It is true, tri-bikes and elementary schools do not mix. Okay. Maybe I should clarify. Tri-bikes and the before school traffic at the local elementary school do not mix.
I started my morning nauseas... I'm pretty sure it was from too much cake last night. Yummy cake from Davis Bakery... our favorite bakery. Yellow cake with strawberry preserves between the layers and strawberry cream cheese icing. It was so good I had 2 pieces instead of just 1. And I felt it in the morning, let me tell you. But no vomiting, so I decided I had to go and ride my bike.
It was dark when I left the house. So dark that when I passed the Publix and saw that there was a police officer exiting his car, I hoped that it was dark enough that he couldn't see me... or that if he could see me he wouldn't care to take the time to pull me over and give me a ticket for riding my bike in the dark without any bike lights. That kind of dark. As I sped away (or tried to) at 16 mph, I was thrilled when he either didn't see me or ignored me.
I got through the traffic and on to my lovely closed road circuit. I had it all to myself... probably because it wasn't even 6:30 am and it was dark. As I rode along, I heard rustling and then a sound that if it was in a cartoon would have meant that some small animal was scolding me. I looked over and there was a Racoon Momma with her Babies on the grassy side of the road, and in fact, Momma was the one chattering.
Despite feeling like throwing up, I was riding really well. Guess that's what happens when you eat all your calories for the day. I was supposed to keep at race pace - so between 16 mph and 17 mph (the idea is that while I can go faster I need to stay here because for me if I do the distance faster right now I have no legs left at all for the run) - and I was having a hard time not hitting 18 mph at times. Luckily for me (I say with irony) a head wind came up, so then I was able to average 16.4 mph for the entire ride. I would laugh when the wind would die down and I would look down and see 17.9, 18.7, etc. It was a much better ride than last Sunday... of course there were a lot fewer hills too. Hmm.
While it was still dark but slowly getting lighter a deer appeared. A beautiful young deer that was pretty much as tall as I am when I'm on my bike and in aero (which I was). I love seeing the deer run out there, they scare me too. It's as though they're drunk drivers because I really have no idea what they're going to do next. I really don't want to be killed, riding my bike alone at dusk, by a deer who decides to dart out in front of me. And this deer was CRAy-ZEE. It ran across the road, down the median of the road, then back across, the side of the road, then back in front of me, and then finally back to the grassy side where it ran circles around the lake and then jumped the fence. Let's just say I slowed down a little during this episode because I didn't want to end up as road kill.
Later, I saw two deer running and frolicking on the other side of the fence. They had their side of the fence and I have mine. It was all good... and they were beautiful.
Other cyclists started appearing (the sun had risen) and the first few sets of them almost jumped when they saw me. I guess they thought they were so early they'd have the closed road to themselves... or I'm just that scary. HAHA!
What does this have to do with elementary schools?
Oh, yes. I finished my last loop and only had about 2 miles left in order to finish the 35 miler, so I headed back home. At one point, I thought should I just brave going by the elementary school or should I go the back way so I avoid the elementary school? It was close to work time and the back way would be longer than the 35 miler and I didn't want to be late for work... so I went past the elementary school.
Seeing the traffic jam from the parents trying to turn in from every side and the parents trying to escape the school parking lot, I (at least) got onto the side walk. I probably would have been killed if I hadn't been on the sidewalk, quite frankly. As I approached the entrance, I unclipped. I slowed but realized I might not have to get off the bike if I slowed just enough. I waited for my turn, just like you would if you were in traffic. But these parents were not paying attention to anything other than getting into that parking lot. They were taking risks with precious cargo in their assorted variety of mini-vans and SUVs that I, frankly, would not if I had my children in the car. This should have told me to get off the dang bike. But, I'm a little stubborn. I was at the point that the bike was almost completely still but I was still clipped in on the left side. It was my turn. I started to take it.
Either the driver of the lovely white Grand Caravan minivan didn't see me in my hot pink tri-top and on my bright red tri-bike, or she just didn't give a darn that I was starting to cross the road, and she stepped on the gas and went. Luckily for me, I have a strong sense of self preservation and laid my bike down on the edge of the sidewalk. I was going so slowly that it really didn't matter injury wise. I have a slightly skinned knee and some minor scrapes (can you call it road rash if it happened on a sidewalk?) on my left leg (cuz it was still clipped in when I laid the bike down).
It's a good thing I was in a good mood from the bike ride before this because all I did was pick up my bike, walk it across the opening to the school, and get back on it and ride away. At this point, I was able to walk the bike across the street because every other parent in their cars saw me lay my bike and body down on that sidewalk and no one was moving. Yup. Talk about embarrassing.
The irony is that as I laid the bike down, I saw my friend's car. She was taking her daughter to school. I emailed her later and told her I was the cyclist. She said that she saw me and not knowing it was me thought I was looking rather professional on my bike but that I was taking my life into my own hands because elementary school drop off is plain crazy. When I crashed she saw it was me and tried to get out of the car but was told she had to keep going because she was blocking traffic. Good thing my body wasn't what was blocking traffic!
But I've learned my lesson. Go around next time because tri-bikes and elementary schools do not mix!
There may be a small sabbatical from my writing over the next few days as we're going to Mr. Darcy's parents for the weekend followed by my work trip to Arizona to teach a CLE. If I get a chance to write I will, especially since my next post will be my 200th post! (I thought about doing a 200 item post and then realized that because I am loquacious by nature that it wasn't such a great idea.) So, I'm not sure what I will do... but I'm sure it will unveil itself to me... probably while I'm writing it. But not to worry the writing sabbatical does not equal a training sabbatical.
A 12 mile run scheduled for Sunday (Thanks to Tall Mom on the Run for the encouraging Hi Five from her Blog!) and then whatever Coach has in store for me for the 1st part of next week will somehow get done in Arizona!
