ironcheryl2018

The Sunday after watching two days of the IRONMAN 2022 World Championship races here in Kona, I was sitting at Lava Java eating banana pancakes and I signed up for the 2023 Hawai’i 70.3 race. I was so inspired by what I had watched. My coach Jana winning her age group again, the midnight finishers battling until the end, the pros showing their superpowers, the spirit of aloha everywhere.

2022 Hawai’i 70.3 had not gone so well for me. Sandwiched between IMTX 2022 in April and Challenge Roth in July, I was not prepared for this race. I was overtrained, exhausted and mentally not focused. I finished, but just barely and had issues with everything.

I’ve taken a step back from fulls this year to re-focus. So I made this race my A race, even though it is one of the most challenging 70.3s. I came 2 weeks early to train out here and get comfortable with the wind and hills I was going to face. In the month leading up to this race, I had nearly every technological issue you could have and worked through them. I was ready.

I didn’t have any time goals for this race. With the trade winds and heat in Hawai’i, you never know what you are going to get. So while any other 70.3, I would be looking to do 3:15 on the bike segment, there was just no way to speculate how the trade winds would cooperate. This is certainly the most beautiful 70.3 ever, but some days Mother Nature charges admission for the view.

Everything was calm at the swim start. Race was a little smaller this year ; 1600 or so. So happy they had a rolling start this year. Last year the men went first, then the women and it was by age group and mine was almost last. I seeded myself in the 35-40 minute group. Took off and felt strong. The sea was calm. About 500 meters in I stopped to wiped the fog off my googles – so much better. Then I felt my silicone wedding ring slip off my finger into the ocean – that made me sad. Turned and then turned again – was heading straight into the sun. Thankfully lots of people around me so I just drafted off the person in front of me and no trouble getting back to the last turn buoy. When I was heading back into the shore, I looked down and there was a huge moray eel right under me- ECK. Do they bite? Had no idea – sped up – haha.

Hit sand and stood up. Got my bearings and started the long run to T1. Quickly got my stuff and off to my bike. The first few miles of the bike are inside the resort. No issues. Then out to the Queen K. Immediately felt the strong wind. It’s big rolling hills. Just stayed strong – my power was about 113 at this point – exactly where my coach wanted me to be.

Made the turn to go down into the port. This is the one segment I had not practiced. It’s a big downhill but there isn’t much shoulder and road is pretty crappy. I was in the shoulder and I saw a tree sticking out into it. I’d been nailed several times in training out here by trees. But this one was really big. Two guys were out in the lane so I couldn’t move over- we were going really fast – over 20 and I hit it. Thought it was going to knock my helmet off. Hurt like hell, but helmet scratched but still on. Drew blood on my right arm. Oh well, not taking me out today tree.

Then we turned to climb to Hawi. I had practiced this stretch and knew exactly what to expect. Was with lots of other riders and it’s up and down and all was good. 6 miles from Hawi and the turnaround it gets pretty ugly. The wind was really insane at that point – not a straight headwind but a cross/head wind. I was going 8 mph but working to not spike my power. I was passing people though. I had prepared for this stretch. Kept telling myself to stay positive, the turnaround was coming.

Stopped at the aid station at the top to drink and pour water on me. The sun was fully out. Last year it had rained and was cool. Not this year. Gathered my thoughts and started the descent. THIS IS SO MUCH MORE FUN!!!!! I told myself. Took advantage of the free speed and did not stay on the binders like last year. I was shocked how many people were behind me as I descended. Was traveling with a group of riders. Made a friend from South Florida – she descended faster but then I always passed her on the uphills. We decided to introduce ourselves after the 6th encounter – haha.

Down was much quicker than up. I knew my speed was pretty low (avg 14 mph) but I also knew based on the crazy trade wind and where I needed to keep my power for a good run, I was doing all I could. Turned at the port and there’s about a mile climb out of it. All of a sudden no wind and hot as hell. Slightly miserable. Then back on the queen K. So much car and bike traffic. At mile 48, I wasn’t even shifting but I felt my chain dropped. Damn. Had to stop on the shoulder and fix it. Back on in just a few minutes. After the last big hill, you see the palm trees for the resort entrance and it’s a beautiful thing. Just a couple miles to go. Cycled strong right into T2. Mission accomplished. This is my first Hawai’i with my new tri bike Phoenix : she is the most amazing bike and I really felt connected to her and trust her.

