"There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind."

The quote above was one of the first New Year's Resolution quotes that I found on Google, and it spoke to me instantly.  I am a lover of goals, and started making New Year's Resolutions as a young child.  As a runner, I enjoy making running goals that coincide with the start of the new year. 

Let's take a look at last year's goals...

1) PR in the marathon--Nope.  I did run my 2nd-fastest marathon ever in April, but injury kept me from an attempt at a PR in September.  

2)  Qualify for Age Group Nationals for the triathlon--Yay, this happened!  I didn't actually compete there, but I was really proud to qualify.  

3) Keep up with Body Pump and spinning classes at least once a week (for both)--I think that overall, I did a good job with this.  When I was injured, I obviously wasn't able to go to classes.  But otherwise, strength definitely remained a key part of my workout schedule in 2018.  Spinning, not as much...

4) Incorporate my PT exercises back into my life--Ugh, I need to do better with this.  I always say that!  I am currently doing them about 4 times a week, but that's because I am still rehabbing from an injury.  They need to be there even when I'm not injured, but I find that they're usually the first thing to go.

I will give myself a C for my goals 2018.  I'm pleased, but not obviously there is some work to do.  I was looking over my goals from years' past, and many of them center around running marathons.  I love marathons, I truly do.  But I'm just not so sure my body is willing to let me run them, at least not at the pace that I desire to run.  

1) Start trail running.  My friends (several of whom are ultra runners or trail runners) will be ecstatic to read this one.  Don't get too excited, ladies!  I am going to wait until the weather's a bit better... not a fan of icy cold trails.  And I'm not promising any races.  I'm just thinking that I'd like to give running in the woods a shot.  

2) Run a race (or do a triathlon) with Team Heart and Sole.  Another thing that several of my friends have done!  I really want to do a triathlon with them, but I will settle for a race if that doesn't work out.

3) Do a 5K open water swimming race.  There are several of these later in the summer in neighboring states, and I know I can convince my friend Amy S. to join me on a road trip!  We had a blast last month traveling to a Master's swim meet in Dayton.  Swimming is definitely where my talent lies, and I am starting to think I should embrace it more.

4) Do an Aquabike race.  I loathe running in a triathlon, so I figure, why not cut out that part and just do the swim/run portions?!  I've been wanting to try Aquabike for awhile, so this will be the summer I actually compete in one.  

When I look over these goals, they excite me, but not in the same way that trying to run a marathon PR excites me.  It's a goal that will never leave my heart, but for now, it's going to sit on the back burner.  

Your friendly update

In the last blog entry that I wrote, things were kind of left hanging, and a few of my running friends who I don't see often have mentioned that to me.  So, before writing my traditional New Year's blog, I figured I ought to update on how things are. 

I saw Dr. Tom Ellis, hip doctor extraordinaire, on 11/13.  I could tell immediately why his waiting list is a few months long.  This guy knows his stuff, and his bedside manner is pretty amazing.  He showed me my MRI films, explained exactly what was going on with my hip, and in general was just a cool guy.  All doctors should be like this!  He agreed with my hypothesis, that the fracture in my hip likely occurred long before the November MRI showed it, and said that as long as it didn't hurt, I was allowed to run.  He recommended an MRI in a month to make sure the fracture had healed.  Originally I thought I'd wait until that MRI before running again.  Well, no surprise, I lasted all of two weeks before deciding to start back up LOL.

First run back, with my BFF Tamara.  We were both so happy!!!

After about a month of being back at it, I am up to being able to run 5 miles (with a couple short walk breaks thrown in), or 3 miles without any walking.  My pace is fairly close to what I was able to run at prior to my injury (9:20-9:40).  However, I still feel very much out of shape.  My legs get tired easily, and mentally I want to tap out after a mile or two.  Also, after most runs, my hip/glute area is sore.  Thankfully, it doesn't hurt while I'm actually running, and ice and stretching after my runs help a great deal.  I'm also seeing Dr. Young (my Airrosti/voodoo medicine doctor) weekly right now.  Whatever she's doing, it's helping tremendously, so I plan on keeping up with those appointments.  

As for that repeat MRI to check for healing... apparently Dr. Ellis's office isn't quite as adept as Ohio Health at getting my MRI's approved and scheduled.  Still waiting on insurance approval and a date.  What I expect for them to see: the labral tear, possibly inflammation, and that's about it.  Will I be shocked if the fracture is still there?  No, because at this point, nothing really shocks me when it comes to my body.  

Other things going on:  my foot numbness is at an all-time high.  I am so confused by it!  There are runs when I literally cannot feel anything in EITHER foot by mile 3.  Those are the worst ones.  The only way to make it go away is to stop and stand still; walking doesn't work.  A good run is when the numbness is only in one foot, and only affects the toes and top of that foot.  I tried out some new shoes (Hoka Clifton), but they weren't the magical cure.  The custom-made inserts from the podiatrist don't help either.  So it's back to the drawing board.  I am going to contact my podiatrist to see what she thinks would be the next step.  I've been reading about getting steroid injections for neuropathy (the clinical name for what's going on), and I'm totally willing to go this route if she's willing to try.   I know that I can't train for a race until the problem is taken care of, because at this point, 100% of my runs result in the numbness, and I don't want to be forced to stop during a race.  I mean, usually I can run through the numbness, but sometimes it's so bad that I can't.

One last update: I did compete in a Master's swim meet on 12/1 in Dayton.  What a fun day!  I am not in quite as good of shape as I was a couple of years ago when I trained and raced in two Master's meets in the spring, but my times were within a second in the 50's, so that's not horrible :)  I ended up winning the sprint pentathlon division (50 of each stroke + 100 IM) by winning all 5 races.  My trophy was a super-cute bobblehead swimmer!  

