Get your mind right girl!

I had my ‘holy crap, what was I thinking’ moment last week.  I was showing a friend my race report from the Gateway Olympic distance I did in the spring.  The swim and bike reports are good and then you get to the run report which starts like this “Holy Mary Mother of God.  This run chewed me up, spit me out and took my dignity.”  Then it all came back, the pain and agony of my last ‘long’ triathlon, the run was only a 10K or 6.2 miles.  November 7 I will be running 13.1 miles!  Because of my injury during training for this race my longest run was 8 miles and that was back in August.  Thoughts of DNF (Did Not Finish) came creeping in my head.

Making matters worse this past weekend Ken, Cory and I did the Katy Firethorne relay.  I swam, Ken biked and Cory ran.  I am not great at swimming, biking or running but swimming is by far my favorite and most comfortable for me.  However, the swim this past Sunday was my worst tri swim ever.  I was in a wave with Clydesdales (men over 200 pounds).  Don’t get me wrong, I love the Clydes, I just don’t like them swimming on top of me.  I was swam over a few times, took a few body shots and at one point a good sized guy in front of me switched to breast stroke and I took a heel to my jaw.  This swim was all about survival, not speed.  My pace was 2:22 which isn’t horrible but certainly not what I was looking for.  The wetsuit was also an issue.  I am not a fan of clothes in general so a wetsuit is like torture for me.  Most triathletes LOVE the wetsuit and the phrase “wetsuit legal” is music to their ears.  Not this girl.  I thought about going without but thought it would be good practice for Iron Star.  Not so much.  It’s not fun panicking in a cold, murky subdivision lake with a 300 pound man on top of you while you are convinced the suit designed to keep you afloat has taken on a mind of its own and is conspiring to choke you to death.

You can do this Keri!  An endurance race is more mental than anything.  I see constant parallels with birth and endurance sports.  Preparation is extremely important, the mental game has to be there and your support team is invaluable.  My body was built to give birth and I have done a very good job of it five times now.  I’m not sure my body was built to do a half Ironman but I know I can do it. 

I had a nice chat with my coach last week.  We agreed the run is going to be a suffer-fest.  It will suck.  It will suck at mile 3, 6, 12, we are not sure when it will really start sucking but it will.  Going into labor drug free I knew at some point it would suck and suck pretty bad.  As a good friend of mine says “embrace the suck” knowing it is going to happen, acknowledging when it is happening and knowing I will get to the other side is the battle.  I have 11 days to get my mind right…. To channel my inner Snoop Dog I’ve got my mind on my race and my race on my mind.

Dork Factor

At the insistence of my chiropractor, Dr. Cadena, yesterday I started aqua jogging.  I felt my dork factor go up immediately, surely I am too young to wear a floatation belt but a lot of the experts really think aqua jogging is the best thing for an injured runner to do.  The fact that the cute 18 year old lifeguard was looking at me strange didn’t help matters. 

In the past week I was slowly increasing my mileage, running 4 miles Wednesday.  It wasn't a bad run, my cardiot felt great and I enjoyed the wonderful weather we are having, I missed Longenbaugh.  At the time my foot was aggravated but I wouldn’t say I was in pain, the pain came later in the day and it was pretty bad.

The suggestion is to do no running at all for the next two weeks, allow my foot to heal and go for a 6-7 mile run a week before Iron Star.  Of course I have no idea if this is going to work but I am going to give it a try, I am determined to race Iron Star!

I rode the course with Ken again last weekend.  Actually I rode the course + 9 miles.  We are increasing my bike distance and swim intensity to offset my non-running.  Best case scenario I have a great swim, very good bike and survive the run.  Pain free would be lovely but I’m not counting on it.

In Mama news – Brendan got a new pig Monday, his name is Beau and as of yesterday weighs 45 pounds!  Brendan is in FFA, raised a pig last year and did very good at auction.  This year he is rolling all his money from last year into the pig, pen and feeding expenses so he gets to keep whatever he makes at auction in February.

Cory is a senior this year and in a program at school called Ready-Set-Teach, he spends 2 hours a day 3 days a week teaching kindergarten at the elementary school he attended.  He has decided his future is in secondary education but he enjoys going and the kids love him!

Kerianne started swim lessons this week.  The plan is to get her ready for swim team which starts November 1.  She has to be able to swim the length of the pool to get on the team.  Her instructor had her swim as far as she could on her first day and she made it almost the entire length.  She made huge improvements in the first lesson and LOVES it!

Last but certainly not least today is Ken’s 40^th birthday!  We have big plans starting with a Nickelback concert this evening, he has a bike ride with Justin tomorrow, family time with the kids, dinner out with the whole family and a night race (NASCAR).  Happy Birthday Honey!

Iron Star?

The road to Iron Star has not been a direct route and I am still not 100% sure this road will lead to Iron Star but it is looking much better.

There is good news – I ran yesterday, it was my first run since my heel injury.  My last run was Friday, September 10, almost a month ago!  The run went well, it was short and on the track behind the Y, I went 2 miles at a 12 minute pace.  The first mile felt awesome but I have to admit I was pretty gassed by the end of the second mile, really hoping that fitness comes back fast.

