Back to Sparwood

The Pincher Creek pool is closed for its annual shutdown until the 25th -- boohoo!!

That means I'm back to the good old lima bean pool in Sparwood. The really shallow 20m lima bean pool -- good times! HAHAHA!



During my session this morning, a man entered my lane and I told him the rules -- lol. I know I was practically shouting at the poor guy becasue I had water in my ears -- it's the same when I wear ear plugs....I feel the need to SHOUT. Hahah!

I told him that he would stay on that side of the line, and I would stay on this side. Then I said, "But I make no promises that I will actually STAY on this side." Hee-hee!

I swam off with my pull buoy and paddles, and he stayed against the wall chatting with a mutual friend. When I returned to the wall, I paused for some reason and the guy said to me, "You swim like a warrior."

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I responded, "Well, I like to splash around a lot to make it look like I know what I'm doing." Hahaha! But seriously, that is the most awesome comment EVER. It is so awesome, I am making it my new swim logo: Swim like a warrior.

The next time I'm in the city, I might even get myself a tee-shirt made up with it. LOL!!

I was scrolling through Netflix yseterday and saw that Xena was now available...(heh-heh-heh!) I've not seen any of those episodes so I think I might take a peek this evening. Now that I have WARRIOR on my mind.

Yes! I am good...and I am fast! I am a warrior in the water! YES!

Ironman Canada 2011 Race Report

Well, that was my eighth Ironman, and I have to tell you, when you have done this many, your perspective definitely changes. I am a hell of a lot fitter than I was when I first started on this IM journey, for example. I remember after my first Ironman, I could barely move any muscle for a week without experiencing pain.

I remember standing in line the next day (that was when you still had to do that for Ironman Canada) and watching other athletes move around like they hadn't even raced! I wondered how in the world was that possible when I was hurting everywhere?!?!

This year, the day after the race, my muscles were sore for sure, but the recovery is like lightening speed compared to my first race in 2005. By Wednesday, I was able to run up and down stairs and I was swimming yesterday. I still marvel at the difference. Hahaha!

Onto the race itself...

In short, this race was a massive disappointment for me. I had a time goal of 10:48 and at around mile 6 of the run, my stomach wanted to upchuck. Walking hurt, running REALLY hurt. I would run, but then the vomit feeling would come and I even brought up a little bit. As soon as this would happen, I would start walking. Part of me wonders if I had forced myself to keep running and actually puked, if I would have felt better...

I did meet many athletes who experienced the same thing I did on Sunday. Some puked and still felt terrible, so I'll never know.

What I do know, was that it was very hot on race day. So hot, that when I reached one aid station, a volunteer said, "Ok, I am going to put these cold sponges on your neck. You are going to feel a shock and inhale sharply." When he squeezed it on my neck I didn't feel anything. That scared me. The volunteer was so awesome, he went into superman mode and started squeezing water again and again until I cooled down.

Most of the marathon was spent standing, doubled over at aid station with my head hanging down. I am so grateful for the many volunteers and fellow athletes who offered help and words of encouragement/advice. Only in Ironman, will a fellow competitor stop running and walk beside you, hand on your back and ask if you are OK. To everyone who asked, I tried to respond without vomiting, "I'm Ok - you go have a good race. You look strong."

I wanted to quit so many effing times. The only relief I would feel was by doubling over and curling around my stomach. I wanted to curl up in the fetal position. There were actually only two things that kept me going:

1. The athletes still heading out to the run turn-around. They were hurting and still moving forward, so it would be terrible if I just gave up.
2. That damn finisher's medal, t-shirt and hat. I paid for them and I better get them.

At 9 miles to go, I was like, holy crap, I don't want to walk all frigging day. I would try jogging, have to stop, then walk. Repeat over and over again.

I had dropped my salt tabs at the beginning of the run, but had no issues with my usual dizzy, light-headed, tunnel vision experiences. It was stinking hot outside, and my mouth would become so dry instantly. I couldn't swallow -- couldn't feel my tongue. It was very odd. I knew I should keep drinking water, but every time I would, my cramps would start again. I contemplated drinking nothing else until the end of the race, but decided that maybe that wasn't too good an idea.

At about 7km left to go, I was able to *run* if I held my stomach with one hand. When that arm got tired, I'd hold it with the other one. I started making grunting noises and heaving noises once in a while and would bring up a little spittle/other stuff.

