Kathleen's Adventures

Just as I clicked "post" on my previous post, I receive an email from Sissy. Sissy is the mother of 5 who ran Sunmart with me and who was on the cover of Inside Texas Running with me. She is doing IMAZ as her first IM in two weeks with our group. I want to be like her when I grow up - I truly do. The email Sissy wrote included an essay written by her daughter. Reading it I realize once again my life just isn't that bad. I hope she doesn't mind me posting it, because it is definitely worth of being shared: A Christmas Not Taken for Granted Christmas Day of the year 2006, was approaching, and the excitement that always lingers prior to December 25, was surging through my every vein. We had already picked out a towering Christmas tree that filled the house with that pine tree scent commonly associated with the holiday. In my ideal world, I would wake up to the gifts neatly surrounding the base of the elaborately ornamented branches above them. My entire family would th...

My heart hurts. Bad. I hope this is all part of the ups and down of taper time and goes away after Ironman because it is getting very old. I had two great races this weekend, but neither mattered and my heart still hurts. This sucks. I feel like I'm in some state of limbo and absolutely cannot find my way out. I think I'm out only to find a huge roadblock slammed in my way. Then I'm back at square one again. I'm really hoping the finish line in Arizona provides closure on one part of my life and an open door to the next - not another door slammed in my face because I was too late or not good enough.

I was "flamed" on a discussion board last night when I posted about my new potential butt injury. Pretty much the sentiment was that it was stupid for me to go so hard yesterday and that all of the racing I have done leading up to IMAZ doesn't really make any sense and isn't conducive to having my best possible race at the ironman. It was suggested that I get a coach to help me understand both the "when" and "why." Here is what I posted in reply: "At the risk of sounding dumb, stupid, and/or ignorant, I feel like I need to explain myself a little in light of recent happenings. I am sure I could benefit from a coach, but it is not really the way I want to go about things. I truly enjoy figuring out a lot of this stuff for myself. I enjoy drawing from resources all over to structure a plan that I think best suits myself. Would this so-called "plan" be good for anyone else? Probably not. To say it isn't conventional would be an unde...

I'm in bed hoping to be asleep shortly after a very long weekend. It began bright and early Saturday morning around 4:50 am. I packed up my bike and stuff for the weekend and headed down to Galveston for my races. Saturday morning was the Lonestar sprint race. It was a .3 mile swim, 12.5 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run. I did the same race last year (run was 3.0 miles instead of 3.1) and finished 17/57 in my age group with a time of 1:27:31 . I set my goal for this year at 1:22, hoping to shave a bit off each of the 3 disciplines, but was a bit worried that was too lofty of a goal considering the run was longer this year and I think it may have even been shorter than 3.0 last year. The actual race was pretty uneventful, but it was fun. I had a good swim and enjoyed riding "fast" for once. I passed a lot of people on the bike and only 1 girl in my age group passed me. Then came the run. I'm just slow. My GPS wasn't working right so I had no idea how fast I was really...

http://results.active.com/pages/searchform.jsp?rsID=60766&orgID=234626&pubID=2 (don't ask how many women total raced...it WAS more than 5)

I'm getting up bright (well pitch black) and early in the morning to head down to Galveston for my first tri of the season. I will be doing the sprint distance tri at the Lonestar Triathlon Festival Saturday and the aquabike (swim 1.2 miles, bike 56, no run) on Sunday. I'm super excited and I think the change of scenery and pace are much needed. Tons of Houston Racing and Ironman Arizona people are going to be racing over the weekend, so it should be a great time. The weather isn't exactly looking cooperative, but I can't change that. Now I have to spend this evening getting all my gear together and "race ready." I have to decide which outfit to wear on which day. That is a REALLY tough decision to make! It is hard to believe the biggest race of my season is only 2 weeks away, and only 2 weeks after my first race of the season! Good luck to everyone else racing this weekend!!!

I think I'm losing my mind! Actually, my mind is ok , it is everything from my neck down that isn't! I skipped my usual spin/run brick tonight and just went to the park to run instead. I barely even ran - maybe half of the 3 mile loop. That's it. My legs feel like they weigh 80 lbs each. I saw Liam bike by and then entertained myself by doing math to figure out when he would pass each time again. I was pretty much spot on each time. I won't say how many times he rode the 3 mile loop while I ran (walked) it! I was barely even running at a 10:00 pace yet I somehow expect to run 8:xx pace on Saturday in my race? Usually things work themselves out in situations like this, so hopefully my real legs magically reappear by Saturday morning. Also, does the rock hard ab workout still work as well if I'm eating whopper eggs while doing it? I sought out some retail therapy at Target after my lovely run/walk and ended up buying 4 bags of Easter candy...it was 50% off ...

