Kathleen's Adventures

Hanging my medal on the Muscleman hook Karen and Ruthie gave me last year has become almost ceremonious after each race I do. CDA is on top. This post-it has been on my calendar at work for a few months now. It was pretty satisfying to be able to write a big "13:29" across it. It still stay on the month of June as I turn to July tomorrow. New goals are to come.

Click here for more pictures! Wow. What a day. I wish I could bottle up the awesome high you get during an Ironman to make it last just a little bit longer. Pre -Race Team W (my parents, Dr. Doug and Linda, Jon, and myself) did not arrive in CDA until about 1am Friday morning. You just don't realize (at least I don't...) how far across the country northern Idaho is from Houston! It takes a long time to get there no matter how you do it. Friday morning I did a quick swim before standing in line 1.5 hours to register. Note to self: get in line before 9:45am or after noon to register (opens at 10am). I got in line around 10:15 and stood in the cold windy rain for way too long - I guess it was good practice for braving similar elements that were to come on race day! Saturday was actually a fairly pretty day - the calm before the storm. Jill, Jon, and I did a quick 30 minute spin along the lake before our group met for a big group picture. After that I did a quick 15 min...

My little Kate is growing up. Upon returning from her first summer at Camp O, she is turning 8. Wow! She was so cute then! (But just as cute now too!)

"Every person needs to have their moment in the sun, when they raise their arms in victory knowing that on this day, at this hour, they were at their very best." -H. Jackson Brown, Jr. The sun might not have been shining on CDA Sunday night at 8:29pm, but it was certainly shining on me. For that, I am eternally grateful.

My super secret "would be cool but have no idea if I will do it" goal was to finish before the sun went down on Sunday... That's me - with a finisher's medal around my neck - long before it got dark outside!! I can't say "long before the sun went down" because I am not sure if it ever came up that day... Special thanks to Maggie for the great pic and for her awesome support and cheering on race day and for my super fun goodie bag before the race!

The full novel of a race report will be coming soon, but I thought I'd post something kind of funny (funny to me at least, or maybe funny isn't the right word...interesting?). When I hit the beach after the first loop of the swim, I was 35:xx on my watch. I was pleased when I saw that, but then as soon as I started swimming again, I realized the 2nd loop was actually going to be longer than the first because you had to swim a bit extra to get back to the start of the loop. I thought/hoped the time would be similar/faster to the first loop though because the crowds would have hopefully thinned out at least a tiny bit. Wrong. I hit the beach after the second loop at 1:15:xx, so the second loop definitely took me quite a bit longer. Val from Houston Racing made an awesome tracking spreadsheet he updated throughout the race, but looking at the difference between loop 1 and loop 2 on the swim for everyone else let me know I certainly was not alone! I hope you can read the graphic......

Holy cow!!! 13:29. Wow.

The big day is almost here! Long it will be, but have no fear. You have put in miles and miles And will finish amidst numerous smiles. The hard work is over and done. Now is the time for nothing but fun. May your spirits be high throughout the day, And may nothing come along to stand in your way. Ironman is as much about the journey as the destination, And you will be rewarded for all of your determination. At 7am the cannon will blast But be sure not to go out too fast. The cool water will run over your face, As you are now committed to the race. The swim exit sign will seem so far away But keep those negative thoughts at bay. 2.4 miles will be over before you know it, And you will start to realize your dreams of Iron are truly legit. On to the bike for the ride of your life you go, Be sure to give your friends a very loud “Yo!” Your legs will get tired and your body will get hot, But think of giving up? You certainly will not! The weather may cause quite a plight But will not deter ...

I will probably post more later, but so far it has been wet and cold. Today has been better and I'd love for it to be like this tomorrow, but we will see. Best news so far though is I found awesome socks just now at a local bike shop. I have hated not raising money for the American Cancer Society this time around. It just does not feel as special, but I feel like the economy now is not exactly inviting fundraising opportunities and I feel really bad asking people to donate over and over and over again. Anyways, the people in my life who have been affected by cancer are still very much on my mind and in my prayers and will certainly be present tomorrow. The socks will help remind me of that. Also here are a few pics from this morning.

The only question that has been asked more lately than "how is your ticker?" is "are you ready?" Honestly, I have no idea. Honestly, I feel rather unprepared, but I think that may just be because the training did not seem too significant this time around, as I blogged about earlier . On paper, I have trained, and trained well. For comparison, over the 22 week period leading up to CDA as compared to AZ, I have swam 36% more, biked 37% more, and ran exactly the same (that period leading up to IMAZ included Sunmart 50k and the Houston Marathon...both average miles per week busters!). That is quite a difference, and hopefully that difference will speak for itself come Sunday, but we shall see. The forecast is getting colder and colder - exactly the opposite position we were in last year for IMAZ when the high temps just kept moving up and up and up. I think cold, or cool, will be a good thing, but I just hope it isn't too cold or wet. It will still be bette...

I'm excited!!

Testing out mobile posting to my blog. Jon may be able to update during the day Sunday.