As I approached the final mile, my very good friend Susi popped out of nowhere and ran the rest with me (outside the run course, through the crowds.) She shouted out encouraging words -- OMG, I was feeling so terrible I couldn't even respond. Every time she would hear me about to puke, she would say, "Just breathe, Just breathe." Thank God for Susi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I crossed the finish line in 12:57:58 -- almost an hour slower than the last two years. For those of you who have done more than one IM and start to get time goals, you will totally understand the massive disappointment I felt. Couple that with the physical and mental depletion an IM race requires and you can just imagine how truly $hitty I felt.

But.....I got over it. :) Onwards and upwards. Had many good conversations, email chats with good friends which helped me put things in perspective.

I have another iron-distance race in Florida on Oct. 22. And I am VERY excited about it!! :) :)

And next year, is the year of the non-M-dot race. :) I am really excited about checking out other iron distance races!

In the mail yesterday, I received a card from The Great Floridian Race. A personalized card saying they hope my training is going well, that they hope the next two months of training go well, and they included a bumper sticker. Now that is pretty cool! Hee-hee! A little bit different to an IM race already! :)

Here are my times from IMC:

Swim: 1:09:28 -- fastest swim yet, pleased with this!
Bike: 6:09:55 -- fastest bike yet, I regret not changing back to my 12-27 cassette and leaving my 11-25 on, but it made me stronger! :) :)

Run (Not run, but standing around/walk): 5:33:23 -- nothing more to say here.

Yes I am happy to have finished, but for me, that is no longer good enough. I make no apology for it. I have big goals and I am on my way to achieving them. :) In my mind, the race is like a big piece of furniture with all these drawers in it. I took out the feelings of disappointment, frustration, and anger, felt them, and then put them away. I'm over it.

Now for the FUN stuff!!!!!

• The day before I left for the race, I stood up from the couch and I couldn't stand on my foot. My ankle felt like it was broken! HOLY CRAP!!! After a tearful converstation with my coach, I headed out to Penticton the next day anyways and headed to the ART tent after I checked in. They were closed, but were soooo kind enough to take a look at my ankle anyway. It was a tight ligament! They sort of rubbed it around, pulled on my foot and presto! All done. How frigging weird is that? The foot rubbing did make me drool a little. There is something about people handling my body that makes me relax. LOL.

• Susi. The most amazing friend in the world. My kindred spirit. How do I even list all the wonderful things about Susi? I will do my best....I stayed with Susi and her boyfriend, Marco for IM week. She bought me a book. :) She gave me all her positive energy at the end of the race. SHE UNDRESSED ME AFTER THE RACE. That's right -- when I couldn't move let alone bend over, Susi took off my pee-clothes, and my pee-shoes and put everything in The Pee Bag!!!!!!!!!! She said, "Lift your arms." And took off my top and put on a fresh one. I kept apologizng and wanting to cry that she was willing to touch the pee-clothes!!! Now that my friends, is a TRUE FRIEND. Susi --- I love you. I eagerly await the day when I can sherpa for you in any race/endeavour you choose.

• SHE HANDLED THE PEE BAG!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  

• My partner Mike and my parents who support me 100% in pursuing my goals -- Mike puts up with my Taper Bitch attitude and all the green stuff in the fridge (which by the way he is actually eating and REQUESTING more of!), and my parents who mow my lawn, baby-sit my cats, pick up my crab apples (oh sweet geezus it's THAT time of year again), and make Mike spaghetti since I've gone paleo. :)

• My friends...I have met the best, kindest, most thoughtful, generous people through triathlon. You'll see the best of humanity during the marathon portion of a hot iron-distance race.

• http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event_video.asp?EVENTID=75725&BIB=2594 Check out the video clip -- LMAO!!!! I come from the left side of the screen, body check a guy in the middle and exit the right side of the screen from 1-5 seconds of the video. LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I kept watching it again and again. I didn't bump into him on purpose!! I was just scooting through! Sorry, guy!! It was not intentional!!! :) :)

• My next race, I am using all real food -- no more gels and carbo pro for me. Yams, dates and homemade energy gels made out of chia powder, agave syrup etc. I am convinced that eating well all year and avoiding sugary shit, only to dive into piles of sugar on race day CANNOT be good for my stomach. I am very excited about trying this new way of race nutrition! During races, my teeth start to ache and hurt after a certain number of gels. And, two days after IMC, I broke out in so many zits it was disgusting. All that sugar coming out. Not for me. No more. I always thought it was weird that as triathletes, we do our best to eat well, rest, train well, be healthy, but then on race day, consume as much sucrose, dextrose, whatever-ose, and high fructose corn-syrup as we can....
  

