Sore, Tired and Hungry

Sore, tired and hungry; this was my status from the beginning of 2012 and most of my summer. No, I am not getting tortured and luckily I have not hit hard times here in the U.S, and I can still feed myself! This is a long overdue post, so bear with me.

My "blissful" status was mostly due to exercise and working towards one of my bucket list challenges. I took it upon myself to sign up for an full distance triathlon in January with my friend Andy Smith. I thought hard about this challenge during one summer stint in '09 as a wild-land fire fighter. I figured if I could hike steep hills with a 50lb pack in extremely hot weather, I could do a lot of other tough shenanigans! This race is called Vineman. It's not your typical "Ironman" brand that most people associate a triathlon with but it's the exact same distance and suffering. Following in the footsteps of my wonderful ex-boyfriend Eliot, I arranged to subject myself to a swim, followed by a spin on the bike, and finish it off with a run. The thing is, it was going to be a long day. Start with a 2.4 mile swim, then a 112 mile bike, and top it all off with a 26.2 mile run. All for what you ask? Oh, just because I can and what the heck, it's only one hard day of exercise!

I won't bore reading time with stats of my time spent on the bike, in the pool, and running the hills. I probably should have done more, but alas this time around life can only allow so much when you have a full-time job and when you want to do other outdoor adventures. Training does take over your life and I think it's pretty important to incorporate fun with friends too. I am sure being a full-time triathlete as a full time job would put me in the "ripped" department and I take my hat off to their dedication. Spending more time working on the 3 events has made me more confident as an athlete, and it feels good building strength. I have gained a greater appreciation of the folk who succeed in their choice of sport, hard work gets you places and as long as you do it with integrity then life is good.

For the 2 weeks leading up to race day, I had developed more soreness in my legs and this was happening with less workout time. I was not sure if my body or mind was playing tricks on me, maybe they were in cahoots on it! I guess with pre-race anticipation anything is possible. I had tried to remain calm and positive that I would get through it and in all honesty, it's probably not the worst thing that I was about to put myself through and it won't be the last. When is comes to "exercise" the majority of the human race are a bunch of whiners. Many of us like to use the "oh I could never do that" line. In-fact, most of us are capable of doing anything, the choice being whether we want to push ourselves or not. We should not live by the "if only" or "I should have" line, life really is too darn short.

Nevada represent! 

Negotiating with my lazy agent. I want a basket of kittens as my prize, but I may have to settle for wine.

The end of July came around pretty fast, I guess time flies when you are having fun. So with an early exit from work, Eliot and I pushed out of Reno to make our way to Guerneville, CA. Once you drive over Donner Pass, you leave the calmness of the mountains and throw yourself into the commuting rat race of Sacramento and San Francisco. We pushed onward through Sonoma wine country. With a quick stop at Windsor to sign a waiver and get my race number, it was time to keep calm and carry on. The easy part was done, it was time to continue to my uncle Ger's property in the hills above Guerneville for an early dinner and to get as much shut eye before my 3am wake up call.

Well before I knew it, 3am was upon me and it was time to chow down some serious carbs in order to digest before the swim start at 6:45am. A bagel with almond butter and jam washed down with a cup of Irish tea was to be my last solid meal for 24 hours. 2.5hrs of watching the Olympics on the TV gave me an extra boost of encouragement. I felt really relaxed and this was unusual for me, I get quite anxious and the ol' pre-race jitters kick in. Not this time though, there was nothing more to be done apart from doing my best.

One by one my support crew of Eliot, his dad Daryl, Heather, and James all rubbed the sleep from their eyes, bundled up and drove to the race start. My uncle Ger even got up and came down to the race start to see what all the fuss was about!

I've been up since 3am!

It's time to get that wetsuit on!

There was a long line down to the race start, by the time I found a place to park my bike and set out  my bike gear, boogie time to the swim start was upon me. Surprisingly the water was warm, it was  foggy and with not much view, quite mystical. This was to be a 2 lap swim in order to complete 2.4 miles. Countdown began and off we went, wave after wave as to spread out the competitors.

