RACE WEEK!! OH-MY-GOD! IT’S HERE!

Ok.. so I am freaking out.. and I mean A LOT.

I know that I am ready. But it is still so surreal that it is here. I mean I signed up for this a year ago.  So mentally I have been prepping for a year while loosely physically training for the first 4 months and then kicking into gear crazy time after Marc’s wedding.. Mid-April / May I was in it.  I cannot believe how time flies.

Monday of this week i squeezed in my last PT session.  This time we threw in a little acupuncture. Why Not, right?!?!  Any little bit can help. I also had to time check my swim.  2500yards. 300 warm up easy… clock 1000 60sec break clock the next 1000 then 200 cool down easy.  No problem. 50 min total!  18:30 for the 1^st 1000 and 19:07 for the second with crazy annoying goggle issues and earache issues. I will take it!

Tuesday was bananas.  I still am not feeling well overall and now I think I have a slight earache from the swim on Monday.  Work is CRA-CRA, especially since I am out of the office for the next week for the race and I had to haul it to get to the Orthopedist... hoping and praying he would give me another cortisone shot for my knee.   At this point, I need all the help I can get and the last shot I felt like it really didn't do too much. That being said, my knee was also super-duper inflamed that I probably only reduced the outer swelling and wasn't able to get into the actual swelling.   Anyway, he checked me out, test after test and concluded it needed another shot. THANK GOODNESS. And this one, to be honest, I felt go in, so hopefully I will work.

That being said it was 5:45 by the time I was done.  I still had to pack and the thought of going to the gym to do a Swim-Bike brick was not in the cards on many levels, one – timing, two – earache from the night before & 3- still somewhat sick. I feel like I am still fighting that cold/flu, I have that overall yucky run down feel.  So I popped a few me DayQuil and EmergenceC and opted out of it.  The last thing I want is to get worse and then be on a plane. UGH.  So I spent Tuesday night packing and freaking out and packing and repacking and freaking out.  I texted Lilias and Steph to make sure I wasn’t insane with all that I was packing and then called my family to check in and probably have them calm me down. :-)

Wednesday.  Travel Day.  I was able to book this flight, thankfully, with all my miles from traveling for work. So I am in first class on US Air/AA for this journey.  It  makes all the difference, especially since I had to check two bags. One is a hodgepodge of thing, clothes for the week, bathing suit, post-race clothes, etc.. and who knows what else, LOL. The other bag is my Tri-life.  Food, extra clothes, celebratory champagne from Tina, and of course my Snorkeling gear.  After all, they do say that Cozumel is the best place for diving and snorkeling.  The other bags I have are my “sanity” bags.  My Tri bag as all my race gear – no food- but my helmet, bike shoes and clips, sneakers, watch, socks, tri kit and speed suit, etc.  I originally had it in the food bag, but then of course I freaked out wondering what I would do if my bag was lost, so I repacked! LOL. And my other backpack is my laptop, book, pillow, all in all good travel bag.

The flights so far have been pretty great. My first flight to Phoenix was only 1hr, so it was breezy and I slept.  This second flight is about 4hour and has been great.  There is a guy sitting in the row behind me, Guneet,  who is doing to the race as well. This will be his 7^th race!  Crazy. Guneet, the super nice guy that he is, offered me to jump in his private car to the ferry.  Thank heavens as I had no clue how i was going to get there.

Now, do you want to know what is hysterical!?! See the difference between a veteran Ironman and a newbie! Me with my FOUR bags and Guneet with ONE medium size suitcase and a briefcase.  So funny!

We arrived at the ferry at 8:20pm, missing the boat by 20min.  Ugh.. The next one wasn't until 10pm.  So Guneet and I grabbed dinner and waited. It was delicious!

That being said, it was not delicious the 30-45 min later coming back up.

That is right.  The ferry ride over to Cozumel from Cancun was horrendous.  The wave were so rocky and choppy the boat was rocking so hard, I thought it would tip over. I thought I could handle it, but I was a million percent wrong.  I tired to run upstairs to get outside and I was denied.  No one was allowed outside because of the rough waters, so luckily, I was able to get to a bathroom at the back of the boat where I spent the next 35min throwing up.  It was awful. You would have thought I was hit up by the exorcist.  It was not pretty.

