My Exercise Addiction

Am I addicted to exercise?   Has it become an obsession?   These are some thoughts that I have been pondering as I sit here at 3:00 am in a hospital room with my Dad.   I have been very torn lately between the need to be helping out my family, the need for balancing work/life  and the need to get in a daily dose of exercise.   Often, I feel that these  things are battling each other.   I feel guilty for taking the time to exercise when I feel I should be using that time to help my family or friends. I know my family, dating, and social life have been affected by the amount of training that I do.    Yet I also feel a sense of guilt or if I don't exercise...but that feeling comes from within, as if I am letting myself down when I don't do my workouts.   I almost feel like I go through a withdrawal if I don't do something.   And I feel very selfish sometimes when I put this first.     

My Dad has Parkinson's disease.   A disease he has been fighting the past 10 years.   And it is getting progressively worse, more advanced.    This is not something I openly talk about, but my close friends know that this has been happening.   He is now to the point that he needs almost total care.   It is challenging to see the progression of this disease and how it affects those you love,  both my father who is disabled physically and mentally because of it, and my mother who has lost her independence in having to care for him.   Both of them are shells of their former selves.   And I try to help them as much as I can.   But I have noticed that the harder things become, the more I want to run.  Or bike. Or swim.   I need to do something to disengage for a bit and reset myself, something to feel more free, to feel better mentally and to think more clearly.    But at what cost?   I know my family and their friends don't always understand this.   I often feel guilty for trying to get a workout done before going to console my mother, or help assist my father.   But I know deep inside that this is also what helps to keep me sane.   And I know that I need to stay strong both mentally and physically the more my father declines.    It helps me to think more clearly and maintain a better attitude when faced with some difficult decisions our family has to make.  

  I think all of us that can consider ourselves endurance athletes, train for a variety of reasons.   To be healthier, to race, to get away from something, to go towards something, for mental health and well-being,  to prove a point,  to full fill a bucket list item...I am sure the list could go on and on.    I know for me it is for continued health - both mind and body.   Exercise is truly something that makes me happy.   I discovered this in my 20's quite by accident.    In fact, if someone would have told me 20 years ago that I would be a 5 x Ironman, I would have laughed in their face and told them they were crazy.    But, yet, here I am.   

In my early 20's I was diagnosed with SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and clinical depression.   It didn't help that I lacked self confidence and was extremely shy as well.    During that time I tried many treatments to try to deal with this:  counseling, anti-depression medicines, journaling, lots of alcohol, surrounding myself with friends,staying as active as possible with intramural sport and also getting a dog.    Each of these things helped some, but nothing really seemed to  "fix" me.   Then a strange thing happened, I started running 2-3 mile distances to keep fit for soccer, but also to exercise my dog in the hopes that it would keep him from chewing up things and destroying the apartment I lived in at the time.   And it worked, my dog was much better behaved when he was exhausted after a run with me.    I also started to notice that I was feeling better as well after these runs.   I was exhausted too and really "hated" how I felt while running,  but I was starting to find I felt happier.   And I was able to wean off the medicine I was taking for the depression and continued to do okay.   The self confidence issues remained, but the feelings of despair, sadness, and just general indifference about life were much improved.  So as much as I hated those runs with my dog, I started to realize that they were essential for me and for him and I kept them as part of my life.   

In time, my friends convinced me to try some longer distances.   Which of course I said was impossible.   But with their support and training, I was able to pull off a half marathon.    And guess what,  my self confidence started to improve as I realized that I was so much more capable of doing something if I just focused on it.    This eventually led to triathlons, then a marathon, and finally the IM distance.   And with each new distance, I have found a little more clarity on who I am and what I need to keep myself happy and mentally clear to tackle life events.

 When I first started racing I used to get discouraged very easily because I had an ideal of where I thought I should be and I wasn't there.   Over the past year or so, though, my attitude has changed.  I now look at my ability to exercise as a gift.    I am now to the point where I look forward to my workouts.   Some think it is because of the races I sign up for that I feel this need to do my workouts.    But it is so much more than that.   It is now a part of me.  I look forward to each new workout as I know I feel better physically and I am enjoying trying to push my limits and see what I can accomplish.   Through exercise I have found a way to finally be more confident in myself and that is a really good feeling. It has allowed me to become much less shy in social settings and even become a mentor of sorts to others.   I have also found a way to keep myself happy and mentally clear without the use of medicines or other artificial means (including alcohol) that really just covered up how I truly felt.  When I workout it gives me time to organize my thoughts, analyze my feelings about things  and plan ahead for what is coming next.   It also helps me maintain a positive attitude...even when there are really shitty things going on in my life.  