The run. Oh the run. New course this year. Instead of three loops it’s 1.5 loops. Less hills on the golf course but less shade. It was very sunny and hot. But when I started the run I felt good. I had taken in all my nutrition on the bike. I remember last year wondering how I was going to make it but this year I felt good. My heart rate was in the 150s, higher than my coach had wanted me at but my pace was in the 11s so I just tried to stay consistent. Got to the out and back section they call Hells Kitchen. It’s about 5 miles with zero shade. Road is slightly downhill. Take advantage of the downhill I told myself. Wind was to my back. They had 3 aid stations on this stretch. I just kept dumping water over my head and ice in my bra. At the turnaround I thought the uphill would be awful. This is where people started walking. But to my surprise, I felt OK and kept running. I think I actually ran faster at the point. I passed an IM medical official and he commented to me my pace was strong. Funny how little comments at times like this mean so much. Thankful to be done with Hells Kitchen and back on the golf course. Passed the finish line to start the second loop. Just 4 miles to go. Heart rate in the 160s. Had seen my teammate Jessica that morning and she reminded me that “pain is a privilage”. I am healthy and I am strong. So I kept repeating to myself pain is a privilege. For some reason, I also had “clear eyes, full heart, can’t lose” in my head yesterday as well. Not sure why, I think it’s actually a football thing, but it just seemed appropriate. I was in pain. My left foot felt like something was jammed under my toes. Probably from the very steep downhills. Just keep going Cheryl I told myself. So hot and so hard. Passing walking competitors they cheered me on and encouraged me. I love that. Came upon a lady running about my same pace, I followed her for about .5 mile. I don’t think there’s a drafting rule on the run – LOL – but it seemed to help me mentally. Saw teammates Jessica and Mike with about 1.5 to go and they were cheering me on and gave me high fives – gave me a last dose of energy I needed to finish this up.

Then just like that at the finish line. As I entered the shoot, I could hear them calling Cherie Gruenfeld in. She is an 18 time IM world champion finisher and won her 70+ age group at Kona last year. Absolutely an idol for me. How cool that I finished right after her.

End of day, this year was a 30 minute PR over last year. But as I said when I started writing this, you can’t compare them because they were very different Kona conditions. Only 992 of the 1500+ athletes who started this race finished. Because this is a HARD race. But I did what I came here to do. I stayed strong the whole time. When something happened, I didn’t freak out, I fixed it and moved forward. I am certainly stronger than I was a year ago and I intend to keep getting stronger and stronger. I love triathlon and I am so grateful to God for allowing me to have something I love so much in my life. Those who know me know what I just wrote above about triathlon extends to so much more. Life is hard sometimes and you have to not freak out and keep going and it will make you stronger.

After 70.3 miles like this, you always ask yourself why you do it, was it worth it. For me the answer is a resounding yes. No, I didn’t “win”, I didn’t qualify for any slots. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t win. As I sit here looking out at Mauna Kea and the ocean, I feel very much like I won yesterday.

FUN FUN FUN!!!!! Did the Olympic Kerrville Triathlon on Sunday. Don’t race this distance very much but it’s so much fun! So the plan was just to go hard and see what I had.

The 1000 meter swim was in the Guadalupe River. My AG went off first, which was kind of odd, they usually stick the old chics at the end. But kinda fun to be first in the water. I was the 8th athlete in the water at 8:21. Started off strong. Made the first turn and no one around me. Told myself to keep up the pace, but with this staggered start, not a lot of competition around to feed off of. Hit the two halfways turns and finally some men from a later wave caught me. Saw the flags at the swim exit and just swam hard to those. Every time I turned my head to breath, I saw hundreds of bugs on the water. Ick. Then I swallowed one. UGH. Could feel it on the back of my throat. Tried to cough it out. Breathed again and got another one. Swim hard and get out Cheryl.

