First Long Run

Can you really call 6 miles a "long" run? Well for me, you can. It's been a very long time since I've been able to run well. I did 9 miles in early November then had a boot put on. The boot came off some time in January and I've done a few small runs here and there - starting with 10 min, 15 min, 20 min, etc. In fact, I think when I got into running way back when, I started much faster!

I helped arrange a preview run of the Quarryman Challenge yesterday. This is a local, very hilly run that is a really nice course and a great training venue for those going to Boston. On a Saturday morning, traffic is very light and the village helps out by allowing us use of one of their community buildings so we have shelter and bathrooms before and after the run. Last year at this time, I was cranking out the full 10 miles at - at least for me - was a pretty strong pace! Yesterday was a 6 miler that I really had no idea what pace I could hold.

But it went OK. Pace wasn't nearly as quick as last year, but that's to be expected. Last year at this time, I was coming off of the Goofy Challenge and was really kinda sick of running pretty early on in the season last year. I've decided that doing a winter marathon is really a bad idea for me - unless I have a lighter triathlon schedule, those winter marathons take it out of me both mentally and physically.

I'm hurting a bit today, but glad to get out and actually RUN more than 2 miles! Who knows what that will mean for my running this season but I'm glad to finally be able to run, no matter what the pace. Someone asked me earlier this week: what discipline would you pick if you could only do one: swim, bike or run. I still cannot really answer that. I love to swim. Biking is fine, but it takes a lot of equipment and time, and running is the most social.... This is a tough one.

30 Minutes!

Dear Toe - please stop hurting now, it's been too long!

So I went for my first run in - um, I think about 10-12 weeks. It was a pleasant little run. Nice and slow, just about 25 minutes. I stopped and walked a couple times. Does the toe hurt? YES. But this is a different kind of hurt now. Like it's stiff or something. The hardest part is that I found myself compensating by trying to run on the outside of my foot so I could stay off the toe.

That was last week.

And the only one who could possibly be more upset with my lack of running recently is my adorable beast of a dog.

Before the injury, I ran with him for just some shorter runs around the neighborhood. He was still much too little and not conditioned enough to put in any more than a few miles. So I thought, "Great, I'm starting running over again, he can start with me."

I let him out in the yard to take care of his business and went to get dressed. I came back, called him, and he starts playing games. He gets close enough to the door just ALMOST enough for me to catch him. When I go to reach out to him, he runs away. Clever. So, because I am smarter, I get a treat. I try enticing him to come in the house to get the treat, but the beast knows this means he will stay in the house. No deal.

So I grab the leash and walk around to the gate so he could see we'd be going for a run. I open the gate and he runs to the back of the yard. No leash for him. Now I'm ticked and running out of time. So I figure, "OK, well, let him watch me run away and then next time I come to get him with the leash, he'll remember we used to go run together." I throw the leash down near the garage door and start to head out.

His big block head is facing my direction and his ears are up. I turn around, figuring I'll only be gone for 20 minutes or so, he'll be fine in the yard. I run a couple houses down and I hear 2 thuds. With the third thud, I hear the gate swing open and 4 puppy paws running down my driveway and out onto the street to follow me. CRAP! He doesn't come when called and now I'm scared he's going to get hit by a car or run away for ever. I left the leash at the house.

What to do? The only thing I could think of - run like a fool back into the back yard. Whaddya know, the little guy follows me right into the back yard. I am relived, but now I have no time to run. Oh, and I need to fix the gate.

New Year, New Strategy

You can imagine how depressed I'd be after spending 6 weeks without running and another 6 in a boot only to find out I was told I need ANOTHER 6 weeks in the boot. I mean, seriously, I've had friends who have had foot surgery come back faster than this. I don't get it - I don't feel like I even had a real injury! And with the boot means not just no running, but there are a lot of things I've had to completely stop: stair climbing, cross country skiing, push ups, lunches, plyometrics....need I go on?

So what is there to do? Aside from a lot of time on the bike and one-legged flip turns in the pool, I've now focused on changing the diet up a bit. I am now working on the Paleo diet - well, I'm trying! I cannot believe how wierd it is to not have bread, rice, pasta, bagels, etc. And I don't think I've eaten this much meat since I even started this sport. I actually bought a WHOLE chicken the other day. It almost makes me gag thinking about it. But we'll see how this goes - I'm game to try anything once. The real test will be to see what happens to my power numbers on the bike. Last time I made a drastic change to my eating habits, I just about lost all power on the bike. This was when I went RAW for an entire 4 months. I figured 4 months was enough time to decide if that was the right diet for me. It wasn't.

So Paleo it is - for how long, who knows? I'm trying new recipes and learning what to order when I actually go out to eat. Paleo is like the "caveman" diet. Wait, caveman didn't have First Endurance? OK, I guess I'm not going to be 100% on Paleo - there are some things I just need to have! I mean, have you tried the Wild Berry yet??