Thank god we landed and I got my land legs back.

Thursday -- Happy Thanksgiving!  I woke up super early and was super excited. I am so close to this race I can taste it. So I spent the morning checking out the town, getting a little lost and soaking it all in.  I went to the expo Ironman expo to pick up my BIB number and bag and to check out the store.  So much fun stuff in there, but I didn't want to jinx my race, so I only bought a Ironman Cozumel Mug and a longsleeve shirt with the M-Dot on the back with everyone's name on it, including mine!!

After the expo, I met up with Stephen and Guneet to pick up our bikes at TriBike and chatted about doing our training ride.  The plan was to meet up in about 1hr, but out of no where, I got extremely light headed and nauseous on the bike ride back to my hotel to drop off my stuff.  I think it was remnants from the ferry ride or i was dehydrated or hungry. I have no idea.  All I know is that that i was NOT in a good place.  So I texted the boys and bailed on the training ride and I forced myself to nap for a couple of hours and then I went out for a 30min run.  That felt good.  No knee pain. It was great.  That night, I had a very chill dinner and went to bed.

Friday, was a busy day.  Stephen and I wok up know that our swim start would be canceled.  The storms that rocked the ferry so hard and had me puking everywhere was still lingering and the rip tides and waves were so bad the swim was canceled. 

But that did not stop Stephen and I. Instead, we rented mopeds to check out the bike course.  First stop was Chakannab - T1.  We were able to see the set up of the bikes and where our Swim/Bike bags were and where my bike was going to be set up.  It was super cool and exciting.

 Rack for my Bike Bag for out of the swim

 Bike Spot!! 

After the tour of T1 -- we headed out on the mopeds to do the bike course.  The beauty of this course is indescribable and the pictures will not do it justice.  I cannot begin to tell you how amazing it is.

But what I didn't expect to see was how windy it really was.  Everyone has said that the course was windy, but holy moly,... it was WINDY!!!  So, the scary thing was it took us 2hrs to do the bike course on a moped going at 35mph.. .. how long was it going to take me on a bike?? 

After the ride, we made our way to the athlete meeting.  It was pretty cool.  There were a few athletes there that had done 20-30 Ironman races and one guy he, this IM Cozume race would be his 182 race!! It's crazy and what else is crazy is 3/4 of the room also was first time Ironman athletes. Kinda cool! 

 

After the initial meeting, I head up tot the front to reintroduce myself to Mike Lovato.  He WON Ironman Cozumel and is currently coaching my friend Lilia for IMAZ.  He is awesome.  As I say hello, he reminds me that he already knows me.... "Party Rachel" (Vs Burning Rachel, another friend that Lil has... not that she is boring or that I am a party animal, but I think I have a little more personality than her, so when Lil and I first became friends, it was a way for her to distinguish between the two). Needless to say, it was great to get a little last minute advice from him.  He joked and said he will make sure to say my name when I crossed the line.  I interned joked back and said, if you are still awake! I will be towards the end, given my bum knee, I know I will finish but it will be into he 15th/16th hour.  -- he quickly said, doesn't matter your time. If you finish under 17:00 you are an Ironman - don't forget that and don't forget to have fun.  GREAT ADVICE!!

 

Good Luck Video from my nieces and nephews.

Taper Week Two and FIGHTING the Cold & Flu with Everything That I Have.

I am off to ChiTAG in Chicago. Ugh.. 

20 Degree weather the week before my race. It is not ideal, but I have to go. This is my event. I love it. It is the #3 market for press, the event is amazing brand exposure, fun for families, and you can sell products on site??! WINNING!

I am on every cold and flu pill you can imagine.  DayQuil, NyQuil, Zicam, EmergenceC, Advil and I have enough hand sanitizer you could probably swim in it. I am putting up a fight.

