Skull Kingdom in all her glory. She is my Oly+ bike. New this year: SRM, Hed Jet 90's.
My trusty Bitch. She's 14 years old and has done 15 Ironmans. She is now my sprint bike. New this year: she inherited the Zipp 404's from Skull Kingdom (including Power Tap) plus brand new wheel stickers, she inherited the crankset from Skull Kingdom, and went to black bar tape.
Well bikes are never completely done, but they are for now. Except that I will be switching out the bar tape on Skull Kingdom for hot pink in the spring. The above modifications have been in progress for almost 3 months. It started with finding a really good deal on an SRM. I had an SRM from 2004-2007, then I switched to Ergomo, those died and I got a Powertap when I had Skull Kingdom built in 2010. I've never really liked the Powertap--its readings are jumpy, and I didn't want to get that big Joule head unit. So when I saw I could get a new SRM (and I'll be able to switch out the PC7 for the PC8 in another month or so) for a great price, I acted quickly.
Then I thought, well, if I'm putting an SRM on Skull Kingdom, I can move the Zipp wheels over to Bitch. But then I'd want new wheels for Skull Kingdom. So I decided on the Hed Jet 90's, since I wanted deeper rims.
But then I'd been meaning to get rid of the Elite stickers on the Zipps and get some custom ones made. So I removed the Elite stickers and found a guy on Slowtwitch who makes custom stickers (not just for wheels--he can do helmets, too). Then I figured that as long as I was going to doctor the Zipps that I may as well get custom ones for the Heds.
So when I ordered the wheels from Hed (over the phone--they are awesome people!), I asked if they could leave off the decals, and they said sure!
Let me backtrack a bit. This all began with me making appointments to get Bitch and Skull Kingdom tuned up, since it had been awhile. That started in October, which is when all this other stuff began falling in line!
So I found myself needing to design wheel stickers while waiting for my Heds to be built. I don't remember when it came to me to just get Crackhead on the Zipps, but it was brilliant! The guy who made the stickers asked me why I wanted that, in the Coke font. His guess was that I just really like Coke! But I explained that Crackhead is my nickname and I gave him a link to this blog. It made sense! When he delivered me the first mockup (he uses CAD), he showed me the wheels with 3 and 4 Crackheads per side, but he said we could go as high as 6. Well...6 it is! More Crackhead for me! After the guy at my bike shop put them on, he commented on how precise the curvature matched the rims. Well, yeah, that's required for this sort of thing!
Then I had to think about what I wanted on the Heds. I had known for some time that I wanted skulls and flames, to coordinate with the frame. And then I decided I'd like a touch of pink, as pink coordinates well with red, and then I can wear pink kits, too! It's not a requirement that my clothes match the bike at all times, but sometimes it's just better!
The initial mockup from Nick (sticker guy who just does this on the side) was pretty cool, but the skull's teeth were too pointy for my liking. So we fixed that, Nick did round 2, and voila! These stickers would have been ready sooner, but the place where he orders the vinyl sent the wrong pink. But it was OK because my Heds weren't done.
Hed came through on schedule (4 weeks). I figured the wheels were done when I saw the charge pop up on my credit card, but they didn't send me a shipping tracking number. So I called, and they arrived the next day. I was so excited when I took them out of the box! But they were missing the Ti skewers, rim tape and valve extenders. I called right away and emailed to let them know those items weren't in the box, and they shipped them right out and I had them 2 days later.
All the timing of these things was working out well. I kept telling everyone that I was not having a wheel emergency at any point in this process, so minor glitches that came up were no big deal. But I was trying to keep my trips to the bike shop to a minimum. The day I picked up Bitch, I dropped off the Heds for stickering, then last week I took Skull Kingdom with me (and my old Cane Creek wheels which I'm selling), picked up the Heds, and before I left the shop, I had a discussion about tubes, valves and valve extenders. I need to decide how I'm going to manage spares for both bikes so I'm prepared while training and racing. I'll get all that finalized over the next month or so. Right now, I have motley tubes/extenders, and since I'm a little OCD, I won't be able to live with that for very long.
Oh and La Gazza Ladra (LGL) was also tuned in the process and she got recabled. She's still such a beauty:
La Gazza Ladra, aka LGL. She's my go to for easy rides and super long hilly rides, so she'll get plenty of use during Ultraman training!
I needed to have the red Nokon cables removed at the recommendation of my LBSG, as they were adversely impacting the shifting. So now she has pretty silver cables! I still love her so much and will ride her in the spring from April through May and when I have easy rides scheduled.
All this was part of my master plan for attacking Ultraman Hawaii in 2016. For that race, I will ride Skull Kingdom with the Hed on the rear and Zipp on the front due to the Hawaiian winds. Won't that look bitchin'?
I can't believe I just wrote an entire post about my bikes. But, as you know, I FUCKING LOVE RIDING MY BIKES!!!
I know there are people reading my blog for the first time this year, so I should probably explain what a "fashion update" is. Years ago, while working for PeopleSoft (which no longer exists as it was bought by Oracle where I now work), there was a group of us who were good friends. This was back in the late 90's, and it was then acceptable to have a fridge stocked with beer for employees to raid whenever they felt appropriate. We only did it on Friday, beginning around 3PM. Anyway, anyone who works in an office (which I no longer do) knows there is always a lot of gossip and grapevine stuff going on. So whenever one of our group had "news" to share, we would use the code "fashion update" to signal to one another that we had important information to be shared--at the time, it may have been during a smoke break (yes, I smoked from 1995-1999 after getting divorced SO FUCKING KILL ME).
I have remained friends with many of those people, and my best friend, Susan, was in that crowd. We adopted the fashion update term for whenever we would just want to share news about our lives, since we now live far apart (she's in Nevada). I will be the Maid of Honor for Susan's wedding next April.
So this post is a Fashion Update. Say that phrase aloud about 10 times and it will start to sound weird.
This is week 2 of my ATP. I started hating my coach (me!) this past weekend, as the assigned workouts are NOT easy except for the Monday and Friday runs. Everything else has some (and by "some" I mean "a lot") hard efforts included, so recovering from the shit is super important. But the hard shit is fun, you know? It sucks, it sucks, it sucks while you do it, but when you're finished and you executed the intervals properly, it's a fucking awesome feeling!
Saturday was a 2:30 ride including some suck-ass intervals followed by a :30 brick run. I was hating the bike ride only because the goddamn SRM keeps telling me just how much I suck, so I try and overcome it by going as hard as I should and maybe then some. The brick run actually felt GOOD! I hadn't done any brick runs since early September when I did a duathlon, and oh well I guess I forgot about TDD 2 weeks ago. I constantly tell triathletes that you don't need to do bricks all the time--running well off the bike is about, well, running well and frequently. When you are used to running frequently, then you just...um...RUN.
Sunday was a progressive long run, where you start out easy and build. So far, only building to Z3, but the Z4 (aka tempo) will come soon enough. Those runs are fun! Even when I do them on the treadmill! After the run (only 1:40, as I've stepped back a little on the running), I went and swam :30 just to relax and recover.
Monday is now a swim and easy run. I do the swim AM and the run mid-day. I thought I had a pretty good swim, and I felt like my form was good. As you know, I've been getting coaching from Magic Mike and while it's only been 4 weeks, my stroke has changed dramatically, and it's really cool to feel the difference as well as see some increased speed!
Tuesday is a hard bike ride. Right now on Tuesdays, I'm doing my typical warmup and then a Sufferfest video. Those things are fucking hard. If you aren't hanging your tongue out and just looking down at your power meter and hoping to die when you are :20 in, then you're doing them wrong! When I finished on Tuesday, I began choking/dry heaving, which is always a good sign that I worked hard enough. I also did some strength training on Tuesday. I'm finding I need to NOT do any on Mondays, as I'm usually trying to recover from the weekend.
Today was a swim and track workout. I do them both in the morning, because it's winter and I like running on the indoor track at my Y. I had a late start for a variety of reasons, but was in the water at 5:55 with coach Mike. The way it goes is he stalks me underwater whenever he feels like it, when we are both at the wall I ask stupid questions and try and get a reading for how I'm doing, and he stays until about 6:30 and then I keep swimming.
Well today, he'd watched me for awhile, and we were at the wall and he said, "You look good." I'm like WTF and all giggly inside like I'm 12. I subsequently swam a fast 100 (for me) and I was like WTF is happening? That was when he told me I looked good. So I said, "So now what?" And all he says is "Keep doing that." I must have had the hugest stupidest grin on my face. I'm not there yet, but what the hell, I KNOW that my stroke is much changed from what it was! I am so fucking happy! I asked Mike how long before it feels "normal," and I know it will be awhile.