Happy Weekend!
Showing posts with label bike accident. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bike accident. Show all posts
Friday, September 11, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Race Report: Not so Bad, Considering...
This Race Report is subtitled: Not so Bad, considering I crashed my bike and had a flat tire.
But, to leave you in suspense (haha) we'll do Mr. Darcy's 1st ever Triathlon race report first. I have not obtained permission to disclose times, so I'll just give you an overview.
Mr. Darcy's 1st Triathlon
When I saw Mr. Darcy at the finish, I asked how did you like it? And he replied: I hated it and I'm never doing one again. After time has passed a little, he has revised this statement to: I didn't enjoy it but I might do one again if I train for it. (He did little preparatory training for this one.)
Mr. Darcy says that he has a new found appreciation for what I do as a triathlete and why I train like I do. He said I was amazing and that I'm crazy for wanting to do the 70.3 which is 4x what he did Saturday, which made me laugh.
The swim: Mr. Darcy swam for about 30 yards and then did the backstroke for the rest of the 400 m. Safe to say he was not the first man out of the water that morning.
The bike: Mr. Darcy said he enjoyed the bike but that he was not fast and I quote "passed 3 people: 1 woman who was very short and looked like that was why she was having a hard time on the bike, 1 man on a beach cruiser, and 1 man on a fat tire hybrid like me."
The run: to quote Mr. Darcy, "I don't know why anyone would ever say they like to run."
But the girls and I had a great time cheering him down to the finish line and give him hugs afterwards. I must say I'm very proud of Mr. Darcy who didn't train for this event (other than about 3 runs and 3 bike rides and 1 trip to the pool) but still was able to pull things together to finish. When we got home, he slept most of the afternoon and then let my friend Anna and I go to a movie while he put the girls down to bed. (We saw "Public Enemies" - very good movie. Great acting!)
I woke up with that awful on edge feeling. The feeling I get when something not so good is going to happen to someone I know - either me or someone else. When I get this feeling, I am 99% right about something happening. I just am not psychic enough to know what "it" is. I even questioned if I should go to the race and then told myself I was silly, but spent the entire ride saying the rosary and hoping that no one would get hurt and that I would still be around for my children at the end of the race. To say I was nervous and jittery was an understatement. I could barely eat my breakfast it was that bad.... but somehow I kept it down. When I got to the race I found out my coach had a migraine and couldn't race and that another team member had a blood infection and wasn't allowed to race either. I thought, that must have been what I knew and had me nervous. Little did I know.
Swim (0.93 miles, 31:09.167)
A good swim, but not the best of my life. I still have troubles with swimming in the pack. This time I got kicked in the eye (thank God for goggles) toward the start which gave me some pause for the swim. But then I got into my rhythm right as I rounded the 3rd buoy in the first lap of the lake, and it seemed to go better. I still hate not being able to see at all in the water at Moss Park, but I didn't panic this time which is an improvement. I also need to work on sighting when I'm in a throng of swimmers... I end up doing the breast stroke instead of my normal way of sighting and I'm certain this makes me a little slower. Overall, I was relatively happy with the time but think I could have gone faster.
T0 (run from the water to the transition area, 2:29.737)
I was discombobulated when I got out of the water and ran through the sand instead of my plan to get to the pine needles as fast as possible. Oh well. I got there and was hitting a good running stride once I got to the asphalt in the parking lot.
T1 (2:10.665)
Definitely needed to be faster, and even felt slow in the transition area. I had a terrible time with my socks which decided to get stuck on my toes twice before I could get them on. Life goes on.
Bike (with crash and terribly long tire change after the crash, 1:40:39.84)
Normally I would be horrified at my time. In reality, I'm thrilled with it. I was having a great ride during the first loop. The slowest I saw on my bike computer was 16.1 mph and I was hitting 18 mph at times. For me, this is a good ride. And then, I'm on the last loop before the 2nd lap. I'm doing great. Going 18 mph and only been passed by 2 people (who were not in my age group anyway). And then. It's really hard to peddle the bike all of a sudden and I look at my bike computer and see the mph dropping like mad while I'm peddling the heck out of my legs and it dawns on me - I have a flat tire. But I'm coming up on a turn and there are people who are now coming up on me because I'm slowing down because of the flat. I decided I would make the turn and pull over since it would be too dangerous to just stop right there.
I should have stopped. I took the corner pedaling, hit gravel and the bike (and I) hit the pavement and skidded about 3 feet. Doesn't sound far but it's far enough to sustain shoulder to just past the forearm road rash, a road rash like bruise under my arm and on my side (it was under my tri-top), a skinned and bruised knee, a 4 inch road rash down the side of my right leg, a bruise and road rash that is about 3 inches in diameter (and circular) on the outside of my upper right leg, a bruise on my butt, and bruises and cuts on the inside of my left leg where the bike pedal cut me as I fell. I let out a scream that I didn't realize was coming from me as I skidded and my 1st thought was "this was what was going to happen" and my 2nd thought was "pick your head up so your face doesn't get mangled. " Not pretty. It looks like my bike only got scraped up on the right side handle bars - the tape got ripped up and the bar underneath has some grooves etched into it. (I'll know more today. I took her to the bike shop right after I left the race.) The rest of the cyclists were able to avoid me so no one else went down. At first my right foot felt really wierd like I might have broken it and then it was fine and I was able to walk on it. So I got up and looked at my bike.
And yes, my tire was flat. Luckily, I crashed at the turn right before the end of the 1st loop - right in front of a race official and a police officer. Police officer Curtis was awesome. He came over to see if I was okay and when he saw that my hands were shaking like mad as I tried to change my tire and I couldn't get anywhere because my mind was shaking too, he took my tire and tried to change it for me. He's not in the habit of changing bike tires so after a minute of my calming down we did the change together... and the race official, other than joking that we were not the pit crew at the Daytona 500, didn't penalize me. I introduced myself to both of them and thanked them for their help even though we weren't finished with the tire change. They were awesome. At one point when we were having so much trouble I said "maybe I should just call it a day." Police Officer Curtis told me "don't quit. You were doing great. You can do it." The race official shouted over "Kate, don't quit. You can do this."
