to sleep, perchance to dream [a ridiculous dream]

the IM dreams... they are a'comin' !

last night's gem:

I got out of the water in 1:11 (<---- not the bad part!) and went into the changing tent -- which was a locker room. None of the bike bags were in there -- me and this other girl were yelling out "has anyone seen the swim to run bags?!?" finally they were brought in and we had to sort through them to find our bags. It was a cluster. I realized that I had forgotten ALL of my nutrition (Infinit bottles and Payday bars) and all I had was Gatorade and water. I started running to the bike and I was crying because I had practiced my nutrition for so long and didn't have any of it with me. Then I got lost trying to find my bike - there were all of these doors and weird exits. Once I finally got to the bike I quit. I thought to myself "this isn't a DNF because it's not the real race" and it turns out it wasn't... it was a practice race and because the bike bags were messed up the "race judge" cancelled it.

20 things about 100 miles.

first, last week:

swim: 9500.00 M in 3h 17m 26s
bike: 145.50 Mi in 9h 25m 03s
run: 9.52 Mi in 1h 26m 23s
total training time: 14h 08m 52s
[not bad for a week that started with a wonky knee!]


today was my last long ride.. Easton to Tilghman Island and back to Easton .. twice [each leg is 25 miles]. in honor of being 20 (20!) days out from my first Ironman... I present to you, 20 things about this ride:
1. miles: 101.0
2. time: 6h 03m 48s
3. average mph: 16.66
4. a ladybug fly on and stayed on my leg for about 5 miles. yay for good luck.
5. we saw a fox !
6. the shoulder is for bikes only. dbags on mopeds who pass too closely and then burn runner should Stay. Out. Of. Our. Lane.
7. got waterbottles refilled at a bar. everyone there was ordering Coors Lights
8. apparently the bar was BYOBC [that's bring-your-own-beer-cozy].
9. post ride mcdonalds continues to be the most delicious deliciousness ever.
10. no soreness/ stiffness in the upper body !
11. calories of Infinit: 1320
12. payday bars: 2
13. it was in the high 60s. in November. in Maryland. awesomeness.
14. I love my Maryland Terps bike jersey and am excited to wear it in Cozy. [see below]
15. I'm so tired of driving to and from the Shore. no more for a long time !
16. loving the desoto 400 mile bike shorts. the pad is thinner than a bike short pad but thicker than a tri short pad. In a word: perfection.
17. got really warm on the first 50 miles -- took off arm warmers and tights at the car.. and regretted that coming back at around mile 85 when it was getting dark.
18. I'm feeling really ready for Cozy.
19. this ride makes three total rides over 100 miles.
20. I'm hungry. time for more food!




also: a big congrats to Anne and Bob for rocking Ironman Florida yesterday !

a good knee, a great massage, and 24 days to go.

what has two thumbs and no knee pain ? this girl !

the pain started slowly going away with RICE - both in duration and intensity - on Tuesday, and yesterday I woke up with no knee pain. I'm still taking it easy but I am just delighted. deeeelighted.

oh, and I bought two new pairs of flats to wear when I couldn't wear heels. so really, I came out ahead.

today one of my bt buddies just finished massage school.. talk about a good person to know ! she came to my house with her massage table and gave me a massage a little over an hour. A.May.Zing ! she's a triathlete too so she really knew what muscles to work. turns out my TFL something (tendon? muscle?) was a little tender... and that somehow connects to the ITB which can affect the knee. going to keep rolling with the foam roller.

oh, and 24 days to go. squeeeeee !

magical miracle RICE

thanks everyone for the advice and well wishes!

I'm happy (ecstatic, really) to report that my knee is feeling MUCH better. Last night I swam and it felt fine.. the flip turns made my knee feel a little wonky, but I managed to do them with my left leg straight (that must have looked hilarious). This morning I really don't feel any pain, except when I bend or strighten it suddenly. I can walk normally without pain or limping.

RICE has really been amazing.
Rest: swam last night, haven't run since Saturday, and will not run for a while. May try cycling in a few days.
Ice: I've been icing as often as possible.. at home and at work.
Compression: Bought a cheap knee compression sleeve and have been wearing it regularly.
Elevation: when I can. currently my leg is propped up on my desk with a bag of ice on it. have been propping it up with a pillow at home in bed.

I think maybe it was just really inflamed? I'm not sure but I'm glad it appears to be healing quickly. I need to remember to continue resting. I have a strong enough running base -- from both IM training AND from an early spring marathon this year -- to not run for a while. I'd like to get in one more long ride this weekend but I'll see how I feel.

This week will be a lot of swimming.. which is good. I like swimming.

25 days!

crappity crap crap [and welcome november!]

bad news:

I ran my 18 miles yeterday with no pain... well, there was the "ow my legs and feet hurt/ are tired" that kicked in aroun mile 16, but nothing out of the ordinary. I got home, took an ice bath, and noticed that my left knee was a little twinge-y.

no biggie, I thought. Just a little sore from the long run.