  I have an addictive personality.   This is something I know.   And I think if I didn't exercise as much as I do, I would turn to alcohol, food, or recreational drugs to "deal" with all of my problems.    So, in answer to my question...am I addicted to exercise?  I would have to say yes.   But, I do have to make sure that this addiction is not getting in the way of my life.   That it is keeping me more balanced.   As long as it allows me to handle with work, friends and family in a healthy and positive way, then I am on the right track.     And hopefully me being a more happy, positive, and balanced person because of it, that should be okay.

2015 New Year's Resolutions

One question a lot of people ask at the beginning of each year is what are your New Year's Resolutions?    I have always been very hesitant to say or even make resolutions in the past because I wasn't sure what that meant exactly, or how to measure them.   Resolutions are commitments that we make to ourselves or others  and I guess that isn't something I have taken too seriously in the past.    There really aren't any good ways to measure commitments or any plans to follow.   I mean you commit to marriage but how do you measure that?   What kind of plan do you make to get there?  It is very ambiguous and hard  to make that a measurable thing.   So, I guess I have always been more prone to making goals.   These I understand and I know how to measure.   I can make a plan to get to an end result.  I need that measurement or objectivity in my life.  

 One of the definitions of commitment is:  the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action.   To me, this implies something ongoing, long-term, something that you have made a promise to see through.   After reflecting a bit on this,  I do have a few of these already:  I have committed to the life of a triathlete,   I have committed to being a physical therapist,   I have committed to being a good daughter/family member,  I have committed to being a good friend and I have commited to being the President of the Central Ohio Triathlon Club.     I have not, as of yet, committed to being married or being a parent.   Both scare the shit out of me,to be honest,  and those are both commitments I am not ready to make yet.    I think the biggest commitment I need to make this year is to myself.    I need to work on finding balance in myself both physically and mentally.   And to do that, I need to commit to myself, because if I don't learn to find that balance, it is going to be difficult to continue to uphold those other commitments I have already made.  I think too many times I put everything else first before my own needs  and I have fallen into some bad habbits... not enough sleep,  poor diet,  not managing my stress very well, poor financial management, disappointment in myself, and guilt for not doing the right things.    I haven't quite figured out how do this yet, but am definitely open to suggestions.     I do think this is a pretty good summary though, of some things I need to do more of in the coming year (I also think these are common for many people):

In order to make these more of a reality,  I have developed a few goals for these (and am still working on goals for the others).   I think that is one of the problems with many people's resolutions is that they don't make them measurable or set up a way to be accountable to their resolutions.   My hope is that by establishing some goals, that it will help me to be more accountable and thereby actually stay on course with these resolutions.  

1)  Drink Less -   drink less what?   This really could mean anything.   Most probably mean alcohol.   But I think this could also apply to artificial, sugar laden drinks as well.    In my case, there are two I need to consume less of...alcohol and mocha's.    Both are full of extra "empty"  calories and are probably both contributing to the weight gain I have had since IMMT (at the start of January I topped the scale at 152 lbs, which is the heaviest I have ever been).    My long term goal would be to eliminate mocha's entirely from my diet, or at the very least have only a very occasional one.   And alcohol I would like to decrease to minimal to moderate consumption (for women this means 1-2 servings of a beverage on a daily basis).   So here is what my plan would look like:

• Decrease mocha's: 
•  LTG:  in the next year, decrease consumption to 1-2 per month 
• STG:  in the next 10 weeks, decrease to 1 mocha per week
• Decrease alcohol:  
• LTG:   in the next year decrease consumption to less than 2-3 drinks per week.
• STG: in the next 10 weeks decrease consumption to less than 3 drinks per week.

2) Exercise:    This one is easy for me, as I actually like to exercise.   It is rare for me to miss a workout.   But, I think in my case I need to include strength training in the exercise regime.   

• Incorporate strength training into exercise:
• LTG:  1-2 strength training workouts each week for the entire year (this will ebb and flow depending on where I am in Ironman training - during the peak phase of this training I would ideally shoot for at least 1 per week,   during all other phases 1-2 x week). 
• STG:  incorporate 2 strength training sessions per week over the next 10 weeks
• Train for and complete the following races:
• Key West Half Marathon (1/18/2015)
• OSU Indoor Tri (2/1/2015 - possible)
• Flying Pig Half Marathon (5/3/2015)
• Olympic Triathlon (Deer Creek - 1/7/2015 - tentative)
• Garrett County Gran Fondo (6/27/2015 - tentative)
• Half Ironman/70.3 distance (Muncie 7/11/2015 tentative)
• Ironman Chattanooga (9/27/2015)

3)  Be more organized -  this is a work in progress,  I have no idea how to even start writing a goal for this one...will have to come back to it.   

4) Lose weight - this can be a tough one as I think a heavier weight is ok as long as the mix of fat/muscle is a good ratio.    I am unsure exactly what this best mix is for me, but I am meeting with my strength/nutrition coach this week to determine that more for me.    But I do know at the end of last year, my fat was at 30% body weight,   ideally I would like to reduce this by 10%.    Muscle mass/bone mass I would like to increase, but no idea what is good for me....so this goal will be a work in progress as well.    