The best part of the day was spending it with Amy S. (a super amazing former club swimmer from Central OH) and Amber (who raced in her first-ever meet--SO COOL!).  We carpooled together, hung out together, etc.  I hope to do another meet in the spring! 

Post-meet: Happy Swimmers!!!

I haven't been in the water much at all over the past 3 weeks... okay, I've been in ONCE.  Just haven't felt drawn to it.  But I do plan on changing that, as I have the Lifetime Indoor Triathlon in less than 4 weeks! 

Long story short... or long story long... (your choice!)

This blog is like a "choose your own adventure" book; you get to decide.  One sentence, or a full diatribe!

Long story short: I haven't really ran (save a few short intervals) in over 3 months, and I'm not sure when I will be allowed to run again.

Long story long... well, pull up a chair.

Per my most recent blog, my diagnosis in early August was a stress reaction in my right hip + a small tear in the labrum.  My sports med doctor (Dr. Natalie) decided to treat the pain as if it were coming from the stress reaction, and told me to take a few weeks off from running.  Well, a few weeks passed... and a few more... and things still weren't feeling better.  Thankfully school started back up again at the end of August, so my mind was busy with my new position.  Fall sports started in full swing for my kids, and that took up plenty of time.   I went to Erie the second weekend of September with my best friend Tamara for a marathon... for "our" marathon, the one she was going to pace me to a BQ.  It was a difficult weekend, but I wanted to be there, if only for the "girl time".  Six of the coolest people in my life went to Michigan with me for my 40th birthday weekend two weeks later, and we had an amazing time together.  My life appeared full.  But truly, it still felt empty.  My workout time has always been in the pre-dawn hours, and I was still missing this time tremendously.  Of course my body was missing it, but moreso my heart was.  My best friends are all runners, and my time with them is something I treasure more than running itself.  I started asking these friends to meet me for early morning coffee dates at Starbucks.  I began to accompany Tamara during several of her weekly speedy runs throughout the month of September, biking on her cruiser alongside her.  It was almost enough... almost.  But I knew that I needed to start actually working out again for my own sanity, so back to the pool I went at the start of October.  Swimming is a lonely sport, but it's never hurt me, so swim I did.

Meanwhile, I saw my PCP doctor in August for my annual physical, and asked for the gamut of tests.  I thought maybe I was deficient in some necessary mineral or protein, and that was the reason for my frequent injured status.  Nothing was too out of the ordinary, except for my TSH (thyroid) level was double what they wanted it to be.  This was an odd thing, as I am already medicated for hypothyroidism, but my doctor didn't think too much of it and said we'd just up my medication.  I decided I wanted to pursue things further, and requested a referral to an endocrinologist.  I saw Dr. Chatterjee in mid-September, and she ran another gamut of tests, including tons of blood work as well as a 24-hour urine collection test to look at my calcium levels.  In mid-October, we met again to discuss the results.  Only two things came back abnormal: my TSH levels--while they were definitely lower than they were in August, were still higher than she liked (time for another med increase)... and my antibodies showed up positive for Hashimoto's disease.  I've had the diagnosis of hypothyroidism for 16 years, but never was tested for Hashimoto's.  I've spent the better part of the past 3 weeks learning all that I can about it, and what it potentially means for me as an athlete.  That's going to be a totally different blog entry, though, as it's a game changer!

Back to my hip injury... in early September I contacted a well-known hip specialist in my area (Dr. Ellis), but was unable to get in to see him until November 13.  My PT recommended a doctor at Ohio State (Dr. Vasileff), so I made an appointment with him, and saw him on October 3.  His diagnosis: psoas tendonitis.  He gave me a psoas tendon sheath injection that day, and I started PT for this condition a few days later.  Sadly, the injection did little to help.  I attempted to start interval running (walk/run intervals) a couple of weeks later, (mid-October) and the pain was pretty severe--around a 4 or 5 on a scale of 1 to 10.  I knew that whatever was wrong, it was still there.  I asked my sports med doctor (Dr. Natalie) to request an MRI with contrast--considered the "gold standard" when it comes to viewing labral tears.  If there was a tear, I wanted to know how bad it really was.  She got that process started immediately... of course it takes forever for insurance to approve anything at all.  So that was a waiting game.

Meanwhile, I decided to see my "voo doo medicine doctor" (sounds way cooler than Airrosti doctor LOL) on 10/26, because if it truly was my psoas, she would be able to help me.  She did her Airrosti thing, but told me that she really didn't feel it was my psoas OR the labrum causing my pain.  Weirdly enough, a few days after my treatment with her, I felt 100% better in my day-to-day activities.  I decided to try an interval run on 10/30, and was elated when the discomfort was very minimal, maybe a 1-2 if that.   I did another interval run two days later on the treadmill and felt good... and another two days after that (just this past Sunday, 11/4), and still felt great!  The discomfort was so incredibly small that I barely even felt it, especially if I didn't focus on it.  I got super excited, and created a training plan that included swimming, aqua jogging, and interval running.  I was ready to return to my old self!  I saw Dr. Vasileff (hip specialist) at Ohio State last week (10/31), and since the pain-free running was still very new (it had only been a couple of days; I literally had ran pain-free once), I decided not to mention that things were feeling a lot better.  I told him that the first injection hadn't worked, so he scheduled me for another injection, this time a hip joint injection, the following Monday morning--3 days ago (11/5).  I decided to get it because, well, it certainly wouldn't hurt!  (Haha, it is definitely is painful, but you know what I mean!)