Saturday was my LAST day of big training and it went off without a hitch. Shellie and I ran 16 miles and had the pleasure of Lisa's company for the first few miles of our run too. The 16 was a bit rough towards the end, but my mind was checked out as much as my body was by that point. I ran home after a hearty Otto's breakfast and made the obligatory brownies to take to Twin Lakes. I FINALLY swam decently long out there - 4 loops, or about the same distance as the 2.4 mile ironman swim. It was boring, but the water felt great and the weather was good, so I convinced myself that if I swam the distance then I didn't have to do it again before the race if I didn't want to. I wasn't tired afterwards either, so that is always a good sign. I took my wetsuit off in the water before I got out and "iced" my legs for a few brief seconds. It is pretty nice that swimming in the cold water does provide a good recovery after a long run. I wasn't sore at all t...

So I tried out my new HED 3 race wheels today on our bike ride and learned a valuable lesson: 18 wheelers create quite a cross wind when they blow by and I almost fall off the road each time. This near death experience is intensified by the race wheels as they are a little more sensitive to stuff like that! We also learned another lesson: our usually lovely quite route that we have only ridden on Sundays is FULL of 18 wheelers on Fridays...oops! Also, the weatherman lied AGAIN. We were supposed to have light winds. Ha. It was windy once again. However, it was very nice to get our last long ride out of the way on Good Friday, leaving Sunday open for actual Easter events. I was scheduled to do one last 100 miler, but called it quits after 80 miles. I had averaged 17.8mph which is way faster than I plan to ride in the Ironman, so I just called it an 80 mile speed workout, and said it would have been the same as a slower 100 mile ride...right? Anyways, everyone in the group is looking supe...

Candy. My weakness. Always has been, always will be. I gave it up for lent, along with cokes and fast food. I haven't had a sip of anything carbonated or caffeinated (well, except my Infinit nutrition I use for weekend long runs and rides) and haven't considered driving through any fast food joint since February 6th. But the candy? Gees. I was good until March 7th. That was the day I had my biopsy on my back and nearly fainted after leaving the dr's office. I decided candy was the only thing that would make me feel better, and it did. Sadly, I decided about 4 hours later it would make me feel better again! And then again a few days later, and then again last Sunday, and yesterday, and today!! You get the idea. I went to Beaumont yesterday for my 1 day Spring Break today and of course there were mini reeces in the candy jar. And of course I had them. Gees. I'm bad. I've never "cheated" like this before. Oh well, at least I'm ok on two o...

Sunday morning I headed to pick up Ruthie and head down to Seabrook for the Seabrook Lucky Trails Marathon and Half Marathon . When we got out of the car it was wiiiiiiiiiiiiindy and cooooooooold! Like really, really windy. Annoying enough to bother you on the run. I was very thankful I wasn't biking that day though and felt for all my friends doing their 86 mile ride in that wind. The race is on a loop course of running trails that wind through the little community of Seabrook. It is pretty neat - you are in the woods at one point, then running on a little wooden bridge over a marsh at another, and then all of a sudden all you see ahead is ocean. The half marathon was 2 loops on the course and the full was 4 loops. I had decided early on that I was going to run the 2 loops of the half race and then head back out for a 3rd loop to get my 20 mile long run in. The race started at 7:30 and was pretty uneventful...until mile 3. I had been running behind Mark (one of my dad's cowork...

Saturday was one of the prettiest days we've had in Houston in quite a while. A bit hot if anything, but I'm not complaining. I rode the Tour de Houston organized bike ride Saturday morning and had a really good time. It was advertised as a 70 mile route going mainly up and down the Hardy Toll Road. How often do you get to ride on the toll road? The ride was good and the wind wasn't super strong. I saw various Houston Racing members throughout the ride, but never really stuck with anyone. Also, my plan to shamelessly draft never came to fruition because people were all over the place and I never found anyone keeping a steady speed or a straight line! We had a bit of a cross/head wind on the way out, but nothing to complain about, and the tail wind on the way home was nice. I ended up flying on the way back and was holding 25mph for decent stretches at a time. That certainly never happens. I was at 17.9mph average when I got off the tollroad and tried soooo hard to get it up...

After 2 days of intensive ice cream therapy, my spirits seem to be lifting a little bit. Sorry for being no fun yesterday. I'm looking forward to a great weekend with great weather, and perhaps a little more ice cream. This is also a gift I received today that was beyond gratifying.