My most awesome friend, Susi! Right before my stomach problems.

Ironman Canada 2011 BABY!!

Alrighty folks!! It's HERE!!!!!!!

Track me live on Sunday, August 28 at www.ironman.com. My numero is 2594.

Any and all positive vibes and virtual cheering WILL be felt and appreciated!!!!

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love to everyone --

Julie :)

Myths of Triathlon

All kinds of information trickles down from pro triathletes to the masses of age groupers. This info can be found in the many online and hard-copy triathlon magazines, forums, and advertisements. I've noticed that over time, a lot of this information has assumed a homogeneous blah-ness. Where the same information is repeated over and over again using the same descriptive language. And while some of this information can be beneficial, some of it gets warped/dumbed down/altogether transformed into pithy one-liners that are far removed from the truth.



Repeat something often enough and pretty soon, everyone believes it to be true. The real crime, is that eventually, these false truisms are passed on to people new to the sport of triathlon.

Well, I am here to clear up all this nonsense today!! LUCKY YOU!!! Hahahahaha! Here is a list of my four favourite myths -- ones I've subscribed to, challenged, and finally realized WERE myths.

Myth #1: The Myth of "Race Weight"

This one is a doozie. I am going to keep things simple here -- Take two athletes: Athlete A and Athlete B.

Athlete A -- pro triathlete. Played sports as a kid, swam on university/college swim team, ran track at same university/school. Years and years of fitness right there alone...Then, he/she gets into triathlon. Training load and intensity increases -- he/she already knows how important nutrition is -- he/she is very fit, lean, and an aerobic machine.

Athlete B -- average age grouper. Played sports as a kid, learned how to swim as an adult (ie learned in their late 20s, 30s, 40s, etc), may/may not have ever run a marathon...you get the idea. Reads a book about race weight and thinks, "If I lose 10lbs, I will be so much faster."

You see the faulty logic here? To be fair, although certain books do not espouse this over-simplified theory, THIS IS THE MESSAGE THAT IS OUT THERE. Couple that with the North American cultural infatuation with skinny anorexic-looking models (even if you do not buy Cosmo or magazines of that ilk, you can't get away from it -- this $hit is everywhere and if you think it doesn't colour your perceptions you are lying to yourself), and you have a hot mess.

This falls in line with "if you lose x number of pounds, you will run x number of minutes faster per mile." FALSE. You will run said number of minutes faster if you TRAIN and log lots of hours (and mileage) running. Simply losing weight is not a magic pill that will deliver unto you fleet feet and perfect, efficient running form. Time invested in training, racing, and resting and recovering -- these are the things that make one faster.

It is the YEARS and YEARS of training and racing that makes a body lean and efficient at burning fat. The training creates the body...Yes, diet is extremely important, but *being good* for 2 weeks - 6 months in an attempt to get down to some kind of magical race weight is a misappropriation of resources. Starving yourself before a big workout because you read somewhere that so-and-so professional athlete doesn't eat before he/she swims, bike, or runs, is not the way to go. Through years of training, your body changes. Your diet changes. You change.

For an elite athlete -- they can 'lean down" in two months or more or less or whatever the time frame is, because they have the YEARS of training behind them. Their bodies respond differently to leaning down than the average age grouper's. Yes, losing weight can be a good thing, but in my opinion, the focus for the average age grouper should be on getting stronger by swimming, biking, and running consistently. You train consistently, you get faster. Period. The more you train; the more aware you are of the things you put into your mouth. Focusing on losing weight is the wrong thing to do -- focusing on what you SHOULD eat and the things you CAN do in training is wayyyyyy more effectual!!

Myth #2: To run faster, you must run faster.




I am not a sports scientist or a physiotherapist or whatever -- if you want hard data and evidence, go elsewhere. I will tell you this -- I talked to my coach and asked her, "if I want to run a marathon at a 6:00min/mile pace, should I start forcing myself to run that pace on the treadmill for longer and longer periods of time?"

After all, that is what Myth #2 says...

(Any errors in the paraphrasing of our conversation are mine alone -- NOT my coach's, Here is the gist of it...)