Exited and stood up feeling great. Looked at my watch to hit the button to move it to T1 and boo – I hadn’t started it right. Oh well. Started the run up the hill to T1. Got to my bike fast and was in and out quickly.

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky when I hit the water. Now the sky was complete cloud cover. Really very nice outside! Caught my breathe and started passing people. The first 14 miles of this ride were AMAZING!!!!! Fast and flat. I was able to shift into the right gear and get up to almost 30 mph. No wind, not hot, no big hills. Just FUN FUN FUN!!!! Made the first turn and hit chipseal. Not as much fun. Some windy roads, a few short steep hills, an out and back: so average speed went down. Got back to main highway taking us back to Kerrville and was able to push and pick it up again. Flew back into T2 sad this ride was over.

Very fast in and out here thanks to an outstanding end transition spot. The run was on trails around the river. Couldn’t figure out how I was doing because almost no one around me. At mile 2, a herd of white-tailed deer darted across the trail in front of me – very cool. It was very hot, but some nice shade spots on the course. Miles 1 and 2, I was at 10:45 pace, heartrate 163. A little high but I felt like I could keep it up. On mile 3, my Garmin died. Ugh – I had forgotten to charge it. So nothing to tell me my pace or HR – bummerssssss. Hard to gauge those things after a hard ride. Just keep your cadence up and push yourself I told myself. Got a side stitch about this point too – probably didn’t drink enough on the bike because it was so nice. So I made it a point to stop at every aid station and drink and dump some water over my head. They had aid stations every mile. Got back to the T2/festival area and then still had a 1.5 mile out and back to finish. UGH – it was hot. Without my watch, I had slowed down and my overall average pace was 11:15.

But despite the run being a little off what I wanted, my ride and swim were almost exactly what I wanted! I had hoped for a range or 3:04 – 3:18 finish for this race and I finished with 5 seconds to spare from my goal. I firmly believed I could do what I had planned and I did!!!!!

Very thankful for Coach Jana working with me on my run and bike. Run has a way to go, but feeling so much better about it right now. And I’ve made some good progress on my ride that past few months as well. And I won’t complain about a 24 minute swim – solid effort and I felt really strong and got out of the water in great shape!

Didn’t worry about the competition or stress about where I ranked at this one. But very grateful and happy I came in 3rd in my AG with that 3:18. I know I still have a lot of improvement in me but this was a good step in the right direction.

This was one of the best organized and fun races I have every done – highly recommend!!!!

Now it’s off season. Gonna to do some strength work; lots of yoga; keep training but not as hard or long. Couple of 5Ks. Cool bike camp in Moab in November. Will put together a plan for 2023 soon and set about crushing those goals.

Headed to Kona next week to watch the World Championships. Several friends and coach Jana racing – this should be crazy fun for someone who LOVES TRIATHLON.

Facebook reminded me today with a memory that today is my 9 year running anniversary. Can’t believe it’s been almost a decade since I started running; it has gone fast.

This week, Coach Jana had me start running by heart rate instead of pace. And I LOVE IT! I found myself pushing to get to a certain heart rate or slowing myself down to a lower one and these are all things I never would have done if not using this new method. Overall, it’s picking up my pace. And allowing me more time to spend in fat burning zone so I learn to use fat efficiently instead of just carbs.

I have the Kerrville Olympic in 3 weeks and I’m looking forward to having fun at that race. Probably won’t race again until spring, as I’m starting UT Programming Boot Camp on Tuesday. It’s a 6 month program that is going to take 30-35 hours per week. I plan to keep training and hopefully improving my run and my bike while using my brain. As with all things, gonna do my best 🙂

I haven’t posted at all this year. Not really sure why. I guess busy and been a little on the struggle bus.

It’s not because I haven’t done anything, because that list is very long.