5) Be more positive -  This can be a challenging one, but I know I need to do something about this.   Although everything may seem like my life is perfect and really happy on FB and other public sites, it isn't.   I am definitely one that internalizes my negative thoughts (and I have a lot of them) rather than shout them out to the world.   Self confidence has been a challenge for me, most of my life.   And over time this wears me down for sure.    I have already made some steps in trying to be more positive in my life.   I don't have these broken down into short and long term goals, but with the help of a friend, I have come up with 3 things I need to write down and/or identify on a daily basis:

• List out at least one good thing that has happened that day.
• List out one thing that I am looking forward to the next day. 
• Identify any negative self talk/negative thoughts and share them with a friend/family member so that I don't continue to internalize these (mostly) irrational thoughts.  

Right now, I have a few people that will help me to be accountable to these statements.   And vice versa, I think this is something we can all do for each other.   I believe most people have their own "self demons"  and being able to talk about these with at least one other trusted person to help rationalize things is likely more helpful than internalizing and letting the thoughts grow and become self destructive.   Also, looking for more good/positive things in life can help to balance the more negative ones.    

6) Spend Less Money -  this is another one that will be a work in progress.   But I do have a large amount of debt that I need to get rid of this year.    First step will be meeting with my financial advisor to come up with a plan.   So no short term/long term goals yet....right now my goal is to set up a meeting, ASAP.     But I know I can start with some small things, which will also help out with my weight and drink less goals as well... eat out less (right now goal is no more than 1 x week unless I am traveling),  limit mocha/coffee drinks,   limit alcohol.     I also know that I only have about 6 car payments left, so that should help as well.   

I think this year I have my work cut out for me.   But I feel good that I am starting to get some planning into place.   Overall, I hope that by the end of the year I can feel more balanced in my life overall.   In doing so, I hope that I will feel healthier in both mind and body.    Only time will tell if I am on the right track this year...

2014 A Year in Review

 This year was a year of "firsts" for me and a chance to explore some different types of races and in general explore and have fun with my fitness.   Looking back, I had some pretty cool experiences and am glad I was able to have the opportunities to do this.    The injury I sustained, I think, opened some options for me and allowed for some training I may never have even tried.   For this I am grateful!

 I will be honest, at the beginning of 2014 I had no idea what the year would have in store for me or what my goals would be.    My main focus was on trying to get healthy again, as I had sustained an avulsion fracture of the right ankle in November 2013 and I started the year in a walking boot.   Worst injury I have ever had and I wasn't sure what I would be capable of doing over the coming year.    Fortunately I hadn't signed up for any races except Ironman Mont Tremblant, which wasn't until August.    However, the type of injury I have can sometimes result in surgery, so I really wasn't sure what would happen.  

My ankle after the injury

But I wore the boot,  did my PT and really tried to listen to the physician and be careful with my recovery.   Incidentally, I used no pain medicine during this process and really did let pain be my guide.   I iced daily and used omega 3's and also compression socks under my boot, and then my brace throughout the healing process.    Fortunately, I was able to heal almost completely and no surgery was required.   I was also able to swim and ride my trainer through the process as long as it didn't create more pain.         By February I was able to get back into running, although much slower, but I was able to do it.    During this time, I also opted to not sign up for anything until I knew what my ankle was capable of and to see how it healed.    Again, fortunately,  I was able to get back to running on level ground with very little pain.    Once I knew I could run 2-3 miles I decided to sign up for my first ever indoor triathlon.    Friends of mine have children that swim at the Delaware YMCA and their team had created an indoor triathlon as a fundraiser.   I thought it was a great way to try something new and give back to the community in the process.     My goal for this one was simply to finish and to test out my ankle for a run.   And I was able to do just that and had a lot of fun doing it!  

Happy Finishers! 

A few weeks later I got a text from a friend who had signed up for her first indoor triathlon and she was freaking out because she was totally intimidated by the people in her wave (you could look up the roster on-line) and was also one of the only females.   She asked if I would consider doing it with her.   This was the day prior to the race, and I thought "what the hell, why not."   It was double the distance as the other and I had absolutely no training for it.   But, Jess has been such an inspiration to watch as she has lost weight, become more active, and embraced a more healthy lifestyle, that I went ahead and signed up.    And again, I had a blast!    And ended up being able to run much faster than I thought, given the injury that I had.  

Action shot of Jessica and I on the treadmill

The Great Race/Agoura Hills 10k was up next.   This was a redemption race.   I had signed up with my sister a few years prior and had to DNS the race secondary to a stress fracture.    I really wanted to go back and try it again and had the opportunity to do it again.   So flew out to see my sister and was able to do the race!   Not a PR, but I was very happy with the race, especially as it was pretty hilly and I was able to do it without any ankle pain!

At the finish line!  

