, getting bit or crashing because of them.
   This was a crazy blog that was all over the place.... but that describes me about now, busy as a bee, running and biking all over the place, getting the kids to where they need to go and a few moments to sit and relax.... on the dog days of summer!!

May Flowers

I have to take my mind off the prom tonight and decided to write my race report from last Sunday. 

So my hardships of April, kind of rained on my ironman training parade and I left the month feeling overwhelmed and wondering if I would even make the bike cutoff for the ironman.  My riding has been sooo slow!!  The wind had just been killing me!  And the fatigue didn't help.  But, the first week of May I stopped taking 12 hr shifts at work and switched to 8 hr shifts.  This, i sense, will be helpful as I am not doing workouts at 10 PM anymore... I can sneak a shorter workout in before getting dinner ready or do it soon afterwards.  If I could only get rid of all my call hours too!!!  Anyway, Friday after work I headed to cyclemania to get my powertap software upgrade on my race wheel before heading to New Jersey.  Nothing like waiting to the last absolute second Huh?  Well I put the race wheels on Wednesday and noticed the joule wasn't picking up the data from the power tap: like watts, cadence, HR, you know those small numbers we look at while riding... ALL THE TIME?  Anyhow it required an update for the joule to be able to "pair" with the race wheel.  I hadn't realized this prior to now because this race is the first of the season and the joule was a Christmas present so it was a last second surprise.  Anyhow, David Brink got me squared away in less than 5 mins.  Off I went to NJ at 3PM.  The race was at Lake Absegami in Tuckerton, NJ at a campground.  We arrived at the cabin we were staying at, at  another very nearby campground at 10PM.  We all crawled directly into bed.  Saturday I did a 15-20 min bike check, powertap was all set and seemed to be working and all was fine, seemingly.  The bike was set to go.  I did a little jog too.  My legs seemed okay... They weren't super light feeling, but better than they had felt in quite some time.  Off to the race venue to check in at 3PM.  There were lots of people milling around.  And the line wasn't long to get all the race numbers and such.  They were putting out the buoy's at the time and so i snuck a peek at that.  It was a nice day, but they were predicting some wind and rain for race day.... do I know anything different??  I had Kevin drive the race course because I just wanted to see it before heading back to the cabin.  At the pre-race meeting online Thursday night  (a webinar -- which I highly recommend for all race director's out there which was well done) they had made a big deal about one of the bridges that we were going to have to go over.  It was a grated bridge not unlike say the Portland Bridge and/or the bridge into Kennebunkport.  They were going to have an ambulance stationed there because they claimed people may slide sideways into the guardrail on the side, because of crosswinds and the grates and such.  They said it would take about 3 seconds to cross the bridge going about 20 mph.  I was kind of thinking that if the bridge was that dangerous, why would people ride that fast over it.    Anyhow, i realized seeing it that it was not going to be an issue.  The bike profile on paper looked more threatening then in the car, and of course biking it is altogether different than riding in the car.  Anyhow, I was feeling pretty okay with everything.  Back to the Cabin and in to bed early.  Race start for Sunday was 8AM....despite all this, I was still having some trepidation about the race, as my last month, not to re hash the last month, but... it was not good heading into a race. 
