I wrote my race report for IMCHOO on my Facebook page, and didn't realize I hadn't done it here. So here's the Cliff Notes version.
It was HOT, record breaking heat. Swim was awesome. Bike was awesome. Kept wetting myself down and stuck to the plan. Saw people laying by the side of the road, triage style, loop two because of the heat. Worried because I didn't see Michael. Met John in T2, decided to run together. First two miles felt like seventh pit of Hell kinda heat, semi-fainted at mile two. John is awesome, gets me up before medics see me. John tells me Michael had a crash, I freak out. Keep running. Mile 14 Michael catches up. I start heaving. Mile 16 tell John to leave us, he's running great. Michael decides to finish together. Try running short periods of time. Keep heaving. Mile 18ish, stop holding anything down. Mile 22 decide to walk, we have time. Michael talks to me, think he's being romantic, but he's assessing my mental state. Cross finish line together, very sweet moment and romantic considering 15 months before, he proposed to me in that spot. The End.
Michael and I have gone over (and over, and over) what caused me to feel that way, since before the run, I was hydrating and ate enough. We came up with nothing, other than I may need to double my electrolytes on the bike, just to make sure.
I wish I could tell you I'm completely healed now and ready to go get it, but honestly, it's still day to day. Sometimes I can go for long periods of time and feel great, and then here we go again. Doc Martin warned me about this, but it's still frustrating.
After much discussion and budget planning, we have decided to self coach this year, and try to fit in more smaller races. After three Ironmans I'm hoping enough has soaked into this brain of mine to be able to make a cohesive plan. There is another aspect to it as well, I want to really get to know my body, really get to know how this all comes together. In some ways I'm looking forward to it, but in others I feel like a chicken with my head cut off. I'm reading as much as I can.
Speaking of which, I just finished Chrissie Wellington"s book, A Life Without Limits. Highly recommend it. In the beginning she says that we have to really question whether or not we want to do this crazy sport. I realized I must, since I could have done a lot of things after my injury - taken more photography classes, taken up dance again, joined a master's swim team...but no, here I am.
Smaller races are fun, but my heart is really in Ironman. This year it will be Louisville. It's always been in my top five races I've wanted to do, so I'm pretty excited. The bike elevation map looks like the pics of someone's heart rate during interval training, but a number of people who have done it said that if I did Chattanooga, I'll be fine. Plus, the plan is for me to start climbing Fort Mountain, so I figure that will help immensely.
Right now it's all about strength training. Been doing Insanity with some school peeps, but can't do everyday depending if my back says it's okay or not. When I first started, my back was so tight and uncomfortable I seriously thought I slipped my disc again. Turns out the back was fine, it was just a glaring reminder of how little muscle I had in my core. It's going much better now. :)
I wish I had some deep philosophical topic to talk about, but really, I got nothing right now. Life is good, getting back into training, asking myself like I do at the beginning of every training season, "how am I going to fit all this training in?" and counting every blessing that I get to do this at all. Am I back at full strength? Nope, and while I have gains I hope to make this year, I've allowed these things to become a lot more fluid, and not to see myself as a failure if I don't reach them. All I can do is do what I can every workout, push myself out of my comfort zone, and keep at it.
I keep telling myself, the turtle won the race.