Next up was the Miami Triathlon,  a mini tri with an indoor swim.   Signed up with my Aunt Debbie.   The plan was to go down and stay the night,  visit with my cousin who is a student at the university and do the triathlon.     It was an indoor swim and then the rest was outdoors.    Another first for me.   I thought the race was great, but was definitely disappointed with my bike and I realized at this time that I had a lot more work to do on my bike before I was ready for IM Mont Tremblant.   I also loved the entire time that I was able to spend with my aunt and cousin.   Memories to cherish as we all grow older!

My Aunt Debbie and I, at the finish

Next couple of races were some more "firsts."  I signed up for two different Gran Fondo's, which are cycling races.   I had never done one of these before.   The first of these was the Winston Salem Classic.   A fantastic  little race down in North Carolina.  It was a great experience and I had fun visiting with friends that lived in the area and meeting some cycling celebrities including Robbie Ventura and Bob Roll!    Sadly though, I am pretty sure I was one of the last people to finish.   But I did finish, so there was that!   

Robbie Ventura in the middle

Bob Roll on the left.

New York Gran Fondo was up next.   This was really a cool experience.   5,000 riders all starting at the same time on the George Washington Bridge,  8,000+ feet of climbing on tough but hilly course, meeting people from all over the world and a  4 day weekend in NYC exploring with friends,   Fantastic experience and so fortunate I was able to do it.  Still not fast, but gaining confidence in my cycling abilities and had some really good runs around the city that felt "easy" but completely surprised me by my pace.    

About half our group at the finish of the race

Next up was the Mohican 70.3 distance triathlon.    Hands down the hardest 70.3 distance I have done, but also really surprised myself with this again.   Had no expectation for this race.   Just wanted to do something super hilly in anticipation of IMMT, and it was.   And I did so much better than I ever expected.   Great local race for anyone that would want a challenge!

Race morning photo for all of us crazy enough to do this race!

At this point in my training, I was actually feeling pretty good.   IMMT was up next on my agenda and I had a few months to train.   I hit the hills, ran more, and in general just tried to enjoy solo and training with my friends.      Finally race weekend came, and I can honestly say the entire race experience was one of the best I have had (see my last blog entry for full details).    I had 4 goals for this race:  A)  To finish  B) To beat my IMKY time  C) to go sub 15 hours and  D) To roll across the finishline, "Blazeman style".      I was a little disappointed with my overall time, however I was able to meet all goals except C.   And given the state of my ankle 10 months prior, I have to be thankful that I was able to do this race at all.  

IMMT 2014 Finisher! 

CLunger Beats 5000 (5k) was up next.   This is the second year of this race and it is very near and dear to my heart.   I wouldn't have missed it for the world.   Last year I walked it as it was a week after IMLT.   This year I was actually able to run it, but I chose to run it with my friend Jessica again.  It poured the entire time, so we don't have any pics from the race.   But it was meaningful as once again I was able to spend time with someone I admire and help to push her a little in her experiences, plus I was able to give back more to the community.   This race was created by Cory Lunger, a friend who passed away in 2013 from cancer.   The proceeds go toward The James Cancer Hospital which researches and cares for those with cancer.   An honor to run this race and it will continue to be an honor each year and I will do it in memory of Cory and those who have and will battle cancer.

Another race I did this year was the Honor Our Heroes Quarter Marathon.   Another local fundraiser and one I did to help the local community.    The weather was wicked and I had no idea what I could do as I hadn't run any speedwork this year at all, instead focusing on just recovery after my injury and getting time on my feet.   Pleasantly surprised myself yet again and if not a PR, was within seconds of what I had run the year before.   Given the cold and 15 mph winds, I was pretty pleased with this! 

Happy and finished! 

Last race I participated in was the Salt Fork 10 miler.   This is the first trail race I have ever participated in and I loved it.   It was really hard for me and I had to walk several of the hills, but I really thought it was a cool race.    One negative during the race was that I did experience an asthma attack and had to use my inhaler, but fortunately I was ok.  Anyway, loved the race and would definitely do one again in the future, but will probably wait until after my IM career to do any more.  As much fun as I had during the race, the risk for injury is really quite a bit more than a typical "road race."    

Midway through the race, had to stop and take a pic with my friends.  

As the year has come to a close, I have to say I am pretty pleased and fortunate with all of the races and experiences I was able to have in 2014.    As far as overall "fitness" goes though,  I am not sure I did all that well.   I think from an exercise perspective, I did great, and couldn't have asked for a better year given the injury I sustained in 2013.   However,  overall fitness, I think also includes mental fitness, nutrition, and sleep.   And I don't think I did the best in these areas.  