Meanwhile, I got my Bitch all doctored up:
The wheels are, well, how can I say this best? FUCKING AWESOME!!!
Now I am waiting for my new Hed wheels to be artistically doctored--they will go on Skull Kingdom:
But I digress. After today's swim, I did the track workout, and I hit the same paces as last week, which are paces I have not seen in about 5 years! I was wondering today whether I would be able to have a repeat performance, and apparently so!
I think I really played out the last 5 months by holding back on specific intensity workouts, so that I was well-prepared for the SUCK. I sit here writing this with sore pecs and wasted legs, and I couldn't feel better! Tomorrow I get to do a "regular" bike interval workout (no fucking Sufferfest), and I'm now looking forward to it!
The thing is (that was a favorite saying of my Mom) that when the shit is working, you need to WORK THE SHIT. I have finally learned that when shit is going well, to just keep going. Believe that it will keep going well and keep pushing on.
On the sleep front, apparently I am still good on 6-7 hours. I don't know whether it's because I am just so happy (for numerous reasons which I will go into in another post), or because I'm finally training hard again, or because I feel like I've locked into a rational training program for the next 2 years, or because I finally gave into who I am and that ultra-endurance is my thing, or because I am gathering only those people who support me around me. But it's working, and I am loving life right now. What a great feeling! I wish it on everyone reading this!
So, after the ER visit last week, I had discharge instructions to go see my regular physician in "2-3 days" to follow up on the blood pressure thing. I contacted my doctor and told her I would wait until this virus clears my system, since my BP won't be completely normal until that happens. She agreed with me.
On Friday, I felt basically fine, but could tell my BP was still up there--not super high, but elevated. I swam 4100 in the AM and that felt great, then I finished my strength workout for the week (:30), and finally I ran enough to get in what I was supposed to have done on Thursday, about :40. All of this felt just fine, and I wasn't concerned about anything in particular. I fixed bottles for the weekend's biking. I needed to get in 8 hours total. I had wanted to do a century ride called the Pumpkin Pie Ride out of Ottawa on Sunday, but it looked like it was going to be pretty cold (for me) for riding that day, and then I decided with all the health nonsense going on with me and being 8 weeks out from IMCOZ that driving a bunch to ride was just not the stress I needed. It looked like it would still be warm on Saturday, so I decided I'd ride 4:30 in Fermilab on Saturday, and then do 3:30 on Death Machine, maybe with my brother Mike, on Sunday. I don't mind riding the MTB when it's cold outside since I'm not going that fast anyway and it's comfortable on there being all bundled up.
Saturday morning I felt basically fine, but still with slightly elevated BP. How do I know it's elevated even though I did not own a BP cuff at the time? Because I can feel it. My doctor told me yesterday that since I'm bradycardic, I will notice irregular heart beats and pumping patterns more than normal people. Yes, I know, I am SO special! I was so happy to see the weather was going to be nice and warm (for October) in the low to mid-70's, but that it was supposed to rain in the afternoon, so I got my shit together to go ride and do a transition run in Fermilab. I'd fucked up in that I thought I was supposed to do a brick run, but it turns out the training plan said to run FIRST, but oh well, stupid coach!
I took 5 hours of Infinit with me in case I decided to ride longer than 4:30, which turned out to be a great idea. I parked on Continental Drive, which is technically considered in Warrenville, just outside the East Gate of Fermilab. I started riding at 7:05AM. It was warm and very humid and overcast, so perfect riding conditions. Here is Skull Kingdom just before I started riding:
As you can see, I only loaded 1 bottle of Infinit (in a Pirate.biz bottle!), which would hold me for about 1:15 of riding or perhaps a bit more. I already had in my tank: about 350 calories from my usual breakfast, 300 calories of Ultrafuel, a banana and about 100 calories of Gatorade, so I felt well fueled for 4-5 hours of riding.
When I started out, my legs felt a bit crunchy. It's always entertaining to me that during a rest week (I'd only run about 12 miles so far that week) how I sometimes notice the accumulated fatigue in my body. I've learned that's normal for a rest week, and it's normal for a taper, so I don't worry about it.
I did not need to pay attention to wattage for this ride--it was just go however I felt. It wasn't particularly windy, and the humidity didn't bother me, I mean what a bonus to be wearing shorts and a tank top on an October day! It was cool, though, maybe upper 60's, when I started, and this made me need to stop and pee rather frequently, maybe every 20 minutes, but I understood that to be related solely to the temperature and nothing else.
On my first "pass," I rode for 1:30 on 1 hour of Infinit, but that was OK because I felt like I had enough calories in the tank and I was really only missing :15 of calories (I typically drink every :15; it just makes things easier). I skipped Secret Mad Scientist Road the first loop around Eola, Wilson, B, Pine and A-1 (I usually ride counterclockwise). But on the second pass of that loop, I DID go up Secret Mad Scientist Road, and on my way out of there a mad scientist was driving to her house! She didn't honk or look at me like I was breaking the law (technically I was, although I don't think she owns the road). The road was littered with black walnuts and leaves, as were sections of Pine. It's funny to me that the black walnut trees are pretty camouflaged most of the year until they drop their leaves and then you see the tree nearly naked with what look like neon tennis balls all over them!
The nuts are pretty big, so you don't want to try riding over them! Anyway, on that first pass with Bottle #1, I did Secret Mad Scientist Road twice.
I felt good after pass 1, rode back to my car and swapped bottles, but first I took :15 worth of Infinit from one of the other bottles so that I could go for 1:45 on my second pass. All I needed to do on my second pass to get to 1:45 was to add one complete loop of A-1 road, which is where lots of us do intervals since it is straight, flat, and sometimes there is a nice tailwind from the south. It was awesome, and I rode Secret Mad Scientist Road 3 times on this pass.
I figured since the weather was cooperating that I'd ride for 5 hours instead of just 4:30 and skip running off the bike (I'd have time to do it on Sunday). So when I got back to my car, I picked up 2 more bottles so I'd have enough for the remaining 1:45. I still wasn't looking at my speed or watts--I was just riding. On the way in for pass #3, there was a freight train just outside the gate, but it finished up just as I was getting there, and I was happy for that!
So pass #3 was the same as pass #2, with the one extra loop of A-1 road. By this time, I was feeling pretty good, and I rode in the big chainring except when ascending Secret Mad Scientist Road and the small climb up B. Sometimes I'm lazy about using the small chainring, so I was patting myself on the back for using it! It was on this pass when I was heading south on A-1 that one cloud decided to begin raining on me. This was a sign to hammer so I could get to Wilson Hall and wait it out, since I could tell it was a very isolated shower. I went into Wilson Hall and waited less than 5 minutes for the downpour to finish, and then I headed back out to finish up.
I decided when I got onto Batavia Road after my last interior loop headed back to my car for the last time that I would check my mileage. I was at 85, fuckin' A! So I was going to make 90 or better in 5 hours, which would be awesome for the day. When I got to Eola Road, I decided to head north for a bit just to ensure I got at least to 90 miles. When all was said and done, I covered 91.06 miles in 5 hours! I was pretty happy with my effort, and here I am all done:
I look pretty fucking happy, don't I? It was 1PM (yes there was an extra hour in there for all the stops I had to make to pee, whatever I don't sweat that), and since it had rained, I took some time to wipe down Skull Kingdom so she'd be all pretty before I put her back in the car. Since I rode 5 hours, I didn't have time to run, because I needed to get home, eat lunch, go get waxed, stretch, and run to the grocery store before getting ready to go to a party.
I was pretty excited to get home for lunch because I knew I was going to have this awesome sandwich, comprised of my homemade muffuletta and various Italian deli meats (soppressata, capicollo, Volpi salami and pistachio mortadella) plus Provolone cheese on a tomato focaccia bread. Look at this!
I ate half the sandwich, and it truly was the best sandwich I've ever had in my life! I went and got waxed, and then I was going to go to Binny's, but as soon as I left, the sky opened up and I was driving through a true deluge, including hail! I figured I'd just head home to wait out the storm, as I was hydroplaning in the car and making a wake as if I were a boat. The storm didn't last long, and I think we had about 1.5" of rain in less than 1/2 hour. I used that wait time to stretch (while still wearing my compression tights) and decided that instead of Binny's, I'd just head to my nearby grocery store and get my own shopping done and pick up a bottle of wine for the party I was going to.