And so, after all was finally right with the tire and we got the chain to get back on to the gears with the derailleur, I decided to finish. I was last and I didn't care. Ok, I cared a little, but I realized that it was out of my control that I was last. It was what it was, and I was going to finish. Yes, I got beat by the guy who was morbidly obese but was out there doing it. I cheered him on as I passed him going into the turn around (he was on the 2nd lap already, I was finishing my first because I just got back on the bike), and he shouted back "I feel like dying." I told him he was doing great and that he could finish. I hope he did.
The course officials tried to wave me into transition and I told them I had another lap. They looked at me like are you sure? So I told them I had crashed, and they said "ok. Go again." So I turned around and kept going. I was slower because I hurt, but I still was at the slowest 15.7 mph and the highest around 18.0. But I got it done. Unfortunately, toward the end something in my ribs seized up and I couldn't tell if it was my ribs themselves or some sort of cramp because it was in my rib cage not under it.... I'd never had that before.
T2 (3:46.806 - much too slow, but understandable in the circumstances)
So I asked if there was a medic tent when I dismounted, and cried. I wasn't crying because of the pain but because I didn't want to DNF. I didn't want to stop. I hated being last.
When I got into transition, people were packing up their stuff to go home. Luckily for me, Josie C. (my friend Ryan's wife, who was watching and who I think is awesome) and 2 guys in my row were there packing up their stuff. Josie came in and asked me what I needed and talked me through it all. She told me I could do it. The guys realized that I was the one who crashed (remember, pretty much everyone passed me on either their 1st or 2nd lap while I was crashed and trying to deal with my bike) and told me that if I had been able to finish the bike, I could do the run. And I believed them and said, "quitting is not an option and if worse comes to worse and I have to stop, I can stop on the run."
Run (5.6 miles, 1:16:39.596 - slow, but understandable in the circumstances)
So off I went. I hobbled a few feet and then walked a bit. I got some water and drank it down. Threw my bike gloves that I forgot to take off to Josie and her boys for safe keeping, and wandered past. Then I decided to try to run and I did a little. Slowly of course. I caught up to my friend Ryan who was on his 2nd lap. So I ran some with him and walked some when the muscle in my leg would cease up on me from the crash, and then ran some more. I lost him at one point when he was approaching the finish, but my leg was too ceased up right then to run to catch up.
I got to the start of the 2nd loop and the race officials tried to send me down the shoot. I told them I had a 2nd lap. They said "WHAT?" And at that point with my leg in pain and my goals for the day shot to heck, I said "I crashed my bike and had a flat tire, and I'm gonna finish this damn race. What do you want from me?" At which point the guy suggested I try to run a little, and I told him I would once my muscle in my leg stopped ceasing up. Hello? I crashed my bike and was covered in dirt and road rash on one side of my body. You can't see that? And you want to give me a hard time because I'm LAST? As I passed the opening to the finish line I heard over the PA "in about 3 minutes we're going to do the awards ceremony." So I put my HR monitor up to the front so it would show me the time and I had been out there just under 3 hours. There was hope for at least more than my E goal and I decided I was going to do my best to come close to my B goal if I could.
Not long after that I got a cup of water from the last station and the ladies there (including some racers) cheered me on and I heard one say to the other, "that woman crashed her bike. I can't believe she's still out here. That's awesome." I wish I knew her name and address so I could send her a thank you note. I needed to hear that right then, and a few minutes later when my leg relaxed again, I ran. I ran 3/4 of the last 2.8 miles. I had to walk some because my leg muscle kept ceasing up, but the one thing I realized during it all was that other than being in pain from the fall and from sweat stinging my open wounds I felt good. My lungs felt good. My left leg felt good, and if I hadn't had such a problem with the crash and the pain afterward, I would have been able to run way more than I was - if not all of it.
As I was coming up on the 2 mile marker for the 2nd lap, a very nice guy named Rick came running up and asked me if I was Kate. I said yes, and he said Brandi (a team mate of mine) sent him out to look for me because she was worried about me. She had seen me crash and then heard that I was determined to finish. He ran and walked with me and chatted and was wonderful. I teased him and called him my sherpa because he took my gu arm band that was falling off and my camelback which was pretty much empty. Brandi found us and asked if I wanted to run it in. I told her I wanted to run it when we hit the turn for the finish but I needed to walk some because my leg was ceased up. When we hit the turn for the finish they ran with me the whole way and there were race officials cheering me on. (I had chatted with some of them along my way and they all knew I had crashed but was wanting to finish.) Z, the guy in charge of the race, was cheering me on because they told him about me and he gave me a high 5. Josie, Ryan and their kids were there cheering for me. I love each and everyone of those people who helped me finish with their belief that I could do it. They rock!
So I finished. Last. And it wasn't so bad being last after all. I'm scraped up and bruised. My muscles in my right leg and my right arm are sore and stiff in spots, and certain places on my left leg are bruised and sore too. But I feel good. I could have quit. I almost quit. But I didn't. I believed in myself (with the help of some friends) and I finished.
The irony? Only 2 other Athena category women finished the race. So by finishing, I took 3rd place in my race category. I got a call last night from Z, who told me that they fixed the error in the listing (they had all my times listed but said I DNF'd... it made me cry and I sent a somewhat strongly worded email about it because I was a bit upset. I wasn't rude but it was kind of bordering on it, which I apologized for when I talked to Z.) They're mailing my 3rd place plaque to me today. He told me I did the right thing in finishing because never giving up is the most important thing, and I needed to hang my plaque somewhere that all could see. Normally, I'd be upset about the fact that I only got hardware because I just finished. But not today.
