What a difference two decades make!

Back in 1990 when I was commuting from Chicago to St. Joseph, MI to play in the Southwest Michigan Symphony, if you had suggested I would come to St. Joe to do a half-iron triathlon, I probably would have suggested you put down the crack pipe. After I stopped laughing.

Fast forward to 2010. I was one of 48 Team in Training members from MI, IL, and IN. Our group was a wonderful mixture of old and young, newbies and veterans. Our common thread was that we had each raised several thousand dollars for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and had dedicated our races to honored heroes. My race was in honor of my brother-in-law Jim, who is currently fighting not one, but several types of lymphoma.

Race Day, July 31, 2010

You want us all in the hotel lobby WHEN? Really? Groan. 4am finds lots of groggy-eyed and nervous TNT members picking at breakfast and doing a lot of general fidgeting. We carpooled to the beach, and set up our transition area. It was nice not to have to deal with getting the bike there, since we had racked them the previous day. Most of us were completely set up before 5am, when the rain started. We found a pavillion to sit under and watch the lightning, and hoped the announcer was correct that the weather would skirt us to the north.

The Swim

By 6:30 it was time to get the wet suit on and walk to the swim start. The swim had two starting points, depending on the current that day. Either way, it was a 1.2 mile walk down the beach, with hordes of other participants and very slow-moving spectators. What should have taken about 20 minutes took around 40. The race organizers did a very poor job of informing us exactly WHERE the swim gear check was, and many of us had bags with sandals and other miscellany, since we weren't allowed back into transition after 6:30. I jogged the last quarter-mile and got there just as my swim wave was going onto the beach. Where's the gear check? Just up there, about 150 yards away up the sand dune and out of sight. Oh now that's really convenient. Luckily there were some TNT supporters standing nearby, and I just gave the bag to them and asked them to check it when they could. Sheesh.

Unbelievably, Lake Michigan was a balmy 76 degrees. Wow that was nice. It was easy to sight, as the buoys simply followed the coastline back to transition. Keep the beach to your right and let 'er rip! Haha, yeah, like I'm a fast swimmer. However, the current was extremely helpful and I surprised our coach Sean when I showed up at transition about 10 minutes sooner than expected. 46 minutes! Best swim ever.

Transition was a very long slog through loose sand, back up to the bikes. I jogged some of it, but took my time. Got to the bike and washed the sand off my feet. Considered firing up the hibachi to dry out the socks, but wrung them out instead. At least the bike shoes have drainage holes.

The Bike

After a 5-minute T1 (transition 1), I left on the bike. Had the ride of my life, despite discovering that the tune-up instead had totally jacked up my gearing. Sometimes it would shift up, often not quite all the way down, and forget changing to the big ring in front. Had to slam the gears around to get them to shift, and did the entire distance (on rolling hills) using the smaller ring. However, I felt great and had a terrific ride. My biggest concern was that I would drop the chain, or worse yet, break it from having to slam it around so much. I passed five or six people with flats, and hoped that wouldn't happen either. Finally, at 54 miles and 3:07, my back tire blew. I sped up, and probably made it a few hundred more yards before it was completely flat.

Theoretically, I know how to change a tire. I actually have done it once. Was it worth the time? No. Was it worth trying to at least jam a CO2 cartridge in it and see if it would hold maybe another half mile? Sure. Was I successful? No. Don't know if it was user error (most likely), destroyed valve, or what, but it didn't work. So I walked it in, and had an extra-long T2. Got a lot of encouragement from spectators coming down the chute, and quite a few offers of help from other racers, which was nice.

Note to self: Stop being such a girl and learn how to quickly change a bike tire.

The Run/Trudge

I don't recommend walking two miles in bike shoes. It's hell on the shins. It felt heavenly to put on my (now almost dry) running shoes and start to jog a little. I felt ok on the run, but definitely did not eat enough on the bike and simply ran out of fuel. I had already taken several gels, and had eaten half a PowerBar and banana, and consumed all of my protien/carb drink on the bike, but it wasn't enough. I couldn't run far at a time, so alternated very short walk breaks with marginally longer running stints. The aid stations and volunteers were wonderful, with bananas, gels, water, Gatorade, and cups of ice, so I just kept trying to eat something. It helped, but the damage was done. I had to walk quite a bit, but was able to finish in a respectable (for me) 2:38. Many thanks to our coach Sean who found me at mile 10, let me whine a little bit, then encouraged me.

The Joys of Perimenopause

TMI warning: If you are not the least interested in the adventures of being a perimenopausal woman, you may want to skip this section.  Consider yourself warned.

Mother Nature decided why have one period this month when I can have two? The rude surprise began at 9am Friday morning. Perfect. I was lucky it was not the full-blown chronic fatigue of July Period #1, but still... Got through the swim and bike feeling great, then around mile 3 of the run my back just started killing me. Men, if you want to experience the joys of racing with your period, have your running partner smack you in the back with a 2x4, behind your kidneys. Then run. Every time the pain starts to subside even a little, have your partner smack you again. Keep running. Do this for five miles. Do it until you think you're gonna puke. Then stop with the smacking and enjoy the rest of the run. Prostate exam or racing with periods? Hmmm. Not sure which is more joyous.

The Finish

Sucked it up and jogged it in, even though it darned near killed me! Official time was 7:14:36, but I still consider it my PR. I lost 30 minutes walking the bike in, so probably would have had a time closer to 6:50 without the flat. Under 7 hours, in any case. So I'll take it.

I'll also take the quick recovery. No aches and pains to speak of. Neck is slightly stiff from being aero on the bike, which was also a milestone for me. I was down in the aero bars more than ever before, for the entire 54 miles, only coming up for aid stations and sharp course turns. Thank you Nebo Ridge for an outstanding bike fitting! Sunday was a wonderful massage at Massage Envy, and this morning a much-needed adjustment from my chiro Dr. Drew. Between that and coffee, life is good!

Team Indiana at 4 a.m.!