The party was great (thanks, Kevin!), but it was mostly about drinking wine. While I like wine, I don't drink much of it while I'm in heavy training as it will just put me to sleep in a hurry, which is not a good scenario for being social at a party! While there, I did feel edgy, and tried my best to not come off as completely batshit crazy. I left around 9:15, because I knew that already I was past my bedtime and would probably still wake up at 2 or 3AM no matter what time I went to sleep. I'd eaten a lot of protein and veggies at the party, so when I got home I ate 3 cookies because I knew otherwise I'd be low on carbs for the next day.
I DID wake up at 3AM so I got 5 hours of sleep, but I seemed to feel just fine. Don't ask what the hell I did from 3AM until 8AM which is when I took off on Death Machine for a ride. It was cold outside, so I donned all my good cold weather riding gear. I'd originally thought about wearing my neon helmet, but decided I'd rather look all serious in all black. Oh yeah--one of the things I did between 3 and 8 was to mount a new saddle on Death Machine. The one it came with did some serious chafing to my lady parts, so I bought the same kind that's on Skull Kingdom, Bitch and La Gazza Ladra--a Terry Butterfly, and got that in place for my ride. Here I am ready to go:
I'd been hoping to ride part of my time with my brother Mike, but he never returned my phone call from Saturday. Still, I was going to maybe ride right past his house, so I could stop there and get on his case for not calling me back.
Instead, I headed straight west on Hobson (giving a thumbs up at Naper Blvd. since my friend Mark lives just off of Hobson on that road) and kept going until I hooked up to the Dupage River Trail, and then I headed south on that and back to Whalen Park. When I got to Whalen, I was 1:03 in, so I decided to do about :27 worth of loops around the lake (4 times around), and then head back where I'd come from, and when I got back to Hobson, I'd ride north for :15 and back, and that should get me to 3 hours or so. I never did go past my brother's house. I had a great time listening to Coldplay the entire time to keep me calm, as I was still feeling jittery, although it seems my heart settles down once I'm exercising. There were a number of road cyclists who saw me on Death Machine, and even though it's an MTB, I know that I LOOK LIKE I'm a serious rider, which I am, and besides it was cold out, so we were thumbs-upping one another in salute to our tenacity. There were a few times when I felt a bit warm, but I was never hot. I saw some people on bikes with shorts and barely anything else and figured they had to be freezing their asses off! I didn't have to pee nearly as much on Sunday as I did on Saturday.
When I got to Whalen Park, I remember thinking to myself THANK GOD I DIDN'T WEAR THE NEON HELMET BECAUSE I WOULD LOOK LIKE A DINGLEBERRY!!! Where the fuck that word came from out of the depths of my brain, I have no idea, but it made me laugh for at least 10 minutes.
While my legs were predictably a bit tired when I started out, by the time I was nearly finished, I felt great, and was looking forward to seeing how well I could run off the bike. When I got home, I stripped off ALL my biking clothes, since they were now sweaty and cold, and changed into tights, a bra top and long sleeved technical top to run, and grabbed a 12-oz. bottle of Gatorade to fuel me for 3-4 miles. :30 would be enough, but if I felt like it I could go :40. I also drank about 16 oz. of water just before I left, which is something I always do when I run off longer rides. Oh yeah, I covered 45 miles on Death Machine in 3 hours, so a solid ride there.
I headed out and felt like I was running in concrete, but when I hit the .3 mile mark, I saw that I was actually running at a decent clip all things considered. I rolled the sleeves of my shirt up to my elbows, as the warm sun made me realize I should have gone with short sleeves, but I'd be fine. The tights I was wearing were great, though, as they have a good degree of compression in them, and that was great for my legs.
When I got about 1.75 miles out, I felt like I was bonking, so I decided not to run any further than that. OH HELLZ YEAH I WAS BONKING! It made me laugh, as I thought I'd had enough calories on the bike, but in retrospect (keep reading for the exciting conclusion) I didn't. I chugged down all the Gatorade, stripped off my shirt because I was very warm, and rested for about 2 minutes, then told my brain to FUCK OFF and began running again. I was a bit light headed for maybe 1/4 mile, but then I felt fine as the sugar kicked in and did it's job, and I began FLYING home. I negative split the run big time, and really didn't feel all that hungry once I got home. Here I am ecstatic with what I'd just completed:
And here's my reward:
I took the remainder of that sandwich out of the fridge and took a bite, took a shower, slammed Endurox R4, then cracked a beer and felt pretty happy with myself. Since it was early afternoon, I figured I could take a nap, so I got in bed after lunch and watched the lame Bears for a few minutes, turned out the lights and tried to sleep.
NOT HAPPENING. Still, I laid in bed for maybe 1.5 hours just to relax and give my legs a break, then I got up and felt like I could go work out another 6 hours. I went outside and decided to rake/sweep the leaves that had come tumbling down and washed into my yard from Saturday's deluge. My neighbor, Paul, who lives 2 doors from me, was doing the same thing, only using a leaf blower. At one point, I yelled to him, "YOU'RE WINNING," but that was impetus for me to pick up the pace, and I ended up beating him with about the same amount of leaves AND I did it all manually! I was feeling pretty good, but noticed that my heart still felt jumpy.
OK, so now we get to the interesting part. Yesterday morning, I woke up after maybe 6 hours of sleep, but felt fine and rested on it. WHAT THE FUCK??? I should be tired as shit, considering I'd trained 18 hours on the week (a REST WEEK, to boot, with very little running), had biked 8 hours on the weekend, and was getting very little sleep. Nope. I noticed my heart was still squirrelly and felt worse than it had the prior 3 days, so I was getting a bit worried. I decided to do 3 things:
Take my BP at the Y before I swam, and if it was too high, I'd skip the swim altogether
Purchase a BP cuff, at the urging of my brother Mike. Initially, I'd not wanted to do this post-ER recommendation, but he made me realize it was a good idea in general.
Depending on my BP reading, I might try and get in to see my doctor right away.
I headed to the Y with a good deal of trepidation. What if my heart is totally fucked up and now I would need to go on BP meds? FUCK. The prospect of this, I am certain, made my BP go even higher. I tried to calm myself down, and hooked myself into the machine and took the first reading. Pretty fucking high (176 over something). That is BAD. But I figured some of it was anxiety induced, so I waited a few minutes, tried to calm myself again, and fired up the machine again. It dropped 20 points, so that was good, but I thought it was still high enough for concern, so I waited another few minutes and went one more time. It dropped another 15 points, and based on that, I felt like I was at least good to go swim, but decided that I would call my doctor right when I was done and get in to see her ASAP.
I'd driven to the CVS before I went to the Y to buy the BP cuff, but they weren't open, which I am sure increased my BP as well! While I was swimming, I had time to think about what was going on in my body, and my first thought was that maybe I was just the QUEEN OF ANXIETY with all the crap that kept happening to me, training really hard, and worried that I was going to be shut out of yet another race. So I decided that I would ask my doctor for some anti-anxiety stuff that would maybe get me over the hump and allow me to relax and maybe my BP would settle down and everything would be fine.
When I finished swimming and got in my car, I called my doctor's office to make an appointment. The scheduler said she had no openings today, and she was not in on Tuesday, and so I couldn't see her until Wednesday. She asked me if I would like to see another doctor in the practice, and I said NO (or maybe I said FUCK NO I don't remember) I need to see HER AND ONLY HER BECAUSE THIS WILL BE TOO HARD TO EXPLAIN TO SOMEONE ELSE. I asked again nicely could they fit me in today with her because my BP was still pretty high and I'd been in the ER on Thursday for a bunch of shit. The scheduler said NO, so I asked to be transferred to the nurse's desk. Luckily, I got straight through to the nurse on duty, explained what was going on, and that I needed to get in NOW. While swimming, it occurred to me that as well as high anxiety, that perhaps I'd changed my body chemistry with all the recent super hard training and that maybe I'd gone hyPERthyroid again. I rationalized this was possible, and relayed this to the nurse, as it finally made sense to me, as heavy training has lots of different impacts. The nurse asked if I could make it at 12:50, and I practically shouted YES!!!