Thursday, morning I am up early to hit the gym.  1hr on the bike.  I got this. I take a shot of EmergenceC and head to the gym.  This gym is AWESOME. The Hyatt in downtown Chicago on Wacker for those of you ever looking to go to Chicago.  I am staying in the East Tower and the gym is in the West Tower. I don’t mind.  I throw on my hoodie and walk over. Upon entering, I notice they have 10 treadmills, 10 elliptical, tons of bikes and even TriBikes! Granted they are still stationary bikes but they have arrow bars and resistance changers.  It was nice!  I actually felt like I was getting in a proper ride.  I didn't want to leave.  But alas, I did. I had to shower and head over to the PR News Conference for the day. It was an awesome conference.

Later that night, we headed over to ChiTAG to see how set up was going.  Our booth was awesome, BUT our samples were stuck in warehouses and our live Shark Mania game was in pieces in the middle of the country somewhere, but we were looking good!  Such is life, right!?!?!

That night, I switched hotels to be with the team.  The W Hotel on Lakeshore Dr. It is a gorgeous hotel and smells like the SPA when you walk in.  Bliss is their partner and it shows.  Josh and I had dinner at the bar.  He enjoyed a lovely beer that looked amazing and we shared a few pizzas… they were yummy!  And then it was off to bed. It was 8:30. LOL.  Luckily for me, I have been sleeping by 10:00 or so regardless, so this wasn't too bad, but still the thought of a wake-up call for 3:00am to be down and ready for 4:00 is always a hard pill to swallow.  But it is the job.  So.. I climbed into bed at 9:00 took my NyQuil and played Words with Friends and got cozy to fall asleep. At 9:20, I pulled down my eye mask and started to drift until everything went wrong. 

DING! DING! DING! Is as if everyone wanted to get on or off my floor. The elevator bell was so loud.  Then my toilet started running, so it sounded like the sink was on the whole night and then the icing on the noisy cake... the toddler next door yelling at his parents or babysitter or someone so loud that someone called security, because the next thing I hear is walkie talkies with static and 'OVER' and Call outs... it was awful.  So I think it was probably around 10 when I fell asleep and like clockwork, I was up at 2am. It must have been when the NyQuil wore off. And of course I could not fall back asleep. So up I was.  Shot of EmergenceC and I took that time to repack all my stuff, shower and get ready.  I was in the lobby by 3:45 talking with the front desk when Josh emerged. 

He felt so bad for me and my night, but it is what it is.  We had 6 Live TV Segments to get through and I was not going to let it get to me.  SEGMENTS were a SUCCESS!  4 on CBS and 2 on FOX – Good Day Chicago.  By 10:00 we were finished.  It felt like 4:00 in the afternoon.  Josh and I headed to get breakfast, it was so good. When I got back to the hotel, I fired up my laptop and worked for a few hours before ultimately taking a power nap.  I was out for 1:45.  I should have with done 4hrs or 20min because I was out of it for quite a while when I woke up. But all is good.  I headed to the gym for another session. 1hr bike 15min run.  I was great. Another episode of Switched.  I was a happy girl. Plus Rob, one of my co-workers, popped in so we were able to catch up.  It was fun and the treadmill was no knee pain! Granted, it was only about 1mi, but I will take it! 

That night was a small team dinner, Susie, Josh, Maria and I and it was heavenly!

Saturday morning I was up bright and early again – 5:00am.  This time I had to get in 3miles on the tread (no solid pain, only a little towards the end), before the Blogger Breakfast we were hosting at 8:00am and the doors opening at 9:00am.   It was brutal, but I managed.  More EmergenceC and DayQuil and I was good to go.  

The show, it was great.  We doubled our sales goal for the day. Our real-life dinosaur from Erth’s Dino Zoo Live was a smashing hit and the toys and games in our booth were phenomenal.  Everyone was having a blast! 

That night our entire team, 18 people went out for a fun Italian dinner. Everyone was laughing and telling stories it was pure team bonding at its best.  It was awesome.

Sunday. I flew home. Thankfully, not any sicker than I was when I left.

Taper Week One

I love taper. I think I also love being lazy, LOL. So taper allows me to chill a little but still gives me a little pep in my step.. yet it is funny, when I think of lazy it is in a completely different mindset from what it was a year ago.  The fact that I only have to swim 1500-2500yards instead of 3500 or elliptical for 1-2 hours instead of 3-4 or my favorite only 30-50 miles on the bike instead of 100.  Ha ha. It’s like I have a life again.

