Augusta 70.3 ---- First half ironman!

Augusta 70.3 ---- I AM IRONMAN 70.3!

I don't even know where to begin exactly.  It's all like a dream now.  Have you ever been on vacation and when you returned home it seemed like it was over way to quick?  That's exactly how I feel about Augusta! I'm sad it's over.  I thought I would just mark this off my bucket list and probably never do another one, but I must say that now I'm itching to do another one.  Oh it may not be anytime soon because I have a couple big races coming up that I've got to focus on for the rest of this year.  But I do hope to do another 70.3 and I would LOVE to do it again in Augusta, especially if I could pick the weather. 

Let me try to briefly recap my race experience.... (I did say try.. not sure I can do briefly... so many details.. :>))

We all start counting down the days to race day.  We can't wait for that big day to come.  We stress over things like.. are we ready? can we do this? how hard will it be?  What's the weather going to be? We pack and repack...... and the list goes on and on!  

On the drive to Augusta on Friday my mind began to go all crazy.  I had a recent injury where the doctor had told me it was best to not swim practice due to all the bacteria that can be in a pool.  I was not too thrilled about this at all.  So I worried on the drive about the swim.  I had not been in a pool in 2 weeks.  I know I can swim, but I'm not a strong swimmer.  I lack some confidence in this area.  

Me and Mom after we arrived on Friday afternoon.  Our hotel was on the street where the finish line was located.  We had the perfect spot for the race.  Thanks to my friend, Marsha that had recommended the Holiday Inn on Broad street.  They really catered to the racers! All weekend that had water, Gatorade and snacks out for us.  They even opened the free breakfast early just for the racers to be able to eat on race morning! 

There was a practice swim on Friday at 5 pm in the river.  I had made the decision to not go to that because the doctor still worried about me being in river water with a huge cut on my calf.  I was only going to expose my cut to the river one time and that was on race day.  I was sad that I couldn't and my friends could.  However, they texted me after they were done and said they had both developed cramps while swimming.  I couldn't figure out why because they are both strong swimmers.  So then this worried me.  Yes, your mind will  play all kinds of tricks on you.  

I meet up with my friends on Saturday morning. 

We had to get a few pics on the finish line. 

 The ironkids race was scheduled for 10 am and we all wanted to see the kids race.

  They were so cute! They each got a medal as they finished. 

 As we were watching the race we talked about their swim and they had decided they did not hydrate enough on the drive to Augusta was why they had developed cramps.  So I told my mind to quit worrying.  I was drinking so much that I had to find a bathroom every hour just about on the drive. :>)  We walked to the expo after watching the kids for the athlete briefing and I wanted to here the pros speak.  It was funny when they asked them what they all ate the night before a race.  Guess what they ALL said???   CHICKEN AND RICE! :>) 

The one with FEAR on her shirt won the race on Sunday! She had also competed in the 2012 Olympics.  Helle Frederiksen - DNK Time 4:10!

Saturday was a nice day walking around town, but we soon realized we had walked a tad too much and our legs were getting very tired.  We all decided to head to our rooms early after taking our bikes to transition area to check them in and get some rest.   

Getting bike ready to take to transition check in.

When we arrived at transition to check in our bikes we were all amazed.  So many bikes and bike racks! It was HUGE.  We quickly found our racks and left our bikes and started the 1 mile walk back to the hotel.  It was so hot! We stopped at a gas station and bought drinks.  I looked at my watch thinking I could be running tomorrow at this exact time and it's so HOT.  I was not looking forward to that at all..... 90 degrees running... YIKES  

LOTS OF BIKES!

Serina walking the swim exit (uphill!) before we left transition... We had to get our minds wrapped around how the race day would go.

Getting ready... swim course

Saint Paul's church offered a pasta dinner that night that we had purchased tickets so we could attend.  It was nice seeing so many other racers.  I can't thank the church enough for all they did for us racers over the weekend! 

The River Room where the pasta dinner and morning coffee was at for the race.

After supper we walked down to the swim start to just gaze out and focus.  Nerves were starting to kick in..... Kathy & I were quiet and Serina was talking non-stop. :>) 

I don't think any of us slept well the night before the race.  I started walking up every hour after midnight thinking it was time to get up.  Our morning began early! I was up drinking my coffee at 5 am and eating.  I meet up with the girls to take all our stuff to transition where our bikes were at 5:45 am.  

My bike is ready

We were walking out the hotel and a nice lady asked us if we needed a ride.  We were so excited we didn't have to walk! She was our little angel that morning.  However, we learned on the ride that the water temp was 77 degrees which meant non-wetsuit legal. :<  Water temp has to be 76 or below.  If it's over 76, but below 82 (I believe that's it), you can wear your wetsuit but you are not eligible for awards.  I knew I was not there to win an award.  My goal was to finish and not tear my calf open.  So there was no debate for me.  I was wearing my wetsuit.  The only downfall to that was you had to wait and start the swim in the last wave!  Which I had a late swim start anyway, so it wasn't that much of a difference for me.  They do the waves in age groups.  I was in the age group 50-54 that was scheduled to start at 8:36 am.  The last wave would be 9:20 am for wetsuits.  Serina and Kathy decided to go ahead and go without their wetsuits.  My hat goes off to them! They are both BADA@@.  A wetsuit can make you 3-5 minutes faster.  However, I've also read that a wetsuit only really helps certain type swimmers depending on their level.  Who knows...but I was going to wear mine! Not being in the pool for 2 weeks and not being real confident in the swim, I needed that peace. 