If I were to go out right now and run 6:00min/mile, I would be in Zone 5. Right off the bat. Zone 5 means I am going all frigging out and will not physically be able to hold that pace for very long. While adding speed work in doses will help me get faster, it is running at the pace where I am pushing myself but not tipping over into chaos and madness that is the sweet spot. THAT pace will push my threshold and enable me to run faster over time. It is putting the training in -- putting the miles in OVER TIME -- this is where I will make significant gains in running and then will be able to run faster paces with a lower heart rate. As opposed to training to run at a faster pace for a shorter period of time at a faster heart rate.

The biggest nuisance about these myths, is that they conveniently exclude all the "buts." For example, "In order to run faster, you must run faster," BUT...that does not mean running fast all the time for all your runs...

Myth #3: You Must Cycle at a Certain Cadence




There is no magic pill. There is no magic RPM number. Every one of us is different and that is one of the many reasons why triathlon is the greatest sport on the planet. :) We can all celebrate our differences -- some people spin higher cadences and some push harder gears at a lower RPM. Whatever floats your boat, dude. As my bike guru, Gord is always telling me, "Don't over-think it." Hahahaha!! :) :)

Myth #4: You must "suffer," "destroy," "smash," "bonk," crash," in training and racing. Then, you are tough enough and worthy.




This is a big load of bunk. When I use negative words, I feel negative. That's how I roll. from my coach, I have learned to use pain as an indicator that I am performing a session with appropriate intensity. I look at pain as a good thing -- not as a bad thing. To me, pain (this is training-pain, NOT injury-pain to be clear!) is another rung on the ladder to growing stronger and faster. Like watering a plant, I am dousing myself with training to get stronger. Not dousing myself with pain to "hurt" or "destroy" myself.

Another thing I've learned from my coach, is that words and language are very powerful forces. What we say, often manifests itself in what we do....Choose all your words wisely.

That's all of my deep thoughts for the day...

;)

Please vote for my video!!

A couple of weeks ago, I had a recovery day and used the time to shoot this little video for a contest about southwestern Alberta....

It's only 53 seconds long, so if you have some spare time, please follow the link and vote for my video!! Hee-hee!!

You can vote once a day until August 27 -- so keep the votes coming!!!

http://wildfireapp.com/website/6/contests/123664/voteable_entries/27412757

Thanks everyone!! :) :)

From a near DNF to first in AG...what a day.

What a lesson I learned on Saturday. Holy Doodly!

Saturday was the long course (1/2 IM distance) race in Bozeman, MT. I was attracted to this course for a number of reasons:

• It is hilly. Very effing hilly. The bike portion and the run portion. Great training for IMC!
• Did I mention that the run course was hilly. HILLY. As in, when I returned to the hotel room after driving the course the evening before the race, my eyes were as big as saucers and my Dad asked me, "What's wrong?"
• It was going to HOT. As in plus 30 degrees Celsius. Again, perfect for IMC.

Here's how it all went down...

Swim: 35:14 , T1: 1:08
First woman out of the water! Can you believe it? I was in T1 and grabbing my bike about to head out when I heard the announcer say, "And here comes the first woman out of the swim..so and so." I was like, "Wait a second. What am I? Chopped liver?" LOL -- I headed out and found afterwards from my Dad that he went over and corrected the announcer. Hahaha! Gotta love parents eh?

Anyways, the swim was my fastest yet -- and it included three loops of the little lake. Getting out and running along the beach for each lap. I caught excellent drafts I think from the same two guys every single lap. Hahahahah!! Thanks gentlemen! AWESOME STUFF!

Bike: 3:17:59, T2: 1:20
Hilly beyond belief -- to give you an idea of how hilly this bike course was, my time at Stony Plain was 2:31...the guy who WON the entire race did the ride 5 minutes slower than that time. In 2:36. This course is no joke. They said it was "Montana Made" and they were not kidding.

Things were really going well -- I felt solid and strong until the last 10 miles of the bike. My belly started to hurt. Gas cramps. I had to sit up and try to burp. Nothing worked. I would pound my chest, trying to burp, but the pain kept increasing. I had a very difficult time staying in aero as the pain intensified.

Run....dum, dum, DUM, DUM!!! Must read to find out whole story!! MUAHAHAHAH!
As soon as I dismounted my bike something was horribly wrong with my insides. I couldn't run my bike into transition -- I could barely walk. The pain was brutal. Knifing. Splintering. I was grimacing and moaning involuntarily. It was terrible. It hurt so much to rack my bike and then bend over to put my running shoes on.

