SHAKE IT OFF!

 
Unknown Voice:  "Knock Knock!"
 
Turtle:  "Who's There?"
Voice:  "Time to Wake Up from your long post Ironman hibernation"
Turtle"  Sounds:  Rumble, 360 roll inside of the shell, stretch yawn, open one eye "I don't want to!"
Voice:  "You have been off for 110 plus days since your last race!
Turtle:  "I don't want to race.  I want to stay in the dark, do yoga, and eat chocolate."
Voice:  "What happened to working on your LIMITORS and improving your run."
Turtle:  "That was then and this is now"
Voice:  "You paid 100 dollars to get that missing medal from your collection, now get up and crawl through it!"
Turtle:  "FINE!  I will go but it is against my free will because I don't want to TRI anymore!  I am tired and it hurts to move my body"
Voice:  "SHAKE IT OFF"

"Shake it off. Shake it off".  That is all everyone seems to be saying around here.  It has been a very long post race hibernation and my body and mind have not been in sync.   Over the past 2 months, I finally went to do my 50 year old physical after I completed Ironman Chattanooga and was bombarded with tests and specialists for a deluxe work up just to learn my body is aging, precancerous, overweight, and imbalanced.  In some respects being proactive is the responsible thing to do, but it tends to make me crazy and full of anxiety.  Sometimes the more information you find, the more confusing the puzzle gets.  I start a reading and research frenzy of how I can overcome my challenges and live healthier, but my choices and decisions are not all in alignment.  I started to build a base, but my heart was not it in and I wanted to escape from my passions.  I stopped TRI-ing and turned to Yoga.  It was a wonderful diversion, but I was preferring my mat to my miles and the prospect of participating in the upcoming events was slipping away.

Finally, I listened to the voice in my head and a few friends and went downtown to Phoenix to collect my race packet for the Rock N Roll Half Marathon.  I had signed up a while ago with the intention of focusing on running since that had been the weak link in my triathlons in 2014.   So I walked through a sea of runners to pick up my race number and t-shirt while I was still questioning why I was even bothering as I had no desire to run 13 miles since I stopped running about a month ago.  For some reason, my pride or competitive spirit would not allow me to switch to a shorter race as there were also 5 and 10K distances.  I decided I could probably run half and walk the other half and that would be a good training day and maybe I would get inspired by being around energy of the other participants.

I set out all my race gear, but when my alarm went off, I still did not want to go drive into the mass chaos of one of these "running" races.  Really, I am not really a runner, I am a triathlete, and a retired one at that (TWO AND THROUGH in the Ironman World).  I pulled off a good long bike ride yesterday, and maybe now I can work my way through the crowd for a long run.  If I can do this, perhaps there is still time to pull off a finish at the 70.3 I signed up for that is now 10 weeks away.

Once you are fully converted into a triathlete, returning to a "run only" race can be like traveling to foreign territory.  You don't have to wake up before 5 am.  You can actually eat breakfast and read the paper.  The only thing you have to pack is your running shoes, bib number, 2 gels, some electrolytes and a throw away top.  You park your car, follow the people to the potty and secure your 12x12 inch spot in your corral.  I became increasingly anxious as strange people in all kinds of outfits started crowding around me with their ipods and ear buds.  I was like WTF, didn't these people sign up for this event to listen to the LIVE BANDS.  A few triathletes who could just not try to blend in stood out by wearing their Ironman Tri Tops and I have to admit I wore my IM arm warmers.  Soon there was not much space to breathe and I had to remind myself there was air above me (being short does not help in this situation).  More people squeezed in and finally the 20 minute walk to the start line.  I considered hopping the fence in the opposite direction from the runners and aborting this mission.  As we started to move, some of the anxiety dissipated and finally corral 9 was released into the wild.  I appreciated the 1-2 minutes between groups as even though there were thousands of participants, there was no trampling.  No runners that I know of were hurt in this stampede.  RNR has this race down to a science.  Everything was well organized from parking, to potty lines (although I did not appreciate the photographers taking pictures in the potty lines), corrals, police and volunteer support, aide stations, mileage markers and the bands.

I was planning on about a 3 hour day with a combination of running and walking and hoping to find some others to share that with.  The runners were fairly quiet around me and I was busy passing and being passed by many.  The first 2 miles came up quickly and by the second mile, I decided to stop looking at my watch and just enjoy the day since I had to rely on running at a comfortable pace I could sustain without training.  The bands did make me smile and I made a point to wave my arms and scream for each one.  I am not sure the runners appreciated them enough and as a parent of a musician I felt the need to cheer and scream for each one.  As mile 4 came up I had a plan for alternating between my new capsules I had found containing a mix of salt and herbs and my Honeystinger Ginstinger Gels.  My legs were tight and tired from the previous days bike ride and I was just trying to keep running to the half way mark.  I took a gel and kept running and I actually started feeling better the longer I ran.  I knew I had to contain my joy over this feeling because I knew my body was not trained and could turn against me at any time.    When I reached the 8th mile I peeked at my watch and realized if I ran the last 5 miles at a 12 minute pace, I could finish my run in under 2:30 giving me more time to get home and make it to my son's event.   My competitive self emerged and kept the legs running.  At mile 9 a big hill appeared on one of the more scenic sections of the course and I thought to myself, "they just HAD to put a hill in this race" and I was feeling a little high at that point and pulled out my turtle wings and was able to maintain my pace up the hill.
 

I also thought about how good this Ginstinger gel has been to me and I should do a commercial for them.  Although what felt fast to me during the race was much slower then in previous years, but it was nice to be able to keep moving.  Questions that passed through my quiet mind were, mmmm, wonder what this would have felt like if I had properly trained or if my body was feeling healthier and lighter AND could I get my body in better condition for Oceanside in just 10 weeks.    Regardless, I compared the way I felt running a half unprepared to running a half or full in a triathlon and I don't want to say it was a piece of cake, but it is certainly a different experience, maybe one I could TRI again.

I finally had a decent training weekend and a glimmer of hope that maybe I could pull off the 70.3 in Oceanside that I had signed up for and has been tormenting me.  This might be my most unconventional training period since beginning triathlons as I like to go into a big event prepared both mentally and physically.  The aftermath of doing a long or hard workout or race without a base has a long lasting impact on me (as I waddle from my bed to my kitchen and back hoping this soreness does not last too long as I have a race to train for).  REMEMBER before you say, "SHAKE IT OFF!",  "IT IS ALL ABOUT THE BASE!" 
 
The bigger question is can you build a sturdy base in a short time!  Stay tuned to find out the answer.
ROCK N ROLL BABY!