Today I might have been basking in the afterglow (read:pain) of Ironman Coeur d'Alene had things gone according to plan. As it is, I think I just bought a $700 backpack. Instead, I'm basking in the afterglow of figuring out where and why I belong in endurance sports at the tender age of 50.
The year started off well enough with a couple of local running races…although there were no magical PRs waiting for me this season. The Endurance Obsession Racing Team (which I love like a family) had a great and fun showing at Tough Mudder Arizona as well….and all systems seemed go.
Then…things changed.
I started to develop what I thought was a wart on my right hand ring finger…..but then it started bleeding….and didn't stop. I got an appointment to see a Doc and was told I had a hemangioma, essentially a group of blood vessels growing thru the skin, and that it would need to be surgically removed and cauterized. The diagnosis was easy….treatment was not. I could NOT find a surgeon of any stripe that would take me until September….and here I was bleeding every time I took off the hundreds of bandages and liquid skin I'd use during this time. Swimming at the local pool was out of the question because I wasn't going to freak out my fellow swimmers by bleeding in their water.
The downward spiral of IMCDA had begun…..no swimming?….hmmm….
In May I did the Jay Benson Triathlon on a new course in Albuquerque and fractured my foot while running into an expansion joint on a pedestrian bridge we ran on. It was totally my fault as I just took my eyes off the road for a few seconds at the wrong time. I did finish the race limping and hobbling around…but it certainly wasn't the age group podium spot I thought I was training for. I barely ran for the next 6 weeks leading up to the HITS Grand Junction full distance Aquabike race. Theoretically this race should have been perfect since we were just doing the swim and bike…..a perfect part of IMCDA training….the reality was much different.
The water was cold…..like 57 degrees or so cold and my body started shutting down not long after I started my second loop. I was miserable and scared for the first time ever in the water. I got on the bike and lost the bandage on my finger while trying to wrestle a water bottle into the cage…so I spent the next 20 miles bleeding my way to an aid station to get some tape for it. My bad left foot began complaining and so I was doing most of the pedaling with one leg…..and at mile 75 that leg did protest too much to go any further. No matter….I'd spent the entire bike ride knowing I wasn't going to IMCDA…..I just lost the urge.
So….flash forward to my season reset and focusing on short course racing and getting more fit. My first reset race was a local 10K where I ran just about the worst 10K I've run in the last 7-8 years….discouraging, yes….but I pressed on.
After a fun run/swim/run/swim/run/swim/run open water workout (in preparation for the Survival of the Shawangunks tri in September) I stepped out of the car to take this picture and sliced my heel open on a broken bottle….one week before the Toughman triathlon….it refused to heal, so I again I was relegated OUT of the pool for the week and wound up racing with my heel split open….
I entered the Toughman AZ olympic triathlon with a goal of landing on the podium and starting my process of race redemption…..but I faded badly on the run after 3 miles (and no water at the aid stations) and finished 4th. Still…it was at least a sign that maybe I was headed in the right direction.
This past weekend I was able to climb onto the 3rd step of the podium at the City of Lakes Olympic Tri in Santa Rosa, NM. Of everything…I was most proud that my run was strong (for the first 5 miles anyway) and only my buddy Arne passed me from my AG in the last half mile. I had a 10 minute course PR and finally felt like things might be coming around.
The 2nd half of the season is upon us….and I'm looking for other opportunities to test myself in these crazy sports we are so fortunate to compete in. I'll surely do the Socorro Chile Harvest Sprint Tri (USAT Regional Championship Race) in August, Las Vueltas de Mountainair bike race with a few of the EO guys, and then to get my groove on at the bucket list race, Survival of the Shawangunks Triathlon.
My appetite for long distance racing is gone…….I don't see the point in suffering for such a long time anymore (not for me anyway). I'm sure I'll throw a 70.3 distance race in here or there….but my Ironman career is over.
Today…I wondered how I'd feel hearing about my friends that battled some tough conditions at IMCDA yesterday? Would I be jealous? Envious? Would I wish I had been there….
Today, I felt happy…..happy for them that they met their goals…and happy for me that I have new ones.
No regrets…only opportunities.
Peace…
#zerolimits #zeroinjurieswouldbenicetoo #takebackyourlife
Thanks to Trisports.com, XTERRA Wetsuits, Boston Bill Sunglasses, Champion Systems and Altra Running for believing in me and in the EO Racing Team...