My Dad told me that I was the first female in -- that the other woman who had beat me in was on a relay, but looking at the results, I think there was another woman ahead of me but whoopty-do this didn't mean anything to me. In fact, I don't want to hear how many minutes someone is ahead of me or I'm ahead of -- I don't like it. It makes me take the focus of myself and race out of fear rather than love. You know what I mean? Perhaps one day, I will be a mature enough athlete to handle that kind of info, but right now I find it more beneficial to just tune it out and ignore it -- pretend the person is speaking a foreign language I cannot understand. (Yes I could have simply said, pretend it is Greek to me, but I suffer from major cliche overuse and am trying to better myself people!! LOL!)

You may be asking yourself, if you felt that bad, why on earth did you put your running shoes on?

Well, I knew it was extremely bad gas cramps -- I've never had them this bad IN MY LIFE, but I just knew that was what it was. I thought, hey, I'll walk and maybe it will sort itself out. Because in iron distance races, things have a funny way of sorting themselves out IF you give them a chance. I gamely tried some kind of jog but from the very first up and down motion, the pain knifed me throughout my right side and literally took my breath away. I couldn't smile, I couldn't talk, I was fricking MOANING. And walking really, really slowly. Eventually, other people finished the bike portion and started running by me.

Most asked if I was OK -- I couldn't even respond at first. Talking hurt my belly. Moving hurt my belly, simply BEING hurt my belly. Some athletes tried to offer advice -- breathe through your nose, exhale through your mouth, whatever. Nothing worked. I was 1/4 of the way around the lake and tried to squat -- I was trying anything. The pain ratcheted up even higher to 9.999999 out of 10. If it got to 10 I think I would have passed out.

I continued moving forward very, very slowly. I clutched at my side, stopping every once in a while. Finally, I made it to the first aid station....I was in so much pain by this point that I said to the guy manning the aid station (with his wife or girl friend) "I'm going to call it a day -- I am in so much pain, I can't even walk."

He never said a word, but grabbed a chair and put it in the shade underneath a tree, set me down on it, and put a cold towel around my neck. He then gave me cup after cup of Heed and water. I couldn't even sit properly on the chair, I hurt so much. My belly was bloated out like I was pregnant and I had to sit on the very edge of the chair and then arch my back to get some modicum of relief.

I kept pounding my chest and burped a little bit now and again, but the pain was relentless.

The worst part was I could see my Dad looking frantically for me....he saw me come into T2 and knew I had to run around the lake and then run right by him to exit the rest of the run course. And I hadn't run by him yet. And the lake was very, very, very small....

A really nice man named Terry came by and asked me if I had done anything new nutrition-wise. I thought it was the super-concentrated solution of Nuun I had, but I had taken a lot of water with it, so I was mystified. Little did I know that ALL of my gas and bloating in ALL my other races stemmed from Nuun. (More on this later...) I always suffered through the pain because I thought it was normal. But on Saturday, the pain would not be relieved. It would not be ignored.

I told the aid station volunteers that all I needed was a good BAROOF and I would be golden. They never said anything. LOL -- I'm not sure if they didn't know what I meant, or even worse, were so alarmed at the possibility of me BAROOFING all over the place that they didn't want to be near it. LOL. Either way, as anyone who knows me will attest, when I think I've said something funny, I'll repeat at least twice to get maximum hilarity out of it. Ummm...yup. You guessed it. The crickets chirped. Every single time.

Minutes passed, and more and more and more people ran by me as I sat on the chair at the aid station. I had a brief moment where my voice clogged with emotion and I almost cried. Intuitively, I told myself, "No, Julie. You've been down that road before." Meaning last year in North Carolina....It was weird, as soon as I said that to myself, the change in my brain was instant: I became emotionally detached from the race and was able to think objectively. If my situation meant I would have to DNF, then so be it. After drinking more and more water and Heed, I was able to stand up and yell to my Dad who came over hurriedly.

I had improved sufficiently to talk and to actually stand up...so I explained what was going on to him. My poor Dad was so worried -- he wanted me to call it a day. He said many of the same things that had rushed through my head in that brief moment when I was about to cry in self-pity: "too much time has passed in the race now...you don't need to hurt yourself...it's getting late, there is no point in pushing yourself.....you need to stop."