Waiting to start and mom asking to take pictures... :<>)

After Serina and Kathy started I walked back inside the church.  I was so glad we were on the Augusta TRI Facebook group page and had learned about Saint Paul's Church.  They opened their doors for racers at 5 am.  They were directly by the swim start on the river.  They had free coffee and snacks.  It was a nice place to sit and relax. They even told us we could go in the Sanctuary if we wanted to.  Not to mention CLEAN bathrooms! No porta potties!  I decided I need to go pray.  I walked into the Sanctuary to find a couple of  people sitting quietly.  I walked up to the altar and knelt.  That's when the tears started flowing.  All week I had been an emotional basket case.  I would tear up at the smallest things.  Some call that stress or worry over a big event.  As I sat there, I let the tears flow and I thanked God for getting me there.  I asked for him to watch over Serina and Kathy that had already started and to give each one of us strength and endurance.  It was so calming.  God has a way of doing that.  If we just trust him and lay all our worries, anxieties and stresses at his feet he will be faithful and supply our needs.  When I was done, I knew I was ready.  I walked back out to find my mom sitting on the bench in front of the church watching the other swimmers start.  There was a guy and his wife sitting on the opposite bench and he was spraying pam (yes cooking spray) on his legs of his wetsuit.  I asked him why he was spraying it on the outside of the legs.  I told him I knew to grease up my legs & feet so that my suit would go on, but I could not figure out why he was putting pam on the outside.  He said his coach had told him to do so because it would make the wetsuit come off so easy for the strippers at the swim end.  I had never thought about that.  I quickly grabbed my vaseline and greased mine below the knee.  It was soon time for me to walk down the steps to the start line.  I was shocked to find out how many people actually waited to the last wave.  There were so many wetsuit racers that they had to make 2 waves at the end.  I didn't even have time to get nervous again.  The guy was rushing us out on the pier and as soon as I got to the end he said get ready and go.  I was kind of glad we didn't have to sit there and wait because I may have looked out and got all nervous all over again. :>) 

Once I was in the water it was like a cat fight.  I'm not in this wave, but you can tell how close everyone is in the picture.

Swimmers were everywhere.  I got kicked, bumped and pushed.  It was a battle.  I probably wasn't even 100 yards out and a woman kicked me and my right goggle came off.  Oh I was about to die.  My heart started beating like crazy and my breathing was all out of whack.  I tried to get the goggle back on by turning over on my back..... something I had said I was not going to do.  But you do what you go to do when things happen.  I fiddled with my goggles and floated kicking my feet and taking deep breaths.  I finally got them back on but my breathing was still crazy so I stayed on my back.  I swam until the 2nd buoy (I think they were like 100 yards apart because there were like 19 of them before you turned to head into the bank).  I finally felt at ease again so I turned over and told myself that I was going to have to fight hard and swim.  I tried to spot often and move around people.  It was work.  I even swam under a buoy once! I lifted my head to spot and an orange buoy was on my head.  I kind of freaked out and then realized it was just the buoy in the middle of the river directing our way.  I tend to pull left when I swim so I had eased over to far.  I was so glad to finally see the boathouse, which was the biggest marker close to the end.  I knew I was about to turn and head in to the swim finish.  I was thrilled when I got out of the water and looked at my watch and it said 33 minutes because it felt like an eternity!  LOL   I wasn't sure how the strippers would work so I watched the guy ahead of me walking out of the water.  I was amazed.  The strippers had us out of our wetsuits in like 2 seconds.  They literally jerk them off in one big jerk.  I was off to get my bike feeling good the swim was over. :>) 

Coming out of swim and pulling down my wetsuit so the strippers could pull it the rest of the way off me real quick at top of hill. 

Me giving mom the thumbs up coming out of water... (race photo)

Several bike racks were empty.  So many were already out on their bikes. 

This is a picture I pulled from the internet.. see how racks are empty and everyone's stuff is all over.

 I knew Serina and Kathy were a good hour ahead of me due to swim start times.  I wondered how they were making it.  It was starting to heat up.  At first I was counting and smiling as I passed people on the bikes especially since I was just taking it steady.  I was not pushing it hard.  I didn't want my calf ripping open and me not being able to finish the race, so I paced myself.  Actually I was never even out of breath the whole bike ride.  Now in hindsight, I wonder if I had pushed it could I maybe had a better race time.  But I know I did what was right.  My doc had said if it busted open, it would not be a simple sew back up.  I had to take cautions.  I started seeing people really struggling on the bike.  Several were pulled over changing flats and so many were breathing so hard.  I heard several say they had not been on hills and the hills were killing them.  I was so glad I had trained on hills.  I begin to pray for each person I passed.  None of us expected the temperatures to be so high on race day.  We had all hoped for a nice fall day!  That did not happen! 

Race Photo

The one thing I had wondered about on the bike was how the aid stations would work for me.  They had told us if we had empty water bottles there would be an area as we approached the aid station to threw them away and then there would be people lined up with fresh bottles in their hands for us to grab.  Yes.... grab and keep on peddling.  You did have the option of stopping if you wanted to and the aid stations also had oranges, bananas and snacks if you needed them.  I wondered if I would be able to grab a bottle without having a wreck.  Well, to my amazement it worked just fine. 

 I slowed my bike down and pointed to a guy and said I want your bottle.  He stuck his hand out with the bottle far enough I just grabbed and kept on going.  It was so cool.  I did stop at the 2nd aid station and take a bathroom break.  I stuck to my plan.  Every time my watch beeped for me to take in nutrition I did just that.  I had read that for my body weight I needed to take in 250-300 calories per hour on the bike so that I would be fueled to run afterwards.  I had practiced this and calculated calories for weeks.  I believe the reason I had absolutely no cramps on a terrible hot day was because I stuck to my nutrition plan.  It was tough at some points because I was so hot I didn't want to eat anything.  I kept my water bottles with my UCAN hydrate in them.  I really like the UCAN products.  They are not loaded with all the sugar you get from Gatorade and GUs.  That stuff tends to really mess up my stomach. 

Soon I was headed back in on the last mile.  I was thrilled to be under 4 hours on the bike.  Mom wasn't able to capture a picture.  She thought she did but her camera wasn't on.  In my head I was trying to calculate what my final time would be if I could maintain my 3 minute run & 1 minute walk for the 13.1 miles coming up on foot.  I was so sweaty.  I tried to rub sunscreen on my face before heading out and all I could feel was salt all over my face.  I wished I had a bottle of water to wash my face and try again, but I didn't.  I had left my handheld water bottle filled with ice and UCAN hydrate to use on the run.  Well, there was no ice and the liquid was HOT.  I literally spit it out when I went to take a drink as I was heading out of transition on the run.  I told myself to remember to ask for ice at first aid station.  They had told us at the athlete briefing there would be ice on DEMAND.  Well, when I got to the first aid station and asked they said they were out of ice!  I couldn't believe it!  I just grabbed a cup of their water and told myself I'd ask at next aid station.  