My last “outside” ride was a taper ride and it was amazing. Kevin and Kitty joined me for 30 miles up the PCH.  We started at OSV and headed north just above Pepperdine.  It was great. Very chill and great conversation and advice from both of them as Kevin as done 4 Ironman races and Kitty has done 2! Extremely impressive.  So I was really appreciative to hear what they have to say.  NOTED: Coca Cola and Chicken soup on the run is a must!

Sunday night was my Send Off party that Kelie threw me.  I was blown away by the support. Almost everyone from TNT as able to stop by and my coach Adrian, Detra & Erick from LA Tri and Stephen, my new friend that is racing Cozumel as well as Glazer, Jason, Liz & Erick.  I almost cried.  The support from these guys is amazing and the support from all my family and friends and friends of friends on Facebook or elsewhere is shocking. I am so blessed to have everyone in my life.  That night was great.  I actually enjoyed 3 beers!  Can you believe it.  I have not drank since September, so it was a nice treat. I got some final words of wisdom from the IronMen and Women in the room.. and the hugs and cards were amazing.  The goodies were a nice plus, too! Extra snacks for the ride and run, emergency kits, an awesome flower so I can find my bike and a bottle of champagne to crack open the fam when I cross that finish line.  Pure awesomeness from everyone.  I seriously am truly blessed.  (I sound just like my mom)  :-) 

My amazing support team!!

The ONE and ONLY Amazing Coach Adrian!!!

Beauties... Meredith, Angela, me and Christy

The hostess with the mostesss... the fabulous Kelie!!!

IM Cozumel 2013 Finisher and Best Advice Triathlete... Erick!!

Almost 20yrs strong friendship... Glazer!! XOXO

Amazing support friend!!Liz!! Thank you!

The Last Major Training Weekend.

This weekend was also a friend’s bridal shower.  So I had to swap training days, which I actually preferred.

So Saturday, I woke up bright and early to get to the gym in Long Beach to work out so I would be closer to the shower.  3hrs on the elliptical and 3 episodes for Switched done.  It was great and the bridal shower was really nice.

And now it is Sunday. This is it. The final big push. I was set to do 112miles and 3mi run.  From Zuma North to Los Posas, hang a right and for a few miles and then head back… and I was to clock each loop.  No problem.  I was well rested, ate well in the morning. I was ready!

As I headed up the PCH, I was in the groove. I was enjoying every turn of the pedal, my elbow was practically healed which was nice, because I was able to get into arrow position where I wasn't the weekends prior and my shin was almost healed. (I gotta tell you, it has taken forever to heal.  It wasn't as deep as the elbow, but I think because of all the pool swims, boots and jeans, it just would not heal.) Anywhooo.. I was seriously cooking.  In the training weeks prior, it was taking me on average 1:23min to get to Los Posas.  Today with the wind and the fog 1:03!!  WHAT?!?! And the return back 1:10!  I was floored.  So I said to myself, let’s do this.  So I stopped at my car and refilled my water bottles, food, threw an extra bottle on my back. I was ready to conquer the last two loops without stopping (normally, I do two loops and then stop to restock).  I was back on the road and cruising!  Made it back up to Los Posas in the 1:23, but that was including the time I stopped at my car.  So I was still on it… as I mad the left at Los Posas and headed down the road, I started to feel a little off, but nothing crazy… a few miles later as I headed back to Los Posas to finish up the second loop I was wonky.  What was going on?  So I pulled out my PB&J sandwich, drank a little more water, popped an extra electrolyte pill and kept riding.  By the time I got to Big Rock on PCH (about 15 miles from my car) I was very light headed, so I pulled over and noticed I had only drank 3 water bottles, I should have been through 4.  So I downed my water and laid on a rock and closed my eyes. I was out.  When I woke up, thankfully only 15min later, I felt a little better, nothing like a quick power-nap. LOL. I hopped back on my bike and cruised back.  I made it to my car. I had to stop.  I unloaded all the stuff I had gone through on my bike and grabbed more water and was still not right, so I went across the street to the gas station where I bought a Coca Cola and sat on the side of the road in the shade for 45min.  That was a damn good Coke!  I noshed a little on a fruit bar and then I headed back out. I had to. One more loop to go.  If this were to happen on race day, I would have to soldier on, so here I am. Struggling to push through when finally, just after Neptune’s (10miles from my car and the gas station) my energy has been restored. I am back in the zone and cruising again. I hit Los Posas, made the right and rode… hit the turn around and cruise back.  This is it. The last half of the loop!! WAHOOOOOOOOOO!!! As I continued on my ride I was at about mile 105 when I felt completely sick again. Headache, tummy ache, overall ache.  I pushed through and made it to my car.  I rode 110 miles.  Not 112.  But I was ok with that.  And it was in 8:40min  I still would have made cut off if this happened on the race. Barely, but I would have. WOW… complete eye opener.