Today, I'm happy. I got my first piece of hardware in a race. I crashed my bike and felt pain, and was last, but I finished. And not only did I finish, but I finished with a PR. 3:36:55.05 to be exact. I also finished with the knowledge that I could have been even faster if I hadn't crashed. So maybe, just maybe, sometimes being last is OK.
But, to leave you in suspense (haha) we'll do Mr. Darcy's 1st ever Triathlon race report first. I have not obtained permission to disclose times, so I'll just give you an overview.
Mr. Darcy's 1st Triathlon
When I saw Mr. Darcy at the finish, I asked how did you like it? And he replied: I hated it and I'm never doing one again. After time has passed a little, he has revised this statement to: I didn't enjoy it but I might do one again if I train for it. (He did little preparatory training for this one.)
Mr. Darcy says that he has a new found appreciation for what I do as a triathlete and why I train like I do. He said I was amazing and that I'm crazy for wanting to do the 70.3 which is 4x what he did Saturday, which made me laugh.
The swim: Mr. Darcy swam for about 30 yards and then did the backstroke for the rest of the 400 m. Safe to say he was not the first man out of the water that morning.
The bike: Mr. Darcy said he enjoyed the bike but that he was not fast and I quote "passed 3 people: 1 woman who was very short and looked like that was why she was having a hard time on the bike, 1 man on a beach cruiser, and 1 man on a fat tire hybrid like me."
The run: to quote Mr. Darcy, "I don't know why anyone would ever say they like to run."
But the girls and I had a great time cheering him down to the finish line and give him hugs afterwards. I must say I'm very proud of Mr. Darcy who didn't train for this event (other than about 3 runs and 3 bike rides and 1 trip to the pool) but still was able to pull things together to finish. When we got home, he slept most of the afternoon and then let my friend Anna and I go to a movie while he put the girls down to bed. (We saw "Public Enemies" - very good movie. Great acting!)
TriMommy's Race Report
Now for my race report. Overall my time was 3:36:55.05. So I didn't make my A or B goals, but I came rather close to the B goal... and the fact that I had a bike crash I think is justification for such a situation. I still consider it quite a successful race, which is somewhat ironic because my ultimate nightmare came true - I was dead last out of EVERYBODY. So here's what happened.
Pre-raceI woke up with that awful on edge feeling. The feeling I get when something not so good is going to happen to someone I know - either me or someone else. When I get this feeling, I am 99% right about something happening. I just am not psychic enough to know what "it" is. I even questioned if I should go to the race and then told myself I was silly, but spent the entire ride saying the rosary and hoping that no one would get hurt and that I would still be around for my children at the end of the race. To say I was nervous and jittery was an understatement. I could barely eat my breakfast it was that bad.... but somehow I kept it down. When I got to the race I found out my coach had a migraine and couldn't race and that another team member had a blood infection and wasn't allowed to race either. I thought, that must have been what I knew and had me nervous. Little did I know.
Swim (0.93 miles, 31:09.167)
A good swim, but not the best of my life. I still have troubles with swimming in the pack. This time I got kicked in the eye (thank God for goggles) toward the start which gave me some pause for the swim. But then I got into my rhythm right as I rounded the 3rd buoy in the first lap of the lake, and it seemed to go better. I still hate not being able to see at all in the water at Moss Park, but I didn't panic this time which is an improvement. I also need to work on sighting when I'm in a throng of swimmers... I end up doing the breast stroke instead of my normal way of sighting and I'm certain this makes me a little slower. Overall, I was relatively happy with the time but think I could have gone faster.
T0 (run from the water to the transition area, 2:29.737)
I was discombobulated when I got out of the water and ran through the sand instead of my plan to get to the pine needles as fast as possible. Oh well. I got there and was hitting a good running stride once I got to the asphalt in the parking lot.
T1 (2:10.665)
Definitely needed to be faster, and even felt slow in the transition area. I had a terrible time with my socks which decided to get stuck on my toes twice before I could get them on. Life goes on.
Bike (with crash and terribly long tire change after the crash, 1:40:39.84)
Normally I would be horrified at my time. In reality, I'm thrilled with it. I was having a great ride during the first loop. The slowest I saw on my bike computer was 16.1 mph and I was hitting 18 mph at times. For me, this is a good ride. And then, I'm on the last loop before the 2nd lap. I'm doing great. Going 18 mph and only been passed by 2 people (who were not in my age group anyway). And then. It's really hard to peddle the bike all of a sudden and I look at my bike computer and see the mph dropping like mad while I'm peddling the heck out of my legs and it dawns on me - I have a flat tire. But I'm coming up on a turn and there are people who are now coming up on me because I'm slowing down because of the flat. I decided I would make the turn and pull over since it would be too dangerous to just stop right there.
I should have stopped. I took the corner pedaling, hit gravel and the bike (and I) hit the pavement and skidded about 3 feet. Doesn't sound far but it's far enough to sustain shoulder to just past the forearm road rash, a road rash like bruise under my arm and on my side (it was under my tri-top), a skinned and bruised knee, a 4 inch road rash down the side of my right leg, a bruise and road rash that is about 3 inches in diameter (and circular) on the outside of my upper right leg, a bruise on my butt, and bruises and cuts on the inside of my left leg where the bike pedal cut me as I fell. I let out a scream that I didn't realize was coming from me as I skidded and my 1st thought was "this was what was going to happen" and my 2nd thought was "pick your head up so your face doesn't get mangled. " Not pretty. It looks like my bike only got scraped up on the right side handle bars - the tape got ripped up and the bar underneath has some grooves etched into it. (I'll know more today. I took her to the bike shop right after I left the race.) The rest of the cyclists were able to avoid me so no one else went down. At first my right foot felt really wierd like I might have broken it and then it was fine and I was able to walk on it. So I got up and looked at my bike.