My run was going good.  I felt really good.  I was doing my 3 minute run and 1 minute walk.  I was surprised how good my body felt.  Well, that soon changed around mile 4.  I started to get so very HOT and every aid station I asked for ice they said they were out.  I soon just poured out my water bottle and filled it with water at an aid station.  I didn't want to waste the UCAN mix, but there was no way I could drink that stuff when it was as hot as coffee.  By this time I felt like my body was on fire it was so hot.  So I told myself to switch and do 1 minute of run and 3 minutes of walk.  I looked around and EVERYONE was walking.  I did not see a single person running the 13.1 course.  Everyone was either running just a little followed by walking or just plan walking.  I saw several people stopped along the course sick.  I couldn't begin to count the people I saw getting medical attention.  The heat was BRUTAL.  

By mile 6-7 I'm thinking to myself that I'll just walk the rest of the way.  I'm calculating in the head that if I do so I can still finish in under 8 hours 30 minutes (the time limit).  Then a guy came up from behind me and asked if he could run with me.  I laughed and told him I was about to be walking a lot.  He said well I've been behind you and noticed that your run pace is about the same as mine so how about we run/walk this thing on in together.  I told him I'd try, but I was so HOT.  Heat really takes a toll on your body.  I was so glad I had hydrated and stuck with my nutrition on the bike.  So many were hobbling around with cramps at this point.  You could see the pure misery is everyone's faces.  We were all praying for it to be over soon. 

John my running partner at this point begin to tell me all about himself and ask questions about me.  I found out that he's done many half ironmans and full ironmans.  Not to mention all the marathons he had done.  He said he'd not raced lately because he had started crossfit, but his buddies suckered him into coming to Augusta.  There were 18 of them in his group and he said he was the oldest.  He had not trained like he should have and was very tired.  He told me about several races that are on my bucket list.  I finally got up the nerve to ask his age since I couldn't see his calf (that's where they put your age in a TRI). 

My calf :>) 

 I was shocked when he told me he was competing as a 60 year old.  He was 59 turning 60 in November.  They go by your age as of December 31.   He did not look 60!  I was so thankful he came along to take my mind off the heat!  And then we rounded a corner and there were my friends Sernia & Kathy hollering at me!  They had already finished and when I saw their smiling faces and heard their voices it was another push for me to finish the race.  I was so pumped to see that they had finished and were smiling.  I had thought of them often during the bike and run wondering where they were at and if they had finished.  I told John they were my friends that I had trained with and they had finished and it was time for me to do the same.  He smiled and said then let's do this thing.  As we approached the finish line he eased back and told me to go ahead and make sure I got a picture of myself at the finish line.  

Mom got a shot of me and John before the finish line. 

FINISH LINE

It was an amazing feeling coming across that finish line! I heard my mom yell out from the side and then the tears hit.  Tears of pure joy.  I turned around and grabbed John as he finished and gave him a big hug.  I thanked him for running with me.  He laughed and said you helped me as much as I helped you.  He said he had learned in these type endurance races that it's easier if you find someone your pace and talk to them.  It helps you forget the pain.  For this day it was forget the HEAT> :>)    I had no cramps and still felt pretty good.  Yes, I was drained and tired, but I did not feel like I have felt when I've finished a marathon.  Matter of fact I've heard several say now that the recovery is easier after a half ironman compared to recovery after a full marathon.  I would agree.  Maybe because you are not on your feet the entire time.  I was a tad sore and tired, but there was not all the soreness I've experienced from a marathon where I dreaded sitting down and getting up.  

Our hat and medal we received at the finish line. 

Under the 8 hour 30 minute time limit :>) 

Our names in the Augusta paper the next day! 

So would I do it again.... YES IN A HEARTBEAT (especially in cooler weather!).  I do wish they were not so expensive to register for also! I certainly can't afford to start doing 2-3 of these a year. The training is harder...not physically harder... time wise harder to me than a marathon.  Yes, it was brutal conditions, but it was an amazing experience.  Maybe it was just Augusta.... they do have awesome town support!  It kind of reminds me of the support you get at NYC marathon only in NY it's probably 100 X the people standing on the streets cheering you.  And I can't begin to tell you how special all the workers/volunteers were for the race! I was called by name so many times.  They were there to help with anything you needed.  AMAZING SUPPORT! 

I was shocked the next morning eating breakfast at our hotel listening to everyone talk about so many that did not finish the race either due to bike problems, medical issues, or not making the time cutoff.  One was a lady that I had ridden bikes with a couple of times in Wiggins.  She did not make the bike time cut off.  I felt so bad for so many.  I feel very blessed that God did allow me to finish.  So many things could have gone wrong.    I heard from another racer that he said his wife had checked the weather during his run time and the heat index was 107!!

I can not finish this post without mentioning my BEST SUPPORTER! MY MOM!

  In the beginning Kathy and I were going to share a room because she didn't think her husbands off shore schedule was going to work out for him to go.  Well about 3 weeks before the race, they realized his schedule was going to allow him to go.  He wanted to go and see his wife finish.  I only had a room with a king bed, so they bought a room from another friend who had decided not to go.  That left me alone.  I thought my husband might want to go, but he really doesn't like the race scene.  However, I asked him anyway and he said no.  So then I was concerned if mom would go or could go.  She just got a new puppy that she wants to bond to her.  The last inside dog they had got attached to my dad because my mom was still working at the time.  Anyway, I asked her if she would go and she was so excited.  She was the BEST!  I told her she didn't have to run around and try to see me everywhere on race day because I knew it would be tough...not to mention the heat.  However, she was at the swim start, she was at the swim exit (yes, she walked 1.2 following me down the river), she watched me leave on the bike and then she saw me several times on the run.  Each time she would yell there goes my baby..she's doing it.  I was beyond thrilled to have her by my side.  She was the best SHERPA ever!   She even wore her "support crew" shirt. :>) I'll always cherish all our travels together! Love her TONS! She got in about 4-5 walking miles on race day.  I told her that was good practice for her 5K coming up in December with me at St. Jude. :>) 


I guess I could have just listed the things I learned from the race in this post, but I love DETAILS :>)  Now I can look back in a couple of years and remember what all took place. :>)   I finished something I never thought at first that I could do.  I'm not fond of swimming in open water.  However, the more I trained the more I believed that I could do it.  They say that's half the battle.... believe in yourself.  Plus I don't have any negative people around me.  Everyone in my circle encouraged me and told me that I could do it.  I only had to prove it to myself.  Now I smile and say.. I AM IRONMAN 70.3! Whoop Whoop! 