Also on Monday morning, shortly after my hip injection was given, Dr. Natalie's office called me  The MRI with contrast had finally been approved by my insurance company!  I contemplated not even scheduling it, as I figured there really wasn't a point.  I was getting better!  But I went ahead and called the schedule line, and they actually had an opening the next day.  So on Tuesday afternoon I headed out to Delaware for the procedure.  It was way more painful than a typical MRI, that's for sure!  The injection of contrast wasn't much different than the psoas and hip joint injections I'd already received, but after the procedure was over and they were finished with the MRI (35 minutes of lying motionless, ugh!), I was back to limping worse than ever!  Fortunately Dr. Google and Dr. Natalie made me feel better by telling me that this was very typical after an MRI with contrast, and within a couple of hours I was feeling almost back to normal. 

Until... I got a message from Dr. Natalie on Tuesday night.  The radiologist had read my MRI, and he had called her to share the results.  It's never, EVER a good sign when doctors communicate about patients after 6 PM.  I was completely and utterly shocked when Dr. Natalie told me that the radiologist had seen a fracture line on the MRI... meaning the stress response had become a true fracture.  I was so unprepared to hear this from her.  I honestly figured they'd say everything was fine... I thought they'd say that the labral tear was there but healing... worst case scenario, that it was much worse of a tear than they'd thought originally, but not so bad that I needed surgery, just more PT and such.  But since I was running again, and relatively pain-free, I didn't expect to hear anything too terrible.  And definitely NOT the words "stress fracture". 

I immediately canceled my Wednesday morning PT appointment (after all, you don't need PT for a broken hip) and my early plans to interval with my friend Brandi (because I should probably be on crutches, according to Dr. Natalie, so running is definitely not allowed).  I had myself a really good, hard cry when I went to bed (thank you, puffy eyes all day Wednesday).  And I woke up Wednesday morning thinking that maybe I had dreamed it all, or maybe the radiologist had read someone else's MRI and mistakenly called my doctor.  All day at work, I tried to not dwell on the results.  But it's not easy to forget something like this. 

And Dr. Natalie sent me a picture of the full read from the radiologist late Wednesday night.  Seeing it in black and white... "incomplete, nondisplaced transverse stress fracture involving the inferomedial aspect of the right femoral neck"... yep, that's pretty cut and dry.  The fracture measures 1.2 cm, which seems HUGE to me.  Not sure how it compares to the last one I had... but I can tell you, the pain last time was 100x worse than the pain I have right now.  Which is why this fracture diagnosis is truly a mystery to me.  

Sooooo... now what?  Always the first question I get whenever I tell people about a new injury/diagnosis.  And this time, I honestly have no clue.  I kept my appointment with Dr. Ellis, the hip guru, and it's finally almost here (next Tuesday, 11/13).  I will bring him my MRI films, and hope that he has a different opinion of what he sees.  What I personally believe: the fracture happened about a month ago, in early October, when the pain was at its worst.  Things are starting to heal, which is why it's not hurting now.  I don't believe I need to be on crutches (which is why I am not currently using them), because I am walking with zero pain.  Heck, I was RUNNING with zero pain 4 days ago!  But if he says I need them, then I will go down that road again.  But maybe he will say that the healing has begun, and I just need a few more weeks off.

Meanwhile, I decided last month that if I couldn't train for a running race, I would train for another swim meet.  A couple of my triathlon friends and I are doing a meet in Dayton, Ohio on December 1.  I have been swimming twice a week, and went back to the Sharks (my old Master's team) for Saturday workouts for this month.  I'm not in great swimming shape, but I think that I can definitely pull off a few good 50's for the meet.  My doctor said that as long as swimming doesn't hurt (trust me, it doesn't), then I could keep training.  So I am trying to focus on that.  What I CAN do.  I can swim.  I can aqua jog.  I can cycle.  And I'll bide my time... until I can run again.  

"Your dream doesn't have an expiration date. Take a deep breath and try again." ~ Kathy Witten

Don't it always seem to go like you don't know what you've got til it's gone...

I will be the first to admit that my training this summer hasn't left me feeling grateful or fulfilled.  In the past, I've enjoyed my summer bricks as I've prepared for distance triathlon.  I think part of it was that this summer I chose not to do the half Ironman distance again, and was attempting to train for a few shorter triathlons while also train for a fast late summer marathon.  

I think the other part of it was that my body just didn't feel super.  I kept waiting for runs to feel good, but something was always up.  Either my foot would fall asleep (like 90% of the time!), or my legs would feel heavy, or mentally I just wasn't into the run and was wishing it was over before it started.  This isn't like me at all.  I wasn't looking forward to my workouts the way that I knew I should be doing in the early weeks of a training cycle.  After my Olympic triathlon in early July, I decided to be done with tri training for the summer, foregoing USAT Nationals so that I could focus on the marathon.  I realized after a couple of weeks, though, that this new plan wasn't changing my mental outlook, and even considered telling my coach that I needed a break while I was on vacation in early August.  Such irony, as I wasn't able to run a single step while we were at the beach.

I competed in the half Ironman relay at Delaware on July 29 as the swimmer in a super-fast all-female relay that I'd put together earlier this year.  My swim was... okay.  Not as fast as I'd hoped, but the distance that I swam was again a full 300 yards longer than the course was supposed to be.  I had to deal with a lot more "traffic" (other swimmers) that I expected to as well.  But I felt fine.  My run up to transition, where I handed off the timing chip to my friend Robin, was fine.  Nothing hurt.  I walked a lot that day, cheering on the runners at the race.  No issues whatsoever.  I woke up the next day and met Amy for a semi-late morning run (I think we met at around 7:30 AM).  The plan was 6 easy miles.  A few minutes after we turned around at mile 3, I noticed that my right hip flexor felt tight... or sore... or something.  I noticed it, and dismissed it.  Then I noticed it again... and again.  When you are an oft-injured runner, it's hard to ignore any niggles of pain that you get.  I did my best to push it out of my mind.  After we stopped, I stretched a bit and drove home.  When I got out of my car, lifting my leg... I knew.  I just knew.  The feeling was the exact same as the one that I'd had 2.5 years ago, when I had a femoral neck (hip) stress fracture in my left leg.  The opposite leg.  A mirror image of the injury that took me out of the marathon I'd been training all winter for... and it was happening again. 