And yes, my tire was flat. Luckily, I crashed at the turn right before the end of the 1st loop - right in front of a race official and a police officer. Police officer Curtis was awesome. He came over to see if I was okay and when he saw that my hands were shaking like mad as I tried to change my tire and I couldn't get anywhere because my mind was shaking too, he took my tire and tried to change it for me. He's not in the habit of changing bike tires so after a minute of my calming down we did the change together... and the race official, other than joking that we were not the pit crew at the Daytona 500, didn't penalize me. I introduced myself to both of them and thanked them for their help even though we weren't finished with the tire change. They were awesome. At one point when we were having so much trouble I said "maybe I should just call it a day." Police Officer Curtis told me "don't quit. You were doing great. You can do it." The race official shouted over "Kate, don't quit. You can do this."
And so, after all was finally right with the tire and we got the chain to get back on to the gears with the derailleur, I decided to finish. I was last and I didn't care. Ok, I cared a little, but I realized that it was out of my control that I was last. It was what it was, and I was going to finish. Yes, I got beat by the guy who was morbidly obese but was out there doing it. I cheered him on as I passed him going into the turn around (he was on the 2nd lap already, I was finishing my first because I just got back on the bike), and he shouted back "I feel like dying." I told him he was doing great and that he could finish. I hope he did.
The course officials tried to wave me into transition and I told them I had another lap. They looked at me like are you sure? So I told them I had crashed, and they said "ok. Go again." So I turned around and kept going. I was slower because I hurt, but I still was at the slowest 15.7 mph and the highest around 18.0. But I got it done. Unfortunately, toward the end something in my ribs seized up and I couldn't tell if it was my ribs themselves or some sort of cramp because it was in my rib cage not under it.... I'd never had that before.
T2 (3:46.806 - much too slow, but understandable in the circumstances)
So I asked if there was a medic tent when I dismounted, and cried. I wasn't crying because of the pain but because I didn't want to DNF. I didn't want to stop. I hated being last.
When I got into transition, people were packing up their stuff to go home. Luckily for me, Josie C. (my friend Ryan's wife, who was watching and who I think is awesome) and 2 guys in my row were there packing up their stuff. Josie came in and asked me what I needed and talked me through it all. She told me I could do it. The guys realized that I was the one who crashed (remember, pretty much everyone passed me on either their 1st or 2nd lap while I was crashed and trying to deal with my bike) and told me that if I had been able to finish the bike, I could do the run. And I believed them and said, "quitting is not an option and if worse comes to worse and I have to stop, I can stop on the run."
Run (5.6 miles, 1:16:39.596 - slow, but understandable in the circumstances)
So off I went. I hobbled a few feet and then walked a bit. I got some water and drank it down. Threw my bike gloves that I forgot to take off to Josie and her boys for safe keeping, and wandered past. Then I decided to try to run and I did a little. Slowly of course. I caught up to my friend Ryan who was on his 2nd lap. So I ran some with him and walked some when the muscle in my leg would cease up on me from the crash, and then ran some more. I lost him at one point when he was approaching the finish, but my leg was too ceased up right then to run to catch up.
I got to the start of the 2nd loop and the race officials tried to send me down the shoot. I told them I had a 2nd lap. They said "WHAT?" And at that point with my leg in pain and my goals for the day shot to heck, I said "I crashed my bike and had a flat tire, and I'm gonna finish this damn race. What do you want from me?" At which point the guy suggested I try to run a little, and I told him I would once my muscle in my leg stopped ceasing up. Hello? I crashed my bike and was covered in dirt and road rash on one side of my body. You can't see that? And you want to give me a hard time because I'm LAST? As I passed the opening to the finish line I heard over the PA "in about 3 minutes we're going to do the awards ceremony." So I put my HR monitor up to the front so it would show me the time and I had been out there just under 3 hours. There was hope for at least more than my E goal and I decided I was going to do my best to come close to my B goal if I could.
Not long after that I got a cup of water from the last station and the ladies there (including some racers) cheered me on and I heard one say to the other, "that woman crashed her bike. I can't believe she's still out here. That's awesome." I wish I knew her name and address so I could send her a thank you note. I needed to hear that right then, and a few minutes later when my leg relaxed again, I ran. I ran 3/4 of the last 2.8 miles. I had to walk some because my leg muscle kept ceasing up, but the one thing I realized during it all was that other than being in pain from the fall and from sweat stinging my open wounds I felt good. My lungs felt good. My left leg felt good, and if I hadn't had such a problem with the crash and the pain afterward, I would have been able to run way more than I was - if not all of it.
As I was coming up on the 2 mile marker for the 2nd lap, a very nice guy named Rick came running up and asked me if I was Kate. I said yes, and he said Brandi (a team mate of mine) sent him out to look for me because she was worried about me. She had seen me crash and then heard that I was determined to finish. He ran and walked with me and chatted and was wonderful. I teased him and called him my sherpa because he took my gu arm band that was falling off and my camelback which was pretty much empty. Brandi found us and asked if I wanted to run it in. I told her I wanted to run it when we hit the turn for the finish but I needed to walk some because my leg was ceased up. When we hit the turn for the finish they ran with me the whole way and there were race officials cheering me on. (I had chatted with some of them along my way and they all knew I had crashed but was wanting to finish.) Z, the guy in charge of the race, was cheering me on because they told him about me and he gave me a high 5. Josie, Ryan and their kids were there cheering for me. I love each and everyone of those people who helped me finish with their belief that I could do it. They rock!