   
445 AM came really fast.  I slept pretty well.  I had my prerace breakfast and was feeling okay, not nervous at all.  Which is highly unusual for me.  Usually I am a wreck and can't eat anything.  I was starting to feel like I may be too under stimulated and have wondered if I was not nervous because my adrenals were fatigued too from all the training and stress... nah... that's not it... it's just a fluke.  I rested a bit and foam rolled and we packed up the car so we could head back to Maine as soon as I was done with the race.  I arrived at transition at 6AM.  It seemed like everything was pretty much set.  It was chilly air wise, but the water temp was reported as 67 degrees.... Wow!!  I don't think I have ever swam in water that warm!!  Nice!  Do I even need a wetsuit??  Ha ha, well yes, but that really is pretty warm.  @7 i put the wetsuit on to stay warm in the air and then did a little stroking for a few minutes.  at 745 they had the pre-race meeting.  At 800 they ordered the people that were in the first wave to enter the water behind the starting buoy.  I was in the first of the 3 waves.  I am not a stellar swimmer and usually am maybe in the top third of swimmers.  Since I wasn't feeling particularly confident of the previous months training, I decided to put myself in the middle of the pack but on the outside.  It was a 2 loop course and they admitted that the buoy's drifted during the night and it wasn't much more than 1.2 miles for the total difference.... Funny.... didn't drift much... one buoy was located in the trees on the opposite shore!!!  So we  tread water for a few minutes and the gun went off.  Today was my third day in open water, I dipped myself in kennebunk pond when the ice bergs were still present on an unusually warm day in March and I swam at Kennebunk Beach for a few minutes one other day... the rest was all pool swimming.  Suffice to say... I haven't really done much open water at all.  But off I went with the herd. There were about 100 swimmers in the wave.   We had to swim clockwise in a rectangular shape keeping the buoy's to our right.  My first big mistake of the day was I didn't sight nearly often enough.  Well for the first 200 yds or so, I was swimming on someones feet but as time went on I noticed there were fewer and fewer people around me... you would have thought that this would be a clue to look up and see where i was... but noooo I could feel people sort of beside me  and didn't look.  Maybe 60 strokes later, which for me is a little over 100 yards I realized that i was kind of lonely.... OH yeah!!  I am supposed to sight like every 5 strokes since there isn't you know,,, lane lines and a big black line to follow at the bottom of the lake.  So I sighted.  Yikes!!!  I had gone about 100 yds diagonally to the left --- totally away from the buoy's... way off course!!  and sure enough by myself.  DAMN!!!  That hurt.... okay so now I am at a full sprint back to the course and yes I did sight much more often... but still kept zoning out and not thinking about it.   I finished the first loop in 18 minutes.  UGH!!  that was bad...gotta  sight like every 5th stroke come on, now!!   I was not far away from people and i snuck a peek back and there were lots of people behind me and the other waves had not caught up to me yet... so that was at least good news.  So, this second loop I stayed on course much better, but what was disturbing was that on the far side of the rectangle there were people cutting about the third of the distance off the rectangle.  Cheaters!  And there was one women that was directly behind me that cut the buoy's by at least 25 yds.  Oh I was furious!!  Well i went out on a full out sprint and caught her just after the next buoy and glared at her.  And then there were a few others that had done the same.  I was appalled!  As I was cornering the last buoy to head in the final 300 yds to finish the swim the faster swimmers of the next wave were coming up on me.  I drafted off of them to carry me to the end of the swim.  As I exited the water my watch said 37mins and a few seconds...okay...but not great... i am capable of being closer to 35 but not bad for a first season race.  (as it turns out, every ones swim time was on the slow side -- except for a few of course -- but the race director at awards reiterated the the race course would post officially as a distance of 1.2 miles).... a few poeple with GPS swim watches said the course was 1.35 miles... maybe they swam off course, too!!  HA!  I started to peel my wetsuit down and ran up the hill jogged up the hill, slowly, to the timing mat which read 41 mins and some odd seconds...okay... i walked up the hill!!!!   Half way up Kevin and Emily shouted that there were only 10 women in front of me...nahh, that' can't be right.  