Hitting it in 2011!

So for the last 5 weeks or so, I've been sporting this lovely boot. Yes, I even took this boot to Mexico. I wore it while walking around, when going out to dinner and even while watching Ironman Cozumel.

I've come to like the boot, however, I've found it's not very winter-friendly. I've been sporting 2 pairs of socks every day now, particularly since we've had snow. See, it's open in the front and the snow gets all up on my toes. I already have a problem keeping my fingers and toes warm, this is like a double-whammy!

The good news is that I swam today and actually did my flip turns with BOTH feet and - HOLY COW - it did not hurt! :) I mean, I kept waiting for that little twinge, that little pang of pain I've been feeling for the last 6 months any time I put any pressure on that big toe...I got nuthin'. And I couldn't be happier.

Yes, I've still got another week and a half in the boot and another 2 weeks of physical therapy, but I'm well on my way. When I start running again, it will be a run to walk or one of those Couch to 5K type plans, but it will come back.

I've missed you, running friends...I have about 4 pairs of BRAND NEW running shoes in my closet just calling me to wear them. I am well rested and ready to go! Yes, I will be hitting it hard in 2011.

Terre Haute Triathlon Race Report

It was a last minute decision to participate in this year's Terre Haute triathlon. I think it was because I'm so used to having an early start to the season (last few years, my first race was in April or first weekend in May!). It was difficult to listen to everyone give race reports about Galena and Memphis. I was originally scheduled to participate in the Triple T last weekend, but I knew there was no way I'd be ready to run that many miles. I made the right decision on that one.

So, I'll give just a quick recap on the race.

It was surprisingly warm when I went out to the car in the morning. There were some tornado watches and warnings going on the night before and the streets were still wet. It was pretty sticky and muggy and I took my sweatshirt off while I set up transition.

Setting up in transition at Terre Haute is always interesting. Terre Haute is a smaller race so the transition racks are sort of a free for all. There was a guy that tried to weasel in at the last minute, but I was able to show him why it wouldn't be cool of him to just jump in on a rack already set up and start moving other athlete's things. He was cool about it (thankfully!).

I'd heard people say that there were a lot of weeds in the water. That was evidenced as I saw PT's BFF Lauren Jensen come back from a warm up swim with a big bunch of weeds strewn across her left arm. They didn't look too slimy, so I didn't even think about it. As the all-female wave waited for the start, I heard a woman in front of me say how fast she was going to catch the wave that went in front of us. I looked around and saw some very confident-looking women around me. Then I immediately became intimidated and lined up in the 2nd row of women. I don't know why I let the comment or looks of those women intimidate me because within 50 yards, I was looking for a way to get around these women. I hit the woman's feet in front of me too many times, but I had no way to get around...I was squeezed in from both sides. In about 150 yards, I was able to swim past the 2 women trapping me on my left. Then it was pretty smooth sailing. The water was calm and comfortable. I just found a nice rhythym and wished the swim was longer.

I got out, looked at my watch and had a really good, strong swim. Running to the transition, my feet hurt from the rough surface. It's a pretty long run and...shoot, we entered the transition area from the opposite side I thought, so now I had to think about which aisle to run down. I need to pay more attention to where I'm set up! I found my stuff and was a little shaky. A woman flew in next to me and was in and out before I could even get one shoe on...good thing the Luna Chix are doing a transition clinic later this afternoon! I took a deep breath and steadied myself, trying to bring down the heart rate. I quickly ran out of transition and hopped on the bike.

It was warmer than I thought, but since it was so humid, I wasn't drying up at all. The bike course is an out and back with some rolling hills, nothing too difficult. On the way out, I felt great, strong, like I was just flying along. I was caught a little behind the USAT motorcycle at the turn around, but I don't think I lost much time. I couldn't practice the turn I just learned at the cycling clinic because they had a truck parked across the road (probably blocking traffic from the other direction) and the truck was too close for me to put into play what I had learned. Bummer.

And there it was...a huge, relentless headwind! UGH! No wonder I felt like I was cruising on the way out...we had a strong tailwind. But now I was pushing really hard and the bike seemed like it was barely moving. It's in those times I must look down to make sure I don't have a flat because it just feels like I'm crawling. I'm passed by many guys, passing a few. Definitely some newbies out there who are a little all over the road and make it dicey to pass at some points.

I get off the bike and wonder what this run is going to feel like. I haven't run this far since November...in my Ironman. I didn't give it my all on the bike in order to make sure the run wasn't going to hurt. I make a very fast transition and am out running and the temperature seems fine to me...except that I can't get try. My uniform is just as wet as it was the second I came out of the water. My fingers were pruny. I plod along, ticking off the miles. The hamstring bothers me at points, particularly when going uphill or trying to pick up the pace. Now the women are passing me and I try to remind myself not to chase....just get through the run at your own pace! I can't expect much, I haven't been running!