So I finished. Last. And it wasn't so bad being last after all. I'm scraped up and bruised. My muscles in my right leg and my right arm are sore and stiff in spots, and certain places on my left leg are bruised and sore too. But I feel good. I could have quit. I almost quit. But I didn't. I believed in myself (with the help of some friends) and I finished.
The irony? Only 2 other Athena category women finished the race. So by finishing, I took 3rd place in my race category. I got a call last night from Z, who told me that they fixed the error in the listing (they had all my times listed but said I DNF'd... it made me cry and I sent a somewhat strongly worded email about it because I was a bit upset. I wasn't rude but it was kind of bordering on it, which I apologized for when I talked to Z.) They're mailing my 3rd place plaque to me today. He told me I did the right thing in finishing because never giving up is the most important thing, and I needed to hang my plaque somewhere that all could see. Normally, I'd be upset about the fact that I only got hardware because I just finished. But not today.
Today, I'm happy. I got my first piece of hardware in a race. I crashed my bike and felt pain, and was last, but I finished. And not only did I finish, but I finished with a PR. 3:36:55.05 to be exact. I also finished with the knowledge that I could have been even faster if I hadn't crashed. So maybe, just maybe, sometimes being last is OK.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Saturday workout, a day of rest(?), and Monday night
Ahhh yes, the 1st Saturday workout. Saturday was quite the day. First, I overslept and then had to exceed the speedlimit to get to the practice. The practice itself was a good one. 15 miles on the bike (with a break at the 1/2 way point for us all to catch up and try our chosen power fuel) and then a 2 mile run. The bike left me bruised... not from the ride but from my over reacting to a car at a stop sign that appeared to first be rolling through the stopsign and then stomping on the breaks upon seeing me (which probably was more in my head than reality) and my slamming on only one of my brakes to stop (yes, folks, you need to slam on both. If you don't stop the back wheel too, you go over the front of the bike, like I did.). But both I and my bike are ok... I have a few bruises here and there but all in all am just fine (other than a bit of embarrassment). And I have to admit, I didn't run the entire 2 miles at the end. I was a little sore from the fall and my one leg was clamping down a bit so I walked a little but ran most of the 2 miles. I will get there, though.
Sunday was my rest day, which was good because Saturday night I couldn't keep my eyes open past 7:30 pm to save my life. I had to be woken up to help put the girls to bed after the end of their movie! And as soon as they were down for bed, I was too! Sunday we played a little around the house, the girls rode their bikes and we "played" frisbee golf in the park across the street. Then we got the bright idea to go to Sea World. So we loaded up in the car, tried to start it and funny sounds came from the car but it didn't start. So, we tried to jump start it. Nothing doing. So Mr. Darcy took a movie of what the engine was doing and we looked up the number for a Toyota dealership that had a maintenance department not too far in case we had to tow the car there. On our way to lunch in the mini-van, Mr. Darcy called the service department at the dealership and the person told him that it sounded like a dead battery and to call this other number to have it towed over. Instead, I convinced Mr. Darcy that if it was just a dead battery, we could buy one and replace it ourselves which would be much less expensive than towing the car just to replace a battery. So, we had lunch, got a battery from Advanced Auto Parts, Mr. Darcy replaced the battery, the car turned on (and did so again this morning since Mr. Darcy was able to leave for work), did a couple errands (in the mini-van just in case) including getting Joe Friel's The Triathelete's Training Bible (the 3rd edition that just came out at the beginning of the month), got some ice cream, and headed home. Ladybug(who has a memory like an elephant) though remembered that we were supposed to get to see Shamu... crying ensued despite promises to see Shamu another day until Mommy pulled out the trump card... "Beauty and the Beast" (Ladybug's favorite movie at the moment). Shamu was forgotten and the day was saved! Go SuperMOM (with help from Super Dad of course)!
It is always strange to wake up on a Monday morning and not hit the gym, but now that Team in Training group swims are Monday evening, it is something I'm having to adjust to. So, Mr. Darcy was in a bit of a crabby mood brought on by not getting up early enough to deal with 2 grumpy girls that didn't want to get out of bed, eat breakfast, or get dressed. I managed to get the girls dressed, kick him out of the house, get the girls to eat (and have fun while doing it), and take them to school while chatting up a storm, shower and dress, eat breakfast myself, pack my bag for my group swim workout this evening and do this blog! I still missed the gym though.
Before practice, and hopefully during lunch today, I plan to get a few things from Target, buy a kickboard from Sports Authority and hit California Pizza Kitchen up to set up a day where 20% of the sales for the day will go toward my fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I also plan to ask Publix if I can set up a table one weekend so that I can try to get donations as well. Wish me luck!
Sunday was my rest day, which was good because Saturday night I couldn't keep my eyes open past 7:30 pm to save my life. I had to be woken up to help put the girls to bed after the end of their movie! And as soon as they were down for bed, I was too! Sunday we played a little around the house, the girls rode their bikes and we "played" frisbee golf in the park across the street. Then we got the bright idea to go to Sea World. So we loaded up in the car, tried to start it and funny sounds came from the car but it didn't start. So, we tried to jump start it. Nothing doing. So Mr. Darcy took a movie of what the engine was doing and we looked up the number for a Toyota dealership that had a maintenance department not too far in case we had to tow the car there. On our way to lunch in the mini-van, Mr. Darcy called the service department at the dealership and the person told him that it sounded like a dead battery and to call this other number to have it towed over. Instead, I convinced Mr. Darcy that if it was just a dead battery, we could buy one and replace it ourselves which would be much less expensive than towing the car just to replace a battery. So, we had lunch, got a battery from Advanced Auto Parts, Mr. Darcy replaced the battery, the car turned on (and did so again this morning since Mr. Darcy was able to leave for work), did a couple errands (in the mini-van just in case) including getting Joe Friel's The Triathelete's Training Bible (the 3rd edition that just came out at the beginning of the month), got some ice cream, and headed home. Ladybug(who has a memory like an elephant) though remembered that we were supposed to get to see Shamu... crying ensued despite promises to see Shamu another day until Mommy pulled out the trump card... "Beauty and the Beast" (Ladybug's favorite movie at the moment). Shamu was forgotten and the day was saved! Go SuperMOM (with help from Super Dad of course)!