Now to be fair all of these thoughts and concerns were coming from two very different places. From me, it was springing from negativity, from fear, from self-doubt. From my Dad, it was from love and true concern. However, I KNOW my body. And as I stood there talking with my Dad, I started to burp a little more. Then I said, "I'm going to walk around this tree and see if I can move."

I could.

Then, I said, "I'm going to try jogging around this tree."

I couldn't.

The pain was still there, but the intensity had gone down a notch. Hmmmmmm. I started vocalizing this to my Dad. He was still worried about me. And I had an honest *out* for this race. If I was going to DNF, I had my Dad as proof, I had an excuse. But there was the faintest glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel...

Like I told my Dad, I was in too much pain to move, so instead of handing my chip in, I might as well sit at the aid station and see what happened. Maybe I would feel better and then go home. Maybe, just maybe I might feel better and be able to run!

More time passed. And more runners. I had tuned them out though and was focusing on myself only. I was aware of the racers, but there was no emotional response from me. Gradually I started to feel better...I did a little jog around the tree!! OH MY GAWD! There was pain, but it was.....dare I say it....dare I even think it...manageable?

I started to do little test jogs up and down the path. I told my Dad, "I'm going to jog to the porta potties and see how I feel." As I ran to the porta-potties, a race official yelled, "You're going the wrong way!" I replied, "I might be turning in my chip! I'm going to use the washroom and see how I feel."

And no. No BAROOF happened. In fact nothing of significance happened in the loo. I jogged back to my Dad and then commented -- my legs feel fresh. I think I might run! He looked doubtful but held his tongue.

I started jogging back and forth along the path again. I said to my Dad, "You know, I can use this as an awesome training day for Ironman Canada. I could just do the run as a training run and see how it goes. I'll go to the next aid station and see."

Again the doubtful look, but he relented and said, "You don't want to get stuck way out there and start suffering." I said, "I know, I know, I'll be smart."

I started jogging back and forth again. The aid station guy said, "If you decide to go on, let me know ok?" And I said, "Ok!" I looked at my watch, and it said 11:55am. So, doing the math, the race started 5 minutes late (at 7:05am) due to the dunderheads who wouldn't stop *warming up.* That makes it 11:00:41 when I got through T2. So....54:19 passed as I sat around and tried standing, then jogging back and forth. I thought to myself, "Well it is only noon! I could run for 2 hours and have a good training day and be done by 2:00pm. The course doesn't close until 5:30pm"

I jogged back down the path and as I came back towards my Dad and the aid station guy, I impulsively said, "I'm going!" and kept on trucking! I didn't give anyone a chance to say anything. LOL! The other volunteer directing us runners started cheering for me like crazy and that was so nice and motivating!

The first 2 miles felt terrible. I started cramping in my OTHER side, but it was nowhere near the level of pain it had been before. I kept on truckin'. I could see runners ahead of me. Little specks of colour in the shimmering sun and heat waves. I thought to myself, "Maybe I can catch one?"

As I had completely re-aligned my goals from racing to win the race, to running a training run, I decided to walk every single aid station and get a lot of fluids into me. After all, for a quality training session, proper hydration is important! And, I wanted to ensure that those cramps would not return.

Right after the first aid station, the hills started. The heat was relentless, but oddly enough for the first time in my life, the heat wasn't a factor for me. There was a woman running ahead of me and I started to close the gap. I was about to pass her, when I had to pee. So I suddenly went off in some bushes -- I know I startled the lady as I was right behind her and then I disappeared. LOL.

Did my business and she had pulled away. Big surprise. I started to feel negative again and came very close to quitting right then and there. But for one question I asked myself: Would you quit if this was a training day? And the answer was no. I felt crappy, but not that crappy. So, I made the decision to move forward and that was that. No more debate or questioning. Time to move forward and get in a good training day.

After that, I was on fire. I felt incredible. I still had a bit of cramping but I was feeling strong and steady. The heat was beating down hard, but it was OK -- it wasn't bothering me at all! I started to pass a couple of people -- they were walking up the hills. I was running the hills! Me! I was RUNNING hills! :) :)

There were a couple of hills that I walked portions of, but to my surprise, when I started running again, my legs were like, "FINALLY! YAY! We can run again!!" This was a brand new feeling for me.

