A Series of Unfortunate Events

Here I sit with just less than 8 weeks to go until my second Ironman Race.  I often feel like I am an actor in the movie GROUND HOG DAY, when Bill Murry wakes up over and over to face the same day.  Eventually he learns from the mistakes and tries to turn the same day he repeats into a better day.  For me, I barely recall that I rode 85 miles on Saturday as one workout blends into the next.   It is like it never happened (except for the occasional reminders when my body screams out in the middle of the night), but I am thankful each morning for another chance to try it again and hopefully do it a little better.

The challenge has been that this year seems to be filled with "A Series of Unfortunate Events" like Lemony Snicket's book series.  Illness, fatigue, weight gain, loss of fitness, car accident with subsequent whiplash and post concussion syndrome, training in heat=nausea, vomiting, dizziness, mechanical issues with bike, and inflammation and pain here or there.  I understand that being an Ironman is about how we react to the situations and conditions that arise on race day and all these little roadblocks are part of the training to determine how we are going to get around them when it is showtime!  Just sometimes, when you are on a long streak of "bad weather" it plays with your mind.

This past weekend, I was determined that this was going to be my "breakthrough weekend" and that I had to reach 85 miles on my bike in order to progress to the longer rides required in my last 2 training cycles.  Again, I go out armed and dangerous with a plan for the conditions that haunt me.  I chose a route that was going to be challenging as my bike course looks to be a rolling one in Chattanooga (I still think it is hard to translate from paper to road and you never know if it is going to be as difficult as the elevation map might lead one to believe, but it is best to be prepared).  I load up with some pre-workout drink as a full meal is not in the cards unless I want to get up a 2 am.  I take some anti-cramping tablets which I am not sure if they work or have a placebo effect, but I have not cramped since taking them.  I had 2 frozen water bottles and a camelback filled with ice, water and Nuun tablets.  I have cut back on salt tablets as I think they might be one of the culprits to making me nauseous and most of the other nutrition contains electrolytes.  I bring along some more natural foods to try and some new honey stinger gels with ginseng and caffeine.  I had some cashew chews, figs and fig newtons in my pouch to give my whole food products a try. 

Everything was moving along fine.  I climb my first hill spinning up and it did not feel too badly.  Then I have to conquer 3 steep hills in order to get to the meat of my workout.  It was with great difficulty I survived as I was questioning what happened to the legs I wore in California where I was climbing up steep grades.  I get to the rollers that I so used to love and all of a sudden the legs that have been learning to spin were not going anywhere and by the time I got to the next section known as 9 mile hill, I could not get over 75 rpm or above 7 mph on my bike that used to take me up that hill at 12-13 miles per hour.  All, I could think was this felt difficult, but I am not sure why and how could I be getting weaker.  I have been training day after day at least I thought I was, but now I cannot even remember.  The heat was teasing me but I was holding my own and had my favorite sherpa on the course handing out ice to keep me cool, but my body was fatiguing and I anticipated that my body could react to the heat at any moment and I could blow up, so I decided to take it closer to home and finish on my rollers.  I can't distinguish between heat anxiety and reality anymore, but I don't want to be collapsed out there on the side of the road.  I continued to get slower on sections that should provide relief.  I finally got off my bike and fiddle with my brakes.  They must have been rubbing this entire time.  I make it home and my entire front brake is loose and non functional.  I storm in my house in a tizzy but my husband just reinforced my brake was broken and I saw no reason to stop there as I could ride on my rollers without a brake.  Fifty miles on your bike with your brakes rubbing can take a lot out of you, but I still had 35 more miles to go to meet my goal.  I had to take it 5 miles at a time and then put the decision to continue to stop short up for a vote with me, myself and I.  So 5 miles at a time at a very slow pace, I decided to take this for what it was a simulation of an Ironman Bike Ride with rough patches.  I have been cancelling my brick runs after most of my temperamental long rides, but I was already highly under the influence of my mantra "I AM NOT A QUITTER" and I was going to complete this workout and go out an run (NO MORE DNF workouts or at least not on this day), so I filled up a bottle of ice, water and NUUN and went out until it ran out which took 30 minute.  A workout that should have been under 6 hours took me 7.5 hours.  All in a days hard work when training for an Ironman.

So I beat myself up once again thinking faulty equipment was a sign of my own weaknesses.  It took me almost 4 hours to consider something was going on with my bike or to muster up the strength to get off and take a look.  When I signed up for Ironman AZ I changed my thinking from WHY to WHY NOT?  I still have a lot of soul searching to do to muster up the strength and confidence of my Ironman past.  It will never be the same as the last and it will be its own race and its own day.  I have a lot to prove to myself and a series of unfortunate events is not going to take me down, at least not without a fight!

Today I had a great session with my bike coach Jeff Lockwood, who tried to instill some confidence and redirect me back onto a good path.  It is incredible to have a person that can get into your mind to direct your own body to accomplish a mission.  We can so often times be our own worst enemy and we can be replaying the same day over and over far too long.  What does it take to make the change, to find the way around the roadblock, or to take the next opportunity and make it better.  Some days anger can be your fuel. I am sure there are less volatile energy sources to tap into, but as long as you keep tri-ing, you are bound to find your way to the finish.

This week is about holding steady and continuing with intensity and then resting toward the end of the week.  Sunday will be another opportunity or IM dress rehearsal racing the Mountain Man Triathlon Long Course in Flagstaff, AZ.  It can be another day of testing limits with hills, altitude, and a range of weather possibilities.  I look forward to growing another skin for the more layers I have, the more prepared I will be.  This will also be my final race under age 50 even though I race in the 50-54 age group this year.  We are closing in on the 50 day mark to IM Chattanooga.  I am shooting for 50 days, A Series of Fortunate Events.....Choo Choo
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