It is always strange to wake up on a Monday morning and not hit the gym, but now that Team in Training group swims are Monday evening, it is something I'm having to adjust to. So, Mr. Darcy was in a bit of a crabby mood brought on by not getting up early enough to deal with 2 grumpy girls that didn't want to get out of bed, eat breakfast, or get dressed. I managed to get the girls dressed, kick him out of the house, get the girls to eat (and have fun while doing it), and take them to school while chatting up a storm, shower and dress, eat breakfast myself, pack my bag for my group swim workout this evening and do this blog! I still missed the gym though.
Before practice, and hopefully during lunch today, I plan to get a few things from Target, buy a kickboard from Sports Authority and hit California Pizza Kitchen up to set up a day where 20% of the sales for the day will go toward my fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I also plan to ask Publix if I can set up a table one weekend so that I can try to get donations as well. Wish me luck!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
My Poor Bike...
So today I woke up and thought to myself, I should not work out today. I didn't sleep well last night and didn't fall asleep until after 1 am. (I think it may have been the coffee I had around dinner time, now that I think about it.) So I stayed in bed until we got the girls up and got them ready and fed them breakfast. .. I was still in my pjs when the girls and Mr. Darcy left. But then I felt guilty because I may not get to work out the next few days while I'm in Arkansas. So, I decided to go for a bike ride because it was cool but not all that cool.
While I was riding, it seemed like something was a little off. Either me or the bike, I wasn't sure. And a few minutes before the incident, I almost just biked home. But, I still didn't listen to my gut and kept going. A white cadillac pulled out in front of me rather quickly so I slowed down some and when the car pulled to the stop sign and stopped I was far enough away that all was well. The car started to turn and then for some unknown reason slammed on its brakes... at which point I had to slam on my brakes. For yet another unknown reason, I braked with my left hand instead of my right like I normally do. (The left brake controls the front wheel, the right brake the back wheel.) This caused the front wheel to completely stop and throw me over the top of the bike on to the road (thank goodness for my padded biking gloves and my guardian angel) and the bike to then come over top of me and land on me. Again, my shoes unclipped from the bike pedals (thank the Lord because it could have been very ugly if they hadn't) during the crash. Other than a nasty cut on my left elbow (which again could have been worse if I hadn't been wearing a thick long sleeve fleece), I just have one or two minor scratches (no blood even) on my legs and had a lot of bike grease all over me. A very nice man stopped his car and asked if I was ok and looked rather concerned. I thanked him and told him that I was ok (which amazingly I am). The car that caused the problem however just kept on going and didn't even notice that I was laid out on the road. (All I will say about that is... I believe in karma.)
My bike, however, is not as happy. The chain is no longer on the gears, my handle bar extenders (since I can't get the aerobars because of my hybrid bike's handlebar structure, I got these) are scratched up, there are a couple other scratches on the bike, and the brake lines were all tangled up (but have since been untangled). Luckily I was only about 1.75 - 2 miles from home because at first I had to carry the bike because I was slowly working on the brake lines (I couldn't wheel the bike at this point). But after about 1/3 of a mile, I put the bike down twice and they untangled enough that if I had the front wheel backwards I could wheel the bike. And then I noticed that I could probably move one of the lines and it would fix the issue (as I was walking) and tada! the front wheel could now face forward and be wheeled instead of carried.
Bike shoes are not meant for walking long distances... so the walk home was a little interesting. Doable but interesting because bike shoes lean you back a little so your weight while walking is on your heels and mine also angle the ball of the foot area so that you have maximum impact on the wheel and are the most efficient while biking. This is not the same as efficient while walking, but when I ran the last little bit of the way home the running wasn't so bad. The irony was that on my walk home, I remembered that when I got hurt skiing a few years ago (I pulled my IT band and was airlifted from the mountain because they thought I broke my femur... my only helicopter ride so far and I didn't get to see a thing!) I had thought to myself that morning, I should take the day off from skiing and guilted myself into going because it was toward the end of our trip and we had paid a decent amount for the ski lift passes. So, I have duly noted that I need to listen to my gut instincts on these things !
I am hoping that my darling hubby will be able to take my bike to Orange Cycle tomorrow on his lunch hour or on the way home from work... it's not far from his work and that way they can fix up my bike in time for me to use it when I return from my visit to the Central Time Zone. But, we shall see! I will write more when I return from Arkansas!!
While I was riding, it seemed like something was a little off. Either me or the bike, I wasn't sure. And a few minutes before the incident, I almost just biked home. But, I still didn't listen to my gut and kept going. A white cadillac pulled out in front of me rather quickly so I slowed down some and when the car pulled to the stop sign and stopped I was far enough away that all was well. The car started to turn and then for some unknown reason slammed on its brakes... at which point I had to slam on my brakes. For yet another unknown reason, I braked with my left hand instead of my right like I normally do. (The left brake controls the front wheel, the right brake the back wheel.) This caused the front wheel to completely stop and throw me over the top of the bike on to the road (thank goodness for my padded biking gloves and my guardian angel) and the bike to then come over top of me and land on me. Again, my shoes unclipped from the bike pedals (thank the Lord because it could have been very ugly if they hadn't) during the crash. Other than a nasty cut on my left elbow (which again could have been worse if I hadn't been wearing a thick long sleeve fleece), I just have one or two minor scratches (no blood even) on my legs and had a lot of bike grease all over me. A very nice man stopped his car and asked if I was ok and looked rather concerned. I thanked him and told him that I was ok (which amazingly I am). The car that caused the problem however just kept on going and didn't even notice that I was laid out on the road. (All I will say about that is... I believe in karma.)