I encourage each of you to go for it...whatever your dream might be! I love this quote one of my friends post on Facebook a couple weeks before the race.....  

Now it's time for me to focus on the Marine Corps Marathon in just 30 days! I've got a full schedule all the way until January so no rest time for me.  Time to hit the pavement and keep on running. 

MUCH LOVE, D

Trials and Tribulations

Why does God allow us to go through trials and tribulations? Now that's a question that could open up a big debate.  

Let me start by recapping my weekend workouts. 

 My weekend actually started on Friday since I was off that day.  I needed to burn a vacation day so I decided to do just that.  I planned my long run for Friday so I could bike 50 miles with my two friends that are also doing ironman.  They've been on a slightly different training plan than me, so they normally bike on Saturdays and run on Sundays.  I have been incorporating my marathon running into my ironman training lately to prepare myself for MCM that is in just 48 days! (I've got a very busy winter coming!)

So I slept in on Friday and started my long run around 9:30am.  I wanted to practise nutrition as if it was race day.  So I ate a good breakfast and had my coffee and then I went to the trace where I knew there would be no cars, no dogs and a bathroom every 3-4 miles.  Plus the trace is pretty.  Lots of shade trees.  It's really a great place to do a long run.  My first 10 miles were great.  I felt good.  Maybe part of it was not being at work.  I was shooting for 18 miles.  Well, the last 7 miles were lonely and tiring.  I really like doing my long runs with someone.  It makes the time go by faster.  I tried changing my playlist between christian and pop music.  Nothing helped.  It was just tedious to get the miles done.  When I reached mile 17, I was back at my car and decided I really didn't want to do another mile.  So 17 was it.  The day was a tad cooler than normal, but by mile 17 I was drenched in sweat.  I was so thankful that I was at the trace because there is a nice cold shower at the bathrooms.  I went and just stood there several minutes letting the cold water run down my tired hot body.  It felt exhilarating.  After wards it was close to 1pm and I was starving.  I drove directly to the sandwich shop which wich and got me a steak and cheese poboy.  

So out of my character.  I've been trying really hard to eat better and I've basically cut out breads because they make me so bloated.  But I needed something fast and that sandwich hit the spot.  I couldn't even finish it.  I gave Troy my leftovers when I got home.  He sure was a happy dog. :>) I soaked in a long hot Epsom salt bath and felt really good.  It was so nice being off work.  I really think I will enjoy retirement one day!  I don't think I'll be like my husband who says he's not sure when he's going to retire because he says he'll be bored not working.  Not me! I could do so much and maybe even keep my house clean.  

Saturday I was excited to go ride with Serina & Kathy.  It had been awhile since we rode together.  They wanted to meet at the sportsplex and ride from Laurel to Petal.  They told me there were a few dogs so I took my taser.  However, after the first dog my taser quit.  

It needs charging.  The ride was great.  It was a tad cooler again when we started at 6:30am.  The hills are very much like Augusta.  The scenery isn't bad either.  Lots of farms along the way.  We battled MANY dogs!  

Only 2 seemed like they might actually bite.  All the others wanted to bark and chase us.  I was so scared I was going to wreck trying to out bike them crazy dogs.  Each time the dogs came out (and there were MANY times), my heart would beat so fast.  Talk about a workout! We stopped in Petal at mile 25 at a cute little country gas station.  We each took a bathroom break and then we were headed back.  In my mind I was thinking about facing all them dogs again.  OH NO>>>> Can you tell I dislike dogs that chase bikers! They make me very nervous.  I'm so scared they are going to get to close or in front of my tire and I can't imagine what it would feel like falling off a bike going 15-20 mph!  

Well, we made it.  Back to our cars in the parking lot.  I had survived the dogs! 

I was so thrilled.  I took my time coasting around so my watch would beep exactly at 50 miles.  As I was doing so, I was thinking in my mind how we needed to get a picture to document our 50 miles and surviving the dogs.  I was also looking around at the cars and kids all around. There was soccer, baseball and swimmers arriving at the sportsplex.  I felt good. I was so happy to be done.  And that's when it happen!  I let my guard down and wasn't concentrating that I was on a bike basically attached to it with my clip in pedals! 

 I had unhooked one shoe, but not the right one.  This is my clip pedals. They are called "speed play".  I really like them.  I can go faster on the bike with them especially up hills.  But once you are clipped in, you are attached to that bike until you unclasp your shoes.  

I hit my brakes and was almost to a complete stop when I realized my right shoe wasn't unhooked and I was leaning to that side to try to put my right foot down as I normally do to stop.  I immediately jerked trying to yank my foot out, but it was too late.  Down I went.   Not me in picture..but you get the point... 

I was like 2 feet from the van! Serina was standing right there taking off her helmet and stuff.  

Right there in a parking lot with people standing all around.  I'm sure several got a big laugh until they saw us hurrying to get me in the car, wrapping my leg in a towel and my friend speeding out of the parking lot.  

At first I thought I was ok and just my knee that hit the ground was bruised and bleeding.  Then I turned to my other leg because it felt weird and that's when I noticed it.  My calf was cut wide open.  It looked like jelly, fat stuff just hanging.  Serina saw it about the same time I did and immediately starting telling me to remain calm.  All I could think was we needed to tie my leg up.  It was bleeding badly.  I yelled for one of them to find me a towel.  Serina quickly grabbed one and we tied my leg up.  Kathy was standing back.  I didn't know Kathy is a little squeamish until then.  She told Serina to drive me to hospital and she'd follow.  As I was sitting there on the ground, because I tried to stand up and my leg felt so weird that I just sat back down and told Serina she was going to have to bring the car to me.  

I was sitting there on the ground saying.. WHY WHY WHY.... 

