Saturday, July 21, 2007

Fighting the demon and my new goal..

Well , i thought it would be a good idea for Hartley and I to get with the tri buds this AM and go for a bike ride. These folks do NOT have retirement hours. We are talking 6:30 AM starts on the bike. BUT I know how HOT it is after 10:00 AM in ABQ these days (90s) so I set my alarm at 5:15 and off we go. We meet on Alameda for a nice 60 mile ride. Looked flat, I have been training/racing all summer. I should be on track to keep up. WELL, the first sign that may not be so is that my legs hurt all over as soon as we started. i have had this wierd leg pain for about a year now, even when not working out-I can only describe it as "lactic acid buildup" feeling. Dr.s think it is my back issues but who knows? Today was particularly bad. I have trained at the gym 2 days this week, including squats (no weights) yesterday. I kept thinking this would pass but no-it only got worse. I pulled out the drugs-Tylenol, Advil (a no-no I know), ate a goo, drank water-nothing helped. I just "didn't have it" today-everyone has those days I guess...
I started to think bad thoughts like "what the hell was I thinking signing up for an Ironman again? I can't even keep up with Hartley today!" I forced myself to stay positive, even when the guy with the sprained ankle (still has egg sized swelling on it) passed me. Then there was the girl with a torn hamstring and had not worked out for a month-zoom-she was gone..the others are just animals-averaging I would say 20 MPH. Hartley was kind enough to stick with me, especially the last 15 miles while I told the rest to just go without me (they had been waiting for me at intersections of the ride-every 10 miles or so. I always feel bad about this). Then as if my ego was not bruised enough, here comes Dread Pirate WHIZZING by me saying hi. Tried to keep up with her but couldn't. We finally got back to the cars. All in all about 54 miles. Took 4 hours including stops. We had coffee with a few that were still at the coffee shop. I really wasn't too down on myself-something new for me. I am an athlete-I am female and "over 50". Most wouldn't even try what we triathletes do. I am not giving up on IMCDA at all. Once I make up my mind to do something, I do it. Speaking of which, my goal is to lose that 7 lbs by my birthday-September 17th-this year. Another new goal-to keep up with these folks training for IMCDA. Oh, that is on the bike. The run is a different story..
We stopped at the 7-11 on the way home and got a bag of ice. I did it! I drew myself a nice cold bath, got in, and poured the whole bag of ice in the water. I shivered a bit but made it 10 minutes. My legs still hurt and are fatigued but should feel better tomorrow for that 80 minute run..Oh goody!

8 comments:

Herself, the GeekGirl said...

what was interesting about this post was that I knew who all those people were...too bad I wasn't there. I wouldn't have passed you. That's almost a promise. I can't pass anyone these days!

S. Baboo said...

Hang tough Debi!

SWTrigal said...

Geekgirl-come back soon!! We'll hang together..:)

Bones said...

I am not an animal I'm a triathlete. Said in my best elephant man impersonation...:) Glad you made it okay, Hartley said you weren't feeling well.

-bones

SWTrigal said...

OK-my goal is to keep up with the elephants!
:)

Vickie said...

Well I can completely sympathize with you about the bike rides and trying to keep up. Happens to me all the time. Every time. I can't even contemplate a full IM until I can at least keep up with old ladies on motorized carts! And you made a statement about doing triathlons and being over 50, something I too can relate to. I'm not criticizing anyone younger, but they do not know! They will see one day and we will be avenged!

the Dread Pirate Rackham said...

I feel your pain. PM coming forthwith.

Podium quest said...

Don't let days where your feeling tired get you down. That means you've made your body tired and once you have a recovery week you'll come back stronger. You will do the INCDA. I believe in you.