The last mile of the race is by far the hilliest part of the run and it definitely hurt the most. But it's on a trail through the forest and I just love running through that type of environment. I can now hear the announcer at the finish line and I just try to keep the pace. Almost there! Now I can see spectators and the finish line is down the hill! I was happy to finish with just a moderate amount of pain. My time was slower than the last time I did this race, but I expected that. It was a blast. And my triathlon season has officially been kicked off!

Running and the Hamstring

Went for a nice, short run this morning. Well, I got lost on the trails, so it was a little longer than I had planned, but the conditions were just perfect for a run. The hamstring, however, is not doing so good. I can block out the pain, but I'm trying REALLY hard to NOT block it out. See, that's what got me here in the first place! I've always said, the pain was never really strong enough to get me to quit, but it shouldn't be there in the first place. The hills really don't feel good. (not that they ever felt good, even without the hamstring issue) I am starting to wonder if I will ever be able to recover from this.

Luna Chix Run!

We just had our first Luna Chix event this year...a fun run out of Runner Grove in Downers Grove. Runners Grove even provided refreshments after the run. The weather was a little chilly, but we had a great turnout! Our new Lunas don't even have their apparel yet, but they will very soon. We will have this run the first Monday of every month at Runners Grove starting at 6:30pm. All abilities welcome!

My run, however, was not really a run...more like a run/walk. Pace was pretty slow, I fell behind everyone in a matter of moments. But the plan is to try and start slow. Even with all the physical therapy, prolotherapy, acupuncture, massage and MAT, my hamstring is not healed. It could be many, many more months. It did feel good to get out and run...for the first 10-15 minutes. Then the shallow throbbing started to take over. The pain has never been strong enough to make me quit, but now I'm trying to pay more attention and I know I'm not doing myself any favors by "tweaking" it every so often.

In fact, the day after the run, that shallow, constant pain was with me all day. Walking hurt more than it should. I had to keep shifting all my weight to the other leg while standing throughout the day. Guess I'm on a "wait and see" for this season.

Slow Progress

Well, this week will be week number 5 of physical therapy. I went in to one of my sessions last week feeling a bit depressed about the lack of progress I feel I've made. While I think my physical therapist is excellent - extremely knowledgeable, I have just felt that my body is not responding to the work we've been doing. However, we went back to one of the exercises we did on my very first day there...one I could not do without pain. Interestingly enough, I could do the exercise very well and with no pain at all. Does this mean I'm healed? Absolutely not! However, it does give me the encouragement and the positive feedback I need to continue with the regular therapy.

The hard part now is deciding if I should do some of my upcoming races. No, I don't have anything for a while, but this process is taking a lot longer than I had hoped. So even if I decide to continue to race, my early season races are not going to be stellar. And I'll still need to back off at the first hint of pain, which is pretty tough to do in a race situation. I know I'm doing the right thing by taking time off the run and doing everything easy, but it's not as fun when you can go out and challenge yourself and give that 100% effort. All I can hope is that when I can recover, I will be stronger.

Torn

First, I want to thank all of you for your concern. I've been bombarded with emails the last week or two with questions about the hamstring. I appreciate the outpouring of suppor!!

Unfortunately, it is not good news. The hamstring is torn. I've been making it worse and worse with each run I've done probably over the last 18+ months. It's not going to require surgery or anything, but it is going to seriously set back my run training for this year. I'm still not sure it's totally sunk in with me. When Dr. Nicola was telling me how long I was to take off from running, in my mind, I had my fingers in my ears and was saying "La la la la la la la" as if not hearing him would mean that I could still run. He kept talking, explaining to me how and where it's torn, how the bone is swollen, but everything was just a blur. I wasn't listening. I couldn't wait to get out of there. This is not the news I wanted to hear. I'm not sure what I expected, but it certainly wasn't this. I mean, if it was torn, wouldn't it hurt like hell?

I went back to physical therapy and handed her the new slip that Dr. Nicola scribbled all over. I asked her to tell me what it meant. She took the slip out of my hand and the expression on her face said it all. I asked, "It's bad, isn't it?" She nodded slowly. Then she said we had to back down from the exercises we had been doing as they were too aggressive.

We started doing some exercises and I asked why, if it was torn, why it didn't hurt more. She then pushed on a part of the hamstring and I about jumped off the table. Holy crap, what are you doing???!? She then did the same thing to my right leg...and it was barely more than a firm push onto the muscle. Apparently, it hurts more than I thought.

