BACK IN ACTION....IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE

the title says a lot - I'm back. Today, on my way back to the hotel from my favorite love-to-hate-to-love 70.3, I felt an urge that has been gone from my life for some time now. I actually felt like i wanted to get on the computer and blog. It took me by suprise. I'm not sure what it was, but i am glad that side of me is starting to come back. it's my mojo. i think my mojo is coming back.

I cant remember the last time i posted on here, but without checking, i'd say it's been since last september - that would be 9 months.... i've had quite a few "where are you?" emails (and, btw, thanks for the concern) but didnt really care to update anyone, cause i had nothing really good to say. my life was a bit of a mess last year - one of those long stiories that seemed to play out behind the scenes, and internally, but if you looked hard enough, it showed in my many flat unpleasant race experiences in 2009.

so whats different now? oh, lots. but one thing is is that i love to race again. i mean, i hate it when im out there huffin and puffin, but i love it.

after timberman last year, i decided to take a break. i had enough slow flat races that hurt way too much for as crappy as they were. i took a month off completely. then after a month, i thought that wasn't enough, so1 month became 2 months....surely by november i would be ready to ramp things back up for an early ironman. then i got hurt. posterior tibialis tendonitis. 1 month became nearly 4 months of light trainnig with a 10 week layoff from running. it was sooo hard, but after a while, it was sooo awesome. i started to paint, work in the garden, visit with family, just chill out. aside form the 10 pounds on my ass i aquired, it was a great break for me mentally and physically.

i finally got my ass in gear in january - my first real run was christmas - and i had a long way to go since it was all i had to run 8:30 miles, but i kept on it, and slowly, it began to come back. slowly...but it was coming.

2010 started a bit rocky with some personal life issues, but i decided to make a go with a last minute entry to New Orleans 70.3. well, that backfired on me as i was plucked for the chilly lake waters with a case of hypothermia. i was pretty lean by race day, and that in conjuction with the lake being 72 degrees (ha...i would bet it was 70 or so, but 72 is not cold enough for us pro's to wear a wetsuit) and choppy - i just went from cold to colder. i'm not gonna go into the details, but lets just say, it was one of the scariest things that has ever happened to me. i was able to get out of the water in time before things went from bad to worse (thank God) and many thanks to those EMT's for getting my core temp back up. it took over an hour in the ambulance to stop shaking violently, and i have never been so happy to have 2 men i have never seen before strip me naked!!! (( that was to get wet cloths off of me and wrap me in blankets)) Even after i was released, i was not right for a couple of weeks, but i'm good now. maybe just a bit more skittish of cold temperatures. i know, i don't need that. i catch a lot of flack for being a wuss in cold temps anyway, but obviously those folks spittin comments don't experience the physical effects of cold sensitivity, not have they ever had hypothermia. i invite those to give it a try sometime. perhaps they would become a little more compassionate after experiencing it themselves - or seeing someone they love go thru it. anyhooo.....

so new orleans was a bust, then crawfishman was called for lightening while i was on the bike...total letdown.

So I was 0 for 2 in 2010 going into Gulf Coast Half Ironman in May. surely 3 times would be the charm. well, it was. I ran away with it and did a 4:33 (or something like that - i cant remember exactly) but I won my first race (well, the first one i finished :-) of the year. there was or course some drama as I flew over my handlebars at the bike dismount line in front of hundreds of people - but i laughed it off, brushed off the blood and the hurt ego - and went out for the run - running scared the whole way. it was fun to win that race again. I love that race.

So that brings me here. I have been ramping up the miles in hopes of racing my first ironman as a pro this year. i figure what the hell, i paid my $$ to WTC, I'm gonna race some big ones this year. So Louisville it is in late August if i can get there without my post tib. acting up again. nothing is worth that injury again - so we will see how it goes - but thats the plan. then i thought "maybe i should do Lubbock" as a good training day at the end of a recovery week - so last week, i decided to come out a give it a go. and i brought JP along for the fun. It's been a great weekend (he just brought me a glass of fine red wine in a "best western" paper cup in the lobby of the hotel where i am on the computer )...did i mention...he's going to HAWAII!! yeah JP! we shall have champagne in class on Tuesday

Lubbock. This race kicks my ass every time i do it, but i keep coming back for more. i'm afraid that may be a metaphor for my life in some way...

Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3. 2010. started off smooth, short swim i think, windy bike on the flats, great hills. drama of the day - my chain slipped as i was coming out of the saddle on a climb and the quad muscle that attaches above the knee to the inside slammed into my areobar or elbow pad (the hard surface). a few 4 letter words slipped out as the pain screamed from this already fired up muscle as i tried to complete the climb...as I thanked God i didnt crash since i went all kaka at the time it happened. that was at mile 40. the girls in front of me slipped away then and i just tried to work thru it...into the brutal east winds back to transition...hoping not to lose too much time.

so i made it out on the run, stiffness and pain in the knee (actually the quad muscle, but knee area..) and really just shuffled thru it. the muscle where i hit it was cramping, but not uncontrolably, so i just kept on. my run was slow, but the blood flow was good i guess, cause looking at slpits, i was steady...steady slow for me, but steady. i had to walk A LOT. like every hill and aid station until mile 10, but as soon as i saw i could reel in a few other girls, i just went for bust in the last few miles. 1:39 run - not too bad with as much walking i did i suppose

A trip to the IV tent and some ice and tape around my swollen knee while i got some fluids did me some good. walking right now is a bit painful, but i think ill be ok. all i could think about after i hit it was--- oohhh, my massage from mike is gonna hurt!! i think ill put some caution tape around it for a while. oohh- time for the ALCIS!

so thats the skinny. I love LUBBOCK. i will drive 26 hours for the best big race with a small race feel anytime. Mike and Marti Greer are so hospitable, they love this sport and do all of this out of pure PASSION and it shows in the race and their spirit. And that's exactly why i do this sport. God knows it's not for the $ or the fame :-)

later (and i mean that). Ill b back

c