Into the Crucible

WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?!

If I had a dollar for every blog post I've started writing in the evening or written in my head during a long  training day, I'd probably be pretty close to paying for the 3lb jug of CarboPro I just bought! Often, the words that would flow freely while pounding out the miles never came back to me when the time would come to write. So here it is almost 6 months since my last blog post! The last time I posted, it was to announce that I had gotten into Ultraman. 

It probably goes without saying that I haven't been sitting on my butt since then! Two weeks ago concluded some of the hardest training I've ever done. Several weeks in May and June exceeded 20 hours. Over one particular 10 day period, I ran over 100 miles, and cycled over 200 miles! 

In addition, I've also been planning my wedding, scheduled for October 26th! A few months ago, my mom realized the best way to get me in one place to talk about things was to sit on the sofa next to my trainer.

All of this, plus holding down a full time job and work travel schedule!

If you ever think you are "too busy" for anything, we should probably chat before you continue to make such claims. ;) 

Ultraman is 1 week. I want to update you on what I've been up to since the last time we "spoke". I will break it down into 2 parts. This first one really highlights the struggles that have come along with the training. 

MEETING MY HERO

Let's first rewind 1 week from my last blog post. I'm at Hotel Derrick. My grandmother had graciously given me tickets to listen to Diana Nyad speak. I was chatting with a few other people when Diana casually walked around the corner and introduced herself to our group. As she shook my hand, I couldn't contain myself! I broke into absolute tears! She waited for me to pull myself together, hands my shoulders. Between sobs, I finally told her how much meeting her meant to me, as well as my goal to get into Ultraman. She hugged me and wished me well,  and reminded me to have COURAGE! What was meant to be will be!

Less than 48 hours later, my invitation from Steve Brown arrived in my inbox.

DIZZY TRAILS

Rocky Raccoon 50 miler was to be my first major training day after getting into Ultraman. Going into it, I felt quite confident in my training and nutrition plan. The race begins before dawn, a line of bobbing headlamps weaving through the trees. I ran the first 8 or 10 miles with Chad before he took off like the speedy guy he is, but I stayed with a small group. By the time I was finishing my first 16 mile loop, I could tell that something wasn't quite right, but the WHAT was the big unknown. For the next few miles I did what I could to get back on course. As I hit the aid station at mile 20, I had already begun to give up. I was dizzy and cried a little.  My parents filled my bottle, and Wendy gave me a verbal kick in the butt and off I went. The dizziness eventually  As I crossed the dam at mile 23,  began to walk. I was so dizzy that the roots on the ground wriggled like snakes, and my depth perception was gone. As I walked back up the hill towards Dam Nation aid station i thought to myself, "Don't get caught! Keep walking." Then the medical guy walked up to me and asked if I was okay. After sitting down and not getting any less dizzy, I was afraid that maybe I had some sort of inner ear problem. I knew my day was done. My first DNF.

I later discovered that the dizziness was actually caused by motion sickness. Yep. From running behind someone for hours and watching the ground. Lessons learned.

DEFEATING THE CATTLE GUARD

Training picked up again after Rocky. Next on my schedule was RAAM Texas Challenge, 200 miles of Texas Hill Country climbing. 13,000 feet of climbing, actually. Then we get an email the week before the race explaining that the course needed to be altered this year (some sort of disagreement between the race and a small town along the way regarding traffic problems). Now the course was 212 miles. It rained all day, the wind howled at over 25miles per hour, and the temperatures never rose above 40. I never needed to switch from my clear night riding lenses since the sun also was MIA. My wind breaker was slicked to my skin. Eventually that *special* kind of grumpiness set in. Many of you know what I am talking about..

If you have ever ridden across a cattle guard on a bike, you know that you have to be going about 7 mph in order to make it without a nasty crash. More often than not, the hills would set me below 10mph. As I approached one hill in particular, I could see the angled ends of the guards rising up from the chip and seal. As I made it to the top, I knew I wasn't going to make it over the guard. I un-clipped. But instead of walking my bike over the guard, I buried my face in my areobars, completely defeated my the cattle guard! Chad got out of the SAG car. After some encouragement, he reminded me what I had set out to do: ride the Ultraman day 2 bike distance of 172 miles. Somehow, I got back on the bike and continued on.

At mile 175, I was done by my standards. I had stopped shivering. My chest was cold to the touch, and my core temp had dropped a further than we would have liked. So, off of the bike and into the warm car, and instantly asleep. No regrets. I had done what I had set out to do and given it everything I had. Maybe I didn't finish the race, but the takeaways from the ride were invaluable.

On Monday or Tuesday, I'll have a new post for you guys with a training wrap up. I will also be debuting the crew shirts!