I headed back to CVS to get the BP cuff, knowing it would come in handy at some point, and felt better that I had an appointment scheduled with my doctor. I ended up having a nice chat with the pharmacist about drug interactions with levothyroxine, and she was very smart and confirmed a number of things for me--that dextromethorphan can be nearly lethal to a person on levothyroxine, and that it's entirely possible that I was altering my thyroid function with all the heavy training. So I would get to my doctor armed with more knowledge about myself. The best quote from this young woman was: YOUR THYROID AFFECTS MANY THINGS, AND MANY THINGS AFFECT YOUR THYROID. SO fucking true!
So after that chat, I was pretty sure that what was happening was that I'd gone hyPERthyroid again, which explains the heart palpitations and high BP. That's what happened to me back in July when they over medicated me, only this time it came on a bit differently. However, when I got back home and chatted with my colleague, Liz, and began talking at the speed of light (which I asked her to confirm), I realized it was definitely hyPERthyroidism, because back in July I talked to my best friend, Susan, while I was hyperthyroid, and she got to witness how I get when that way.
Lest you think it's fun to be hyperthyroid, let me tell you it's NOT. It's dangerous for your heart if it goes on too long, but there are some fun aspects to it.
On the plus side you get:
Laser sharp focus. I can knock out an EVIL Sudoku in like 5 minutes.
A feeling of "extra" happiness
A need for very little sleep, in my case, 5 hours, and you feel just fine on it. So more time to get more things done.
A feeling of invincibility
Talking at the speed of light. HEAR ME NOW AND LISTEN TO ME LATER!!!
The desire to write really, REALLY long blog posts because of the extra time due to lack of sleep
An extreme feeling of I WILL TAKE NO SHIT FROM ANYONE, DON'T FUCK WITH ME
Colors are brighter and things that are funny are extra funny. The color thing correlates to my sudden re-fascination with all things neon.
I want my music either really loud and all Nine Inch Nails or calm and nearly depressing, hard to decide which is better.
My libido goes into overdrive, which sounds fun, except I don't have a boyfriend, and this one man I fancy is not interested, and I know I'm a whole lot of scary to some people right now. I could easily be taken advantage of by someone in the libido area right about now.
I feel entirely over-stimulated--food tastes better, things look better (and also uglier if they are leaning that way), I'm either too warm or too cold (and shivering when cold) despite rooms/pools/outdoors being appropriately temperature-ized (I just made up that word!) and me wearing temperature-appropriate clothing, music touches me more deeply, my normal really good sense of smell is enhanced (good stuff smells better and bad stuff worse), and my tactile sense is amped up
It's like being super high without any nasty side effects like a hangover
On the minus side you get:
Heart palpitations, which are very disturbing when you are bradycardic to start with, and worrisome while you are working out.
The need to poop a lot more than normal, as the body increases its throughput of nutrients.
The potential to be overly aggressive with anyone who gives you shit, including at work. It's not as controllable as you would like it to be.
Extra hours in the day to ponder how fucked up your body is
Wishing all this extra zip would make you able to work out harder/faster, but really it doesn't have that effect at all. You are just jittery.
Your body wants to wake up at the same time in the morning (2-3AM) no matter when you went to sleep
People who may not know you well most likely will think you are high, crazy, aggressive, or all of that. I'm used to a baseline amount of that when "normal" (whatever the fuck that is maybe I've NEVER been normal), so being Crackhead on extra Crack is bound to be unintentionally intimidating.
For me, my sense of hunger gets all fucked up, like I don't know if I'm really hungry or I don't need anything to eat or what. Not good when you are in Ironman training.
So I make it to the doctor, and when she sees me prior to me getting into the room, she smiles at me and I yell, "I'm BAAAAAACK." That was yet another indicator that I am probably hyperthyroid.
Before I went, I made a list of questions and observations for Dr. Ambrose with 16 items on it so I wouldn't forget everything I wanted her to know, and of course, I brought one copy for her. I got in the room and a nurse took my BP, and I knew it would be high. It was 150-something over 82, so not dangerously high, but still high, and that was what I expected. I waited just a little bit, and then Dr. Ambrose came in and we began talking, and I started out with that I think I'm hyperthyroid maybe due to all the training. I also said I was puzzled why they didn't check my thyroid function in the ER since they knew I was on levothyroxine, and she had no idea.
Well the first thing she says to me is that Evista is an estrogen uptake enhancer, and that by going off of it a little over a week ago, it's possible that my need for levothyroxine would DECREASE, and that could set off the chain reaction that I've been having resulting in hyperthyroidism. YEP. Or, this could just be a sudden onset of a BP issue. NOPE. FUCK I'M BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS IT'S HYPERTHYROIDISM. We reviewed most of the rest of the list, she told me the following:
My BP isn't that high and it won't be for too long since we will do SOMETHING about it shortly. If my BP were to remain elevated for weeks, though, it would be a problem requiring a fix of some sort.
It's OK for me to keep exercising (YAY!)
The reason I feel the BP so much is that I'm bradycardic, so any increase in heart activity is particularly noticeable to me.
She realizes that I have a VERY sensitive metabolic physiology
I shouldn't stop taking the levothyroxine, but OK to drop to 50 mcg today (which I've already done and am still jittery, but it will take a few days for it to pass).
Nurse would be in to take my blood and run the thyroid panel.
She confirmed that I should avoid decongestants at all costs, as they will seriously fuck with me (MY words not hers)
We will not consider me seeing a cardiologist until after we get the thyroid test results back, which should be today sometime.
The way they calibrate the levothyroxine dose is that for "normal" people, you will be OK within a range of 12.5 mcg, but I may not be "normal" enough for that to work for me.
It was good that I went to the ER last week because any number of things could have been happening
No anti-anxiety meds for me until we see what's going with my thyroid (sounds like a good plan to me)
My kidney function had checked out normal in the ER
She didn't get the CT scan pictures, but I can ask for the CD from the hospital, and I will, since I'd like pretty pictures of my brain.
The aura I had was probably not related to my thyroid, and could have just been coincidental in this cluster fuck of bodily happenings. While she confirmed it was indeed an ocular migraine, she said nobody really knows what causes them. I AM SO FUCKING SPECIAL, AREN'T I???
I later noted to my friend Susan what the signs of me becoming hyperthyroid are as outlined above. I should have clued in on the feeling of "EXTRA HAPPY" last Thursday when I landed in the ER, but that was not how I experienced the hyperthyroidism back in July, so how the fuck would I have known? But what a kick in the balls to know that feeling "EXTRA HAPPY" is a sign that my body is fucked up. Oh well, really I'm OK with "NORMAL HAPPY!" Which I've been for quite some time now, and oh by the way, did you know that one of the minimal side effects of levothyroxine is that it can make you more prone to crying? So I've gone from crying because I was so depressed and lethargic to crying because I'M SO FUCKING HAPPY! What a turn of events, indeed!
So I returned home from the doctor visit feeling vindicated that I'd at least noticed my body was fucked up, and while I would have liked to relax, relaxation isn't exactly the order of the day right now, so I suited up for a run, and ran pretty well, but you can see the frustration/weariness/mental exhaustion on my face:
So now I wait for test results, hopefully confirming that I'm hyperthyroid (boy can I feel it right now as I write this), then another adjustment in meds, and then maybe I can get on with my life without any doctor visits for a few months. I am SO tired of this routine--it's now been almost 1.5 years since I've felt any semblance of normalcy. I just want to race IM Cozumel--my bib number is 2056--which I think is a good omen since I was born in 1956, so that means I will live to be 100, right? I JUST WANT TO RACE IRONMAN COZUMEL! I already know there is at least one woman in my AG who on paper is much faster than me, and I'm relaxed about that notion, I JUST WANT TO GET TO THE GODDAMN FUCKING START LINE IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR????
I will end this post with this song, which, unfortunately, describes me to a tee right now, although what needs to be fixed on me is not the loss of romantic love--it's the loss of my identity as I know it, the loss of my ability to have done Ultraman Hawaii last year, the loss of both parents in the last 7 years, the loss of feeling that I'm a healthy, vital person, the loss of control over what my body does, but at least I can keep training for now. I will be in Cozumel, come hell or high water, I will toe that start line, I will enjoy it!
When you try your best, but you don't succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse
And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone, but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
And I...
Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I...
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
WTC STILL hasn't posted the start list for IMCOZ. WTF??? You can't put up a fucking list of people on the Interwebz? I need to know who my competition is, so that I can either get excited about the possibility of a Kona slot, or I can relax, knowing it probably won't happen.