Is that how it goes? I'm about to be a huge Debbie Downer, so read no further if you don't want to hear me complain for a while. Do you ever wonder what life is really all about? What your purpose is? I'm wondering that right now. Sometimes I thank God for all the fabulous people I have in my life and think I am so lucky, yet at other times I feel completely, totally invisible, and beyond lonely. I'm feeling a bit that way now. I'm sick of not being good enough. I'm sick of not being fast enough. I'm sick of not being pretty or skinny enough. I'm sick of not being part of the "popular crowd." I try so hard to do the "right" thing. I feel like I am constantly bending over backwards for people, and 99.9% of the time I love doing so and don't expect a single thing in return. Sometimes though, I just need a little something, some sort of reassurance, that people do appreciate me and the things that I do. If no one appreci...

...well for 48 hours at least. I'm officially overtrained and officially not surprised (am I the first to mention that triathletes are stubborn and we all think we are invincible?). How do I know this? I can barely hold my head up and nothing edible is safe anywhere around me. Other symptoms of overtraining include inability to sleep and being emotional. Hmm....yes, that sounds familiar as well (see post above). I also know this because I ran at the park last night on an absolutely beautiful evening. It was 75 degrees without a cloud in the sky and basically no humidity. We get about 3 of these days a year in Houston, yet I did not appreciate it. I couldn't even muster up a 3 mile loop around the park and ended up walking the last half of it. There is no way I could have made it through my planned 1 hour of riding and then 4 mile run. I did swim this morning and that went pretty well, but I'm hanging up the workout gear for a solid 48 hours (I know...watch out!) ...

That's me. I think I fell asleep at work today. The good thing is even though my energy level is low my spirits are still relatively high. I managed to get a short recovery run in yesterday and a good swim and run in today. I pray that I will pass out cold as soon as my head hits the pillow tonight, but it doesn't always happen that way for me. The main thought I have getting me through all this is that I am so far ahead of where I was last year at this point. I'm confident I could go into the race tomorrow and do well and I'm also not one bit surprised that I'm so tired. I will work on really trying to balance training with rest for the next 1.5 weeks and then it is TAPER TIME!

Friday night we had an IMAZ group dinner at Berryhill's and had a very good time. I think we all needed to hang out away from bikes and running shoes. Shellie and I put together goodie bags for everyone and I think they were a hit. They included light sabers (full You Tube demonstration here ) with the following poem attached: Hi! I am your trusty new light saber And am here to do you quite the favor. When the desert sun departs, And all that is left is the dark I will be here to light your way. IMAZ will prove to be a very long day, But the force will surely be with you; And you’ll prove to be more than you ever knew. Put me in your special needs for the run And I will provide all sorts of fun. When your spirits are low or the road gets tough, One flash from me will be more than enough. For I have an undeniable way To make you smile the pain way. And when your journey is finally through, Raise me high in the sky, for now the Ironman is YOU! They also included little baggies of Sta...

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- the only things in my dishwasher are 12 bowls and 12 spoons - my legs did not know the definition of "run" tonight at track - every piece of furniture in my apartment has become a drying rack of some sort - my birthday balloons are still decorating my apartment - I constantly find myself dreaming about the Mr. Ghatti's pizza buffet - it is 7:45pm and I am getting in bed in less than 10 minutes - I smell like chlorine - my tri bag smells like, well, not good Only 3 more big weekends of training and then it is taper time. I think I can make it!

Apparently a tornado came along and picked all of us up in Brookshire, TX at 7:30 this morning and dumped us on the Ironman Arizona course. Wow. Windy is an understatement. Holy cow. Liam said he almost ended up in the Brazos river. I had to pedal downhill to make sure I didn't get blown back uphill backwards. My arms are even tired from holding my car straight down I-10 on the way home. Despite the awful winds that were present from the absolute start of the ride, I did what I set out to do today: 100 miles, come hell or high water (or tornado). I rode all but about 7 miles of the ride entirely by myself, but I'm getting better at that. It didn't seem to bother me, especially when I grabbed my music for the last 25 miles. Our group started out quite large and ended up not so large as people were dropping left and right. I personally don't blame them and think they are probably smarter than I, but I was too stubborn to not make 100 miles. Looking at weather reports, the...

Heading into Saturday morning I was expecting to come write a post about how I got 3 PR's in 3 weeks. Well, 2 in 2 weeks is going to have to be good enough. I ran the Rodeo Run 10k and had high hopes heading into it. I wasn't expecting 75 degree temps and that familiar Houston humidity at the 9:45 am start though. My previous 10k PR is 54:37 from a flat course in Beaumont on a 42 degree morning. I ran 55:05 yesterday, but it was absolutely the best I could do, so I am not upset. I'm proud of myself for even doing that well. Thank goodness I ran into Augie at the start and we hung off each other's shoulders until about 4.5 miles in when we both said "screw it" and slowed down a bit and talked each other to the finish. I began the day meeting Shellie at her apartment and we ran the 2 miles from there to the race start. As we headed out, we ran over a bridge over the trail riders heading downtown which was pretty cool. After the race we ran more miles,...