I got into transition still fuming at all the little cheaters out there and another women came in right behind me... did you see all those cheaters?? She said she counted 10 people cutting the course.   As I looked around...wow,, transition is still FULL of bikes.... FULL...where is everyone??  a good majority were still on the swim course and only a few bikes in my area were gone... we were racked by age group and not many around me were gone... hmmmm maybe Kevin is right I thought.  As i was getting ready to leave transition I hit my joule to turn it on and there were no readings obtained and it wouldn't accept a zero for watts.  All I had was --- in all the numerical fields... I tried again and again...never seen that before... Well shoot,  I have no data to go off of.  So I take off on the longs ass run to the mount line.  You think I am kidding??  It was like 1/8th of a  mile to the mount zone on this zig-zag carpeted run over sand and grass.  I tried one more time to get the joule to pick-up data... it was a no go.  I was going to be riding 58 miles without anything... just my wrist watch to tell me the time.  Hmmmm...Guess I will have to bike by perceived effort.   I remember asking Doug Welling once, when he worked at peak performance, and long before i started training with a power meter, how hard can you ride and not kill your running legs?  He explained to me then that you could go pretty hard and still have an intact run...Well, I thought about that conversation so long ago, but was reluctant to really go hard.  So all i kept in my mind and all I kept thinking about was 1. Does this effort I am doing seem sustainable, 2) is my breathing in control and 3) do my legs feel like I can run a half marathon after 58 miles.  That's all I thought about on the bike course.  It was bad enough that the bike course was 58 miles instead of the regular 56 miles... I was starting to fret over 2 miles.  As I pedaled i soon came upon a woman rider... She had this really long red pony tail and the pony tail was completely dry.... she must be a duathlete because she is not wet enough to have swum.... but i passed her any way.  I came soon upon 2 or 3 other women... are they wet??  Couldn't tell.... I passed them and kept going.  At about the 15 mile mark,  past another women or two... at this point I was dry so there was no way to tell the difference.... The wind was picking up and the clouds were getting dark.... I re asked myself my 3 questions.... I was getting nervous... Did I go out too fast?  Am I blowing up my legs?  I felt okay.. i wasn't breathing heavy...it didn't feel like lactic acid was building.   just keep going.  I was on the back part of the first loop.  I passed one more women.. oh i was passing guys, too I just didn't pay attention to those numbers and of course some of them were duathletes and some of them were just doing the aquabike and weren't going to run... so they could go all out on the bike....Heading back to complete the first loop I started to second guess my self... I hadn't seen any women any longer, and I was sort of by myself.  I would pass an occasional guy, and lots of guys were passing me, passing me like I was standing still.  I really wanted my powertap working I wanted to know what and how I was doing,  I tapped it and I was still looking at ---.  It would auto shut-off after 5 mins on it's own if it didn't capture anything and sure enough it did.  It went black.  I didn't bother with it again.  No more ladies... where are they???  I was getting near to the race start and the turnaround point for the second 29 mile loop.  Bikes were starting to come back at me... was that a girl, nope guy,,, guy?? yes I think that's a guy.  Then there was this bike all decked out in pink and purple... that's got to be a girl... as it approached it was a guy!!   And then a girl.... one.... i kept heading towards the turn around...... oh there's another woman.... two...............and then just as I was about to turn into the campground a woman was just coming out Three?   oh I must have missed a woman or two... must have.... And how do i know if those women were doing the HIM, and who was a duathlete and who was doing the triathlon... oh it's mysterious... and the big question of all... Were any of them in my age group???  i can't see their calves!!!  I get to the turnaround point and there was Kevin and Emily.  I was really excited to see them.  Emily looked completely bored at this point but it was still good to see her.  Kevin shouted out... there's 4 women in front of you and one of them is really close!!!  Well i saw the close one, but I missed one other woman.... maybe the pink and purple was a girl.... well if it was she was about 5 miles ahead of me!!  I noticed that I did the first loop in just under 90 mins.  Eeks... well, i may be over doing it... I can't gamble and chase those other women.  i just have to stay doing what I am doing.  