I am 8.5 weeks out from race day. In case you haven't been fucking paying attention (oh, did I forget to say this post will be LITTERED with F-bombs?), here's the remaining training:
That is some hefty fucking training, eh? I don't fear it, though, since I've done more than this in my build for Ultraman Canada. I have to keep telling people that because they still look at me all cross-eyed when they see how much training I am doing NOW. Either they don't have a fucking memory, or they have just recently jumped on the Crackhead bandwagon. I know--it's a wild ride, isn't it?
I get almost a villainous laugh when faced with a training block like this. Why? Because to me it's ALL KINDS OF FUCKING FUN!!!
I get to test my mental toughness in a huge way, since it's likely I will be doing some very long trainer rides (I think my longest ever is 5 hours; I will go up to maybe 6:15 this time around), including 3 of what I am calling FUCK ME biking weekends:
10/19 4:00 hours, 10/20 5:30
10/26 3:00 hours, 10/27 5:00 hours
11/16 5:30, 11/17 4:00 hours
Thing is, I've done this shit before, only FUCKING OUTSIDE!!! At least one, possibly all three, of these weekends will be trainer rides. But you know what? I don't fucking care. For one thing, my homey Shelley (who I haven't seen in 4 years can't wait!) will be here for the first one, and her job is to tell me how fucking amazing I am, fetch fresh, cold bottles from the fridge, tell me what an idiot I am, take stupid pictures and post to Facebook, and commiserate with me in general. I think we will be watching James Bond movies--I just got the Blu-Ray 23-disk set that includes Skyfall. Then we will consume mass quantities of food--I plan on sushi one night and Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket the other.
Also, on 11/9, I do my race rehearsal ride, which will most likely be 6:15 in duration, and Cortney will be here for a wedding, and she gets to perform Crackhead sherpa duty that day. I've never met her in person, so this should be interesting. Cortney is a budding Crackhead herself, so I am pretty sure we will have a great time!
My birthday (57 CAN YOU FUCKING BELIEVE IT???) is on 10/22. Shelley will be here in close proximity, so we will no doubt celebrate. I have already gifted myself of many things, and really don't need anyone to buy me stuff, although I joke about it all the time on Facebook. I have been given nice things by nice people. Gatorade is always appreciated, as are superhero action figures and gift certificates to Desoto and Zoot, hint hint. Last year when I was so depressed, one of the irrational thoughts I kept having was that I am old and ugly. Well maybe I AM old, but at least now I am OK with it. I tricked my best friend, Susan, into believing that I would never race Ironman again, and that it would be a GOOD thing. I have since notified her that I was crazy at the time, and that this training and racing is what keeps me sane, vital, vigorous, sexy, good at my job and just loving life!
As you already know, I've had my early fall illness already. I still have somewhat of a cough, but I feel like I'm OK without the inhaler, except right before exercise. Yesterday was a drug festival, though, as I woke up after 5 hours of sleep, drank coffee, swam, came home and worked, took some Ambien to try to sleep, never slept, woke up feeling drugged, worked more, finally started feeling better and had a Coke, passed out around 7PM and woke up at 2AM. I am just rolling with this oddball sleep schedule. Tonight I may take the Ambien right before I go to sleep at around 8PM and hope I sleep until 3AM.
Oh--yesterday I went to this little boutique in town and bought some fancy ass clothes, including this dress:
It looks really good on me. The owner is all excited about having me as a client since I'm pretty tiny and look good in all this designer shit. Although I think I have a strange physique now--either I'm fat (I've put on about 3 lbs. last 2 months but plan on dropping it), or I am really carrying a lot of muscle. My size 3 (ACTUAL SIZE 3 NOT WHAT PASSES FOR 3 NOW) jeans fit me just fine, even a bit loose, but my ass is huge. I have rather big legs for such a small person. I wonder whether with my thyroid function fixed that my metabolism is allowing me to keep more muscle on me? Whatever, apparently I have been eating enough to put it on. Yesterday I started an austerity program for the last weeks before IMCOZ--no more candy, no more Twinkies, Pringles and Cheetos sparingly, watch my beer intake. That is all it will take to shed those 3-4 lbs. in maybe 4 weeks. I feel really "thick" if that makes sense, which is a feeling of being solid, not jiggly, so maybe this is muscle. I plan on getting my metabolism measured sometime after my next blood test, assuming my TSH level is where I want it to be which is between 1 and 2. If it's higher, that means my thyroid continues to crap out and I will need to go on a higher dosage. This is so much fucking fun, NOT!
That dress will be making an appearance in Vegas next March, where I and 2 girlfriends (maybe Shelley if she can get out of a stupid work trip) will be visiting Susan and running the Red Rock Canyon marathon, and then going out on the town. I wish I had an occasion to wear it before then, but stupid men I fancy are afraid to get with all this. I mean, look, I DO have time for social life, just the rest of my life is far from normal. I manage to kick ass at a sometimes high pressure job, maintain a house and gardens, cook (WELL I might add) for myself, train for a fucking Ironman, manage to keep a few good friends, coach Brad, and be generally awesome. What is not to like about that? I know people who ask me about my training are doing mental gyrations and thinking, "she can't POSSIBLY have time for a relationship," but that is just not true. Sigh. Well, I can't be concerned about the man thing right now. If someone is brave enough to take the Crackhead challenge, great, STEP THE FUCK UP. Oh, I guess with an attitude like that I can be a little intimidating. GET THE FUCK OVER IT GUYS!!! As my brother, Mike, says, "someone in the relationship has to be smarter." Fortunately, I have a few friends that "get" me and aren't trying to hold me back or tell me to "tone down" or "be more girly" or "quit being so boisterous." While I may have a foul mouth, I am quite girly, thank you very much LOOK AT THAT FUCKING DRESS!!!
Also, I am getting back on my strength training. I got off kilter there for a few weeks with IMWI and then getting sick, but I'm back on the weights. That is crucial for me, since it helps me to support my training and my life in general. I figured out that the reason I was cramping (lower legs and feet) while swimming was due to the Evista I was taking for osteoporosis. I've been off it for a week, and already I can kick like a mad fool and not cramp. Leg cramps are a documented side effect, and since I can't tolerate cramping up during a swim, I stopped it. I am working with my doctor to figure out what alternative I will take, but I don't plan on starting anything new until after IMCOZ since I don't want to fuck with potential side effects.
The other thing about Evista is that it can increase your likelihood of DVT. I was already planning on asking whether I should stop it prior to flying to Mexico, so at least I can take that off my to do list. I was also experiencing some excess edema in my right calf, which MIGHT have been from spraining my ankle, but I think it was also related to the Evista. One day last week when I was running I became paranoid that maybe I was experiencing DVT, but all that swelling is gone, so PHEW!
Not too shabby for a working stiff, eh? Also, since 1/1/2013, I am averaging 14.8 hour of training per week. My highest ever was 16.3 while training for IMLP 2009, so I'm a bit of a slacker, but that's because I really didn't do much from January through early July. As of 7/21, I was only averaging 13.7 hours per week, which is really nothing for me.
Now, if you look at my average training hours per week since 6/17, it's 17.8 as of the end of last week. THAT is good, serious training! I dropped off a bit from 18 due to being sick. HUGE NUMBERS MAKE ME FUCKING HAPPY!!!
This week is a "rest week," meaning not much running--only 2.5 hours scheduled. I will still swim quite a bit and bike like 9.5 hours, so other than running, this is still a solid week. I know the rest is working its magic on me since yesterday I was going a bit crazy since all I did was swim. So I finally got my weights on, at least a start on it, and I did some gardening, too. I can already tell that I will go batshit crazy during my IMCOZ taper. It's been awhile since I've been in this kind of shape, and soaring to the peak of fitness and then dropping out the volume to taper is sure to turn me into this:
But I LIKE that feeling! There is nothing in the world like it! When you are at the top of your game, all mental and physical systems in your body are in perfect synchronicity with your goals, WHO WOULDN'T FUCKING WANT THAT FOR THEMSELVES???
Yet, it can frighten the shit out of people. I've already put myself on notice at work to watch my attitude, because I get pretty aggressive right about now. DON'T FUCK WITH ME.
Here are the to do items I have left to go for my IMCOZ preparations:
Try out my race clothes. I hope to do this today, as the weather will be warm when I bike and run later. You might guess I would wear zebra stripes or skulls or both, but actually I'm going with simple red and black. Skull Kingdom has plenty of skulls, as does my aero helmet.
Make my reservation with Tri Bike Transport.
Have Magic Mike take another look at me in the pool. I am not going to get any faster before IMCOZ, but I want him to check if my work the past few weeks has made a difference. I DO plan on working with him on my speed beginning in January.