I did not run the 3 miles… but I did run/walk about 1mi.

I drank the rest of my water and chewed on a Pepto Pill and drank my recovery drink and tried to figure out what happened???

As I retraced my steps I realized that stopping after the first loop is what did it.  All my training, I stopped after two loops.  By stopping after the first loop, it messed up my routine. I skipped a meal, because I was supposed to be eating when I stopped and when I refilled my water bottles I lost count of what I had actually already drank, therefore didn't drink enough making me dehydrated.

Thank god Monday was a day off from training.

And It is seriously amazing what the smallest things will do and I for sure and sticking to my routine!

UNFORTUNATELY OR FORTUNATELY, I HAVE NO PICS FROM THIS WEEKEND. 

Mid Week Mayhem

With only ONE more long training weekend left, I really wanted to get outside and conquer more hills and miles NOT on my trainers.  So I opted to take Wednesday Off.  Good in theory but bad when work is bananas.

I am sure all you have seen the America’s Funniest Video (AFV) where the Flutterbye Fairy gets sucked into the fireplace and WINS the grand prize, well, that is one of my toys. To be fair, it was hysterical. But for PR you have to turn “lemons” into lemonade… and while I wouldn’t call this lemon… but we did want to strike while the fairy was hot so to speak, (the fairy went into a fireplace – ha ha)… ANYWAY, we teamed up with AFV to create a “what happened next” video to for them to share out.  Of course, this was happening all week and Wednesday was the busiest day of them all, so while working with the teams to create the video of her flying out of the chimney, my daylight hours for the bike were dwindling, especially since I wanted to get up to Zuma.  

So instead of getting 50 miles in, I got in 36.  Not too bad.  I was able to head up a few miles up each of the canyons and back to PCH.  With the sunset occurring so early now, I didn’t want to get stuck on the other side of the canyons or speeding down my side in the dark… Safety First.

That being said, the ride was great.  I ate about 4 different bugs on the ride and I was able to squeeze a 1mile transition run… my knees were not too happy, but the sunset made all the difference. 

115 Miles of Beauty

With a few weeks left of training I am powering through --  

Three weeks of back to back monster training weeks.  I have to. I need to. To get me the where I need to be.

Work is crazy.  So, it is making training that much more difficult but I am managing.  100% reminder for next year and years to come… I can only do IM in the summer.  Holiday season and training together is a recipe for disaster.

That being said, I am making it work.  I have been up earlier to handle my bike on my trainer in my living room before work… and NO, I have not rode out of my trainer since that first time a few months back, but thanks for asking and giggling to yourself. :-) .. .the then shower and head to the office by 9:00… where I am there all day, working hard as one of Santa’s elves.   :-)  I am not complaining as I do love what I do, just it is hard.  I am at the office until 8:00 at night, if I am lucky to race over to the gym to get in my pool sessions and then the elliptical. Aqua Jogging has fallen to the side as my gym pool is not deep enough, but the elliptical I think is helping more, plus I really tuned out on the work out and I get to catch up on all my episodes of Switched at Birth and The Fosters on my phone. J Once done, I am home at 10:00 or 11:00 to fall into bed and start all over.  Depending the day, I have added in Pilates instead of the run or swim… which I have realized, I really enjoy!