I have done all the right things, I've trained and trained, I didn't even go to a race that day to prevent any possibility of injury and now this!  I peeped in the towel again and wanted to cry.  I kept thinking this is bad.  My calf which I use to pedal my bike and run is slashed wide open.  What am I going to do.  I was so mad at myself! When I first changed out my regular pedals to clip ins a few months ago, everyone told me that at some point I would fall over.  They all said it's just inevitable.  I had practiced and made a mental note to start unhooking my shoes from my pedals several feet before I was going to stop.  But today my mind was on other stuff.  I was not focused like I should have been.  It was almost like an athlete celebrating a touchdown a tad too soon to only be tackled at the 1 yard line.    

I began to pray once I was in the car.  

I asked God to just give me peace in whatever the doctor would tell me.  I prayed that it would not be as bad as it looked.  I told him that if I was not meant to go do the race, to please give me peace.  Serina was talking constantly, but I can't remember what all she was saying because I was steadily praying.  She was trying to keep me calm.  I so wanted to yell, scream, kick, etc.   We arrived at the hospital and they took me directly on back.  When the nurse looked at my leg she told me congratulations on doing a great job.  They began monitoring my vitals and gave me a tetanus shot and said the doctor would be in shortly.  The nurse even laughed and said she guess she shouldn't asked about my low heart rate since I had just done 50 miles and apparently worked out all the time.  

Serina and Kathy did a good job of keeping my mind off worrying.  We were all so sweaty and stinky.  We joked about how our room probably smelled so badly.  We even washed our hands and faces in the sink in the room.  I could smell my own self so I know it was bad.  After 50 miles of riding hills and running from dogs, you got to sweat.  Finally the doctor came in and started poking around on my calf.  Oh it hurt when he was prodding and looking.  Finally he looked up and said it didn't appear to go to the muscle.  Whew, I was so thrilled.  I grabbed Serina and began crying and hugging her. 

 He said I'm going to stitch you up.  Well, I had been sitting on the bed while us girls were talking and waiting on him actually googling stitches for athletes.  So I told him I need some special stitches because I had an ironman race in two weeks.  He said he was going to do some stitches inside and outside to get me fixed up.  He also said he had biked and ran when he was younger.  Sometimes those doctors understand a tad more when a patient is asking them to fix them so they can race.  :>)   
They don't think we are crazy.. ha ha

So he started the process of cleaning and stitching while asking a ton of questions about our ironman race.  He even asked Serina if she was doing the race also.  She laughed and told him that she was and that fat girls can too.  I giggled when she said it.  She may not be a slim thing, but she can kick my butt any day.  She is very good at TRIs.  She often places in her age group.  She is amazing.   Now Kathy is standing outside the room this whole time.  As I said before, she can't take it.  It's a good thing she didn't go into nursing.  Serina on the other hand was taking a million pictures and talking to the doctor about anything and everything.  I was laying on my stomach so I couldn't see what he was doing, but I felt the stitches many times.  Finally he was done and boy I have my a nice looking calf.  I'm hoping it won't scar too bad.  

I didn't sleep much at all last night.  I played the incident over and over in my mind.  I still can't see how my calf was cut so badly.  Even my husband has looked and looked at my bike and just shakes his head saying he can't see how it happen.   I've seen several people fall over with their shoes clipped in and have scraped knees on the side they fall on, but I've never seen this before.  It's one of those freak things that probably won't happen again in my life time.  I sure hope not!  

So today I thought I might be really sore from my 17 mile run on Friday and 50 mile bike on Saturday, but honestly I'm not sure from that.  I am sore on the knee that landed on the ground.  It was all scrapped up and bleeding also.  It's really sore when I bend my leg.  My other leg with the stitches is only sore when I move a certain way.  I did have some nice bloody sheets this morning where the cut with stitches oozed all night.  YUK!  He gave me an antibiotic to prevent infection and said I could get the stitches out in 7-10 days depending on how it heals.   He warned me not to swim until I get it rechecked in a few days.  There is so much bacteria in water.  I'm not to even soak in a tub bath...boooooooooo  However, I certainly don't want any infection.  He told me to take it easy for a few days and then when I do try to run to watch it.  I may have to walk the half in Augusta, but I plan to do this thing!  

Today as I was reading my devotion I read this..... "Sometimes the easiest question is "why", but it's also the hardest question to get an answer to".  How true is that!  Kathy fell down her steps at her house and broke her foot a couple months ago, Serina fell in Kathy's driveway when they were finishing a run and hurt her arm really bad, and now I have fallen!  All three of us have worked our butts off training for this ironman and each one of us at some point have asked the question "WHY ME".   I'm sure they lost as much sleep as I did replaying their accident in their minds and wondering why..why...why...why...

Sometimes we get our answers fast, sometimes it's a long wait and maybe even sometimes we never really know why something happens.  As for me, I've seen God use trials to build me up, open other doors, answer other prayers, and use me in others.  I've seen God's miracles.  So I know in my heart that I have to trust him and have faith.  If this ironman race is meant to be, it will.  If not, God will lead me elsewhere.  I am his.  Some people think because they are saved they will never face trials and tribulations.  Well, I'm here to tell you that is wrong.  We are not promised a rose garden.  The bible actually tells us we will have trials and tribulations.  

James 1:2-8English Standard Version (ESV)

Testing of Your Faith

2 Count it all joy, my brothers,[a] when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

So I guess I'll be on rest mode for a few days.  Sure was hard today!  Troy must even know something is wrong because he kept coming up to me while I was laying on the couch and whining.  Gary said he wanted me to go take him for a walk.  Oh how I wanted to, but knew the doctor said to take it easy for a couple of days.  I really want this to heal so I can do ironman....So I will abide by the doctors orders.  It's just so hard for me to sit still all day.  Luckily (I guess), tomorrow is a work day.  At least that will keep me from getting bored.  Plus I have a work school on Tuesday and Wednesday to attend.. OH BOY>> Ha ! There is just so much Facebook, movies, football, or reading I can stand in one day. LOL  

So how'd your weekend go?  I hope certainly better than mine.  I love my sweet friends! They never left my side and stayed the entire time at the hospital even when I told them they could go.  I'm very blessed.  13 days...... IRONMAN 70.3! 