At the 35 mile mark I did end up passing the one women that was near.... I re-asked my questions.....i felt okay, i am sure I can run, my breathing is in control.  I just hung at my intensity... no chasing... I was lonely again... And then at the far end of the second loop where the hills grew from the first time around, a pack of guys passed me 11 guys traveling together drafting.... wonder if a race official will see that?   And then a woman passed me!!  UGH was I slowing down??  /no this is one that I haven't seen... it's someone different.... look at her calf... darn she's not wearing her age!!    Well, i am not chasing her down... I am staying put.... She was the absolutely last women I saw on the bike....and i continued back  a lonely, wet as it was now raining and windy ride and only being passed my men, back to transition.  Just before entering the park a guy passed me... how you doing??   ready to run???  oh... don't remind me he said... I'm dreading the run...   I got back to the dismount line and realized that  it was exactly 3 hrs and did the 1/8 mile zig zag  to transition... I avg a 19.1 mile pace i read afterwards... not bad...  I rack the bike.  Since it's raining, I decide to put socks on for the run.  Socks, shoes, gels, hat... off I go.  I activate the garmin watch.  Thank God something works!!  out of transition the run starts in deep loose beach sand... ugh... slow start...going no where fast... but surprisingly, my legs felt pretty good.  I guess i didn't kill my legs.  I saw kevin immediately and Iwas carrying a hand held bottle of EFS I chugged that and threw it to him... and off into the woods I went... loose sand and foot paths was the name of the game.  It was flat, but no traction.  Very soon I passed the guy that was dreading the run,  He was walking... poor guy.... i sort of know how he feels.  He must feel how i felt on the great bay half marathon a month ago... in trouble at the first mile... again I thought.. poor guy... I looked at the garmin i was avg a 9 min pace... okay let's see what we can do.... I passed the woman that passed me on the bike... cool... I felt great.... taking fluids at the stations and a gel at mile 3... all was well.... it was a serpentine course with lots of switchbacks and doubling back you hit each water station like 4 times.  The foot paths were narrow; to pass you had to go off the path and into the woods and you would rub elbows and shoulders if someone was coming back at you in the opposite direction... a little close for comfort.  I wasn't feeling too lonely here.  It is amazing to me how spread out it seemed on the bike and now on the run, we were on top of each other practically.   I continued to run pretty well maintaining my 9 min pace...At mile 6 was starting to lose a little focus... time to grab a gel with some caffeine and maybe a salt tab too.  at the next water stop is just what I did grabbed water took the gel and then reached in my pocket for a salt tab... they disintegrated in the rain.  Shoot!  i should have put them in a ziplock baggie... UGH... I went back to the water station and grabbed some heed too.   The rain stopped and the sun was coming out.  It was getting hot!  I poured water over my head... off i went... mile 7 a woman passed me.  As she passed she said," oh the power of a woman in her 40''s congratulations.  Wow!" well thanks!!  See I was sporting my big 43 (age by December 31) on my calf... so of course, I had to know; was she in my age group passing me???  As she passed i looked at her calf... nope 39 phew!!  At this point I fully suspected a lot more women to pass me because i have not been running strong and well a 9 min pace even in a triathlon half marathon is not a super great pace....   i had already done a couple of the switchbacks but couldn't really tell.  so we were zigzagging through the woods couldn't see anything except other runners and people telling us where to go.  good thing they had a lot of officials and pads all over the run course...It was.  I maintained my position... as I was double back and going through loops I noticed there was a woman coming at me fairly close to a turnaround maybe a half a mile for her to be at the turnaround that i just completed.  yup, i stalked her and looked back at her calf... oh no!  She's in my age group... I can't let her catch... no more ladies are going to pass me!!  Approaching 9 i saw Kevin again.  He said there was one women at least  20 mins ahead of me... well... can't worry about her... she's probably going at the finish if not now, soon and then there were 3 other women ahead of me and only one was in my age group and she wasn't that far ahead!!  Great!!  I looked at my garmin and saw that I had slowed to a 915 pace... oh that's okay, i thought, I had do go through another section of loose beach sand (there were 4 sections of loose beach sand).  I knew the beach sand was slowing everyone down... but i noticed my ankles were getting sore.  