January – Leakey Bike Camp on new Argon road bike
March – Napa Marathon
April – TX 70.3 in Galveston and Ironman Texas 2022
May – Woodforest Spring Triathlon (1st AG)
June – Hawaii 70.3, took delivery of my new QR VPR dream bike “Phoenix”
July – Roth 140.6 in German, Cypress Tri (3rd AG)

That’s a lot. Two 140.6 in 10 weeks with a HIM lodged in the middle. Not quite sure what I was thinking. I guess maybe that’s the point; not thinking just signing up.

BUT……all this stuff has made me stronger mentally and physically. Some of the stuff I did this year I had “success” at; some not so much. But whether I succeeded or failed, I learned something. Probably learned more from the failures.

Leakey Bike Camp – didn’t do all the rides. Too scared of the downhills. Learned I need to do more rides on hills and to trust myself.

Napa Marathon – learned I can run 26.2 without walking. Wasn’t pretty or fast, but I didn’t walk.

Galveston – not good or bad, but I had a lot of fun.

IMTX – dear Lord – I learned that I won’t get blown off my bike in 35 mph headwinds but I don’t like it. Kept going even though Mother Nature DID NOT cooperate. Not my best IM result.

Hawaii – SO MANY PROBLEMS – bike computer didn’t work, was on old tri bike and not happy with my shifting set up for hills. Hilly and hot as hell run, but again, made myself stick it out and finished. Beautiful swim.

Roth – Well – should have researched this race before jumping in. OK swim but because this was really a world class field of athletes, one of the last women out of the water. Very technical and hilly bike course. Did 63 miles and stopped. I was just done – mentally and physically. So I stopped. Glad I came – was an amazing experience, but it was time to sit down and stop.

Happy to come home and take a few weeks off and then rip off a pretty good time at Cypress, which was my first triathlon 7 years ago. I guess my ego needed that.

So after IMTX, I switched back to Coach Jana. I’m not sure if it was the distance or something else, but I wasn’t getting better with my other coach. My run suffered the most and I wasn’t progressing on the bike the way I had previously with Jana. We had a great talk before I came back and I am really really happy to be back with her.

I’m not a newbie any more. But I still have so much to learn. Not exactly sure what I’m going to do for the rest of 2022 or in 2023, but I do know I am lucky I didn’t get hurt overtraining and over-racing. It’s time to just concentrate on getting better on the bike; learning to ride hills steady and not spike my power and to master pulling bottles and drinking on the bike. As I write this though, I vowed back in 2017 to “make my weakness my strength” which was my bike. It’s funny that my best leg of the Cypress Triathlon was my bike at 21 mph. So I’ve made some progress but still more to go. But now my weakness is my run.

I need to get my run back. I haven’t been enjoying running and I have been running so slow all year. I need to find the joy and speed again.

So need to figure out what the goals are but taking a little break to do that. 2022 was filled with some serious work challenges that were so stressful but fortunately most of that has been resolved.

Yes triathlon is my hobby but it’s a very important to me and a huge part of my life. The question is what’s next; stay tuned.

Haven’t posted in a while. Off season has been uneventful. Trying to figure out my back and hamstring issues and figured out it probably has more to do with my office chair and posture while working then triathlon. Pretty funny – if something hurts it’s got to be triathlon right? WRONG – was sitting very poorly for hours without moving much while working. Got a new office chair, working on posture and getting up and moving around periodically. Back and hamstrings are better.

I’ve mostly been swimming and that’s going well. Have done a little track to get ready for the YMCA Run Through the Woods. Not a 5K PR, but a respectable 27:15 and second place AG – I’ll take it.

So this weekend, had a 1:45 ride. It was cold and rainy, so I did it on the trainer. I thought I had done OK. My coach thought differently. As usual, he was looking for me to have cadence 80 of above. I am a terribly low cadence rider and struggle HARD with this. It’s even worse on my trainer for some reason. So I did about 15 minutes at the higher cadence, but my power was high (for me) and I didn’t think I could sustain it for the whole ride and I backed off.