Shortly after IMMT I got a bug in my head and decided to stop all medicines I was taking.   This included my asthma medicine,  birth control, and vitamins.    I think, I was just tired of it and wanted to see how I would do/feel without them.   My asthma has come a really long way since I was diagnosed and I really did wonder how I would do without my maintenance inhaler.    In that time, I have gotten another bone scan to check on bone density, and a breathing test to follow up on my asthma.    The good news is that the bone loss I have experienced in the forearm and spine has slowed down since the last scan I had, but the femur (leg bone) is still losing density at an alarming rate.   It was suggested at this time, that perhaps I should rethink doing long course triathlon, as it could definitely be impacting this, and maybe only focus on short course or running instead.    My asthma test actually was worse this last time and has dropped from 90% to 72%.    The result?    I have gone back on my maintenance inhaler  for asthma, per my physician suggestion and I have had to really look at my goals for long course triathlon.     I could tell that my lung volumes had dropped, as I was having to use my rescue inhaler more and slow down on my swimming and some of  my running secondary to shortness of breath.   So, really no surprise when my physician told me my results.   Frustrating, but I have to accept my body is what it is.  

As far as the bone density results...I have decided I have am not yet ready to give up long course triathlon.   I love it and it truly has become part of my life.   But I am approaching the next year differently.    I decided I need to focus more on strengthening and nutrition this year to see if it will impact my overall results.   I started with a strength training coach this year and am loving it.   Next step will be a nutrition coach and some changes in my overall eating habits.   I will do some more blog entries to explore this in the future.   But this is an area I know I didn't do very well with this past year.    

Other areas I know I didn't focus on enough are mental health and sleep.   I think I put so much focus on my training and also social obligations that I lost some perspective on the other "balancing" areas of my overall total fitness.    The result is that even though I am pretty proud of my races and my "exercise" health for the year,  I know I have a bit to work on for overall health.     I have decided to try to start and blog more in 2015 to help with overall fitness and accountability for myself.   In doing so,  perhaps I can inspire and start to help others in focusing on theirs as well.

Ironman Mont Tremblant 2014

IMMT 2014 Finisher's Medal

Ironman Mont Tremblant is truly a world class event, and, I have to say that the entire race experience has been my favorite so far.    I don't normally include the days leading up to the race in my report, but I feel like I need to in this one, because it really was an entire experience.  I would definitely suggest this race to anyone who asked about it and I do feel like it is a bucket list event.   Not an easy race, but a fantastic venue and a "red carpet" experience for sure.  

 

Mont Tremblant is about a 13 hour car ride (give or take a few hours) from Columbus, which was one of the reasons my friends and I chose this race.   I traveled up with and stayed with my friends Rocco, Susan, Tani and Aaron and all of us except Tani did the race (Tani was our much needed super sherpa for the weekend).  There were also about a dozen other Columbus triathletes that I knew, that also signed up for the race, which also made it a more fun experience  (shout out to Kathleen, Mike, Bill, Peter, Tim B, Jennifer, Tim G, Pete, Rick, and George who also raced and finished IMMT).  

 
Our group packed up and left the Wednesday prior to the race,  we ended up taking two cars as we had 4 bikes and an embarrassing amount of  gear.   We broke the trip up into two days and all I can say about it is that it was challenging for 5 very active people to stay cooped up in two cars for that length of time. I am actually quite surprised we didn't kill each other.  Despite some horrific traffic, lots of orange barrels, and a trip over the border, we still  managed to have fun...but it seemed like we were in the car FOREVER.  

 Pedestrian Village of Mont Tremblant

We finally arrived in Mont Tremblant late Thursday evening and decided to head out for a short "shake out" run around town.   We checked out the race venue, a little of the run course, the swim start/finish areas and snapped some fun pix around the Village.   All in all we put in about 2 miles but were gone for about 45 minutes...definitely an ez pace with lots of stops!      

 Checking out the run from swim to T1

 Swim Finish Area...and some photo fun!

 M-dot found in the village

Susan, Aaron, Rocco, and I...the racers of our group

The next morning we woke up fairly early and headed down to the lake to do a practice swim.   We met up with some of the other people from Columbus  to swim together and check out the water.   Temps at this point were 68 degrees for the water.   I was debating between a full wetsuit and a sleeveless.   The full sleeve is warmer but I feel really restricted in it,  I prefer the sleeveless for a smoother swim stroke, but it definitely isn't as warm.   I opted to trial the sleeveless for this swim.    

 

 Aaron checking out the swim course

Part our group:  Rocco, Aaron, Me, Bill, Peter, and Susan

We ended up swimming about 1,500 yds as group.   Nice easy swim for most of us and we stopped periodically to make sure the group stayed together and urge each other on to keep swimming.   The water was really nice and clear and I immediately felt comfortable in it.   My arms and feet were a little cold, but overall didn't feel bad during this swim.   On the way back we stopped off at the "espresso boat" and even had a little cup of coffee as a group...which was so much fun!     Also, while we were all treading water and drinking our coffee, we ended up singing "Happy Birthday" to Tani, who was back on the dock.   In the midst of all the Ironman madness, it was actually her birthday, and to make it even more fun, she met another racer dressed as a king (we would see him many more times throughout the weekend, always in his crown and cape)!  