Put new saddle on Death Machine and get cleats for new shoes.
Figure out when the fuck I will have time to get my final bike tuneup before dropping it off for transport.
Go insane and try to not commit any felonies.
Today I get to do a broken tri-ath-A-lon (as my friend, Mark, pronounces it, which makes me smile): 2900 swim in the AM, then 1:30 bike with :20 brick run. I am SO looking forward to getting on the bike today!
Congratulations if you made it this far. NOW FUCK OFF!!!! Just kidding, have a wonderful day!
OK so back to Tuesday. I felt a bit better than on Monday, well enough to try working out or else I would go out of my mind. I managed :35 on elliptical trainer (in lieu of running which I didn't think my lungs would support), and then I hopped on a Cybex stationary bike for 1:15. I was able to push it on the bike, and I even paid attention to my heart rate, which was reasonable.
Wednesday morning I felt like I could swim, and it DID feel really good. I managed 3500 yards, including 2400 with paddles and pull buoy (yes, my shoulders are really strong--when I was training for Ultraman, I'd sometimes do paddles/pull buoy for up to 4,000 yards at a pop). It was a gorgeous early fall day, and at 12:30 I headed outdoors to give running a try. Since I didn't know how hard I could push it or for how long, I decided to run "block repeats," which is around this big block from home that is 1.15 miles around. That way, too, I didn't need to carry any fluids with me. I managed 5 times around at 9:34 pace, slow I know, but I was OK with it as I was still fairly sick. Plus, no reason to push the pace until I knew the virus had cleared.
Thursday is long run day, and the plan was for 2:10 with some 1/2 marathon and 10k pace intervals. I knew I couldn't do the interval work, and I had no idea if I could complete the time either running or some combination of running/elliptical/Arc Trainer. The Arc Trainer is a Cybex machine that is fucking awesome and much better than any elliptical. I used it to train for the stair climb I did in February, and now I consider it a fine substitute for running. It doesn't have the same impact forces as running, but if you LEVEL THE FUCK UP like I do, you get a seriously hard workout, especially your quads! It's funny to me now that I can go so much harder on that machine now than I could back in February!
Anyway, once again since it was nice out, I thought I'd start with some block repeats, just to see what I could do there. Apparently, working out the prior 2 days had introduced some unanticipated fatigue considering I still wasn't well. I did 2 repeats at about 10:15 pace, which was fast enough given my physical state, but then felt like I was dragging ass, so I switched to run 1 minute/walk 1 minute, because I didn't want to dig myself into a deep hole. I know you are laughing at me--how could I even think about running 2 hours when my voice was gone, I was having regular coughing fits and even a little bit of dizziness? Because I'm Crackhead, that's why!
I ended up getting in 7 miles outside, and then I decided to do another hour on the Arc Trainer at the Y. So I pretty much got in enough running/AT to cover my long run and then some.
Friday morning I was feeling better--more energy, still with the cough, though. Fuck it, I'm swimming. I knocked out 4200 and felt great doing it! Around noon, I headed outdoors on yet another glorious early fall day to run. I was a bit perturbed with myself that I could still only manage 9:15/mile, but I need to give it time, I will be back soon enough. But at least this was a full-out run! It was during this run that I'd worn a bra top I'd acquired recently that happened to match the shorts in this pic:
Actually it's this bra in the color "busy red." It matches those shorts perfectly. It comes with slight padding, which I don't really want, but whatever. So it was rather warm on Friday, and I am 1.5 miles from home, and I'm HOT and I stop and remember there are pads in my top! So I took them out (they came out through roughly the side of the top), commenced running, and flung them in the next garbage can! I was laughing my ass off, as I often do, at how comical this seemed to me at the time.
Saturday the plan was a 4:30 ride and :40 brick run. I wanted to get an early start so that I would have time to nap or just lay down in advance of a party my friend Mark was having. It was cold outside (for riding), only low 50's, and what with my cold and still needing to take hits from an inhaler and occasional cough syrup, I thought I'd be better off on the trainer. I started at 5:15, and did 1/2 hour pretty easy, although my legs felt really great! It had been 2 weeks since I'd been on Skull Kingdom, so I was really happy to ride her again! I had tunes blasting, maybe waking up my neighbors, but they are used to me being up in the dark.
1/2 hour in and it's time to start intervals. I figured I won't know whether I can do them until I try, and I was happy that I could manage them--3x(20' @ 85%, 10' @ FT, 3' @ 105-110%, 7' Easy). HELL FUCKING YEAH! All the while I'm drinking Infinit and blowing my nose like it's going out of style. Well it did warm up, but I saw no reason to make the transition to outside, as I was quite comfortably ensconced on the trainer, and besides, there are a handful more of long rides coming up where I will be on the trainer, and besides, I've done this before, it doesn't bother me. I ended up at 105 miles!!!
I quickly checked the weather and it was now 60's meaning I didn't need to wear much to run outside. I grabbed a 12-oz. bottle of Cheaterade after slugging a big glass of water and headed outside. I ran super easy, which is how I'm supposed to run off such a long ride, and I didn't feel bad at all, most likely because for once I was running how I should run in an Ironman. I ended up really enjoying myself, and my pace for 4.2 miles was 9:44. What the fuck, if I could do that in Ironman, I'd be...I'd be...qualifying for Kona. Here I am when I finished running, I am pretty happy with myself considering I was still a bit under the weather:
I felt pretty good after all this for a bit, but then the tiredness set in. After a shower and food, I got in bed. I don't think I ever actually fell asleep, but it felt good to lay down. After about an hour, I got up, cracked a Coke and stretched (funny usually it's a beer but I didn't want any until the party later), got my shit together, and headed to my friend's party. I was going to try and avoid wearing any compression, but man my legs were feeling it and I wanted to wear full on compression tights, but I settled with just compression socks (HOT PINK!) and "regular" clothes.
Not sure I can remember everything I ate that night, but I know there was brisket, pulled pork (my favorite), ribs (also my favorite), cupcakes (also my favorite), random raw veggies, chili (also my favorite). I think I had 3 or 4 beers, but they kept getting warm and/or I lost them so I would just crack open another one. Then someone brought jello shots and I think I had 3 or 4 of those, but they weren't that strong. I had a ton of fun with Mark and his friends, well I should say the ones that weren't put off by me. There were a few women there who just could not get on board with me being so athletic, even though I didn't say ANYTHING to them about what I do--either they know from Mark, or else it's true like his sister, Laura, told me--IT'S THAT OBVIOUS from how I look. OK, so maybe the compression socks gave it away, but other than that, I think I look like a normal person in normal clothes? Maybe not. Toward the end of the party, someone told me I have "Michelle Obama's arms," and I was like WTF??? I HAVE HAD THESE ARMS WELL BEFORE SHE DID JACK SHIT PEOPLE. I did get a bit upset by that, but on the other hand, kudos to Mrs. Obama for looking a little like a Crackhead! My arms are better than hers anyway. TAKE THAT PRESIDENTIAL FIRST LADY BITCH!!!
So I managed to extricate myself from the party just before 10PM, lest I hang out and try and keep up with Mark's drinking, which would be no contest--I would pass out well before he was even on his way to major buzz. I fell asleep blissfully, thinking I might not have too much of a hangover the next morning.
I slept until 5AM, which is rare for me lately, and I felt pretty good when I woke up. Not particularly hungry, meaning I must have chowed down enough at the party. I wanted to ride outside, and the plan was for a 2:30 ride / :40 brick run. Same interval work on the bike. It was cold again, and I had time to wait until it warmed up, but it really wasn't happening too fast. So I putzed around the house, cleaning, organizing (it's a never ending process when I'm in heavy training), and finally around 9:30 I decided it wasn't getting any warmer anytime soon, so I may as well suit up and head outside.