Today he gave me a one hour high cadence ride. So, hopped on the bike at 6 am determined to get this done. And I did. Man, was it hard. For an hour trainer ride, my average power is usually around 116. This one was 137 : over 20 power points higher. Higher cadence = higher power. Was dripping in sweat but I didn’t die. Then I did a 2 mile run off the bike and it was 10:23 pace (pretty fast for me after riding.)

Bottom line, I’m not going to get where I want to go if I stay in my comfort zone. It’s going to hurt and it’s going to be hard. So starting today the comfort zone is off limits……..time to get serious.

Had a scare this week. Clayton sent me to get an MRI on my back just to make “sure” nothing was seriously wrong. They thought they saw multiple herniated discs, so scheduled an appointment with a neurologist. Fortunately, he said nothing is a big problem. No meds or injections needed, just prescribed some PT. Everything he saw on the MRI is just “normal” aging stuff.

But probably good that it scared me so I get super vigilant about strength training for the next several months.

Back to swimming 4+ days a week and my swim is really coming back to where I was pre-elbow break. Hopefully by keeping heavier swim schedule for the next few months, I can surpass where I was at the beginning of the year and make even more progress.

It’s been 3 weeks since IMML. Rode a little today and am going to start doing some short runs.

It’s nice to have more downtime and less stress right now; both from training and life in general, now that the new house is done and the old house has closed. Time to reset and recharge and focus on making 2022 the year I finally start putting all this hard work and training together.

IRONMAN #6 done. This one was supposed to be Mt. Tremblant in August, but like everything else in 2020 and 2021, there was a change in plans. Canada said no to that race and based on elbow surgery 5 months and 12 days ago, that turned out to be a blessing. More time and less hills led me to transfer to Ironman Maryland.

Got to Cambridge Thursday with David, my son Kyle and his girlfriend Romney. Kyle was participating in the race too; more about him later.

Stayed at an amazing Airbnb in Oxford, about 30 minutes north of Cambridge where the race site was. Spent Thursday checking in and getting settled. Didn’t check out my bike until Friday. My bike had been perfect. Should have checked it first thing when I got there because I found a “clacking” noise. Spent several hours Friday trying to resolve. Thank goodness for teammates and friends. Started talking to people on social media and chat and found the cause. Bought what we thought we needed to fix the issue (smooth bike stem rattling after had to change the tube/tire due to a piece of glass found on Thursday night). Told to tape the stem. Rode the bike before checking in but still heard the click. Too late – no time left – had to check it.

No practice swim for this one. Not that I didn’t have time or want to. Serious jellyfish issue at this one. Hundreds and hundreds of jellyfish. So many they made the swim wetsuit legal even though the water temp was 1 degree too high. Figured no sense getting stung in advance of the race. I’d just deal with it race day.

Had an amazing dinner in Oxford at a charming Inn and went to bed worried about the bike clacking and the jellyfish. Somehow slept well however and woke up at 3:15 am. Everything went very fast after that. Found myself at the swim start. So weird to be the experienced Ironman looking into the eyes of first-timers frightened and looking for reassurance. Gave them what advice I could, hugged them and prayed with them. And in we went. Had not planned to wear my long sleeve wetsuit, but thank you jellyfish – that was the only thing to do. I had put vaseline on exposed skin, but it didn’t matter. Sting, sting, sting. First one was across my mouth. I stopped and tried to wipe it off. Realized it was not there any more. Couldn’t “see” these things, you just felt them hitting you. Like random floating snot. I can’t even count how many times I got stung. Some hurt and some didn’t. This was a two loop square course. Jellyfish terrible on legs 1 and 2 but almost none on leg 3. Once I started second loop, got nailed again. Really bad one on the back of my neck that lasted for two days. At second loop went to check my pace on my Garmin and discovered it was gone. Decided not to panic…….. Nothing to do but get through this and get on the bike.

Even though I had no idea what my time was due to losing my watch, I felt good about getting this swim done. Had swam strong and the water was a nice temp and it was a beautiful day.