The espresso boat

 Tani and the "King" 

 Enjoying our coffee!

Singing "Happy Birthday" to Tani

After the swim we headed to the Iron Village to check in and get our race packets.   There we ran into the many compression stocking and IM branded athletes that are present at all these races,  found some more of our friends, and walked through the expo.   It also gave us an opportunity to take some more fun pictures!

 Backpacks were part of the race gear given this year   

 The big Ironman Chair

 Columbus folks representing! 

JustTri athletes:  Rick (first timer), Aaron and Tani

 Another First Timer (Tim) and his wife

Jennifer, Pete, and Jennifer's boyfriend

After this we headed out for a short bike ride to make sure our bikes were working alright prior to the race.   We opted to ride one loop of the run course (it was a two loop course) so we would know what to expect for the run.    It was much hillier on the first 3 miles through town than we expected, after that it evened out (sort of) on a paved bike/running trail.    It is deceptive as it is a false flat...1-2% grade for about 2.5 miles, which is fine, except it was an out an back.    But mostly went along the lake and a river so had some pretty views along the way.   At one point we randomly came across two guys who had ventured out on foot to check out the run course.   Their intent was to just do an ez 4-5 mile shake out run.   Unfortunately they got lost and by the time we helped them to figure out where they were, they were without fluids, without a map and ultimately were a little clueless.   Rocco kindly gave them one of his bottles of fluid off the bike and helped them to figure out the "shortest distance back."   Those poor idiots would end up running closer to 15 miles by the time they would get back to the village.   We never did find out their names, but we did wonder how their race would go after their little "training run."  

 On the bike/running trail

One of many views along the trail

We finished out the night be heading to the Athlete Dinner.   I haven't gone to all of these in the past as they are much the same:  mediocre buffet dinner,  thank you speech's by race directors/mayors/charity organizers, motivation video, stats about the race and Mike Reilly "the voice of Ironman."   And we debated going to this one, but finally decided to go as part of the whole experience.    This one far exceeded my expectation, and despite the long line to get in, was far more organized than any other ones I have ever been to in the past!

 Entertainment while waiting in line

 Awesome brownies on each of the tables

 Live entertainment during

Big screens so we could see the show

They actually had live entertainment during this Athlete Dinner that included two different acts of Cirque du Soleil type performers.   The pictures didn't turn out well but the first act included two people doing different stunts and maneuvers on a moving pole.   The second group was 4 performers doing stunts on two trampolines and a platform of sorts.   I was mesmerized by both and was a very impressed for sure.    The rest of the dinner was  little long as they had to translate everything in both English and French since we were in a primarily French speaking province of Canada.     After the dinner they had live entertainment on one of the stages in the villages (which we skipped) and fireworks (which we caught from the balcony in our room)!

The only damper on the entire weekend was the weather...it actually rained the first 3 days we were there and temps were in the 50's and 60's.   Definitely made it harder to dress and walk around this fun little village for sure.    

Saturday morning we slept in, organized our gear, and then went down to transition to drop off our bikes and bags for T1 and T2 (required prior to any IM race).    It was definitely hard to try to figure out what to put in each of our bags because of the weather...it was predicted to be in the low 50's at the beginning of the day and possible up to high 60's but with rain and wind.   We all debated quite awhile on what to put into our bags and it took the better part of the morning.     

u

 Transition Bag Chaos

Stuff for my T2 bag

 First time I remember seeing my name on my spot!  Notice all the condensation...

Happy to drop off the bike!  

After dropping off the bikes, we headed back to the expo to get some ART (Active Release Technique) from our Columbus friends Ken and Rhonda of Primal Kneads.   They were up volunteering for the weekend and the treatments were free for athletes!    

 Rocco, ready for his treatment!

 "Usie" in the ART tent

Ken and Rhonda with Tani and Aaron

After ART we headed back to the condo for food and relaxation until race morning, which always comes way too early.    I slept fairly well (for me) and had a solid 4.5 hours of sleep and then tossed and turned after that.   We woke up at 4am and were down to transition by 5:15am to drop off our special needs bags, pump the tires on our bikes and to get body marked.    Fortunately our hotel was pretty close to both the transition area and the swim start so we were able to head back to the room for a bit to relax, use the loo, and get our swim gear ready.    We headed down to the swim around 6:15am and the walk was about 15 min from the hotel.    All of us were in different waves, so we split up almost as soon as we got there.    I was in the last wave so had plenty of time.  The swim area was chaos.   There were people everywhere and it was actually hard to get over to the chute, mostly because there were spectators all over the place and they didn't seem to realize they were blocking the athletes.   It took me a bit to get to the chute and I only had minutes to spare.  But, I think that was better as it didn't give me time to get really nervous and I think it gave me some practice for the upcoming swim. 