Cultivation Nation Sprint TRI – Wiggins, Ms 8-27-16

It’s been another HOT week here in Mississippi!  All of us girls had signed up to do this sprint TRI for more practice towards ironman coming up.  So to say I was looking forward to the race would not be accurate due to the heat.  I was kind of dreading it.  Seems like this heat has just taken so much out of me this year.  I’m more tired lately.  Hey.. maybe it’s all the training too. HA!  I’m learning the older I get that it’s ok to take a nap and here lately I need one after a hot, humid training day!  I was looking forward to getting back on the bike on the Wiggins Hills.  They do have some good training hills there and the elevation gain is similar to Augusta.. I had 1,400 on the last 52 training bike ride in Wiggins a few weeks ago.  

However, I made one mistake.  I was so going to make sure I got in a long run during the week to make up for my run miles I’d miss on Saturday due to the TRI.  I had planned to do it Wednesday night, but working till almost 7pm put a damper on that.  So I did 9 ½ miles on Thursday.  You may be wondering why that is a mistake.  Well, normally I try to not do anything hard or long after Wednesday when I have a race on Saturday.  I may do a light jog or swim, but certainly not a long one.  But I had realized the Marine Corp Marathon is only 9 weeks away and I didn’t want to miss any more miles so I crammed in miles on Thursday.  I also got up on Friday morning and did a light 3 mile jog.  MISTAKE>>>>  My legs were heavy weights on race morning. 

My office calendar..wish I had seen this on Saturday.. 

Because they offered packet pick on race morning none of us girls had picked them up early.  So we had to get in line to do that before we could go set our bikes up in transition.  By the time I got my bike inside the transition area I had to walk around until I finally found a spot to put my bike and then it was a quick set up and walk to swim start.  I found the girls already in the water.  Nestor grabbed a picture of us before we started. 

SWEET FRIENDS... WOMEN WHO TRI

Kathy and I were right beside each other to start.  I could see her for a little bit as we swam and then she disappeared.  I then saw Serina who had started behind us.  But not for long.  There I was drifting more and more to the left (middle of lake) and they were all swimming closer to shore.  I reminded myself to just stay slow and steady and make it around the big red ball at the end with it staying on my right side.  Whew, I was finally in!  I saw Serina getting her bike down to head out of transition and wished her luck.  Kathy and Jenn were already gone.  I dried off my feet and tried to change as quickly as possible into my bike shoes, gloves, helmet… (however, my transition times are SLOW).  Soon I was out on the bike course going up and down the hills.  There is even one section of the rolling hills that someone had painted words at the top of each hill that spelled out “BAD ASS HILLS”.  Believe me they were, but the roads are nicely paved with few bumps.  Makes for an excellent ride!  The country side is beautiful.  NO dogs! YIPPIE I actually averaged my fastest time that I’ve done on the Wiggins hills (I’ve went a couple of times to train with a group that rides every Sunday), so I was very pleased with my bike ride.  And then the run started.  It’s a trail run off into the woods there at the park.  It has a couple of hills and mud.  I was beginning to get HOT.  I jogged / walked off and on until it was over.   I was so glad to be FINISHED>>>  The other girls had finished ahead of me.  When it comes to race day they are in BEAST mode.  I’m so proud of them.  They’ve worked so hard to overcome injuries lately. 

So another TRI in the books.  I finished in under 2 hours and placed 5^th in my age group.  Need to work on my transitions times and I could move up in place.  There are some fast ladies in the age group 50-54! They are superwomen!  Nestor snapped a picture of us and then I went home and crashed for the rest of the day.

Check out Serina's shirt! :<>) 

 I’m glad it is only an hour drive to Wiggins because I was getting very sleepy by the time I got home.  I’m really beginning to like REST.  I did get up on Sunday and do a short brick workout.  I had planned to rest, but at the last minute decided to go ahead and do a brick.  Today (MONDAY) I’m resting.  Well resting as much as possible.  I’m at work and enjoying my lunch at the moment.  I plan to go home at 5pm and prop my feet up. 

So how’s ya training going?? Remember… 

TRI Augusta Camp - August 12-14, 2016

Augusta TRI training camp 

Our wrist band that got us in to everything and also had a number on it that identified us to our camp records in case of an emergency. 

Couple months ago I received an email from brian@tricoachgeorgia.com offering a camp for the half iron distance in Augusta.  I had heard about this camp through a friend that had attended and she highly recommended it especially for someone like me that has never done a half iron distance.  She told me that I would get to swim, bike and run the actual course that I would be doing for the race.  I was excited and ready to register as soon as they open registration.  I talked one of my friends that is also doing the race into going with me.  We had been counting down the days until camp.  We were so looking forward to seeing the area and learning the course. 

Just a few days before camp we received an email with this info……

“Final preparations are being made for your arrival next weekend. It has been very hot all summer in Augusta and we hope you have been training outdoors and are acclimated to the heat. We have an agenda for you that outlines the overall weekend and hopefully it will provide you with enough information to help you plan for the trip. You should pack as if you are racing three separate days. Don't forget your swim goggles and all related swim gear such as swim caps and anti-fog solution. Bring your bike, bike shoes and tire pump. Bring running shoes, running hat and sunglasses. Don't forget anti-chaffing products and sunscreen. Towels will be helpful as you will be sweat soaked after each session. “

I was not looking forward to the HOT part of camp.  It’s been so hot this summer that for the first time in years, I’m actually ready for WINTER!  Summer has always been one of my favorite times, but this year the heat has just been unbearable. 

So here’s my recap of camp.  I’ll try to be brief, but you know me…… I love to tell details.

I’m not sure why, but Kathy & I both forgot about the time change! It never hit us that we’d be losing an hour until I noticed our estimated arrival time on my GPS being an hour later than I had anticipated.  We did the same thing when we went to Atlanta to do Ragnar a few months ago! You’d think we would have learned the first time. LOL  I guess we were just too excited and nervous about camp.