I had an ART appointment with Dr. Cadena already set up which I was happy about since I did feel some IT band tension.  He noticed some swelling so I iced it before my ride yesterday afternoon and again last night.  The heel looks good this morning.

Other good news is the Iron Star bike course, I rode it Sunday with Justin and Ken.  We started from La Torretta Resort, Justin rode with me while Ken drove the Sienna Swagger SAG Wagon, he would drive ahead so we knew where to turn and also provided the first two bottle hand ups so I could practice grabbing a bottle and not wrecking at the same time.  At some point the guys switched, Ken rode with me and Justin gave me the last bottle hand up.  The course is gorgeous!  Ken brought a camera but didn't have the chance to get any shots.  I LOVED this course, the weather was perfect and it made for a beautiful morning but I also felt if the race doesn't happen it will be evern more heart breaking if the race doesn't happen. 

Laundry

I know, such an exciting thing to blog about, right?  I love washing and drying clothes, love when the house smells “April fresh” but I sure wish the clothes would fold and put themselves away.  Honestly, if I had the money for help I could employ somebody with laundry alone.

We are a house of 7 people, 4 of which are adult size and one is still sleeping in cloth diapers.  We do a lot of laundry.  It is nice feeling at the end of a productive Sunday when laundry is clean and put away unless that includes your entire running wardrobe.  Before my injury I was running 4 days a week so it was rare for all my running clothes to be clean and put away.  Generally, they were in some form of laundry limbo (apparently my word of the week).  LOL

My running clothes have been clean and put away for weeks now.  I miss them.  I ran many, many hours in 95 degree temps and high humidity knowing it would get cooler eventually and I just might get faster.  The cool weather is here and I can’t run.  Seems like some kind of cruel joke.  I am not a runner, of the three disciplines of triathlon it is my least favorite but I can honestly say I miss it and look forward to running again.

Limbo

The good news is the foot is getting better.  I am just not sure if it is going to be good enough, soon enough. 

Some folks may think ‘just do the next HIM=Half Ironman’ and though that is a possibility, not all races are created equal.  Each race has its own personality and atmosphere.  I fell in love with Iron Star last November when I was there cheering friends on.  The atmosphere is very friendly and feels more like a neighborhood relay than an Ironman distance race.  It is a smaller race with a lot of familiar faces.

If Iron Star does not happen the next HIM in my area is Lonestar in Galveston.  This race is an Ironman branded race which means it is all about the M-dot.  Some athletes prefer M-dot races for a lot of reasons.  The race is MUCH larger, it carries the M-dot corporate logo whereas Iron Star is Half Ironman distance, Lonestar is an actual Half Ironman.  Ironman is the corporate sponsor, not the actual distance though both races are 70.3 miles.

Ken and I volunteered at Lonestar last year and had several friends racing and it was exciting.  However, it didn’t have the same feel as Iron Star.  It was HUGE, VERY corporate, lots of pomp and circumstance, professional athletes and thousands of spectators.   The run is 4 loops so you have to pass the finish line 3 times before you actually finish which sounds like torture to me.

The two races are very different and I am more the laid back racer without all the crowds and corporate hoopla.  The decision I have to make is what is most important to me, the actual HIM distance or the course.   

I am not ready to give up on my first love just yet.  The hardest part of the last week has been not knowing what the next couple of weeks will hold.  This past Sunday Ken and our coach both raced in the Houston Olympic Triathlon I obviously missed.  After the race we went to lunch and my coach asked me when my cut off was.  He wanted to know when I felt I needed to start training again in order to make Iron Star happen.  I admitted I hadn’t thought about that just yet, he told me he had a date in mind and it is close, very close.

I just looked at the calendar and Iron Star is 37 days away.  Right now is when I would be doing my longest runs and longest bike rides.  The 2-3 weeks before a race is taper, when you scale back your training so your body can recover and be fresh for the race.  Training up to the race date is not an option.  I would love for Iron Star to be in the cards but if it isn’t I will continue to train and make a plan for the 2011 season.

Update on MRI

Hello Sexy.....



Stress fracture of the calcaneus (heel bone) and shin splints = boot, crutches, script for anti-inflamatory and rest.  Time will tell.

Baby Steps

Mentally I am better.  Physically the same.  Saw the doctor yesterday and the x-rays were negative.  In his opinion it is shin splints rather than a stress fracture but we are still not sure why I am experiencing so much heel pain.  I am going for an MRI this morning and hoping it gives us more answers.  Will have the results Monday I hope.

The good news is the doctor saw no harm in getting on the bike so last night I put Dori (my bike) on the trainer and had a pretty good 40 minute ride.  I didn’t want to push it too hard the first time.  I am not a big fan of the trainer all that pedaling to nowhere but it felt good to get my heart rate up and sweat a bit.  If I can ride I can keep my fitness up even if I can’t run.

Not a surprise to me, my tri community has rallied around me with inspirational notes, e-mails and phone calls.  I went to a pretty dark place for about 24 hours and honestly needed all the help I could get to see the light at the end of the tunnel and they were all there for me.  I am still hoping for Iron Star but if that doesn’t happen there will be another race and I have always been a strong believer that everything happens for a reason.  My plan isn’t always THE plan.

Now I have to decide if I will make the Houston Olympic an aqua-bike or skip it altogether.  I think the experience, especially the swim, would be helpful.