Made it to T1 and found a spot on the ground to get ready – no chairs left in the tent. Started talking to a girl about how I had lost my Garmin and she said then my swim hadn’t happened because I couldn’t upload it to Strava which made me laugh. I was in and out pretty quick but it was a long walk to the bike transition area. Ate a Strupel waffle on the way. Saw David as I headed out. Was a super pleasant, beautiful day. I realized when I saw the time of day on my bike computer, I had probably had a good swim. Turns out it was 1:35 – exactly my goal. That’s about the same as my best IM swim time and swimming has been the hardest thing to come back from after the elbow break so very happy with that swim.

Headed out of town and then on a little out and back from about 20 miles before getting to the 2 loops of the main part of this course. I was flying at 19 mph. I had never been in so much traffic in an Ironman race – usually back of the pack. It was windy but nothing to crazy or hard. Very flat course. Mostly smooth surface. Realized the clacking noise had gone away – YAY!!!!! Finished first loop and got to special needs. David and Romney were there to cheer for me. Quickly got off, went to the restroom, got my bag and refilled my nutrition. Grabbed my PB&J and headed back out for loop 2 while eating it. My total stop time for this whole bike was just 12 minutes. I used to get off 3 or 4 times and have over 30 minutes of stop time so huge improvement here. I do stop to refill my bullet, something to work on for future races (filling it while riding). My nutrition on this ride was PERFECT. 200 calories of Tailwind, 3 gel blocks and 1 GU per hour for 6 hours. I burned 2400 calories on this ride and took in nearly that. I have never executed my nutrition perfectly before so super happy. I also had SO MUCH FUN on this ride. Talking to the other athletes, enjoying the beautiful scenary! Average mph was 17.3. IMAZ 2017 bike average mph was 12.5. I’ve come a long way in 4 years. Bike PR by 21 minutes. Never felt hot on the bike, we had some clouds and even when the sun came out near the end of the ride, still pleasant. Bike split was 6:40 – exactly my goal.

Got in and headed to T2. I knew at this point an IM PR was very possible, but now all about a good run.

About 3 weeks ago, I had started having issues with my hamstrings pulling on my lower back. Tried everything I could think of to resolve. Accupuncture. Needling. Massage. Rolling. Even stopped running for a little bit. Thought I might be OK, but around mile 4, there it was. Felt the hamstrings tightening. It was also hot (80s) and my heart rate was 160. Knew I needed to get my heart rate down. This was not the situation I wanted to be in. I don’t ever walk/run – I run. My choices were to stop or find a strategy to finish. I had plenty of time. I got off the bike at 3:30 pm which gave me some 9 hours to get the 26.2 done. When I first started running, everyone was running. I saw Kyle and we actually ran together for a little while although he was one loop ahead of me (3.5 loop course). I told him I was going to have to stop and walk for a bit and he should go, go, go. I decided to start walking .25 mile/running .25 mile. I did it religiously for 20 miles. I also kept taking in my gels and GUs and either water or Gatoraid at the aid stations. My stomach never got upset. My back just hurt. As the sun started to set, I knew my PR wasn’t happening. Saw David and blurted out “I’m sorry” and almost started crying. We kissed and he encouraged me. This probably sounds dumb. I was going to finish – but it was not the way I had planned to, what I had trained for. The “A” side of the loop was near the finish line and very crowded with spectators. Even though I wanted to run by all those people, I knew I had to just stay on my walk/run schedule or risk hurting my back to the point where I would have to stop. As it got darker, more and more people were walking. During the walk periods, I was meeting and talking to people, which is always very cool. Saw Kyle as he was at mile 23 and he was so excited that he was almost done and was going to be an Ironman. I was happy for him beyond belief. But I was trying to figure out how I was going to get through the next 11 miles and finish this thing. Kept eating, kept drinking and kept moving forward. To say you are in a dark place in these kind of moments is an understatement. You train hard, you do everything you can to prepare, and your body fails you. Should I stop so I don’t permanently injure myself? Doesn’t feel “that” bad. But when I tried to run .5 mile instead of a .25 chunk, back got tighter. So I did what I could do. Came into town back at the “busy” part of the course. Just one mile left. But still could only walk/run. Finally made it to the red carpet around 10 pm. I was finished. My run was about the same length as my bike. Worst IM run ever. But I finished. I didn’t stop. I didn’t quit.

