Update..

As I write, it is looking quite hopeful that my dear hubby will finish the race tomorrow. He took a short run/walk today and with Ibuprofen we figure he can run/walk the half marathon if the hip is still hurting. It is a superficial wound-all different pretty colors of purple, nothing that can be further damaged but still just may hurt like hell while on the run. And as fate would have it, we met a man staying next door who is doing the race, his first half IM-with a leg prosthesis. After having a great conversation with him, I turned to H and said well, guess you can think about him when you are running. He agreed. I have so much respect for physically challenged athletes. I mean we think we have an uphill battle and then realize how lucky we are. Speaking of uphill, we drove the course today. I did this course 5 years ago-my first half IM-when did they put all those hills in? I seem to remember it not being that hard on my old Lemond fossil bike back then. Of course I was a bit younger and maybe again, my memory is failing me. And it did take me 8 and 1/2 hours.

I swam in the Russian River today, which is beautiful in itself. The water temp was 72 degrees and outside temp about 50. I was cold in my new swim skin. I decided that after IMCDA, I was not up for any more cold swimming, not even for a minute so made the executive decision to wear my full wetsuit. What the hell? I will wear my new skin sometime soon-it is very cool and fast but avoiding discomfort at all costs is my MO tomorrow.

My only goal is to beat my husband in the swim. The rest we can do together, I don't care. I may walk with him on the run, if he has to do that. I grew up swimming and H just keeps getting faster and faster in the water. This is getting annoying! So we have a little rivalry going about our open water swimming. The bike and run I do not care-carry on and kick my ass. But he can't beat me in the swim!

This is my "C" race-I don't really care at this point. There is a little voice inside the recesses of my mind that says Hmmm, would be nice to sail through this one and just get a PR just cause I can! But reality hit after driving the bike course and unless all the extra O2 adds infinite amount of power up the hills, I am willing to accept my mortality and settle for MOP. I can always blame anything on the fact I did IMCDA 3 weeks ago, heh?

Unexpected Road Block..

Momo's post came to mind when this happened (Beware of the Taper):

H fell on his bike on Wednesday. My friend Kathy and I heard a crunch behind us and commented, What was that? Where is Hartley? When I looked back, there was H, on the ground, just getting up. I wasn't worried until he started asking me where everyone was (we had turned around early from the group) and what was going on. When I asked him-where are we going tomorrow? and he had no idea, I thought Oh shit we were in trouble. Apparently he hit his head really hard (no crack in helmet) and has some nasty road rash on his hip. In a split second, we decided Kathy would stay with H and I would hightail it back the 8 miles or so to the car and come to pick them up. I then did my only speed workout for the month in that 8 miles, turning the damn Garmin off because my HR was off the charts. I got the car and headed back. I saw a Corrales police officer on the way to the car, giving a ticket to someone and mentioned my husband may have a head injury back there and could he check on him. He said in a very annoying voice: Well, I guess when I am done giving this ticket. Gee, officer, don't let me ruin your day with a bike accident! I was so pissed!! (he never showed up by the way-probably went to lunch the shape he was in). I made it back to H and Kathy just as they were riding to meet me. H seemed OK by then, remembered everything-took about 15 min for his head to clear. Kathy's ex was a neurosurgeon and me being an ex-nurse-a dangerous combination-so we had group worry that H had a head injury. I have been observing him now for 2 days and no symptoms so far of a cerebral bleed. He has a very sore hip and his "A" race in 2 days. We traveled from ABQ to Bakersfield yesterday. Now Bakersfield is famous in that this is where I was born 53 and 1/3 years ago. I really don't remember much-we moved when I was a baby but always felt like a California girl at heart. So here I sit in our ever so comfortable Hampton Inn room. We are on our way to Guerneville today, home of the Vineman 70.3. H has ice on his hip as we speak and we are praying he can run by Sunday. Everytime he gets up to walk, he says ohhh, man! Looks iffy at the moment..

So either we are both in terrible denial and H won't be able to run at all by race day or he will heal in the next 48 hours at least enough to complete Vineman. What a drag! H and I have been operating out of positive thinking about all of it. Go with the flow..he is in the best shape of his life and I feel his disappointment over this..

More later..

In between..

I am:

-In between races. IMCDA out of the way, Vineman next Sunday.
-In between trips. Just got home from Ohio, heading for the West coast on Thursday.
-In between feeling excited about Vineman and just saying to hell with it. Just going to show up!-
-In between laundry loads again!
-In between being sick but almost totally healthy again. Still cough at times.
-In between spring and fall.
-In between riding my road bike and my tri bike. Tri Cervelo is in the LBS which is, shall we say, "disorganized" at best and can't seem to get to my bike after a week just to tweak it after cables have streched. Grrrrr....

So it is an "in between" week so far. I just left my girls back in Ohio, my people, my oldest bestest friends in the world after what seemed like a 3 day slumber party all over again. We laughed, gossiped, played, drove by old boyfriends' houses, our old houses, old haunts where we use to hang back when life was simple. We shopped we ate, then ate some more. Seems like we were never away and it has been about 35 years since we graduated high school. Here we are now (with the last mom that lives in my home town). I am on the end right:

I miss the old days! Sigh...