I woke up this morning and could not go back to sleep so I decided to get out of bed and pulled out the suitcase...guess this is really happening! The sun is coming up earlier and earlier and I think I really am a true child of the sun - when it is up I am awake. That will be very interesting when we get to CDA and the sun comes up at 4:30. I hope the hotel room has good curtains! I have been asked by several people over the last few days "how's the ticker?" Seriously - the term "ticker" was used over and over again. It was kind of funny. I haven't blogged about the POTS stuff lately mostly because it has not really been on my mind, which is a good thing. I did sit down and read back about 6 months on my blog the other day and I am blown away at how sick I was then and how healthy I seem to be today. I say seem because I have learned that you just never know. Over the past few months, things have seemed to be okay health-wise. I have not been cons...

So, um, it is this week. I had a brief encounter with "I'm doing an Ironman in 6 days" this morning, but it only lasted about 30 minutes. During that time though, instead of getting ready for work, I pulled out my options for race-day attire. Don't be fooled at the volume - it is all coming with me and I'll decide Saturday night or Sunday morning what I am actually going to wear. The weather in CDA is looking about as hard to predict as winter in Texas. Also, it is a matter of just how cold 50s might feel soaking wet at the beginning of a ride or just how warm mid 80s might feel at 5pm during a marathon. So many choices... And I'm already back out of ironman world and back into regular Kathleen world. This weekend was fun, and felt very different without a 70-100 mile ride and long run on the schedule. HRTC went to Firethorne past Katy to ride Saturday morning and I had a really good time. I pulled out my road bike which had not been ridden since October ...

...and I'm back to the "more concerned about other things" mode. Other things like the letter I got in the mail today from my niece at camp, or the one I got yesterday from the other one. They make me laugh and I am so happy to hear from them! Monday I went with my sister to drop Molly and Kate off at camp. Molly has been before and is an old pro at it all, but this was Kate's first year. She has been bouncing off the walls literally for the last year because she has been so excited. My parents and I usually go on closing day to pick them up when they have a little program and lunch, but this year that happens to be the same day as IMCDA so not only can we not go see them on closing day, but that ended any possibility of them coming up to CDA to watch. Dropping them off was very fun though and definitely made up for the fact that I won't be there to pick them up. Kate got a bit apprehensive when it came time to say goodbye and we all left hoping she was going to...

So I guess it is time to come to terms with the fact that I am doing an Ironman in 10 days. As odd as it sounds, this one kind of snuck up on me. All last weekend while in Beaumont I kept thinking "hm, I have an Ironman in two weeks, but I don't really feel like I do." I am finally starting to feel like I am doing a race soon, which is a good thing. Another good thing about the delay in any emotion whatsoever about it is also that I have not really gotten nervous yet. I am a little stressed when I think about all that I am supposed to do between now and getting on the plane, and wonder when I am going to sleep, but aside from that, all is well. I think in some sort of sick way that Ironman training has almost become a way of life for me. This being my third time around, it did not really seem to take a huge toll on me the way it has seemed to in the past. This training "season" was the longest and most intense I have done yet, but when I look back I fe...

...Clemens, that is. Maybe I should plan to stay in my hole a bit longer due to the potential for roid rage after my visit with the ortho today. I got lots of steroids. I have been having trouble with my right shoulder blade off and on for as long as I have been biking. This year though the pain has been much worse and has not gotten better with more miles as it has in past seasons. To give you an idea, it feels like someone is sticking a knife into my back/shoudler and then turning it, over and over again. I have had my bike fit worked on throughout the past ~2 months and that still has not helped. Jon saw me moving my arm around one day and said "ah, I think I know what your problem is"- as in the problem is definitely me, not my bike fit. My right shoulder blade does not track right, or the muscles are not developed/working properly. Here is a general idea of what is probably going on (bursitis), although I don't have the crepitus part, at least I hope not. ...

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(that is supposed to sound like I'm shouting out a big "hello" from my hole...does it?) Life in here has been good: I've spent a great evening with my boyfriend (a very rare occurrence on a weekday), run with old running buddies on National Running Day, met the most beautiful baby boy I have ever seen (I can say that since my nieces are obviously all girls) while spending the evening sharing dinner with his parents (good friends of mine), mingled at happy hour with co-workers, and had good conversations with some awesome people in my life. The hole is a good place.

I did not mean to alarm anyone with my last post, especially those of you in Beaumont. I am 100% okay - just going through a small rough patch that will be over before I know it. There is no need for worry, but a few prayers never hurt anyone! I am coming into town for the weekend on Friday and cannot wait. A weekend at home is just what I need.

I was going to post about my recent workouts and training, and now my taper for the upcoming IMCDA, but now those things seem unimportant and minor. I feel like I need to crawl into a hole. I need to get away from my "life" as it is right now and take a break. I have been rude, hypocritical, judgmental, immature, and inconsiderate. Please feel free to add to the list as you see fit; I am sure I am missing something. I have made bad decisions that have hurt people. For that, I am truly sorry. I am not perfect, but apparently at times I pretend that I am. I have more going on right now than anyone knows, even the ones who think they know, but that is not an excuse, just a statement to say that I do not think anyone will fully understand where I am coming from. Maybe I'll be back to life in a few days or a few weeks, I don't know. I just know for now I am done being me, done being the person who has become quite ugly. Hopefully my time in my hole will do me some goo...