I went to run errands and almost cried when I got into the car -- I could not bend or straighen my knee without a sharp shooting pain. I suffered through it, came home and got ready for Halloween. I tried to ignore it.

I went upstairs to get something, sat down on the bed, and started crying. My husband helped me out of my costume (Morton's Salt Girl) and into sweats. He got my ice for my knee, elevated it, and reassured me that it's almost time to taper, that the race is still 4 weeks away, that I have plenty of time to heal.

I spent Halloween propped up, alternating reading and watching bad tv, with a bag of ice on my knee. It was a superfun pity party.

Today it feels BETTER, I think. I'm going to keep up with the ibprofuen and the ice 20 minutes of each hour. I might swim but I'm not sure.

Please send good healing vibes my way. I'm confident that I'll be okay to race... just a little scared right now.

________________________

green = race day.
there it is on my bt training log!

october is over + 28 things.

Biggest. Month. Ever.

swim> 27514.8 M in 9h 41m 49s
bike> 499.2 Mi in 34h 13m 53s
run> 123.54 Mi in 19h 01m 41s

total training time> 62h 57m 23s

and now, in honor of being 28 (!) days out:

1. long run today: 18.06 miles in 2h 48m 56s [09m 21s/Mi]. legs + feet starting hurting around mile 16. turned off my iPod at mile 12ish to practice remembering my "Best Moments" and "Mantras"... and kept it off for the rest of the run. really enjoyed running without it!
2. finally feel really comfortable changing flats. whew.
3. there is currently a box of chocolate pop tarts and 3 PayDays in my house. Must. Not. Eat. Until. Race. Day.
4. currently wearing my compression socks. alas, they are not the awesome looking Zoot ones... but for $50 cheaper, I'll keep my Rite Aid old-lady ones.
5. my house needs to be cleaned. will save this for taper madness so I have something to do.
6. getting REALLY REALLY excited.
7. filled out my Time Prediction Worksheet (dream and actual] AND my Spectator Meeting Places Worksheet, and emailed both to my family.
8. Ice baths aren't so bad - once you actually GET into them.
9. I wonder how much money I've spent on Infinit over the past few months.
10. think I tweaked something in my left knee today.. it's sore but gets better when I move.
11. going to be the Morton's salt girl for Halloween.
12. can't get too drunk tonight [I haven't been drunk in a Really Long Time] because tomorrow is a 90 minute ride and 4000M swim.
13. have eaten more McDonalds in the last few months than I have in my life... for rides over 80 miles, it's the way to go.
14. found a neighbor to feed our cats while we're gone. Phew.
15. currently watching The Wedding Signer.
16. need to figure out how to get my Ironman Timex watch to beep every 12 minutes.
17. am going to get a massage next week - one of my tri buddies just graduated from massage school !
18. am considering getting a hot stone massage. pricey but I think I'll really love it.
19. going to buy the desoto arm coolers. have heard AH-MAY-ZING things about them ... super excited.
20. buying new running shoes today. am close to 400 miles on my current pair.
21. confirmed my hotel reservation, but had a momentary freak out when they couldn't find my reservation. turns out I made it through the hotel directly and the general confirmation people didn't have it. phew.
22. still on the fence about an mDot tat.
23. not on the fence about the mDot necklace from Big Island Jewlewers, which I have oh-so-subtely emailed to my husband, with link, natch.
24. holy eff I'm really going to do an Ironman.
25. I'm really going to miss this process when it's over.
26. borrowing a bike box from a friend - need to pick that up soon.
27. what will I do with all of my free time after the race?
28. TWENTY! EIGHT! DAYS!

what do we do we swim we swim

I woke up this morning and seriously considered taking a personal day. I'm not in court again until next week, and I just. wanted. to. sleep.

[I decided to go, figuring I should save some of my leave.]

I was a walking zombie all day [hope my boss isn't reading!]. Hours of s/b/r are taking their toll. On the way home I gave serious consideration to making today my rest day.. getting home, throwing on sweats and an old race tshirt, and going to sleep. for a long time.

but: I sucked it up - htfu and all of that - and schlepped to the pool.
glad I did, too: I had a great swim.

I normally average 2:00/ 100. tonight's swim:

3000.00 meters in 56m 52s// 01m 54s /100 meters [sweet average pace]

WU: 200

MS:

1,000 time trial> 18:17

pace> 1:50/100 !

500 pull with paddles.
2x: - 200 yd free w/ 20" rest - 150 yd free w/ 15" rest - 100 w/ 10" rest - 50 w/ 1' rest

CD: 300

thirty-one days. bring it!

and look how neato: wordle.net ! [I put in my blog feed and it came up with this:]