I vowed after my first IM race in Arizona, I would make my weakness my strength. That weakness was my bike. At this race, my bike was my strength. This is not lost on me and is absolutely the silver-lining of this race.

So swim was on target, transitions were OK (very spread out set up), perfect nutrition, no GI issues at all. Just a really terrible run. Terrible, terrible terrible. Somehow not my worst IM overall time however. This one was 15 hours 15 minutes.

I think only having 4 months to train after the surgery was just too much in too little time and body didn’t want to cooperate. But now taking the rest of the year off to concentrate on strength training to tune up these hamstrings, core and hips. Focus on swim stroke improvement and train for the Napa marathon in March 2022.

Now to Kyle. I started running 8 years ago as a way to deal with the pain of watching Kyle’s struggle. Somehow that turned into triathlon and becoming an IM. My life has completely changed. I’ve made friends I never would have made, learned things about myself I never would have and found strength I didn’t know I had. That’s a gift Kyle gave me.

Kyle found his own way out of his struggles. He decided he wanted to do an IM and got busy training. It was very accidental we both would up at this race together. When I transferred to this race, I thought Kyle had transferred from cancelled TX2020 to Wisconsin. I didn’t want to distract from his 1st IM when I figured out what had happened, so asked him if he wanted me to switch race, but he didn’t. We ended up doing some long rides and runs together for this one. So impressed by his determination and resolve. He and his beautiful girlfriend stayed with us at Airbnb. Sharing the weekend with Kyle after everything we’ve been through was truly a miracle. Somehow it feels like we have come full circle. I let him go and he came back whole and better. I pray for him and the many more beautiful moments he will have in his life. I know this is a very special memory for him and every mother can only wish for their children to earn and have these kind of experiences.

So out of tragedy and sadness and despair came GREAT JOY. And that is the big picture here.

Small picture and not as important, frustrated my body didn’t let me do what I do all the time: RUN. I’m a runner. I’m not the best runner, but I’m a good runner. And I’m going to have a good IM run, where I run the whole thing, some day. I’m going to figure this out and put it all together and do what is is I want to do. Because Kyle has showed me that Anything is Possible. And I know what you need to do to make your weakness your strength.

A lot of things went right on Saturday. And I learned a lot of things from what didn’t go right.

But one thing for sure, I would like to never swim with jellyfish again thank you very much.

Sitting here at my desk soaking wet. Just got back from a gym session with Derrick Raymor. Been working out with him twice a week on strength and mobility. I can really feel the power this is helping me build when I run and ride. It should help my swimming as well. It’s in a gym with no A/C and we start at 11 am. So, that’s why I am soaked.

Let’s face it, if you live and train in South Texas in the summer, you spend a lot of time wet.

Which brings me to the real point of this post. Yesterday’s run. 9 miles. I was soaked when I was done. But it was horrible. Sometimes I feel like I only talk about the successes, the wins. But maybe we learn more from the failures. Yesterday was a failure of sorts.

I had rode 75 miles on Saturday. And for me, the power being near 80% for 4.5 hours was really good. Did my brick around noon and it was so HOT. Like an oven. But I struggled through it.

I showered and ate. Had a protein drink. Evaluated my nutrition on the bike and thought I had done OK, even though I had burned over 1800 calories on the ride and over 300 on the run. Had a huge steak for dinner and got to bed pretty early.

Slept in a little Sunday am but I knew from the minute my feet hit the ground Sunday it was going to be a struggle. And it was. My coach asked for 10:45/mile pace, but 12 was the best I could do. Had one mile in the 11s but by the time I got to mile 9, I actually stopped and walked for a bit. Haven’t done that in a loonnnggg time.

So, got 10 hours of sleep last night. Trying to eat really well today and to hydrate. No other workouts today and getting a massage in a bit.

Hopefully it’s just my body reacting to my first really long IM training weekend and I will adjust. 80 miles next weekend.