They weren't used to all this trail running and loose sand.  I took another gel and was planning on picking up the pace at mile 10.  At mile 10 I was set to try and pick up and get this thing over with.  I looked at my watch.  I saw that I was on target to get a race time sub 6 hrs.  That was exciting me because this just wasn't a 70.3 race... it was a 72.4 and that's worth at least 6 or 7 minutes right there!!!  I started to lift my pace and then my hamstring felt immediately tight....eeeks... it didn't like that, I slowed to the pace i was at... ohhhhh I need salt!!!  At the aid stations all they had was heed and water.  So I took heed and poured water over my head again.  Do you have salt??  no...i have potato chips?  what seriously on a race course... no thanks.... maybe i should have eaten some.... Mile 11... I do the same, i pick up the pace and this time the hamsting really let me know it was mad... ooohhhh shoot!  I stop, stretch it out... where is that woman that was behind me....gaining?.... oh my god she is in like 200 yds away from me...Don't let her see me walk she will gain power from knowing that... I pick up to a jog.... okay just keep it here... no heroic last two miles we are just going to finish this thing ahead of that lady and intact.  I keep running.. my pace has slowed even more with those walks and slow downs....I am just moving forward to the end.  Mile 12 water stop... i look back, she's not there???  Where did she go??  I walk for a few paces get a full glass of heed in and pour water over my head... okay final push....i need salt so badly... i can feel it in both hamstrings and my calves... just keep  moving forward... I pass a guy he is just casually walking... I had been behind this guy for miles.... but now I caught him... just keep moving forward... Mile 13... why can't I see or hear the finish line, yet???   oh yeah 13.2 miles... The finish line is 1/4 mile away when I exit the woods... okay... just keep going.... and then finally the entry to the finish coral... that was the longest corral I ever experienced!!  and there was the finish... I am done... and i didn't even look at the clock... They took my chip and I walked around the corner to Kevin.... oh the clock just as I turn back to look at it it turned to 6hrs flat.  My official finish time 5:58:59.  Well that's not stellar, but a PR for me and not bad for an early season half ironman, really.    I said to Kevin, Gosh I felt like I was in last place the whole time,  there just wasn't any women around,,, that woman that was following me then just came over the finish line... She said, "I was trying to catch you ! Were you number 1 for our age group?".  No, I don't think so... I don't know,,, really...i thought i was in last place and then some guy said... "look around do you see many women finished?  There's not... you ladies better check the results because you are probably going to be on the podium."  No... not with that time!  That can't be possible....So I got some salt and recovery shake and food into me and a few minutes after that they posted the top fastest overall for the swim, the bike and the run.  I looked at the list... I knew I wasn't top 5 in the swim, but there I was on the bike... 4th fastest split of the day overall.  Great!!!... and then the run... I look, nope I wasn't in the top 5 women for runner's.  I knew that.... i knew i got passed by a couple ladies and then i just couldn't keep track anymore... I only kept track of the one behind me that was my age group.  I went back to the list again.  The five fastest bike splits, 3 of them were in the 40-44 age group,  2nd fastest, 4th fastest (me), and the 5th fastest.  Nice... okay the lady faster than me is she on any other top five list?  yes... she was 5th in the swim.... what about the run.... nope... not listed in the run... No 40-44's were in the top 5 run splits... wow, how odd....well... i guess I will just have to see when they post the overall finishers.  At this point they only had the finisher's through5:45 hrs up....And there were a few women in those, but only1 40-44 women... hmmmm could it be..? They posted finisher's through 6 hrs.  And there was my name at 5:58:59, with a second age group and 6th overall finish!!  Okay now look at penalties... nope no penalties... only two people on the bike course had drafting penalties...no swim penalties and as of that particular posting,  no DQ's.   Well. we were going to leave but decided to wait for the awards ceremony.  Sometimes I get lucky.  you know, you just never know what the abilities and talents are of people that show up to these races and so sometimes, someone who is usually a MOP'er makes it to the podium.  What a nice surprise!  My last race last  year was a lucky day on the podium and my first race this year was a lucky day on the podium...HOORAY!