Swimmers

So 1hr 17mins of swimming through murky water, avoiding feet and elbows, I emerged from the Russian River and onto the bike. I will admit that I was disoriented and forgot where I had racked my bike but as soon as I got the water drained from my ears, I was good to go. The first few miles on the bike were chilly on my skin, this enticed me to ride a little harder to get the blood flowing. Within the hour the sun had burned away the valley fog and I began my task of passing riders one by one and setting into a comfortable pace. I felt really comfortable throughout the bike course and managed to ride under my goal time. My supporting crew of Eliot, D^2, Heather, and James were shocked too and I ruined all their photo points by showing up too early. It was hot about 85 degrees and my butt started to hurt, I just wanted off the bike!

I don't look very "race"-like, but I'm happy.

With a happy bike pace and chatting to fellow competitors along the way, before I knew it, I was rolling into T2. I was about to get my legs into running mode.

Down hills hurt...

...and so do the up hills!

I think I may have lost a toe nail by this time.

Wow, what a shock to my legs. Spending 6 hrs on the bike and then getting them into run mode took a few miles for them to finally give in to the change. My lungs and heart felt strong and my mind clear, now all I had to do was get my legs to take me 26.2 miles to the finish line. I kept a positive attitude throughout and as the run was an three out and backs on the same route, I could keep picking off my markers. I had my sun hat and some wet sponges shoved down my top to keep me cool. Having a sports gel every 30 minutes kept my energy levels up. My support crew set up their cheering station half way along the course. Lauren D, Lisa, Jesse, baby Em, and Lisa's mom showed up as a surprise which was such a treat. I would get to see them 6 times and their awesome energy gave me that extra boost. On the final lap, my feet felt sore, I knew I probably had one or two toe nails damaged from the swollen feet but I knew I could prevail. I forced some salty chips down along with some Gatorade at each aid station to keep my muscles from cramping. It's the cramping along with the heat that forces many to quit. My hat and sponges were the envy of many, I may have looked slightly silly but with constant soaking of my attire at each aid station, my core was kept somewhat happy. I even got to see my friend Andy on my last lap, he was having a tough time with cramping and getting food down, he kept smiling and said he was not going to quit. It was a long day for him and like everyone else, he survived.

Roll on the finish line. The last half mile, I picked up the pace. "Always finish stronger than when you started", my Aussie friend Jase wired that into my training brain. Thanks Jase!
That finish line was my pot of gold at the end of a very long rainbow. So, one of my bucket list goals completed, I made it back before sunset and more importantly I did not get hauled off in an ambulance. That was a success in my mind. The biggest surprise was I had finished in under 12hrs! With a trip to the food tent, I managed to chow down a few bites of a burger and some fruit, all of it came right back up within 30 mins and I proceeded to projectile vomit for a few hours after! I guess my body was not ready for solid food. We stayed with Eliot's aunt Linda and uncle Casey who live in St. Helena. I had just showered and rolled into bed when Eliot informed me that I had placed 3rd in my age group! I had made it into the prize giving ceremony awards the next day. No rest for the wicked, we had to return the following morning and I got to hobble onto the stage to collect my bottle of wine and a pack of granola bars, what a great feeling. 13th female and 134th overall, ha!

Doneski.

Hooray, a lei!

Wine it is!

The next few days were hard on the movement front but it's important to do some gentle stretching. Active recovery is the key. Putting your body and mind through a long distance triathlon is not for everyone but it is a very doable thing. You just have to want it and know that with a little determination you are sure to develop a drive to self discovery and quite likely get addicted and want to push the limit. The thing is, who knows what the limit is, it's pretty much endless. I am pretty sure that I will attempt to do another long distance triathlon. I now have a base time to beat and so much more personal discovery to attain.

Thanks for the photos Eliot!

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