I told my best friend Tamara that day, immediately, what it was.  Like I said, I knew.  July 30, at 4:21 PM.  My message to her: "T, my hip flexor.  It was bothering me a bit on my run today.  Nothing horrible.  But ever since I finished... I'm freaking out.  It is like what happened when I fractured my hip.  Hurts to move my foot from gas to break."  And the next day, after I ran just 2 miles of my 17 mile long run and had to quit, I repeated myself, and called it for what it was at that time.  I had zero doubt that my femoral neck was injured again.  I took off from all activity during my six days of vacation, and attempted to run the day after we came back.  Yet again, the pain during the run made me stop, and the pain afterward was filled with deja vu.  Fortunately I have the best sports med doctor ever.  She was able to convince my insurance company to do an MRI very quickly, and this time around, we caught the injury before it became a full-blown fracture again.  My official diagnosis is a femoral neck stress response (a.k.a. stress reaction), which is basically the precursor to a fracture--meaning, if I continued to run on it, my hip would likely fracture again.  Also, I have a tear in my labrum.   The positive: crutches aren't necessary, and the time off isn't as long.  The negative: I most definitely will not be running in Erie with Tamara and chasing that elusive BQ time in September.

I almost feel like my body was trying to tell me something this summer, but I didn't know what it was saying until it was too late.  The way I was mentally "checked out" of many of my runs.  The way that my speed work felt forced, especially during July.  The way that I had to count down the miles during my long runs like I never have before.  My brain couldn't fathom trying to run an 8:24 pace for 26.2 miles... and my body was in agreement with my brain the entire time.  I'm just glad that I didn't run myself into the ground this time around trying to prove it was just a hip flexor strain... but I do wish I had been more grateful for the runs that I was able to do.  "Don't it always seem to go like you don't know what you've got til it's gone..."  Yep, that's for damn sure.

I accepted this injury much more quickly than I did my last one.  That being said, I have not escaped the depression that always comes along with my injuries.  Little things have been causing me to cry... driving by the UDF where my friends and I frequently meet for our runs... stretching out my ankles and feet at night before I fall asleep... seeing my Nathan handheld water bottle by the sink, not being used... realizing that there is absolutely no reason at all for me to set my alarm for 5 AM, because I am not meeting anyone to run.  A few friends have reached out to see how I am doing.  Beth, who is probably the nicest person ever to exist (just ask anyone in the Westerville MRTT group), asked if there was anything she could do.  I was very honest with her with my response: "Remember me."  For some reason, I get so very afraid that by not running for an extended period of time, people will forget about me, about the friendship that we have.  I feel so very alone when I am not doing my training runs with my friends.  I know it's incredibly silly, but it is a very strong emotion, this loneliness, and it definitely feeds into my depression.

Moving on... the question remains as to what is next for me.  Before my MRI, I told my friend Jenna that if this was what I thought it was, then I was finished with marathons.  Clearly, my body has something against running long.  I am still feeling that way... that running marathons is going to have to be in my past.  It is so difficult for me to even type those words.  I would've been fine with qualifying for Boston and getting to run it with Tamara, and then being finished.  It's like when I was a competitive swimmer in high school.  Each year, I would try to qualify for Junior Nationals, and each year, I would barely miss the qualifying time.  I never did make it.  It's always been something that I regretted, not accomplishing that goal.  This thing with getting my BQ time is the same.  I know I will always say, "Yes, I was close to qualifying.  I was only a couple of minutes away when I was in my 30's... but I had to stop trying."  I am the worst person at throwing in the towel, but I don't see any other way out right now.  I am working with my doctor to see if there is a reason for the repeated bone injuries, but even if there is... it's not like there is something I can do to make it stop happening.   For whatever reason, my body isn't capable of handling the stress of distance running.

Basically, right now I am treading water.  I have no idea which road to take.  My heart is pulled towards distance running.  It is what makes me happiest, what I love the most.  My brain knows it's not good for me to continue to do this, and tells me that I should listen to those who tell me to focus on sprint-distance triathlon.  I tell them, "If only I loved triathlon the way I love distance running."  Maybe, someday, I can convince my heart that I do.  

A little bit of everything in one post

Typically my posts entail me blogging about one of three things: a race recap, a review or preview of my training, or a synopsis of whatever injury I am going through.   I figured I'd combine all three in today's post!

Yesterday was the Ross TriFit Challenge!  This was my third year competing in this race as a relay member.  I don't ever plan on doing the full triathlon, as I'm not a huge fan of the bike course, but I LOVE the fact that the swim is in Antrim Lake.  This is a lake located on the Olentangy Trail in Columbus, and it is closed to the public 364 days a year.  On one Sunday each July, the city gives a permit for the Ross TriFit race to use the lake for swimming.  What's so special about Antrim Lake, you may wonder?  It was originally a quarry that was filled by the city years ago, so the depths range from a few feet to 30 feet.  It's also amazingly clear--you can see down to the bottom!  It's a very different open water swimming experience from where I usually go at Alum Creek. 

Two years ago, I raced with Tracey and Amanda, and last year, my partners were Elizabeth and Jen.  Both years, I figured we had a great shot at winning the relay, and both years I was disappointed.  That's why I decided to just have a good time this year and do the race totally for fun!  My friend Lisa, who I traveled to Indianapolis with last November for the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, mentioned she'd like to do the relay as a cyclist a few months ago.  I told her I'd find a friend to run, and within minutes had roped one of my training partners and close running pals, Katie, into joining us! 

The weather predictions for race day didn't look good all week long, but Sunday morning dawned overcast... yet no storms!  We all met up at Antrim and did the obligatory pre-race selfies.  Lisa knows even more people than I do in the world of triathlon, so between the two of us we had fun chatting to all of our friends, while Katie took it all in.  