This swim was the easiest/best I have had to date.   It was set up in wave format by gender and age.   I am not sure how many waves there were in total, but the Pro's started at 6:30am and the AG started at 6:45am.  The waves left every 3 minutes after they started and everyone was in the water by 7:02 am.    I ended up wearing my sleeveless and was cold as soon as I got in the water.    There was some initial turbulence as we all entered, but it seemed to spread out quickly and I never got panicky or short of breath like I have in other swims.   There were 13 buoys out before we had to turn and then start heading back...it was a one loop course.   Somewhere between the 1st and 2nd buoy I realized I had a woman next to me that was swimming almost the same speed and I couldn't shake her, we kept bumping into each other and all the sudden I realized I could draft off someone.   So I slowed just enough to get behind her and kept on her feet the entire first half of the swim.   I have no idea what her number was, but I am so thankful for her as she did a great job of keeping inline with the buoys and maneuvering through each of the waves as we caught up with them.   I counted at least 4 different colored caps by the time we reached the turn around point.   Unfortunately, the water was really choppy at this point and I lost my friend.   Going back was definitely more choppy and I could tell my swim slowed down,   there was also a little current that I didn't feel initially, that kept pushing me to the left of the buoys.   But even with that, I still felt good during the swim, although I never did completely warm up.    By the end of the swim I counted at least 6 different colored caps!   I also realized as I exited the water that I had a swim PR with a time of 1:18:20...my fastest yet!

We had a .25 mile run from the water exit to T1.   During the athlete briefing, we were promised there would be "red carpets" down for this so it wouldn't be so painful on our feet.   Unfortunately this didn't happen,  there was only carpet down for about the first few 100 yards.   The road was painful to run on initially, but it was also cold so my feet went numb pretty quickly.    This was probably a blessing as they no longer hurt by the time I got to T1.   On my way I heard my name several times and got to see Tani, Lisa, Ken and Rhonda, who were all spectating!   

Tani was able to catch video of me coming out!

T2 was slower than I would have liked, but it included the 1/4 mile run and I took my time drying off and putting on layers prior to getting on the bike.    I did not want to pulled from the race secondary to hypothermia...the temps were still in the 50's at this point!   17:57 total time in T1

Getting ready to head out on the bike! 

The bike was challenging and is a two loop course.  Per my garmin there was a little over 6,700 ft of elevation gain total on the course.  Starting out you hit some big rollers and then head out to a highway.  The highway was very smooth but not flat...there were bigger rollers here with a combined elevation gain to the turn around point.    In addition to this we had a steady 10 mph headwind with some gust up to 20mph.  This segment seemed to take an eternity to me.     But then we got to turn around and come back down those same hills with a tailwind, which was an absolute blast!    The second part of the loop is more rollers and you go back through town,  then there is an out and back section that is about 10 miles total but has some serious hills...one reached 15% grade of climbing.    I went very conservatively on the first loop and just tried to make sure I was getting calories, hydrating and not get upset by the 800+ people that kept passing me on the bike.   One problem I had was I forgot to put my garmin on my bike...I had this pre-programmed to go off every 10 minutes to remind me to drink and eat.   So, I didn't have this during the race so I had to try and remember to do this every 10 minutes or so (which got more challenging the second half of the race).   Hydration must have been working though, as I ended up stopping 3 times in the first 56 miles to use the bathroom...still haven't learned to pee on the bike yet.   

Me, just past the first half of the bike

  The second loop was a little more challenging as the wind picked up more and ended up being more of a crosswind on the highway with more random gusts, this resulted in a less speedy return.  As I approached the last 10 miles of the ride the sky got really dark and the wind really picked up.   All of the sudden there was a torrential downpour which left me cold and the roads more slick.   So, I did have to slow down some for safety, especially on the descents.   Fortunately though, I didn't lose control of my bike or have any mechanical difficulties and the hills never seemed too challenging.   I made it back to T2 after a ride time of 7:35:09.    Not a fast time, but I was happy with it, especially since I didn't feel overly exhausted and I had stopped a total of 5 times by the end of the ride!   Plus, I still had about 7.5 hours to finish the race!   I could walk and still finish at this rate!   

right before the downpour 

T2 was a little faster and included another bathroom stop!  I opted to change out of my wet jersey and socks for dry clothing,  but left the arm warmers on at this point as I was freezing and I figured the more I had on the better.   Total time:  9:13

The run was also hilly, per the garmin almost 2.300 ft of elevation gain over the marathon.   The hilliest part is out of town for the first 3 miles, which is mostly rollers.   Then you get to the bike trail, which is an out and back for 5-6 miles.   I felt pretty good for the first 10 miles.   I did have some nausea around mile 3, but after changing my nutrition plan a bit, I started to feel better.   Somewhere between miles 9-10 my right knee started to feel sore and tight and then it locked up suddenly going into one of the aide stations.   I had to walk and stretch a bit, and it felt a little better, but from this point on my knee continued to bother me the rest of my race.   It seemed the IT band injury I had 4 years ago had come back to haunt me.  By mile 12 I also started to get cold again as it had rained a bit.   Fortunately I had packed extra layers in my run special needs bag which we got at the half way point.    This helped immensely and as I ran through the village I got to see a ton of spectators and Lisa and Tani again, which really helped my spirits! 

