Gaining Momentum - Hy-Vee Triathlon Recap

I think this picture pretty much says it all:



I could have flatted on the bike and death marched my way through the run, and I still would have been out of my mind excited on Sunday. I had a minor little freak out right at the beginning as 145 of my closest female friends aged 30-39 thrashed around at the start, but I quickly got over it and started swimming...and just kept swimming. THE ENTIRE WAY. And did I mention this swim was NOT wetsuit legal? That's right folks, I swam .9 miles in open water without a wetsuit, without stopping to hold onto a buoy or flip on my back to calm myself down. That was a huge victory for me. Huge. Somewhere along this 2.5 year journey I've managed to become a swimmer. Not a fast swimmer, by any means, but a swimmer nonetheless. I owe a lot of thanks to Greyt for that...she's been by my side the entire way, encouraging me, listening to my freak outs, and going out to practice with me whenever I have needed. Without her, I'm not sure I would have made it to this point. And thanks to Coach Jen as well...for all the workouts, the pep talks, and believing in me. And, Laura, of course...thank you for supporting this crazy addiction of mine and for being there Sunday all over the course. Ok, enough with the Oscar acceptance speech...

Carrying the excitement of that swim with me through the entire race, I had just an awesome day. I really had fun out there racing. I can honestly say it's probably the first time I've really enjoyed the entire experience. My bike felt really good, strong. I had a few minor hiccups in the last 1/3 of the bike, like a bit of a queasy stomach and some slight cramping in my calves, but nothing that made me slow down. The issues with my calves did cause a charlie horse in my left calf in T2, but I sat down and got it worked out before heading out on the run.

The run was fabulous. I allowed myself to take it easy at the beginning to make sure my calf wasn't going to flare up and just to settle into the run. I was surprised at how good I felt. I usually don't feel that great starting out on the run. My HR and breathing was in check, I was ready to have a good run. I think it helped that there were no mile markers on the course. I just kept running and pushing as I felt I could. I handled the first big hill well...remembered coach's instructions to shorten up the stride and use my arms. I can't even believe how much using your arms helps. WOW. So many people were walking up that first hill. About three weeks ago, I probably would have been one of them, but my training has really been coming around and I was ready for this course. Down the hill, turn the corner, and there's the turnaround. Over halfway at that point, and I still felt great. Just after the turnaround I saw Greyt. She was running strong, just like she has been. I yelled across the street that she better get moving so she can catch me and spank my ass as she runs by. I fully believed she would do that because she has been running so well lately. But, then again, I didn't really anticipate what happened next. I'm not sure if it was the gel I took at the beginning of the run or if I just somehow caught a second wind in all the excitement, but I found another gear on the run. I charged up the two remaining hills, passing a ton of people along the way. Then it was all downhill to the finish.

There is NOTHING quite like turning into the finish at the Hy-Vee triathlon. They do it right. You come around the corner and the course is just lined with people. Then you turn one more time and it opens up to this huge grandstand area that is FILLED with cheering spectators. And, the blue carpet. Oh that sweet blue carpet. Such a surreal experience. And to top it off, as I was running for the finish line I see this hand sticking out from the crowd in front of me and I heard "Go, Kris!", I looked up just in time to see my Mom and Dad standing there grinning ear to ear and my Dad with his hand out for a high five. That was just the best.

This was right before I saw Mom and Dad. Pushing hard to the finish!


All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. I got to watch the ITU women's race on Saturday, had a great race on Sunday morning, then got to hang around and watch the new ITU Team event on Sunday afternoon. That was so cool to watch. I'll post some pictures from that in another blog. Got some up close and personal pictures of all the stars in action. I'll leave you with a couple pictures of some really cool people I met this weekend:

Katie Weaver


Hunter Kemper (he signed my helmet!!)

A Whole Lotta Catchin' Up To Do

Sorry I've been so delinquent on my blog, but it's Facebook's fault. Darn thing makes it way too easy to update loads of people with one or two sentences. So, anyway...lots of stuff went down since my last blog post. Two races came and went with a little 12K time trial stuck in between, a bunch of major training hit the books, a BIG BIG BIG break-through occurred, and the first of my three MAJOR races is right around the corner. Like this weekend. How did that happen??? Sorry if this gets kinda long...I'll try to keep it short. And next time I'll try to blog a bit more often. :D

Bluff Creek Triathlon Race Report - Two weeks after the pin came out of my hand, I took the plunge and raced the sprint tri at Bluff Creek. I had like four or five swims under my belt, and I knew it was going to be rough. And rough it was. I got kicked in my recovering hand no less than 8 times in the swim, and came out of the water with it throbbing like crazy and me behind about 35 other women. I hopped on the bike and pushed as best I could, moving up to about 11th female. The run reflected my lack of training, and I was slow. Lost a couple of places, but I finished. Not a great race, but it got me into race mode and helped me along my path towards the break-through.