If there's anything I can tell you, it's that you should NOT run through pain!! So much easier to say it than do it, but I'm paying for it now. If I would've taken care of this when it first started, I'd be a lot better off. I have a long, uphill battle in front of me.

MRI Monday

Tomorrow is the day. I go in for my MRI on the ol' hamstring. With any luck, whatever damage has been done will not take too long to repair. I go in for the results of the MRI on Tuesday. I'm looking forward to getting all this taken care of because it's time consuming to be visiting doctors and going to physical therapy practically every day of the week!

I don't think I can remember what it's like to run without feeling the pull in the hamstring...

Here We Go Again!

For the past 18 months to 2 years, I've been having some soreness in my hamstrings. Most of this is when I run, but sometimes I can feel it during other things, like biking uphill. This has never really caused me to quit a run, but I have felt the need to dial back the pace in order to not pull the hamstring or try to avoid whatever is going on back there.

Seeing as we're in the midst of the off-season, I decided to have the hamstring checked out. (AGAIN with the checked out...you know, Costanza has the slight discoloration). Anyway, I digress. I decided to go see Dr. Terry Nicola who is well-known and respected within the Chicago running and athletic community. I want to figure out what's going on and I want it to go away. Even the lay off from the last injury didn't help this hamstring issue as I have still been feeling the hamstring in my last couple of runs.

Dr. Nicola's office is hidden away in one of the Athletic buildings at UIC. A nice student had to point me in the right diretion. Surprisingly, my wait in the office was only about 10 minutes before I was taken to one of the examining rooms. I was asked a ton of questions and then we did some range of motion exercises as well as strength exercises. Suffice it to say I was told I have some serious issues going on. (No kidding, that's why I went to see a doctor.) My jaw about hit the floor when he said, "You have to stop running." My first reaction was, "You're kidding. How about just slow, easy runs in zone 1? How about no hills?" Um, no. Now my heart was sinking to the bottom of my stomach when I thought about how long I've already been off from running. This cannot be happening.

I dejectedly walked out of his office and scheduled an MRI. I tried to remind myself that I was doing this as a precautionary measure because, although I was able to run fast and even qualify for Boston with the hamstring bothering me, at some point, I know something is going to give. But this just feels like the shin splint/stress fracture all over again. I feel like this MRI thing and "no running" sentence is just overkill, but how can I argue with this guy? He's the best there is. And he wouldn't tell me do to this if he didn't think it was absolutely necessary......would he?

I got home and looked at the weather forcast for today (-2) and then decided I was happy I couldn't run. Guess I just have to focus on other things for now. Here we go again!

Rib Popping

If you've followed along on my blog, you might remember me mentioning I had a little crash on my bike at the Great Illini race. Well, it was a minor crash and I was able to finish the 112 miles, but I felt a pain in my side when I finished. It felt much like a cramp you would get after running a while...almost like a side stitch. I thought it was weird, since I hadn't done any running, then I thought it might've been something from the fall, but then thought nothing of it.

The next few days passed by and I was in pain. I couldn't laugh, cough, sneeze or breathe deeply and I just thought it would go away in a few days. I went back over in my mind the details of the crash - I fell to my left and most of the impact was on my left elbow. I then hit my shoulder and helmet and then my hip. My ribs never really hit the ground, yet that's where I felt this pain any time I tried to move, stretch or twist. Then I went to swim and got in a warm up of about 600 yards. The next set started with 50 yards of butterfly. OW, OW, OW, OW, OW! Oh my gosh, that 50 yards was excruciating and as I ended that 50 yards, I decided I would not be swimming any more butterfly today. But as it turns out, I would not be swimming at ALL the rest of the day...nor the few days after. I started out the next 50 yards with some freestyle and screamed in pain. Whatever I had done had really agitated the situation and I could not pull with my left arm. I got about 10 yards out and doggie-paddled back in. My lane mates asked if everything was OK, but they knew it wasn't. I waited a couple of 50s and tried to jump back in. No, no, no....same thing, out about 10 yards, doggie paddle back in. I was upset and in pain. I got out of the pool and walked carefully and gingerly to the locker room.

It hurt to move. It hurt to lift my arm over my head to wash my hair. It was impossible to twist. If I put pressure on the place where it was painful, it seemed to go away, but as soon as I took my hand off, it hurt. It was difficult to get in the car. I couldn't turn the steering wheel with my left arm. I got home, carefully and slowly got out of the car and came over to the computer. I couldn't use the mouse (I use my left hand). I did a little research and decided it was a strained intercostal muscle. I figured it would go away soon. I popped some Advil, put some Icy Hot on it and tried to sit still for the rest of the day.