Again, back to my point. Don’t want to just post the good days. They aren’t all good. They can’t all be good. When I was struggling, all those “I can’t do it”, “I’ll never realize my dream”, negative self-talk thoughts were going through my head. If you don’t have those and you don’t conquer them, the good days and the day I achieve my ultimate goal would not be nearly as precious and sweet.

I’ll get there. But I have to stick with it. Because nothing worthwhile is easy and with everything, there is good and bad.

Hard to believe it’s been 3 months since my crash. Just got back from Hawaii. Did not race the 70.3, but swam the swim course with a friend who did on practice day Friday, drove the bike course with her, swam the IM full swim course, ran the “Energy Lab” portion of the IM run course. And then relaxed and just enjoyed Hawaii like a ‘regular person’ as David says.

Back to “normal” training again. Started working with Derrick Raymor twice weekly to strengthen my arm (total body too). Doing lots of plyo and it’s very fast and fun – think it will make a big difference.

Went for my first long ride (50 miles) since the crash Saturday and it was AWESOME!!! Made me remember how much I love to ride and never for one minute am I asking myself why I do any of this. I am doing it because I LOVE IT.

25 days to Tri Waco Olympic, 46 days to Age Group Nationals, and 87 days to IRONMAN Maryland (Mt. Tremblant canceled due to COVID so switched to Maryland). Ready to get back to that starting line.

For now, patiently training and working on doing everything coach says to get a little better every day. And incredibly grateful to be healthy and able to swim, bike and run.

Everything was going so well. Two hour half marathon at The Woodlands Half on March 6th. Swim times were consistently strong and was setting new power records on my rides. Then came March 27th. Was so excited to go to Galveston and do a long training ride with teammates in preparation for the April 10th IMTX 70.3. Wasn’t an “A” race but haven’t raced much (thank you COVID) so was looking forward to a strong race.

Ride was going well. But 44 miles into this 56 miles, my wheel hit something that made it snap to the left, threw me off my bike and into threw me into the highway at 3005 and 13 Mile Road near GI State Park. Fortunately, three girls driving by stopped and helped me. Knew right away my arm was broken. Elbow fracture requiring surgery. Mild concussion and a ride to the hospital for X-rays and CT scans. This was not part of the plan.

On April 5, 2020, when COVID cancelled the 2020 IMTX70.3, nothing could keep me from doing the race. David and I went to Galveston and stood in the Moody Gardens Hotel parking lot alone to start my “race”. Should have been thousands of people there, but instead I raced alone with David supporting me. Because nothing could stop me. The irony is great – because nothing but an injury could stop me. So on April 10, 2021, no race for me.

Instead I walked 7.03 miles – five days post surgery to put a metal plate and 6 screws in my elbow. I can walk. I can ride my trainer. So starting slow and doing what I can. Race schedule now that races are coming back is up in the air. Will depend on recovery. Really hoping I can still do Mt. Tremblant 140.6 end of August.

It is easy to try to feel sorry for myself. But then I remind myself I didn’t get hit by a car in that road. I didn’t lose my arm. I don’t have cancer. I have a broken elbow that will heal. Perspective. Going from 100 mph a day to almost no training is HARD though. And I do all my training and I LOVE to train. So it’s an adjustment.

Planning to work on my diet – trying to move toward a plant-based diet and reducing sugar. Going to get back to lower body strength training. And going to do as much PT for my elbow that I can. Focus will be the bike trainer for now. And treadmill hill repeats. Swimming will likely be the last thing I can get back to – which makes me sad because I love to swim.

Bottom line; injury is just part of sports. We can do things to mitigate injury for sure, but every athlete has to deal with stuff, from stress fractures to broken bones. It’s just part of the deal. And the illusion of control over this is just that; a giant illusion. So, going to do my best to do everything I can to move through it and get back to working hard toward being strong and healthy again.

It’s also tempting to question why something like this happens. Maybe someday I will have some clarity on that and maybe not. But would understanding why change anything for me? Not really right now.

So, head down, attitude up.