Two weeks of Solid Training - After Bluff Creek, Jen put the hurt on me. I trained hard. And I made the point to get into open water as often as I could. Hy-Vee was coming up fast, and I was determined to NOT have a repeat of last year's swim at that race.

12K Time Trial - I've been wanting to do this, just to see what happened if I went in and pushed as hard as possible on the bike. Well, folks, it hurts. Plain and simple. But it was fun. :D Although next time I won't do it two days before a sprint triathlon.

Holiday Lake Triathlon - I decided I needed another race under my belt before Hy-Vee so I entered this new race in eastern Iowa. With Copper Creek being held the same weekend and Ironman Kansas 70.3 also the same weekend, I had a feeling this race would be fairly small. And it was. Not even 150 people, 38 of them women. The weather was crappy, raining all night and right up until race start. The race went better than Bluff Creek. My training in OW paid off and I had a great swim for me. Got on the bike and hammered through the 18 miles of hills, wind, and light rain. Came into transition feeling pretty good and ready to run. Then proceeded to suffer my way through the hilliest 3.5 mile course EVER. They weren't big hills, they were the short, steep kind that hurt on the way up and on the way down. And they were relentless. I think I remember one stretch of maybe 200 yards that was flat, the rest was either up or down. And it was on a pavement/gravel mixture that made for unsure footing. Not the most fun I've ever had running. A woman at the last water stop told me I was the 3rd female. I checked back over my shoulder and saw no other female in sight, so I allowed myself to cruise into the finish. No need to push harder at that point, I was already feeling tightness and pain in my left hip flexor/quad. The race as a whole was stronger than Bluff Creek, I could tell my training was coming back. Slowly, but definitely coming back. OH! And I also had a chance to hang out with Maria at this race. It was awesome to get to know her a bit and see her kick some serious butt out there!

More training - Right after the race, Jen again put the hurt on me. Long run, long ride, swims, swims, swims. I saw some paces on my runs that I haven't seen for awhile, so things are looking good. The process is working. But the biggest thing of all happened less than a week ago...

THE BIG BIG BREAK-THROUGH - For any of you who have been following my blog for awhile, or just know me in general, know that I struggle with swimming. I have come a long ways since that first tri in Colorado where I couldn't even swim 25 yards without having to stop and hang on the side of the pool. But, I do still have my issues, especially in open water. This season I made the decision to get into open water as much as possible, as early as possible, so I could avoid the disaster that was the Hy-Vee triathlon last year. I had been going out to Big Creek every Tuesday with Greyt, and other TRI Racers, and doing pretty well at being comfortable in the water and doing a lap of the buoys before stopping. After Holiday Lake, I felt the need to make sure I could swim the distance of the Hy-Vee course (.9 miles). A fellow TRI Racer had done some work to figure out the distance around the buoys out at Big Creek so I knew that one mile equaled swimming out to the first buoy, completing three laps of the five buoys, then swimming back to shore. That was A LOT more than I had been doing continuously, so it was a bit intimidating. But last Wednesday night I told myself I was going to swim that one mile distance without stopping, no matter how slow I went.

I met Sarah at Big Creek, Greyt was going to be joining us a little later, so Sarah and I went ahead to get started. The water was really choppy. There were quite a few boats out on the water, sending some good chop back to the shore. At first, I got a little freaked...I wasn't planning on choppy water. But then I just put in my mind that I needed to do this, and that the chop was a bonus because it would help prepare me for a possibly rough swim at Racine. So, Sarah and I get in and take off. I focused on staying smooth, long strokes, easy breathing, rotating fully, and riding the little waves from the boats. It almost felt like I was body surfing at times. And for the first time ever, it felt FUN. I was actually having FUN swimming in open water. The first lap came and went. Then on the second I see Greyt swimming towards me, stopped only briefly to let her know I was doing ok and I was actually having fun (I knew she would be wondering)then went on my way. I started the third lap thinking "Oh. My. God. I am doing this. I am going to do this mile." And I wasn't even tired. Sarah and I came to a stop after the third lap at the buoy and I told her I was going again. That's right, folks, I was going for a 4th LOOP! Coach had a 50 minute swim on the books and I wanted to hit that 50 minutes. It would be the first time I did it continuous without breaks. And I did it. The fourth loop went just as well as the previous three. As I came into shore, I saw Greyt standing in the water waiting for us. When I could stand, I got up and did a really stupid looking happy dance and fell back into the water with the biggest smile on my face. I had done it. I swam OVER a mile without stopping. Without one single panic attack. And I did it in some rougher water than I was used to. I was ecstatic. At that point, I felt this HUGE relief wash over me. I knew I could do Hy-Vee. And I also knew I could do Racine. For the first time, I believed that I could actually do it without struggling the entire way. I was pretty damn excited. I even had to call Jen on my way home from the lake to tell her about it. Not just because I had a breakthrough, but also because I wanted to call her with some GOOD news for once. It's been a tough year...just wanted her to share in the first GOOD thing to happen in awhile.