Check in for camp was noon on Friday.  I had thought we would arrive in Augusta in time to have lunch, check into hotel and get to camp check-in by noon.  Well, that didn’t happen! We barely made it to camp check in at 12:50pm!  Since the Friday bike ride was not scheduled to start till 2pm, I told Kathy we should be ok.  However, we were still stressing.  We did not have on our bike clothes yet, we still had to go check in at the camp registration table, and make sure we ate something.  We decided to just eat a peanut butter sandwich we happen to have in our cooler while driving up to park by the boathouse.  This was the meeting place every day for camp. We jumped out of the car and quickly went to the check in table.  I laughed and told them we totally forgot about the time change coming from Mississippi.  We quickly went back to the car and unloaded our bikes, checked our tires, started getting our water bottles ready and changed clothes in the back seat of my car!  There was nowhere to change but a porta potty and it was like 100 degrees, so we did not want to go inside one of them to change.  I left the car running while we changed.  We didn’t even care that it was in broad daylight.  My windows are slightly tinted.  All we knew was we needed to get changed and get our bikes in position to start.  And did I mention it was HOT! 

  

Waiting to start...boy it was HUMID

When we got about 4-5 miles out, there was a big sign that said welcome to South Carolina.  It ended up that most of the biking miles were in South Carolina.  It as an extremely HOT ride.  We figured there would be hills, but until you are on them on a bike you don’t realize how big of hills!  Luckily I had drank a good bit of water on the ride to Augusta.  I had to keep stopping for bathroom breaks, but I wanted to be hydrated due to the heat.  When we arrived back at our cars from the bike ride, Kathy and I were both drenched in sweat.  She went straight to the coolers and drank several big glasses of water.  The bike ride was 32 miles.

Ready to do Friday swim!

Next we had a swim practice scheduled at 5pm and I was ready to get in the cold water (they said it would be cold), but I sure didn’t want to pull that wetsuit on my hot sweaty body!  I looked around and people were putting theirs on so I dried off and began the task of putting it on.  If you’ve ever put one on, you know it’s like putting on a pair of tights that are way too little.  Some people put Vaseline on their bodies to make them slide on easier.  We even saw one guy using Kroger grocery store bags.  He said they work awesome.  I may have to try that eventually.  Anyway, we got our suits on and it was time to hit the water.  The coach said we could swim as much as we like.  There was no planned course.  Just jump in and swim.  It just so happen a lady was standing beside me that said to me as I was about to go get in… “You know it’s going to be upstream don’t you?”  I had actually been wondering because I had heard him say this will be the swim exit on race day.  I knew the swim was downstream (hey..that’s why I picked this race as my first!), so I was wondering if we were fixing to swim upstream or go further downstream.  As we got closer to the water, he said swim out and back and pointed upstream.  Oh and it was COLD! When we jumped it, it took my breath for a second.  Very cold water!  However, it felt great after that bike ride! 

So Kathy and I swam out for 20 minutes and then swam back in for 10 minutes.  Yep, it took us half the time to come in as going out. I was shocked.  That concluded our Friday workouts.  We were tired and hungry.  I told Kathy that I didn’t even care if we took a bath.  All I wanted to do was get checked in the hotel and go get some food.  All we had that day was breakfast and a little peanut butter sandwich.  I didn’t even put on makeup! So unlike me.  :<>)  I was so glad our hotel was less than a mile from where we had to go every day for camp.  We quickly checked in, changed clothes and headed to Nacho Mama’s.

I had seen people posting about eating here on our Augusta TRI page.  They all raved about how good it was and it was right down from our hotel.  We knew we needed to eat some food with salt and what better way to get some salt than Nachos!  The food was great and tons of it! Kathy and I could have shared our meal!  I saw several campers in there eating and a few of the coaches. 

We went straight to bed because Saturday morning was GATOR FEST SWIM!

This is where we would swim the 1.2 miles! I woke up very NERVOUS!  I had never swam 1.2 miles in open water.  I was anxious to see how it would go.  I knew this would tell me whether or not I was ready for the ironman race coming up.  Kathy and I got dressed and really didn’t talk very much.  I think we were both nervous.  We arrived at the boat house parking area to wait on our bus transportation to the swim start.  Everyone was standing around laughing and talking.   Some were putting on their wetsuits and some were toting them.  I just sat and watched while trying to keep my nerves at bay.  A couple was at the same table with us and one was going to do the 5K swim.  They offered two distances.  You could pick the 1.2 mile or the 3.1 mile swim.  I was sitting there in amazement that he was going to swim 3.1 miles! I just hoped I could do the 1.2 miles with no freak outs.  We were about to load the bus and Kathy and I noticed two young boys putting on wetsuits.  One was tiny! Looked to be 8-9 years old.  His wetsuit was so cute! So wished I had got a picture but we had left our phones in the car.  It had ironman stuff on it.  Kathy asked him if he was swimming the 1.2 miles and he smiled and said yes.  It was also his first time to do that distance.  So Kathy and I told ourselves, if he can…. we can. :>) 

Our wave about to start! I'm looking at my watch waiting.. 

BTW that kid won overall by swimming the distance in 21 minutes and his brother swam it in 25 minutes! WOW! Their dad was one of the coaches for the camp also.  So….. Guess what? I swam the 1.2 miles!! YIPPIE.  My watch said 37 minutes but their timing machine said 36.  Either way, I’ll take it! I had worried myself sick wondering if I could make the 1 hour 10 minute cutoff.  I only had a couple brief freak outs when the grassy moss stuff wrapped around my arm.  Some parts of the river were clean and others were very grassy.  The first time I hit the stuff it really stopped me in my tracks.  I had to tell myself to just keep swimming.  However in my mind I was also saying… please don’t let there be a gator in this stuff! I was so worried about gators.  Praise the Lord I didn’t see one! I hope and pray I don’t see one on race day either.  I was so excited when I finished.  Kathy and I were side by side during the swim for a while and then I lost her.  I tend to pull to the left when I swim.  So when I got out of the water I was looking for her and there she was standing up on the bank waiting.  I hugged her tightly. 

YES>> we SWAM that! 

It felt so good to know that we had both just swam the course!  It was an amazing feeling of accomplishment.  The one thing that had kept me worried this whole time while training was the swim portion.  I knew I could struggle through a hilly bike course and jog/walk 13.1 miles in the heat, but I was worried about doing the swim until after I finished gator fest!  I was so very happy I had made the decision to come to camp! It was just what I needed! And as the saying goes... TRUST YOUR TRAINING>> all the hours in the pool had helped me!