Pre-race selfie!

I did a short warm-up swim, and before I knew it, it was 7AM and time to race!  Swimmers were sent off in groups of 8-10, and I positioned myself around the 4th group in the first corral.  

I honestly should have gone a little sooner, as of course I had to immediately deal with swimming around people.  

The first lap was relatively clear, though.  I felt good, relaxed.  The clarity of the water was a bit unnerving at one point--I had to keep refocusing myself on what I was supposed to be doing!  I did have to deal with a few more people breaststroking/backstroking/sidestroking during the second lap.  

Katie wins the Photography award for getting a picture of me swimming!

The other swimmers only got to me during the final 200 yards, when I was trying to sprint to the finish and people were slowing down/stopping with the chute in sight.  I was slightly disappointed by my time, as it was a little over 2 minutes slower than my split from last year.  No clue why, as my distance was spot-on this year (and I think it was last year, although I don't really remember).  I haven't been swimming quite as much, at least distance-wise, so that could be it.  

I ran up the 0.2-miles into transition, handed our chip off to Lisa, and met up with Katie to head down to campus, where she would do the run.  The rest of the morning was spent chatting to my relay teammates and other friends doing the race.  

Lisa entering T2!

Katie & me waiting for Lisa!

A super-happy Katie!

Katie finishing!

Our relay ended up 4th overall (top all-female relay, though!).  We enjoyed the post-race breakfast burritos before heading home.  All in all, it was a great day.

Team Virago (look up the definition ;) )

Now, on to a brief review of my training this past summer.  I have been training for various races, including a sprint and Olympic distance triathlon, as well as for the Erie Marathon.  Most weeks, I've had between 9-11 workouts.  Typically I have 1-2 swims, 2-3 bikes, 2 strength workouts, and 4 runs.  My runs work out to be two easy, one speed, and one long.  My bikes are usually 1 speed, 1-2 easy.  And my swims are whatever I want them to be, since I am mostly just swimming at the local pool on my own.  (Probably why my swim time isn't where I want it to be right now, but I digress!)  For strength, I either do two Body Pump classes, or one Pump + one Pump/CX combo class.  In the early part of the summer, the two easy runs were done as bricks with the bike.  However, now that I've decided to not compete in any more triathlons this summer, I haven't been bricking at all.  My coach and I met up a couple of weeks ago and discussed everything that I mentioned in my last blog, and jointly decided that it would be best for me to spend the rest of July and August focusing fully on the Erie Marathon.  That means no USAT Nationals.  Qualifying for Nationals was a big goal of mine, but as he said, it's not going to be the only year that I have the chance to go.  Right now, it just makes sense for me to keep my eye on the prize, which currently is a fast marathon on September 9.  

Last, but not least, an "injury" update.  I used quotation marks there because my coach mentioned that we've been doing a fairly good job of avoiding injury for the past few months, and I agree (KNOCK ON ALL THE WOOD IN THE WORLD!).  I've had a couple little things... low-grade muscle strain, posterior tibial tendonitis... but nothing that's caused me to miss a workout.  It helps that it's summer and I can do my stretching and icing--things that typically go by the wayside during the school year.  The only thing I am dealing with currently is the stupid foot-numbness problem that has plagued me for over six years.  It started when I first started running, and it comes and it goes.  Unfortunately, all but a handful of my runs since my April marathon have resulted in a numb right foot.  I finally decided to see a foot and ankle specialist after all of these years.  Dr. Mustafa believes that the numbness is a result of my super-flat feet, and wants me to try custom-made inserts.  I get casted for those later on this week, and then will have a month-long breaking-in period.  There is no way that I will be able to wear them for my marathon, so my coach and I are considering trying a wider version of my current shoes (Nike Zoom Structure) to see if that helps, as well as perhaps some over-the-counter inserts.

So, that's where I am!  Less than 7 weeks out from the Erie Marathon.  I honestly am finding it hard to believe that I will be able to accomplish my "A" goal of a 3:40.  My speed workouts leave me feeling less than confident, even though I keep telling myself it's the dreadful humidity that is making them so difficult.  All I can do at this point is continue to work hard, listen to my coach as well as my body, and pray for the best!  That being said, I have yet to register.  Less than 400 spots remain in the race, so I imagine I will be doing that sooner rather than later.  Pulling the trigger is so hard for me... 

Race Recap: Caesar Creek Olympic Tri (7/8/18)

Yay for my first Olympic triathlon!  My kids were confused... "Mom, does that mean if you win, you go to the Olympics?"  Not quite kiddos... for those who aren't familiar with the various distances of triathlon, there are mini, sprint, Olympic, half Ironman, and full Ironman (in order from shortest to longest).  I have now completed 4 of the 5... and there are ZERO plans for a full to take place anytime in the near (or far!) future.   An Olympic distance triathlon consists of 0.9 miles of swimming, 25 miles of biking, and 6.2 miles of running.  It's the distance that is competed at during the Olympic Games, which I suppose is why it's called that!  A few friends were surprised that this was my first Olympic tri, seeing as a) I've done two half Ironmans (which is a longer distance), and b) I've been in the sport for a couple of years.  I planned on doing the Mingoman Olympic tri two years ago, but was still in the recovery phase from my hip stress fracture and decided it'd be smart to downgrade to the sprint.  Last year, Mingoman was changed from a tri to a duathlon due to high waters at the lake, so that was a no-go as well.  This year I contemplated doing Mingoman but decided against it.  Thus, this was my first!