I couldn't lay down on my side. I could only lay on my back. And then, when I tried to get up, I would wince with pain. I felt so helpless and wondered how I did this to myself. More importantly, I wondered how I could get it to go away. My conversations sounded weird because if I tried to move in the middle of a sentence, you could hear an inflection in my voice. I missed several workouts that week and finally, one day, I tried getting out of bed and screamed in pain. I couldn't take it any more. It wasn't getting better. I had this clicking sound on my left side and I still couldn't breathe deeply, sneeze, cough, yell, or even laugh. (I had to stop watching my Seinfeld re-runs!).

On the advice of the all-knowing BC, I called a couple chiropractors. Within a day, I had an appointment with a sports chiropractor. I explained to him my problem as well as the crash which I think caused the problem. Very quickly, he identified the source of the problem. I laid face down on the table, held my breath and he "popped" my rib back into place. No, this did not hurt. Then we slapped some ice on there and he said I should be almost 100% within 2 days. And I was. Awesome. I never really knew what a chiropractor did or what an "adjustment" was. But now I know. It's nice to be able to breathe, cough, sneeze and laugh again. Pain free!

Physical Therapy

Well, the good news is that I do NOT have a stress fracture. The MRI shows periostitis...basically a fancy name for shin splints. I've had shin splints before (I'm guessing most runners have). They've never hurt this bad nor this long. So doc sends me to physical therapy.

I've already got a negative attitude going in. I mean, if they're just gonna do a bunch of stretches with me, what the heck do I need to keep going back for? Oh, yeah, I have to do this for 3 weeks then go back to the doc. I am so skeptical, but I have done everything I can possibly do on my own, so I guess I need the help.

Stephanie, my...consultant? Not really sure what to call her, but anyway, she sits me down and starts asking me a lot of questions. She nods her head a lot when I tell her I'm a runner and triathlete, blah, blah, blah, like she's heard all this before. I don't know if I should be upset because I think everyone's case is different or if I should be happy meaning she knows what's going on, so she'll be able to heal me quicker.

I explain to Stephanie that I really want to get this fixed in a hurry so I still might have a chance to be able to do IMFL. So she says she's going to treat me "aggressively." Great. Bring it. She massages the area a little, bends my leg and foot in all directions to see where/how it hurts. Next up is the ultrasound. I never really think that does anything. I can't feel it, so how the heck does it work?

But then Stephanie tells me she's going to go get this "tool" and try something. She then tells me it's going to hurt. Bring it. I want to get better. This tool is a small, metal piece shaped like a large nail file. It's smooth with rounded edges. Stephanie then begins to scrape this thing up and down against my shin. YEEEEOOOOOWWW!!!! I clenched my teeth and grabbed on to the table with both hands and my knuckles were immediately white. "Does that hurt?" She asks. I just said, yes, but keep going. If this is what we need to do, then just do it. I could feel the grittiness she was scraping on. I thought this was the bone, but she tells me it's scar tissue. In the process of her continuing to torture me with the scraping on my shin (I felt like I was going to bleed at any minute), she tells me it will probably bruise. Ya think? Hell, I don't care, just FIX IT! I was sweating and my whole body was tense. It wasn't until she went over to clean the tool off that I let go of the table and had to wipe the sweat off my forehead. I was so happy that was over.

Next, Stephanie hooks me up for some electrical stimulation. While I'm hooked to that machine, she lays a towel over the shin and places a bag of ice on top of that. The ice felt like heaven. The electrical shocks surged every minute, as if just to checking to see if I was awake. They don't hurt, just give a strong tingling sensation. I was almost sorry when that was over and Stephanie took that beloved bag of ice away from me.

Just like that, first session of physical therapy is over. I'm on my way to recovery.

Accenture Chicago Triathlon

So much has happened in the last week. But who has time to write (or shall I say type) about it all???!?

I'll tell you about what it's like to be in the ELITE Age Group wave at Accenture. Now, it's not all that big of a deal. If you can swim under 30 minutes and rank in the top 20% of your age group in the USAT rankings, they let you move into this wave. I've toyed with the idea of signing up for this wave for a couple of years but have been too scared and intimidated to actually sign up for it. When I signed up for this event in January, I must've been feeling pretty sure of myself!

Ultimately, I knew I'd get crushed in this wave. However, it would allow me to go off with the first wave of Olympic distance athletes...which was my motivation for moving into this wave. See, if you've never done Chicago, well, transition closes at 5:45am but you could be waiting around for your wave to start at 10:45am!! And if it's hot and sunny, you just bake out there for hours waiting for your time to go. The other advantage is that since it's the first group of Olympic distance triathletes on the course, and they wait about 15 minutes after the last wave of sprint people, you have a pretty clear swim and a clear bike course (at least for the first loop).