My bike, however, is not as happy. The chain is no longer on the gears, my handle bar extenders (since I can't get the aerobars because of my hybrid bike's handlebar structure, I got these) are scratched up, there are a couple other scratches on the bike, and the brake lines were all tangled up (but have since been untangled). Luckily I was only about 1.75 - 2 miles from home because at first I had to carry the bike because I was slowly working on the brake lines (I couldn't wheel the bike at this point). But after about 1/3 of a mile, I put the bike down twice and they untangled enough that if I had the front wheel backwards I could wheel the bike. And then I noticed that I could probably move one of the lines and it would fix the issue (as I was walking) and tada! the front wheel could now face forward and be wheeled instead of carried.
Bike shoes are not meant for walking long distances... so the walk home was a little interesting. Doable but interesting because bike shoes lean you back a little so your weight while walking is on your heels and mine also angle the ball of the foot area so that you have maximum impact on the wheel and are the most efficient while biking. This is not the same as efficient while walking, but when I ran the last little bit of the way home the running wasn't so bad. The irony was that on my walk home, I remembered that when I got hurt skiing a few years ago (I pulled my IT band and was airlifted from the mountain because they thought I broke my femur... my only helicopter ride so far and I didn't get to see a thing!) I had thought to myself that morning, I should take the day off from skiing and guilted myself into going because it was toward the end of our trip and we had paid a decent amount for the ski lift passes. So, I have duly noted that I need to listen to my gut instincts on these things !
I am hoping that my darling hubby will be able to take my bike to Orange Cycle tomorrow on his lunch hour or on the way home from work... it's not far from his work and that way they can fix up my bike in time for me to use it when I return from my visit to the Central Time Zone. But, we shall see! I will write more when I return from Arkansas!!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
The joys of Thanksgiving...
Hi, all!
I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving full of turkey, sweet potato pie, glazed carrots, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls, stuffing (if you didn't forget to cook it like I did), pumpkin pie and pecan pie - and lots of family and friends! We had a good thanksgiving too. We ate all of the above (except for the pumpkin and pecan pies) and then while the girls and Mr. Darcy napped, I went on an hour long bike ride. It was awesome! I combined two of my loops and added a little bit too and did around 12 miles. I think I could have gone farther in that time frame, but I was pretty full when I left! Later we took a 2nd bike ride and I pulled the girls behind me... that ride was about 4 miles long. And then we went and had pie with our good friends the Englert/Maira's! (Oh, and I skipped the Turkey Trot 5K at Lake Eola since my shin splints wouldn't let me run and it was going to be around 38 that morning, I didnt' want to drag Mr. Darcy and girls out in the cold to watch me walk... so we all slept in!)
Friday I did another bike ride - this one my usual 40 minute route. Saturday I hit the pool and swam a mile. This morning I woke up, and did a 30 minute bike to be followed by a 20 minute walk, except I never made the 20 minute walk because well, I took a turn a bit too fast toward the end of my ride and ended up having a little accident. I am completely fine other than a bruise forming on my left leg and being shooken up. The bikes brakes are acting wierd and there's a mark on the pedal from it's interaction with the road. I must say that I think my guardian angel was acting overtime for me... it could have easily been a lot worse. So, I have to take the bike into the shop. After trying to figure out the bike on my own, I decided to skip the walk. Unfortunately, though, I ate about 1/2 a dozen cookies or so for breakfast (left over from our Christmas tree trimming)... yes, I'm someone who eats under stress. The good news is that the cookies are pretty much gone now so I'll be back to healthier eating by tomorrow. : ) Let's just hope the bike isn't going to need a big fix.
Anyway. I am thankful for the time with my family and friends... and for escaping my little accident unscathed! Happy December (tomorrow anyway)!
I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving full of turkey, sweet potato pie, glazed carrots, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls, stuffing (if you didn't forget to cook it like I did), pumpkin pie and pecan pie - and lots of family and friends! We had a good thanksgiving too. We ate all of the above (except for the pumpkin and pecan pies) and then while the girls and Mr. Darcy napped, I went on an hour long bike ride. It was awesome! I combined two of my loops and added a little bit too and did around 12 miles. I think I could have gone farther in that time frame, but I was pretty full when I left! Later we took a 2nd bike ride and I pulled the girls behind me... that ride was about 4 miles long. And then we went and had pie with our good friends the Englert/Maira's! (Oh, and I skipped the Turkey Trot 5K at Lake Eola since my shin splints wouldn't let me run and it was going to be around 38 that morning, I didnt' want to drag Mr. Darcy and girls out in the cold to watch me walk... so we all slept in!)
Friday I did another bike ride - this one my usual 40 minute route. Saturday I hit the pool and swam a mile. This morning I woke up, and did a 30 minute bike to be followed by a 20 minute walk, except I never made the 20 minute walk because well, I took a turn a bit too fast toward the end of my ride and ended up having a little accident. I am completely fine other than a bruise forming on my left leg and being shooken up. The bikes brakes are acting wierd and there's a mark on the pedal from it's interaction with the road. I must say that I think my guardian angel was acting overtime for me... it could have easily been a lot worse. So, I have to take the bike into the shop. After trying to figure out the bike on my own, I decided to skip the walk. Unfortunately, though, I ate about 1/2 a dozen cookies or so for breakfast (left over from our Christmas tree trimming)... yes, I'm someone who eats under stress. The good news is that the cookies are pretty much gone now so I'll be back to healthier eating by tomorrow. : ) Let's just hope the bike isn't going to need a big fix.
Anyway. I am thankful for the time with my family and friends... and for escaping my little accident unscathed! Happy December (tomorrow anyway)!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)