Here I am pre-ride with my hangover face
I am sporting my new neon helmet, which cost all of $49.99! Isn't it cute? It's actually an MTB helmet, but I ripped off the visor. Now I need neon sunglasses--I'd like hot pink. I'm wearing my lucky Jordan Rapp jersey, I LOVE that thing, and I busted out a new pair of Castelli toe warmers. It really does pay to have good gear. Skull Kingdom was so happy to get outside! At first, my legs were a little crunchy, but then after 1/2 hour warmup, HERE COME THE WATTS! I was enjoying hills, just a little wind, more hills, and LOTS OF WATTS! I was about :20 from home and being done when I thought my front brake was rubbing, looked down, and the tire was flat. I pulled over onto the sidewalk, took the wheel off and inspected the tire and found either a tiny piece of glass or else a really sharp rock shard in the tire and knew that was what did it. I changed the tire leisurely, needing to remove the jersey because I was now in the sun! I had one offer from a woman to help out, but I was fine, and then as soon as I put the wheel with new tube back on, a guy rode by who works at a bike shop offering to help. I told him, nope, I'm done, all good, and tested the wheel spin, and it was off and rubbing, but it wasn't the brake. I was like, fuck, is the rim bent? I took the wheel off again, and then slammed the fork down onto it. I forgot my front fork can be truculent in how it sits on the skewer, and that was the problem. PHEW!!! I rode home and was excited to see how I could run, if at all.
By the way, before I'd started riding, I noticed I was able to take in a deep breath, and I was so happy for that! But while I was riding, I was Queen Snotula, OMG you should have seen the snot ribbons coming out of my nose! It was pretty gross a couple of times when I'd stop to blow it out and it would just hang off my nose maybe 8" worth! But I was glad all that snot was coming out of me because it meant my system was clearing the virus. And about 4 miles from home, I started singing with my tunes! My voice has been so fucked up and/or gone, I was like shit, I can sing again! Happy day!
So I get home, put Skull Kingdom in the house, drink some water, pee, change into running clothes, grab a 12-oz. bottle of Cheaterade, and decide to run the same route as the day before. Only today, I am running faster! Yip-fucking-ee! I didn't feel at all bad. When I was on 63rd street, the song YMCA was on my iPod (part of a mixed CD of Motown stuff and related), and I was so happy I began doing the arm signals while I was running! I even stopped once or twice and did it for the passing traffic, I was laughing so much! I am sure people think I'm batshit crazy, but I don't care. They WISH they could be in as good a condition as me and be able to run and dance and sing all at the same time! I knew I was ahead of pace from the day before, and when all was said and done, I'd run 9:18/mile, not bad considering I'm coming off a virus and training like a beast.
Here I am once again pretty pleased with myself and feeling awesome:
When all is said and done, I got in almost 39 miles of running (or its equivalent--I have a "fair" conversion algorithm for Arc Trainer, etc.) last week WHILE SICK! Right now, I feel nearly 100%--the cough is all but gone, there's still some mucus coming out my nose but nothing bad.
This week is a REST WEEK, which means a rest from running--there will be some serious amounts of biking (9.5 hours planned) and swimming, though. Today I am taking the day off from work and I'm going to go see the Snake and the Mongoose movie. I'm really looking forward to it! I'm going with my friend, Carol, from down the street. No running or biking until Wednesday, which means my legs get complete rest unless I decide to lift today and/or tomorrow, which is a distinct possibility, although I think I will lay off the leg work until tomorrow. My right ankle is nearly healed, and I continue to work on various physical therapy modalities for my right ass (combo of sciatica, I'm sure, plus the ankle fucked it up plus I've pulled that right hamstring at least 3 times so it's always a bit vulnerable). So things are coming around for me, and I can't wait to see how I feel by the end of this week! I should be good as new, which means I'm ready for my final IMCOZ push.
THE RACE IS ONLY NINE WEEKS AWAY. I AM SERIOUSLY FUCKED!!!
Nope, I'm Crackhead, I've done all this before. The plan for the next 7 weeks is, of course:
Yesterday I did, for the first time, the Ride Like an Egyptian century out of Dekalb. I'd wanted to do this ride for a few years, but either the weather has been shitty, or I was doing a NothingMan (which used to traditionally occur the weekend after Ironman Wisconsin). This year, the weather was going to cooperate, even if it started out a bit cold.
I woke up at 2:30. I am doing fine on 7 hours of sleep, thank you, but pass out like 7:30PM. I am such a loser but it works for me as I LOVE the early morning hours to straighten up the house (such as it is with a constant triathlon tornado blowing through), load bottles and stuff into the dishwasher, write blog posts, gaze upon my psycho training plan and review my master TO DO list to see what I might be able to knock out that day.
It was chilly outside, only 51, and the hourly forecast called for temps to drop even further by 7AM, which is when I wanted to start riding. I chose a riding outfit including tights and a long-sleeve jersey from Jordan Rapp with a Descente underlayer on top, long socks, toe warmers, helmet beanie, and my awesome Castelli wind stopper gloves. I'd fixed my bottles on Wednesday this week (usually I don't do it until Friday) because I had to go to downtown Chicago on Thursday to get my new laptop (which I still haven't finished configuring because I haven't had time but that's on the list for tomorrow) and Friday I had a repairman coming (to fix my oven YAY it's fixed!) and then a massage and of course, work, so I got the head start on the bottles.
Pre-ride I took in: FOOD ALERT!!!!
Toasted Bay's Sourdough English Muffin with blackberry jam on top
Hardboiled egg split in two on top of the muffin
3 cups of coffee with fat-free Hazelnut Coffemate (yes, it has SUGAR!)
300 calories of Ultrafuel, my sugary goodness that I use for any workouts over 3 hours
1 can of Coke during the drive to Dekalb.
So that's maybe 850 calories or so. On the way to Dekalb, I saw the temperature dropping, to a low of 43! I knew I'd made the right decision on clothes, even though I'd brought a pair of bike shorts just in case. I even turned on the heat in my car!
When I arrived at the Egyptian Theater, where the ride began, it was pretty chilly when I got out of my car. I got there just after 6:30AM, and there were already a good number of riders getting ready. Some of them just had shorts on, and while I am pretty tough, I am tiny, and knew I'd be better off covered up today, even if it got to 70. I'd rather be a tad warm than at all cold!
Here's the outside of the theater:
You can see from the sky that it was a beautiful morning! In retrospect, I should have had someone take a pic of me doing the Egyptian walking pose in front, but oh well...
I figured from the outside facade of the building that it must be pretty cool looking on the inside, so I went in and snapped a few pics. First, here I am in my lucky Jordan Rapp jersey (official good luck to him in Kona!):
This is the second time I've worn this jersey--it's DA BOMB! Perfect for that starting out riding cold and may warm up a bit but you won't get hot in it. Next I went inside the theater proper and look at all the cool stuff in there:
I thought they'd let us check in like 6:45, but they wouldn't until 7:00AM, so I had 2 more funny pics to knock out:
Now why the dude taking the pic didn't get me head on I don't know! Some people just have no clue when it comes to taking pics. Meanwhile, everyone was marveling at how small I am and calling me skinny and I HATE that! I am NOT SKINNY!
I talked to a girl in line who had just started doing triathlons this year and she was so excited, and I didn't say anything about myself (after all, I was dressed like a roadie with a Castelli hat and all) until after I'd asked about all her races and times and stuff, then all I said to her was, "I've done a bunch of triathlons."
Got registered, got a map, failed to ask what the road/signage markings were for turns, and went back to car to retrieve Skull Kingdom and get started, but I had to pee again, because cold weather really makes me need to pee a lot. I was going to use some shrubs in the parking lot, but there was a disgusting porta-potty that I used instead.
I headed out and within one mile was lost--no signs, no arrows. And the map I thought I'd stuffed into my back pocket was not there. I must have just dropped it on the ground. There were a few guys around me (trying to keep up with me) and I asked if they had maps, and NO. Fuck. Well it took awhile to find someone riding WITH A FUCKING MAP and then we got on track.
The ride is a hub and spoke system, which is cool. We ride out to central rest station and then there are 3 different loops from it, so theoretically, it was 11.5 miles to the rest station, and then each loop 25 miles, do them all you have 100. Well it took me 1:07 to get to the rest station (I typically don't look at mileage because time controls when I eat/drink), and I'm thinking fuck I must have added a bunch! Or their mileage was wrong. It was a little of both. I asked a volunteer for a map at the rest station and they didn't have any! OK, poor organization, but I can't blame the volunteers. They had all kinds of food there--PB&J sandwiches, bagels, fruit, GORP, etc., but I was on the Infinit and didn't want any of that yet.
I chose Loop #1 called Burlington first, as it was allegedly the most scenic countryside. It was really pretty! But it wasn't fucking 25 miles! It was actually 30 something! But luckily there was a water stop in the middle of nowhere because I only had a 16-oz. bottle of water in addition to my (2) 3-hour concentrated Infinit bottles. At the water stop, I briefly chatted with a woman who was on an MTB, and asked about her shirt. It was from the Toys for Tots motorcycle ride, that I know of. I asked her what kind of bike she rides, and she said Kawasaki Vulcan. *I* had a Kawasaki Vulcan way back when! I asked the year of hers--1996--mine was an 85, I think, and mine was only a 550 whereas she has a 700. I asked her which type of bike she likes best, and she said bicycle, because it's less nerve-wracking. I have to agree, there. Except that even on bicycles, people are trying to kill us!