I got down to transition at about 4:40am on Sunday. The first 10-12 bike spots on my rack were already taken. Shoot, I forgot there would be men in this wave, too. This just adds to my nervousness. I did the safe thing and left my running shoes at home in the morning. As much as I wanted to do the whole race, a good race at Accenture (not that I'd have a good race with the shin pain) is not worth throwing away my chance at IMFL this year. Now I'm sure most of you are like, "Yeah, ok, right. Whatever." But it took a lot of strength to NOT run. The OCD-over-the-top-psycho athletes know what I'm talking about.

I quickly rack my bike, walk the swim in and bike out a couple times and I'm out of transition. I did not want to see any more elite-type athletes that would be on my rack and in my wave. I'm already intimidated, I need to just focus.

Since I didn't bring running shoes, I took my shoes off and left them in transition (for after the race) and walked barefoot over to find the Saint. There were some muddy spots in transition and mud squished between my toes as I walked. Ick. Then there was the long walk on the asphalt trail. My feet weren't too happy.

When you know you're not doing the whole race, your attitude changes. At least mine does. The pressure doesn't seem as great. In fact, as I sat along the edge of the water watching the sprint triathletes swim along, family and friends cheering for them, I wished I could be like some of them. The ones who stopped at talked to their fans. They didn't care about a time. They just wanted to finish. They were some of the slowest swimmers out there, yet they had people cheering for them, as if they were going to win. It is just such a different perspective and sometimes I wish I could kick back and do a race "just to finish." Well, I guess I've done that in running races, but not really triathlons.

Anyway the time is near, I smear Body Glide all over my legs and pull on my wetsuit. The Saint walks over to swim start with me and wishes me luck. The Challenged Athletes were also in this wave and they pushed all of us back to let the Challenged Athletes through. I thought it was strange because I know they probably weren't going to be first out of the water, but I guess someone needed to collect their prosthetic legs and they had to walk all the way to the front before taking them off...? I don't know, but I recognized that Ross guy from Coeur d'Alene when his camera crew blocked me into T2.

I wanted to get to the front, but I was scared. I knew I was quite out of my league. However, in hindsight, I should've pushed to the front. It's a bit frightening to be in with a bunch of athletes who will fight to the front as much as you will. I was about 8-9 rows back from the start of the wave. They allow us to jump in the water and my body, even with full wetsuit is shocked! The water was absolutely FREEZING! My hands and feet were already getting numb being in the water less than 30 seconds. Everyone was shocked and we were joking about how cold it was. "Are we in Alaska?" "Is this Galena??" The start couldn't come soon enough. Oh my gosh, it was some of the coldest water I've ever swam in. No one would have ever guessed the water temperature could be so cold at the end of August!

The horn sounded and we were off. I got kicked, hit, swam over, dunked, and well, you name it. It was one of the roughest swim starts ever. I was with this super aggressive group of people and I just wasn't used to it. Instead of being aggressive back, I swam with my head up and let all the fast people get away. Bad move. I ended up drafting most of the swim behind some guy who was really too slow for me. But it was easy and I was on cruise control! Once we got to the half way point, the field opened up and I was able to swim without feeling like my arms were being tied behind my back! I had no idea if I was in front or back of the back, so I just assumed I was IN the pack.

I was barely breathing hard when I got to the swim exit. I was happy to be done because my right rotator cuff was starting to act up. I got out, started running then pulled off to the side to get my wetsuit off. It came off pretty quickly and I tried to run to transition. The unfortunate combination of no shoes and hard concrete made my shin scream with every step. I slowed to a hobble as I watched many athletes run right past me. It was tough, but I refuse to make this injury any worse before I make it better. I limped on into transition and as soon as I got onto the grassy surface, the pain wasn't as bad.

The transition was sort of like a mud pit and at some points, the mud squished between my toes as I ran to my bike. Aw man, this is nasty! I got to my bike, not very winded nor shaky as I usually am, and quickly put on my socks...over my dirty, nasty, feet (it hurt to put clean socks on my disgustingly muddy feet) and had a pretty quick transition. Women on both the left and right of me came in huffing and puffing and seemed like they were taking forever to transition out.

I tried running to the bike out, but running in bike shoes through the nasty mud made it difficult. Wasn't even thinking about the shin at this point. I got on my bike after the dismount line and got a rather slow start up the ramp on to Lake Shore Drive. But then I got pumping. I was determined to have a good bike. I needed to redeem my poor bike split from Pleasant Prairie just the week before.

I was pedaling along smoothly when a VQ chick passed me. DAMMIT! I tried to keep her in close distance without drafting. I'd pass her, she'd pass me back. The first loop was unbelievable! It was empty sans a few aerobottle sponges and a couple of lost water bottles. We hammered back and forth until I finally said something to her. This sparked a good, small, friendly conversation. At this point, we helped each other along. I chased what turned out to be Lindsay Zucco, and was pretty happy that she didn't just fly away from me. It was a tough ride, but it was envigorating!