The weekends are madness.  This weekend, in particular, I had to bike 120 miles with a 3mi transition run on Saturday and them swim for 2hrs and elliptical for 4hrs plus strength and condition. How gross does that sound?!  Since it actually rained this weekend, I had to swap work out days, so I was at the gym from 6:45 – 2:45… that including swimming working out, changing and of course showering. It was crazy.  8hrs at the gym.  It was funny, because I packed a lunch and ate my PB&J in the locker room with the ladies looking at me like I was a weirdo and I just continued with my daily routine. I got in 4 episodes of Switched at Birth and strength and conditioning.  It was a good day… and I was shocked it was only 2:45 when I left.  My Saturdays are usually on the bike, so I am not home until 6:00 or 7:00, so this was a nice treat.  Additionally, while I as at the gym, I noticed the scale.  I do not have a scale at home, so I had no idea what I was at weight wise.  Not that I cared, because like I said, I don’t have a scale at home but I was intrigued.  About half way through the season I had gained the muscle and of course lost 5 or so pounds, but lately, my clothes were literally falling off of me, so I was curious.  Before I started training I was 138lbs and I was comfortable with my weight.  Of course I wanted to lose the typical 10lbs we all dream of, but I was not stressing about it.  So imagine my surprise when I hopped on the scale and kept sliding the weight thing to the left… 119lbs. Holy Moly! 20lbs... Did I really have 20lbs to lose?!?! LOL. I guess so!  So, needless to say, since I finally had a Saturday afternoon, I headed to Beverly Center for some new clothes! … and boy am I happy!  Don’t get me wrong, I am super excited I lost the weight.  One it will make the race that much easier to do without the excess, but I am also realistic.  My “normal” clothes are in my closet, waiting for me to be social again in the “off season” – with holiday parties and get together, I am sure I will land somewhere in the middle. :-)

So, after my excursion to the mall and 6hrs of working out, I was exhausted and took no time falling asleep that night for my 120 on Sunday.  I was ready.  I set up my car as my special needs bag and went out for three loops from Zuma to Los Posas and back.  It is the best “race simulator” there is and today was probably the best and worst day.  We had 12MPH winds at Zuma in the am and as I went north the winds only increased. It was probably around 25MPH at some points and could have been as close to 30MPH at others.  WOWSERS!!  It was draining.  But mentally, it was perfect. I normally don’t listen to any music or anything on these rides, because you can’t during the race, but this time I did, halfsy—I had an earphone in one ear and the street side was open.  I downloaded GONE GIRL.  I only got half way through, if you can believe that on an 8hr ride… but I was good!  So don’t spoil the ending for me. :-)

The run after was great.  My knee didn't hurt but man the wind at 4:00 on the beach was blowing. All the kite boarders were out in full effect and smaller kites, because the wind was so great for them... brutal for me with sand at my face, but again all good training.  I got home that night with an awesome feeling.  I am going to crush this race!!

The best part was after my ride, I was able to meet up with Erick, who helped me with a quick tire change clinic.  thank goodness for that.  It was very helpful.

Roadrash... Thank You Chapstick!

You want to know what sucks? Flipping over your handle bars and wiping out.... What sucks even more is it happening only 30 miles into a 100 mile ride.

The goal was 3 loops from Zuma to Los Posas... each loop faster than the last. I was looking forward to knocking it out.  But unfortunately, that was not in the cards.

Yup.. I was wrapping up my first loop, practicing my new nutrition plan that Ian had mentioned and was in the zone.  When I casually put on my awesome 50 SPF Chapstick, upon putting it back in my bento box, I dropped it.  Stupidly, I glanced over my right shoulder to see how far back I had dropped it, (I thought maybe I would stop to pick it up), when I glanced back, I realized that my body had steered to the right as well and before I knew it, I was hitting the curb and a diving over my handlebars... for some reason, my right foot unclipped and my right elbow took the brunt.. but there I go.