So, that is that. We're all caught up now. :D I promise I won't wait so long to get a report up from Hy-Vee.

Back in Action

I finally got the ok to get back in the pool and out on my bike. No more trainer!! YES!! I have a lot of catching up to do on my training, but I have faith in the process and in Jen that she will have me ready to go for my big race in Racine. I'm still in the process of coming to terms with the fact that some of my races will not be what I had hoped them to be this year, but I am getting over my bad self and focusing on Racine. That was my goal race for this season, and that is really all that matters to me right now. The races leading up to Racine will be tough, mentally and physically, but they are a means to an end this year.

This past weekend I went to Galena to watch Greyt and Jen race. I also notched my first DNS. It was an emotionally/mentally tough day for me. I think it was the first time I've really let myself get angry about what happened with my hand. Up until now I've brushed it off as a stupid accident, nothing I can do about it, doesn't help to get upset, everything happens for a reason, blah blah blah. But standing there, spectating, I felt really angry. An accident that never should have happened was forcing me to the sidelines. It wasn't fair. And I was pissed. Instead of being out on that crazy, hilly course racing my heart out like I should have been, I was standing up at the finish area staring at all the racks in T2 clenching my jaw with tears stinging my eyes. I allowed myself that time to get mad, to feel the frustration, and to come to terms with the fact that life isn't always fair. I had the right to feel angry and upset and it was about time I got it out. So I stood there for several minutes letting myself feel all the things I've been pushing aside for 5 weeks. Then I took a big breath, turned around and went out for my run on the race course, making damn sure I even crossed the finish line. While I still had a few bouts of frustration during and after the race, I think I've finally dealt with my emotions around this and can put it behind me. I'm not going to let this set-back ruin my season. It most certainly will change it, but it sure as hell isn't going to ruin it.

"Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength." - Unknown

Today Is A GREAT Day Because....

1. I got the ok to start running again!!
2. I also got my stitches out.
3. I have the appointment made to remove my pin. Two weeks and counting!
4. It is 84 degrees and sunny. G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S day to start running again!
5. It is FRIDAY. Who doesn't love Fridays?
6. I picked my bike up from the shop. They've had it for a couple of weeks getting a bunch of new goodies installed. She looks SuhWeet!
7. Did I mention I get to start running again??

Playing the Waiting Game

It's been two weeks since surgery now and I'm still forbidden to do any training....unless I can keep my hand raised up to at least ear level. I did manage to sneak in a couple of CrossFit workouts that entailed one arm kettlebell exercises, some situps, some air squats. Nothing too intense, just SOMETHING to get my body moving. Granted, the CF trainer said I looked like I was riding a bull when I was doing the one arm kettlebell swings, but I was at least do some exercising yet still following doctor's orders.

I have another follow-up appointment with the doctor tomorrow. Hopefully he will let me start running, maybe some biking on the trainer. Keep your fingers crossed for me. So far I've decided I have to pull out of one race, the Galena duathlon on May 16. But, if he doesn't give me the ok to start running tomorrow, I will most likely need to also pull out of the oly race on May 31. Grrrr. That really will not make me happy. That will mean Hy-Vee will be my first race of the year...something I did NOT want to have happen. But if that's the way it has to be then I'll deal with it.

Here's hoping to some good news tomorrow...

Quick Update

This will be short...still not the greatest at typing with one hand. Surgery went very well yesterday. The doctor was able to get the bone back in place with no complications. There was no tendon damage or anything. I have a pin holding the bones together that sticks out of my hand a little bit. That will come out in about 4 weeks. No cast, just a splint that I can take on and off to clean my arm/hand and exercise my fingers. I'll be off training for a few days, but am hoping to be able to start running a bit next week. We will see. Oh and to answer the question about how it happened...I was doing pull ups at the gym when the pull up bar broke, sending me crashing to the concrete floor. The steel pull up bar then fell across my hand causing the break and a small laceration. A freak accident...the kind that tends to only happen to me!!!

Thanks everyone for the concern and support....it means a lot!!!

Hey All!

Just a quick message this morning as I'm wasting time before heading to the hospital for my surgery. Yes I said MY and SURGERY together. Long story, but the gist of it is that I had a little accident at the gym on Tuesday that resulted in a "transverse displaced fracture" in my second metacarpal bone on my right hand. In English that means the bone in my hand that runs from my knuckle of my index finger to my wrist is snapped in half, with neither edges of the bone still touching. No small hairline fracture for me, oh no, when I do it, I do it BIG. So today I'm heading to surgery to have two pins put in to hold the bones together while they heal. I'll have those taken out in four weeks then hopefully back to swimming, riding outside, and racing. Sounds like I can still run and ride my trainer, so I plan to do that as much as possible to maintain some fitness anyway.

I will drop in tomorrow with an update on the surgery. Cheers!!!