The second lap was a bit more difficult. Other Olympic distance athletes were now on the course and either they don't know the rules or choose to ignore them. I was riding with another woman, who I did not know, and we became trapped behind two men, riding on the right. Well, at Accenture, you're supposed to ride on the left, pass on the right. The two of us were yelling at these guys "ON YOUR RIGHT, ON YOUR RIGHT!" They would not move. LOSERS!!! We couldn't pass on the right, or we'd be in LSD TRAFFIC. So I moved to the left and passed, which is technically illegal, but I wouldn't have had to do it if the two egotistical guys would have MOVED when we were telling them we were on the right. Other chick followed right behind me. When she passed me back, I made a comment, she laughed and shook her head.

I just let it all go, pedaling smoothly and evenly into the finish. I felt like I could've probably pushed a bit harder, but you know, my results today weren't even going to count. I flew into transition and immediately stopped and moved to the side. I cheered for all the women who I was jockeying back and forth with on that bike who ended up behind me. It was pretty cool. But also a bit depressing. Here everyone else gets to go run and my day is done. Over. Finished. I had such big dreams of being in the elite wave, and the dream is ruined. I couldn't even go finish the course.

Guess I just have to hope I can qualify to be in the elite wave again next year. And maybe then, I can go into the event injury-free!!

Chicago Distance Classic

To run or not to run? That was the million dollar question. Though I'd stopped running almost completely, the shin wasn't really feeling so good. Just walking on it has been painful. I did lace up a new pair of shoes and go out for a short, 4 mile slow run mid-week, to test out the shoes and to see if I'd have to quit.

When you train for something that takes so long, like marathon or ironman, it's helpful to make small goals for yourself along the way. It helps keep you focused and motivated. I had set a time goal for this race way back in the spring when I was signing up for the marathon. I didn't want to let that time goal slip away, but there wasn't much I could do. My plan was to go, start at the planned pace, hold it as long as I could, but to stop if the pain was too intense. Basically, I had come to the realization that this was going to hurt. In the back of my mind, I know my long runs should be much further than this already, so one little accomplishment would be to cover the distance.

When I got up in the morning and was walking around to get ready to get downtown, the shin felt completely fine. This was encouraging! I got dressed, pulled on a brace over the shin, put the new shoes on and jumped in the car. We got down close to the race site pretty quickly, but then began the hunt for parking. I wished we would've left a little sooner because it seemed all the street parking was full. We pulled into a lot to park, but the credit card machine was down and we didn't have enough cash. (we rarely carry cash) I started freaking out. I was supposed to meet Bern at the CARA gear check and I had to go to the bathroom. I kept my eye on the clock as we drove around in circles, passing pay lots with excruciatingly long lines and well, the saint kicked me out of the car. Said I was making him nervous.

So I left the gear check bag and rushed to try and meet Bern at the designated meeting place. It was humid out and I was already sticky and a little sweaty just from my vigorous walk to the CARA gear check tent. But Bern wasn't there. It was just 15 minutes before the start of the race. The porta potty lines were much too long. I decided to make my way over to the race start and try to line up where I thought I might find Bern. I looked all over for her, but I had no idea what she was wearing and, well, it's hard for short people to find others in a big crowd. I was a bit disappointed that more people didn't put on deoderant before the race. People - when you are wearing a singlet and it's this hot and humid out before a race, you smell. It really is OK to slap a little deoderant on before you run. It won't hurt, I promise. And I can't just blame it on one guy...as I scooted around the people lining up to run, there were several people with the BBO problem! And we hadn't even started running! Sheesh!

Then they started the national anthem and I gave up my search for Bern. I figured I'd see her as she ran by me in the first few miles. The gun went off and the we walked/shuffled to the start. This was the first race I was doing with my new Garmin Forerunner 305 and I thought, OK, if nothing else, I'll get some good pace/heart rate info for future reference. With the very first run step, the pain shot through my shin. I grimaced and thought, "OK, should I stop now?" Seemed that would be a waste. I kept going and the pain shot through my shin with every step. I purposely didn't take any ibuprofen, if it was going to hurt, I wanted to feel it. I didn't want to make this nagging injury any worse.

I clocked the first mile at faster than the goal pace. But deep down, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up this pace. It hurt and I knew it wasn't worth it. We ran over a metal bridge and I slowed down significantly. It was a little wet out and very slippery over the bridge. I also have this fear that I'm going to get my foot all caught up in those holes, and I was bummed they didn't have any areas of carpet covering the bridge. At the marathon, they have big sections of the same bridge covered by carpet for the runners.