This was also my first race with HFP.  They are a local tri company who is known for their excellent races.  Charlotte actually did three HFP races last summer, but for whatever reason I hadn't signed up for any.  Things I LOVED about this company: the way they send out the waves of swimmers (3 at a time every 10 seconds or so, versus a mass start), the way they have the shorter distances go first so that most are finished by the time the longer distances begin (less traffic on the swim course), the nice medals, and awards for top 3 in every AG (instead of just the 1st place finisher).  I didn't get an AG award today--their races also attract some top-notch triathletes!--but I do appreciate that they do this.  The only problem with my race starting last is that even with me being a middle-of-the-packer (overall I was 69th out of 124 total triathletes in the Olympic distance), there was hardly anyone around when I finished, which was a let-down.  I'm used to racing in Central Ohio, doing shorter races, and having tons of friends around to cheer me in (and to cheer in myself).  I was happy to see Curt (a friend's husband) and Diane (a FB friend), but it was still pretty lonely today.

Me, myself and I.  No friend pics :( 

On the actual race recap...

I woke up at 4:40 AM, left at 5 and got to Caesar Creek by 6:20.  It was a long drive but I busied myself with getting nervous.  All good!  It was easy enough to check in, rack my bike, get body marked, etc.  

Bike racked and ready!

I was finished walking the transitions (bike in/out, run out, etc.) by around 7:00, so I just kind of hung out.  I definitely missed my friends--probably my favorite part of triathlon is the community, but I didn't know hardly anyone.  I was also pretty intimidated by some of the amazing people around me.  They looked like "real" triathletes!  After the pre-race prayer (another cool thing that HFP does), I took my first gel at 7:30, and did a short swim to warm up.  The water felt great, 72 degrees.  No wetsuit needed, of course!  

Perfect race conditions!

My race started at 8:10 AM.  As I mentioned, I really like the way HFP starts the swim (groups of 3 starting every 10 seconds or so).  I was able to start in the third group of women, so I didn't have a lot of people to navigate around!  My goal was to keep the swim as effortless as possible.  During the second half of the first loop (about 500 meters in), I found a woman to draft off of, and stayed with her for about 500 meters, until she veered off course a bit during the second loop and I decided to do my own thing.  (Note to those who don't know: "drafting" is basically swimming right on someone's feet, 1-2 feet behind them, catching the bubbles from their kick.  You can save as much as 30% of your energy doing this!)  By then I was catching up with some of the slower men, anyways (the men started the race before us).  Overall I was very pleased with how the swim went.  I didn't feel overly tired, my goggles cooperated, and I didn't run into anyone or veer off course.  In fact, my watch said 0.9 miles exactly!  I glanced at my watch as I exited the water (before having to run two minutes up to T1), and it was at 25:50-ish.  Happy with that split, given the ease I felt!

T1 (swim-to-bike transition) was slowwwwww (2:11).  I don't know why my transitions are so slow!  I think my socks take forever to get on, and I am NOT good at running in my bike shoes, so I usually just walk or half-jog.  Plus I am slow at mounting my bike.  All things that with practice I know I could improve on.

The bike part of the race was difficult. I was prepared for rolling hills, but apparently "rolling hills" in southern Ohio are a bit more like mountains than what we call "rolling hills" here in Columbus!  There was a fairly big hill right in the park, literally 2 minutes into the ride, which taxed my legs right away out of T1.  I was still breathless from the swim, and wasn't happy with that hill!  Then, about 3 miles into the race, right after a left-hand turn, there were two big uphills almost back to back with no downhills after.  They were steep enough that I had to drop into my small chain ring on the second loop (I didn't realize how bad they were until it was too late to shift on the first loop).  I get so disheartened seeing 10-11 mph on my bike computer when I am riding up a hill.  Plus, they really took a lot out of my legs.  The second half of the loop was more typical rolling hills.  I drank about 3/4 of my Tailwind during the ride, and ate half my waffle after the first loop.  Overall I really liked the bike course, except for those two bigger hills!  My split was 1:20:40 (average pace was 18.4 mph according to HFP, but my watch had 17.8 mph due to the actual distance being 1.1 miles shorter than stated).

T2 (bike-to-run) was pretty slow as well.  Again, running with the bike = no bueno for me.

The run, which I was dreading the most, was actually okay.  It could've been better, but it could've been worse.  I felt good starting out but after about a half-mile you get to a big uphill (running up to the levy on a grass then gravel trail), and my brain was like "Heck no!"  I decided at that point that I would allow myself a 10-20 second walk every half-mile.  This really helped me mentally, so I could look forward to these breaks.  I carried my handheld water bottle, which I think worked to my advantage, constantly being able to sip water.  There is zero shade for a good 4 miles of this course, so even though the temperatures today were lower than they have been, it still was pretty hot in that sun at 10:30 AM!  I took my second gel at the one-mile mark, as planned.  The route goes out  and back across the levy on grass/gravel.  I felt better running on this surface this time than I did at my last tri at Alum, but still not a fan.  At around mile 3 my right foot fell asleep (par for the course lately, unfortunately, but I've gotten used to it)... and at mile 4, my left foot did the same.  That NEVER happens.  The walk breaks I took didn't help wake them up, unfortunately.  By mile 5, I was very much over having no feeling in my feet!  Grateful the course was a bit short (5.85 on my watch).  Mile splits were: 9:36, 9:18, 9:22, 9:33, 9:32, and 8:53 (pace for 0.85 miles).  My watch had me at 9:23 average pace (HFP said 8:51 due to the distance difference).  I was surprised to have a bit of a kick left in me the final mile.  I think this is because my numb feet kept me from really running at my true potential, and also because of the walking intervals (gave me more energy at the end).  

Pretty medal!