The Burlington loop was blessedly free of traffic and had some decent rollers, but nothing I would call a major hill. Great roads, lots of corn and soybeans, cute country homes, nice smells! When I got back to rest station, I asked if anyone knew the exact mileage of the loop and where they were at, and people who HAD NOT BEEN LOST at the beginning like me (I must have missed just a single turn) had like 38 miles where I was up to 46 already, so yay me!
I was a bit hungry-ish at this point so I chowed a 1/2 PB&J and washed it down with Infinit. I looked at the map on the wall to see which loop I'd do next--while I really liked #1, I didn't want too much excess mileage since I'd planned on riding again next day, maybe even another century. Of the other 2 loops, one was labelled for "advanced riders," and I asked if that meant HILLS because I LOVE FUCKING HILLS but no, they said it was just on major roads with a lot of traffic, WTF??? So I decided on Loop #2 next.
Loop #2 rocked (Kaneville loop) because it started out going into the wind, which meant we'd have some tailwind on the way in. I got about 1.5 miles in and passed a small girl on a tri bike riding next to a guy on a road bike. About 30 seconds later, she rides up on me pedalling like mad to catch me, gets right next to me and says, "Are you a misfit?" My addled brain is trying to process what she just asked me and I had no idea how to answer, so I just said, "Excuse me?" She said there's a tri group called Misfits, and she thought I was one because of the skulls on my bike. I smiled and said, "No, I'm not in any club," (except the one in my head LOL), then a few seconds later added, "I am a social misfit at times, though." She could not keep up with me and dropped back.
I continued on Loop #2 and into a headwind (going south, I think), and then we hit this road called McGirr, which was fucking awesome. The name reminded me of the ERMAHGERD meme, and I had miles of laughs saying ER MCGIRR to myself or even out loud. I was needing water and pissing regularly, so luckily about 15 miles into this loop, just after we turned off McGirr was a library, with a porta-potty. So that was good. Then 10 more miles and back to rest station, and this time the loop ACTUALLY WAS 25 miles!!! Well, 25.5.
I talked to and met some guys, 2 of them doing Ironmans, and 2 of them just riding, and we were laughing and stuff, and they got all gaga when I told them what the hell I've done, including Ultraman. It still flabbergasts me that people think it's such a big deal, since I figure if *I* can do it, almost anyone can. Anyway, I had to decide on my last loopage, and decided #2 again would be fun, so I asked these 2 guys (not the triathletes since I already knew they were faster than me) how fast they were riding, and they said 15-16. I thought they were kidding or sandbagging, and told them to suck my wheel so we could ride together. Well that lasted all of 2 miles and then I was gone. Once again, I had total fun on ER MCGIRR Road, and this time when I turned off, I needed water. I asked a maintenance dude outside the library, and he said it was open and there were water fountains in there. Which there were! And they were ice cold! I used the "Girls" bathroom, too!
I was happy to be heading back, and maybe 5 miles later who do I run into but the 2 dudes who weren't as fast as me, and I'm WTF how can this be? They said they were right on with the turns and all, so I guess there was some turn I missed which caused me to get an extra 3 miles on this loop! Once again, YAY ME! I passed them again, got back to rest station and chatted again with the triathlete dudes (one doing IMAZ and other doing IMFL), we had some more yucks, then I had to get out of there.
The way back to Dekalb consists primarily of FUCKING KESLINGER ROAD which was the most hilly road of the ride PLUS A HEADWIND!!! Fuck. Oh well, gotta get 'er done. I forgot to mention I'd been riding all day with a fucked up right foot, care of some shoe/insole/metatarsal pad experiments I'd done on Friday with my running shoes. It cause my anterior tibialis and peroneals to go all FUCK YOU on me causing the front of my ankle to hurt like a mofo. But I kept thinking as long as I didn't feel like I was making it worse by biking, I was OK. It did hurt to unclip, but oh well. That is why I wasn't riding like a bat out of hell.
FINALLY we got off the road from hell and were close to Dekalb. A volunteer had said it was 14 miles back, which meant I'd end with 111 miles, which was cool, but of course the voices in my head are saying RIDE MORE SO YOU GET TO 112 YOU DUMBASS, but I was resisting them. Finally I saw a sign WELCOME TO DEKALB, and I said DE-FUCKING-KALB I was ready to be done!
Well I roll into town and I'm already over 111 miles, I'm like, OK NOW I have to get to 112, and I was maybe 2 blocks from the theater, and I yell to some dude who'd just finished I'M AT 111.75 DO I RIDE AROUND TO GET 112??? And he knew the correct answer, which was YES!!! However, I rolled past the theater into the parking lot, got to my car and was like HOLY FUCKING HELL LOOK AT THIS!
I mean, what are the odds that I added just enough lostness and extra miles on Loop #2 to get to this? It made me smile hugely! I wiped down my face and Skull Kingdom and put her into the car and grabbed my Endurox.
Here's what I had during the ride: FOOD ALERT!!!!
6 hours of 1/2 Money Shot and 1/2 Money Shot 25% Less Caffeine custom Infinit mix. 245 calories per hour
1/2 of PB&J on white bread sandwich
1 fun-size Payday
At least 6 16-oz bottles of water, probably more like 10.
I went back into the Egyptian Theater, and was giggling like a little kid I was so happy to be done, and they had a big spread of food, so first I headed there, and then sat down to chat with the volunteers and gave them this ride feedback:
Have beer when we are done. DUH.
Have a whole pile of extra maps at the rest station since we are all clumsy and drop them like they're hot.
McGirr Road is FUCKING AWESOME!
The 2 dudes who'd tried to ride with me came in a few minutes later and the 2 triathlete dudes went for a short run and came back to eat and we all chatted and exchanged names (if they are brave enough to read this blog and/or my Facebook page). Here's what I ate immediately post-ride: FOOD ALERT!!!!
1/2 egg salad sandwich on white bread
1/2 tuna salad sandwich on white bread
2.5 cups of beef/vegetable soup (YUM!)
single serving of Lay's potato chips
1.5 scoops Endurox R4 mixed w/water
about 5 1" cubes of cheese and 4 crackers
I had to get home to shower and stuff and meet my brother Mike for dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant. But it was already 3:30PM and we were to meet at 5, so I called him and said 5:30, knowing full well I'd be ready for another meal in 2 hours!!!
I drove home rather fast, using the cruise control because my right ankle and glute were hurting like mofos. Got home, immediately cracked a beer, OMG it was the BEST BEER EVER! Unpacked the car, showered up (BEST SHOWER EVER!), dumped pics out of camera and onto Facebook while icing my right glute and ankle. When I looked at my ankle, I actually had this 1" red lump on it, whoops! But it went down pretty quick with the ice.
Then I met my brother Mike for sushi and me talking 200MPH because I was hopped up on caffeine and having had such a great ride and I've got 11 weeks until IMCOZ and I am so happy and feel great! Here's the rest of the food I had yesterday: FOOD ALERT!!!!
1 Harp Lager
1 Giant Sapporo with dinner
1 Raspberry beer just before bed and when I woke up 2 hours after my first sleep
2 brownies that I brought home from the ride. I should have brought more
At least 23 pieces of assorted sushi rolls and nigiri, possibly 30
2 small fortune cookies
1 bowl of Miso soup
2 small pieces of Hershey's dark chocolate
And guess what? I woke up this morning with A HOLE IN MY STOMACH!!! So had "real" breakfast today, 2 eggs fried in butter, English muffin slathered with butter, next I am going to have like 8 fresh figs and a banana. FOOD CHANNEL!!!
I didn't add up my calories from yesterday, but I probably needed at least 5,000, so I will just keep working on them today ;)
Oh by the way, I averaged 18mph yesterday, not bad for an old lady with a bum ankle!!! Today I'm signed up for another ride, but it's going to rain all day, so fuck that, I'm going to have fun with my girl, Lori, on the trainer (and she might run on the treadmill), for about 3 hours, and then we are going to EAT FOOD!!!
Two more big weeks of training and then a rest week. YAY!!! My ankle should be fine by Tuesday, which is when I do my next scheduled run. Meanwhile...MORE BIKING!