The next mile, still a pretty quick pace and would've kept me on my original goal. But my leg hurt. Now, it wasn't hurting any worse than when I started, but thinking about it was mentally draining. More bridges, pain still there, pace slowing...I'm losing about 10-15 seconds each mile. Now people are passing me. I tried not to let that get to me. I was not going to make my goal pace, not that I really expected to, ever since the shin problem came up. So I decided, well, if I can't make that goal time, I don't want to beat up my body for a race that doesn't really matter. The pain is there, but it's not getting any worse, and I have this thing this year - NO WALKING.

We're now at about the half way point. My clothes were absolutely soaked. I've been having this little problem where the soap that has been left in my shorts from the washing machine suds up and runs down my legs. It looks like salt. I gotta figure out how to stop that from happening! I learned long ago that the answer to this is NOT to pour a cup of water down my legs to wash it off. That only soaks my socks and shoes and sets me up for some huge blisters! I don't remember feeling very hot, I guess it was just the humidity that made things tough.

The course made you cross over some grassy section around mile 8. I didn't really care for that. I then missed the next mile marker, but I kept hitting my splits and I was now pretty consistent. (consistently slow, but still consistent!) Other people I knew were passing me, asking how I was doing. Dude, you're PASSING me, how the hell do you THINK I'm doing? I tried not to complain about it, just said I'm not doing so good, but you look strong, so just go run. See you at the end. Yeah. I have to go to the end now, because I have no idea how to get to the finish unless I follow the course. I may have mentioned before, I am directionally challenged.

We ran on what is also part of the Accenture triathlon course. I've run this many times and I knew I'd be running this part of the course again in 2 weeks. I thought to myself, "Gee, sure hope I feel better to run this in 2 weeks!!" I kept waiting for Bill (KK's husband) to pass me so I could finish up with him. But I had no idea where he had started and I just hoped that he'd see me when he passed. The next few miles got a little slower, pain still present, but not feeling any worse than the first mile. I now knew that I could finish. It didn't feel good, but it wasn't so bad that I'd have to quit. It was all about finishing now. With just 3 miles to go, I just tried to keep an even pace. My heart rate felt high, but I didn't feel like I was going fast. Was it the heat?

Now we came into this zig zag thing. Back and forth, back and forth...what the??? The course wasn't like this last year. I could hear the announcer at the finish, but we still had over a mile to go. I didn't really like all the zig zagging. I just wanted to cut across and get it over with! But, of course, that's cheating and I can't do that, so I followed everyone on the ridiculous pattern to get to the finish.

Down the final stretch, people started to sprint. And in true MJ fashion, I have no "kick". I continue on my steady pace to carry me across the finish line. I'm not happy with how it felt, not happy with my time, but I am happy that I was able to cover the 13.1 miles without stopping. It gave me confidence that had this been Ironman day, I could've finished. OK, true, that's not the "A" goal, but until I get this shin thing under control, I'm going to have to settle for less aggressive goals.

How much is too much?

In the past several weeks, I've noticed a nagging shin pain. Sort of the pain like you get with shin splints. At least, that's what I think it is. And, being the typical Type A, obsessive compulsive freak that I am, I have not stopped running. Oh no, if I skip a run work out, that will ruin my plans and I will lose all my fitness, right? No, wrong. The telltale sign for me this week was when I stopped during a run to take a quick break. Starting back up, the shin was screaming with pain and I had to sort of hobble/limp to get started. Once I'm running again, the pain is tolerable.

But I know that I'll never be able to do my Ironman if I don't nip this in the bud. Well, the shin has been bothering me for over 4 weeks now, can I still call this "nipping it in the bud?" Anyways, after that horrible run, I've been good to my shin. For the past several days, this ice pack has been my friend. 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off, yadda, yadda, yadda. This is getting boring already and I don't feel like it's any better. How do I know if it's any better? I don't know, I'd have to run on it, but then I fear I will undo all the "good" I've done in the past few days trying to get rid of the little annoyance. But then how much longer do I have to ice and stay off it?

I thoroughly believe that as athletes, our minds play tricks on us. So if we skip a workout or take an unplanned day off, we start to feel guilty or worse...GETTING SLOWER! And, sure, I've read all the stuff about you gotta recover to get stronger and all that stuff, but when I have an unplanned day off, it's like the time creeps by so slowly. That's the same day when you see a dozen different runners throughout the day, out on their workout. Or the same day when you get a call from a friend who says they just had the most amazing, tough, awesome workout. We start thinking, oh man, what am I doing? I'm such a slacker. I haven't worked out in ages (it's been about 14 hours), I'm losing everything I've worked for! It's only AFTER that period of rest or inactivity is over and you're back in the daily grind that you can look back and say, "gee, I only missed a couple days, no big deal." But at the time, it feels like an eternity. Why does the mind work that way?

Time to go get the ice pack. :(