Pre-race (on that long drive to Waynesville), I had decided on A, B and C goals.  A goal was sub-2:50, B goal was sub-2:55, and C goal was sub-3:00.  My final time was 2:47:23, so my A goal was met!  However, my time would've been more like 2:52ish if the distances hadn't been shorter than anticipated.  I will take it though.  I feel really good overall post-race.  Nothing sore... I don't feel like I "raced" for almost 3 hours, that's for sure.  My heart rate was lower than it usually is on the bike (150 average, but stayed in the 140's after the first 10 miles, so that tells me I definitely held back).  On the run, it was 161 average, but hovered in the lower 160's for the second half of the race, even with the walk breaks.

Official results from HFP.  Fast age group today!

My biggest takeaway: I need to train more hills on my bike if I am going to be successful in races outside of Central Ohio.  However, I am honestly wondering if I am spreading myself too thin between marathon training and triathlon training right now.  I know that all of the biking and swimming that I am doing is great for me, but trying to train for a successful triathlon as well as a BQ marathon leaves me thinking that neither sport/event is getting the proper amount of attention.  I still have not decided about going to Cleveland for Nationals next month.  I am thinking that maybe I could go for "fun", and not really push it too hard (kind of like how today ended up being).  

Meanwhile, I am looking forward to (safely) ramping up my running miles in the coming weeks, as well as doing the swim leg for two tri relays!

Central Ohio Multisport Festival: 1 Mile OWS + Sprint Triathlon Race Recaps (6/9-10/18)

The first triathlon of the "season of tri" is DONE!  <Side note: you know it's summertime when I do a race recap on the SAME DAY as the race LOL!>  Both races went well.  Goals were accomplished and areas of weakness were duly noted.  The nitty gritty recap follows, with lots of pictures because I love my tri friends!

Part 1: 1-mile OWS

The weekend actually started on Saturday morning, with a one-mile Open Water Swim race.  I registered for this back in December, thinking it'd be a great tune-up for the next day's race.  I did the two-mile race two years ago, and contemplated doing it again this year.  The deciding factor: racing at 7 AM (for 2 miles) or 8:45 AM (1 mile).  The later start time won!  I arrived at around 7:45 AM, picked up my packet for both the swim as well as the next day's triathlon, and then spent the next 45 minutes chatting with friends.  It's always fun to catch up with people who I don't see regularly throughout the non-tri season!  

Gorgeous sunrise over the lake!

The race itself is very low-key.  There were a total of 21 swimmers competing (5 of whom were actually in the Aquathlon, which is a 1 mile swim followed by a 1 mile race).  I only knew a few of my competitors, so I honestly didn't know how the race itself would shape out.  I decided to take the first of the two half-mile loops at a more moderate pace--faster than a training swim, but only about 70-75% effort.  I had my usual anxiety during the first 100 yards of the swim, but fortunately relaxed pretty quickly.  Due to the low number of swimmers, I had an open lane to swim and didn't have to worry about being kicked or swam over by others.  From the start, I saw another female take the lead, so the pressure of winning wasn't on me at all.  

Me at the start!

This picture cracks me up... I look soooo not excited about getting into the lake!

The first loop went as planned, and I decided to start really picking up the pace after I rounded the first set of green buoys on loop #2 (about 3/5 of the way into the race).  There was a nice straightaway for me to increase my stroke rate and dig in a bit.  As I rounded the buoys, I noticed another swimmer over my shoulder.  I was pretty sure it was my friend Christine, and decided I should try to NOT let her by me!  This gave me a great push for the next 300 yards or so.  As I rounded the final set of green buoys, I noticed that I hadn't shaken Christine, so I dug in even more.  The final sprint had my arms screaming at me, but I was able to finish strong (and JUST ahead of my friend--what a great race!).  

Me exiting!

Timing mat!

Me looking extremely tired, watching Christine finish!

My splits were: 
1st 500 yards: 7:12 (1:26/100)
2nd 500 yards: 7:28 (1:29/100)
3rd 500 yards: 6:38 (1:19/100)
Final 129 yards: 2:55 (2:15/100--this includes my run up to the timing map, which is the only reason I can think for it being so much slower than the others)

Overall time (pace): 24:15 (1:29/100)

I ended up in 2nd place--both overall, gender, and age group, by just under a minute.  In this case, 2nd place truly is the first one to lose, as no awards are given to anyone but the top competitor.  I think I swam this race exactly how I planned, though, so I'm totally good with the results!

Me & Christine, post-race :)  

Part 2: Sprint Triathlon

The weather stalking was in full-force all day on Saturday.  The forecast of storms worried me greatly.  I really don't like riding my bike in the rain.  The tires are so skinny, and don't really grip the road at all.   I had told my coach that if it was raining more than just a little sprinkle, I likely wouldn't do the race.  Fortunately, Sunday dawned with a slightly overcast morning... but zero precipitation!  The sun actually came out while we were setting up our bikes in transition--what a gift of a morning!  Yes, it was humid, but given the original forecast, I was fine with that!

I had trouble sleeping, and finally got up at around 5:40 with a stomach ache.  I wondered if it was the lake water that I ingested yesterday that was causing me pain... and spent a good 10 minutes on the toilet working out that problem :(  I felt a bit better after that, but really did NOT feel like eating.  I made myself have a waffle and a banana, and then started preparing to leave.  I didn't really need to be at the race early, as I'd picked up my packet the day before, and knew that transition wouldn't close until 7:30.  I decided to go ahead and leave once I was dressed, though, as part of the fun of triathlon is hanging out with friends pre- and post-race!  I got to Alum at around 6:30 AM, and quickly got my bike and gear unloaded.  Immediately I caught sight of Megan (my Ironman 70.3 training buddy from 2016), and after that it was friend after friend showing up for pre-race hugs!  

Me & Stuart!

Me, Melanie & Brooke (who DEMOLISHED the field in the Olympic distance today!)