The only picture (taken by Lisa) of me on the run course, this was about half way into the run. 

  For the next few miles I actually started to feel good  and picked up the pace again.   Unfortunately by the time I got back to the bike trail, I had some GI issues  and I had to stop twice at the nasty port-o-johns.   "Never trust a fart" is a sage piece of advice for these races,  and I try to abide by this rule.   Of my stops, one time was a false alarm, the other was not and as good luck would have it, I chose a pot that still had toilet paper, many had run out by this point in the race.    I hoped I would feel better after this but I didn't.    By mile 16 I was really struggling.   Enter George.   I had never met George before, but he lives in Columbus.   I had packed a volunteer shirt that I got at the Columbus Marathon the year prior as my extra layer.   He recognized it and slowed down to run with me.   He was doing a 4:1 run:walk pace, which seemed perfect to me, so we stayed together for several miles and chatted.   Well, he chatted and I grunted back to him.   I really wanted to try to talk more but I couldn't.   But he was entertaining and was helping me take my mind off of how horrible I felt, and I will be forever grateful to him for this.   Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to, I couldn't maintain his pace and we eventually had to part ways.   Soon after this I started getting really dizzy, dry heaving, and eventually puked.   And I still tried to maintain that 4:1 pace as much as I could.   At this point I really wanted coke and in my mind I thought this would help.  At the next station I asked for it.  "We are out."  Not the words I wanted to hear, so I tried the chicken broth.   Almost puked again.   Weird how that had helped me so much last year at Lake Tahoe, but did nothing for me this time around.    A little water and I was on my way again.   Fortunately the puking seemed to help my stomach and I eventually started to feel better.    It wouldn't be until a few more stations before I finally found my beloved coke and I felt great for about 15 minutes...I was so slow that they had apparently run out of it on the back half of the course!   That one cup of coke was all I ended up having that day.      Of course at this point the knee started barking again.  Seems my stomach and knee were duking it out in the race to see who would be the loudest.  

The last 3 miles I bargained with myself and and ended up walking up the hills and ran anything that was flat and/or descending.   With a little over 1 mile left to the finish, I caught my friend Rick, who was out there for his first IM.   I debated walking with him to the finish, but after chatting with him and knowing he was doing alright, I moved on and kept running at my snails pace.   I knew I wanted to roll across the finishline and I didn't want to get in his way when I did it.   I finally reached the village and then the finishers chute and magically all my knee pain and nausea disappeared...it is amazing what adrenaline can do for you.    Getting to that finish was awesome!    And no one was around me so I was able to roll across that line "Blazeman" style and hear Mike Reilly say those sweet words "Ann Kurtenbach, YOU are an Ironman!!"        

After the roll, I wasn't sure I would be able to stand up, but I did without any problem, but almost fell back over again because I was so dizzy!   It was also a little confusing because the lights were so bright that I couldn't see anything, so I just started running again to the first volunteer I could find.   She lead me to the finish area and I stopped when they put my medal on me.   I felt fine and convinced the volunteers of this and asked if I could give Rick his medal when he came across.   Of course they said yes, and I waited a few minutes for him.   It was pretty cool to hear his name and then be able to put Rick's medal around his neck for his first IM and hug him right there at the finish!   Perfect ending to a spectacular race!    

 Happy to be finished with #5

Rick and I after his IM finish!  

My final run time was 5:46:22 and my overall time 15:07:01. This was not a PR race for me (IMAZ holds that with a 14:11:something).     My main goal this race had been to beat my IMKY time which was 15:07:42.   So I did it but barely.   My swim and run times were both faster on this course (despite how crappy I felt on the run), so I was pretty pleased with that.   I also thought this course was much harder than Louisville.  So, although not exactly what I had hoped for, I am happy with my overall time, especially given the avulsion fracture (right ankle injury)  I had in November of last year and  the difficulty of the course.    

Another athlete called this race "The Disney Race" of the IM races, and I would have to agree.    The Village was so cute,  everyone was very welcoming and I felt like a VIP the entire race weekend.   I also have to give a huge shout out to my traveling buddies and friends as they also added to the whole race experience.    I am grateful they were with me and gave me the support and humor I needed to have for this race.   And incidentally,  we finally did some site seeing the last day we were there, and wouldn't you know it, the skies were blue, the sun was out and the weather...absolutely perfect!  

My Crew:  Rocco, Susan, Tani, and Aaron

View of the Village from the gondola