As I lay in pain on the gravel, I somehow manage to pop up and grab my phone while clinching my right collarbone.  It was in mega pain.  I did't know what to do, so I stood there, when thankfully, a really nice biker dude, I forget his name, stopped to check on me.  Thank goodness. He looked at me and asked me basic questions. I think I responded.  All i kept saying over and over was my collarbone, my collarbone. He was more concerned with my right elbow and shin.  I didn't even notice them.  I think I was in shock.  He asked me to unzip the top of my shirt so he can see my collarbone. He said, if i broke it, it would be black and blue already.  So I showed it to him and thank goodness, it was fine.  As we assessed my bike, he asked if I was OK to ride.  I was... still out of it, but OK.  As we cruised along towards Zuma, we were chatting and he would casually bike behind me for a few and then catch back up.  I told him at one point I was OK, if he needed to go and he said he would ride with me a little while longer and then a few miles later, he asked how I was feeling.  I said, I think I am good... and he said, well, you got your color back, so that's a good sign. I got my color back!?!? I didn't even know i lost it!

That being said, I was OK to ride the last 3 miles by myself. I thanked him profusely for stopping and staying with me and then headed to my car.  I put my banged up bike on the rack and drove to the lifeguard station.  They were awesome.  Cleaned me up as best they could and then looked at my elbow and said you need to go to the ER.

So I left Zuma and headed home.  Thankfully Cedars is only a few blocks from my house, so I stopped at home and dropped all my stuff off and took a taxi to the ER. As they cleaned me up, the nurse pulled out a pic, scrub sponge and light sponge.  He said 99% of the time the light sponge and scrub sponge does the trick and that he never has to use the pic. Well, I was that 1%!! HOLY MOLY he dug into my elbow like he was digging for gold.  I did get a vicodin, but it didn't kick in until I left, so my shin and elbow were killing me from all the scrubbing and picking. OH MY GOD!

4 Hours later and X-rays of my entire right side from my collarbone down to my ankle, i am all set to go and NOTHING was broken! WAHOOOOOOOOO!!  i was just severely banged up.  I will take it.

I was forced to rest the next few days and many was that hard, but I guess I needed it.

The AMAZING Bike Fit

With 6 weeks to go, I have 3 weeks back to back of 110 miles on the bike... it is go time.  This is it. We are in the 4th quarter and I have to ball and I have to drive and drive to get myself to the end zone.

To do that.. I needed to make sure a few things were in line... Knee, Bike, Form, and Nutrition... and sometimes they are all connected.

I went to Ian Murray - Awesome guy, triathlete, coach, person - I have met him a few time from LA Tri, and he coached my friend Erick for IMCozumel,... so, I was thrilled that he was able to squeeze me in for a bike fit and advice.  As it turns out. My seat slightly high, I mean by the millimeters, same my arrow-bars which was putting pressure on my knees... which was causing my right patella tendinitis and my clips for my shoes also were off and had my left foot pointing towards my bike instead of straight ahead which was what was causing the added strain on my left knee and IT Band. No wonder I have been in so much pain!  UGH... But I have to tell you, it is amazing how much a little change can do.

Don't get me wrong, the damage has been done and the only way for me to fix these knees is to stay off them which really I am doing for the most part - no running- instead I am aqua jogging and elliptical machine -- but I am still doing a few small transition runs after my ride... Not ideal, but I have to do it... no rest for the weary... :-)  

Latigo...

Latigo is a monster... 10 Miles of climbing that is pretty intense.

As part of one my long rides I had to include Latigo. I was looking forward to it as I had never done it before.  And conquering 90 with that climb was great... But I have to tell you it was awful. ... and thankfully mile 2 in on the climb I met an amazing woman, Judy. She was pure awesomeness.  She was a talker and had stories that could go on for years.  And I needed them.  She had biked Latigo a million times so, she was able to give me a heads up about the road under construction or lack or paving, when the steeper parts of the climbs were coming and to be aware of the false flats.

Judy has biked across the USA twice and across Italy and in numerous races tons of century rides.  She was truly impressive and if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have made it through the ride.

Thank you Judy.

Judy and I at the Top of Latigo

Top of Latigo!! I DID IT!

A View from Above