After we finished!

After they did awards for the swim (it was an actual swim race where people that weren’t doing camp….were doing the swim race), we were instructed to change clothes and be ready to run.  Now it’s getting close to lunch time by now and HOT!  However, they kept telling us this would prepare us for race day.  We were told that we could pick whether we ran 2 loops or 1 loop.  I told Kathy we would run 2 before really thinking that thought through!  That soon changed after we got mid-way into the 1^st loop.  It was miserable HOT.  We even made a game out of it just to get through the 7 mile loop.  We would run in the sun and walk the shaded areas. We did anything to try to beat the heat.  They had given us samples of base salt to try.

  

I had never used the stuff, but I sure used it on the run and the next day on the bike ride!  My clothes were soaking wet.  I bet I could have taken them off and squeezed a whole glass of water out of them.  We decided 1 loop was enough for us.  We were released to go have a late lunch and then report back at 4:30pm for a briefing on camp and instructions on the bike ride for Sunday which would be the 56 miles we would ride on race day.  We were so happy to get a couple hours off.  We headed to get lunch first at another local place that everyone had raved about called Farmhaus Burgers.  I didn’t get all dressed to go eat this time either! No time for trivial stuff like that when you are famished.  The burgers were amazing and I even had a gluten free bun and it was awesome! 

We both crashed in our hotel afterwards.  We didn’t turn on the TV or really talk.  We both kind of napped and tried to recoup from all the heat and training.  

At our 4:30 meeting they served us appetizers and had several speakers.  The were all good.  But first Brian the head coach told us that we were the most “fit” group they had at camp.  I was shocked.  He said that in the previous year after the Friday swim they worried about several people completing the iron distance race.  He said our group showed much more fitness.  He said we should all do great on race day.  :<>)   They went over details on the bike ride and informed us that a bridge was out so the route had to be changed a little.  Two more big hills were added. L  He said they didn’t expect the bridge to be fixed by race day, so the detoured course would most likely be the route on race day.  I didn’t realize it until he was talking but the 32 miles we rode on Friday were the last half of the race course.  So Sunday we would see the full course.  They kept stressing the size of the hills.  Kathy and I left the meeting feeling pretty good about camp and looking forward to the bike ride on Sunday.  We were hungry again and knew we needed to fuel up for that 56 mile bike ride the next morning.  We walked and ended up at a pizza place on the same street as the other places we’d eaten and it too was amazing.  It was called “The Pizza Joint”.  It's kind of hidden so you have to be looking for it. 

I don’t think we could of had better food for the weekend.  Again we went straight to bed after we organized and packed up everything, but our bike stuff.  We knew we had to check out of the hotel before the bike ride.  At camp they told us that the local Y would be open for us to shower after the bike ride if we needed to before driving home.   

Sunday morning arrived sooner than we wanted.  We wanted to sleep in! We arrived and parked early.  We knew there would be others at the bike ride since it was an actual bike ride called “Ride for a Reason”.  People could register that were not part of the camp.  I really like how the camp people organized the camp around the swim race and bike ride.  It made it more like it would be on race day with tons of people.  Here’s a pic of us about to start the bike ride. 

As soon as we got off on the bike route, I realized why they kept talking about the hills.  It was a constant uphill battle. I kept looking at my Garmin thinking this is taking longer than usual for me.  I also realized why when Brian has mixed me up a sample of UCAN he looked at me kind of funny when he asked how long I thought the ride might take me and I smiled and said a little over 3 hours.  He must have been thinking this girl is good. LOL 

It was a tough & challenging ride.  My total ride time was 3:44, which was longer than I had expected.  After the ride, Kathy and I both said to each other… “It’s going to take us around 4 hours no matter what to complete the bike ride, stop at aid stations & transition with those hills.”  I had hope to maybe do it in 3:30 or slightly less, but not so sure now. However on race day I do plan to be more "fresh".. not tired from 2 days of workouts already.  Back here in Mississippi I can do 56 miles in close to 3 hours.  But not on those hills!

Notice Elevation Gain... almost 2,000! 

 We were sitting inside eating and cooling off after the bike ride while talking to a lady that has done ironman in Chattanooga.  She told us that the bike ride in Augusta is much tougher than Chattanooga.  I would have never thought that.  After we finished eating we went to the Y to shower and change for the 8 hour drive home!  Boy was I glad the Y let us shower!! There is no way I could have rode home in those stinky clothes. 

So we completed camp! 

It was just like he said in his email ….  Prepare for 3 days of racing.  Our bodies sure felt like we had raced 3 days in a row!  We took turns driving home and stopped several times to stretch.  We were both wore slam out and the 8 hour drive didn't help matters.  It was an awesome camp and I highly recommend it to anyone training for a 70.3 distance or if you are doing Augusta.  It’s a beautiful town.  We stayed at the Holiday Inn on Broad Street and it was the perfect spot! We walked to all the food places and could have walked to the swim start.  Close to race start for the ironman race.  I feel much better prepared for the race now. Here's a pic of Coach Brian Patterson.  He cuts you no slack.  Notice their wording on tent.. DO YOUR JOB>>  I highly recommend the camp! It was well organized and you learn a lot about the race course and your endurance.  It was worth every penny of the $175 and travel expenses!

I still know that it’s going to be HARD on race day.  There is no way for it to not be hard when you combine 3 sports into one day.  It will be challenging, but so worth it.  I’m looking forward to completing the ironman 70.3 distance on September 25!

What's even more cool is after I got back home I received a private message on Facebook.  My cousin was at the camp! She's on the TRI Augusta board.  I knew I had several cousins that lived in South Carolina, but I had no idea one would be at camp much less a triathlete also.  I so wished we had gotten together.  We probably haven't seen each other since we were tots.  Plus I'm several years older than her. Her grandfather and my grandfather were brothers.  They've both been gone several years now.  Usually at Thanksgiving the Hill Clan has a big family reunion, but as some of the older Hill's have passed away some of the out of town relatives don't come every year any more. Hopefully we will get together at the actual race in September. :<>)

Happy Training! 

D