Time passed by super quickly, as I set up my transition area and debated which goggles to wear (the appearance of Mr. Sun called for my tinted pair!).  I took a quick dip in the lake to get acclimated to the chilly water (around 63 degrees), and soon it was time for my wave to start!  I am in a new age group this year, for in the world of triathlon, it is not your age the day of the race, but your age for the YEAR that matters.  Since I will be 40 in September, I am competing as a 40-year-old for all of 2018 (my new age group is 40-44).  This race divides up the athletes into 40-and-over and 39-and-under, so I got to start in an earlier wave.  I was good with that!  After the race director gave us the pre-race directions, we were off on the first of our 3 legs!

I started with the front of the pack (like usual).  I didn't want to expend too much energy on the swim, because it's such a small percentage of the overall triathlon (only about 3% of the distance, and 16% of my total time, to be exact!).  I relaxed into the short, half-mile loop that I had swam yesterday.  I felt fingertips once and realized I was likely being drafted off of... and for some reason figured it might be my friend Melanie.  I later learned it was indeed her LOL!  My arms felt fatigued about halfway through the loop.  Probably from the swim yesterday, I thought to myself, and just kept plugging away. 

Leg #1: 12:47 (1st 500: 7:00, 2nd 0.18 miles: 5:46)
1st overall in my AG out of the water, 8th fastest female overall, 13th overall including males

Transition #1 (also known as T1) did not go as well as I would've liked.  I had decided to wear socks this year (last year I did not), mainly due to my special inserts that I have to wear for my plantar fasciitis.  They feel really weird when I don't wear socks.  I definitely added time with having to put them on.  Room for improvement here for sure!  Time was 1:47 (slower than ALL of the other top 10 females in the race).  

The bike leg started as well as could be expected.  Took me a few seconds to clip in, but overall the mount and such went as well as could be expected.  The exit from the park to the bike loop is slightly uphill, so it's always a slower start.  My friend Melanie had came in just behind me on the swim, but left T1 before me, and was off like a race horse on the bike. I spent the next 40 minutes trying to catch up to her.  Every time I would see a female ahead of me, I would push it a bit, hoping it was Melanie... only to pass the person and to realize it wasn't her.  I passed some people... I was passed by people.  Typical bike leg!

Leg #2: 39:46
Mile splits: 3:56 (including the mount which I AM SLOW AT), 2:58, 2:46, 2:48, 2:57, 3:06, 3:06, 3:01, 2:52, 2:44, 3:33 (BIG OL' HILL), 3:16 (recovery from the big ol' hill), 2:37 (final 0.67 including the dismount which I AM SO BAD AT)
Average pace: 19.1 mph
3rd in my AG, 8th fastest female (again), 29th overall including males

Transition #2 (T2) was slightly better than T1. Only slightly though.  Tying my shoes TOOK FOREVER.  Gotta get my lock laces back on my run shoes!  As I was entering transition, I saw Melanie starting her run.  She had really kicked my booty on the bike!  I was pretty sure I wasn't going to catch her.  Time was 1:00 (this was 6th fastest out of the top 10 female finishers).  

And... the run.  Oh, the run.  I actually felt okay for the first quarter-mile or so.  Then came the mini-mountain (we have to run uphill to the top of the dam, on a stupid trail that I hate).  I am so NOT a trail runner.  I swore under my breath every step, and then realized as I reached the top of the mini-mountain... there was Melanie.  As bad as I felt, she clearly felt worse.  I knew at that point that I would be able to catch her.  Maybe I could actually win our AG!  I passed Melanie at around 1.25 miles into the race.  She commented that she knew her only chance to beat me would be to hammer the bike.  I wished her well and kept going.  Mile 1 wasn't too bad.  Mile 2 was worse.  Mile 3 was death.  I asked myself over and over again, WHY do I do triathlons?!!  They truly make me hate running.  Meanwhile, I was passed by a few females, but had no idea of their age or even which race they were running.  I saw a few friends heading out across the dam as I was on my way back, and the high-fives were definitely a plus.  I succumbed to the voice in my head telling me to FREAKING WALK only once, at around the mile 2.5 mark.  I gave myself 10 walking steps, to breathe and prepare for the final half-mile, which seemed like an eternity.  I was so happy to finish!!!

Leg #3: 26:48
Mile splits: 8:48, 8:24, 8:39, :54 (for the final 0.11)
Average pace: 8:37
2nd in my AG, 13th fastest female, 39th overall including males

Final time: 1:22:08
1st in my AG out of 11 (YAY!!!!!!)
7th overall female out of 57 (DAMN there are some fast ladies!)
23rd overall including males (out of 107 finishers)

Happy me!

Yay for a plaque!

My friend Karen turned 59 today and BEASTED the 50-59 AG!

Tiffany won the Olympic Du!

I was pumped both during and after my race for a HUGE PR, based on last year's time, but realized later on when I got home that last year's swim was long, and the bike last year had an additional 1.2 miles.  My 5K was a bit faster, though.  Thinking that I was blowing last year's time out of the water was a big confidence-builder during the race, though.  

My takeaways:

1) Yet again, I NEED TO WORK ON BRICKS.  Running off the bike is just so hard for me!  
2) I am not so sure I want to do an Olympic tri in two weeks at Mingoman.  A discussion to have with my coach, for sure.  It's not the swim or bike... it's the run.  A 10K after swimming & biking makes me want to run and hide!  
3) I've gotta get stronger with my mental game.  I gave up a bit on the run.  (Do you see a theme in my takeaways?  They all have to do with the darn run!)

However... I accomplished my #1 goal, which was to qualify for USAT Age Group Nationals in August, by winning my age group.  So, WOO HOO for that!  Now, the question is, do I actually want to do them?!!  We decided to take a family vacation this year for the first time in 5 years, and will be in NC from August 1-August 5.  With Nationals being August 12, I am not sure that I will want to have that hanging over my head while I am with my family trying to enjoy the last bit of summer vacation.  Another conversation to have with my coach.  For now, though, I will relish my win :)