I walked every aid station, had to go hike down another ditch to pee, and then started passing more people. And more people. This was amazing! The last few miles of the run were the miles where I finally started feeling the heat. At the next aid station, I put ice in my hat, and whoo baby did that ever feel good. In fact, I felt so great, I started thinking about why I felt so awesome...then I sort of became aware that ice was on my head. LOL -- RACE BRAIN!!! I'm all there, but not really! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!

I passed more people and reached the 2nd last aid station. Saw a guy way ahead of me and he was hurting -- you could tell he was in major pain mode. I kept ticking things over and grew closer and closer. Then I passed him too!! Next was the final turn into the recreation area and another loop around the like. I saw my Dad and smiled and I could tell he was totally frigging gob-smacked to see me running strong. LMAO!!!!

I churned my little old behind around that lake and finished in an astonishing 6:47:41. (LMAO!!!!) The girl who won first female overall was 5:47:19. Could I have won overall had I not suffered? Maybe. Muahahahahah -- it is fuel for my fire. And in this case, this comparison to another person motivates me. :D

You read this far... here was my run time (LOL) : 2:51:58

After hugging my Dad, I went back and thanked the volunteers at the aid station who put up with me...and then I found the dude Terry who had offered me advice. Thanked him too.

The biggest surprise came when I returned later that afternoon for the awards. They had a raffle draw and I had a ticket, so I thought, what the heck? I was stunned when I saw I had actually won my age group!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And just in case you did not register how truly surprised I was.......

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They called me up on the podium and I needed help to get up on the white plastic thingy. Hee-hee!! I got a mug!! YAHOOOO!!!!! Hahahahahah!!

Lessons learned:

• Half IM and IM distance races are strange creatures -- when things are bleak you can keep going on and things might turn around....NEVER, EVER, EVER GIVE UP.
• Emotions have NO ROLE to play during a race. They cloud my judgement -- I find it best to race objectively and leave the tears and overwhelming feelings for the finish line.
• I am very pleased that I was able to separate my emotions from my decision-making skills. This is a huge triumph for me! :) :)

One last note...After the awards, I spotted the aid station volunteer who was so kind to me, and went over and told him that I won my AG. That it was because of him....when I said I was quitting, he never said a word. He just sat me down and brought me water. That was the best thing he could have done. And I told him so. :)

And the brutal bloating and cramping? Turns out Nuun has an artificial sweetener called sorbitol in it. (Thanks to my uber-coach Sara for helping me figure this out!) I have an intolerance to soribtol. Who knew? Garbage guts actually has something that she can't eat/ingest. Bye Nuun!

Thanks for reading this far, if you did, I will make you a coffee if you ever come and visit me. Hee-hee! :)

Race hard, pull apart those demons, and shake hands with the devil in your head. ;)

Big thank you as always to my amazing coach Sara who called me repeatedly, and emailed me repeatedly all the while in preparation for her own 1/2 IM race in Calgary today. I blush that I was such a diva -- I had no IDEA she was racing, otherwise I never would have bugged her! EEP!! And in truly stunning fashion.. she came in 2nd OVERALL FEMALE in Calgary today. Missed first by 6 seconds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My God, my coach is such a stud. :) :) :) :)

THANKS TO MY AWESOME DAD!!! Thanks for putting up with me!! :) :) :)

My Ironman Athlete

Stuart destroying the hills!!

My best friend's husband completed his very first Ironman this year in Coeur D'Alene!!! His time?

12:00:16!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gutting it out on the run...his first marathon to boot!

That's right! He did amazing and I am so very proud of him!!! Here are his splits:

Swim: 1:04:04
Bike: 6:10:42
Run: 4:36:30

What makes Stuart's story even more impressive is that he had never done a triathlon before. That's right. You read correctly. Ironman Coeur D'Alene was his VERY FIRST TRIATHLON. He trained about 7-9 hours a week all the while maintaining a 50-60 hour work week. Plus on call work. Did I mention that Stuart is a doctor?

This was the first time I acted in an advisory capacity to help someone not only finish but excel at his very first iron distance race. Stuart did all the work and then some. He researched things on the internet, experimented with nutrition, and leaned down. Once in a while he would fire off an email to me and I would respond ASAP. I know what it's like going through your first IM -- all the questions, the concerns, and the excitement/stress/anxiety. This is why I am so proud of you Stuart! You not only FINISHED --- YOU FRIGGING ROCKED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations Stuart!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!