Trial by Fire

When we last left our heroine had fallen ill and yet, the superwoman that she is, decided to race anyway. This left her weaker than before and on Monday, she gave in and went to the doctor begging for help...

...which came in the form of a Z-pak thank you very much! So I started that Monday night but I was still feeling like poo come Tuesday. This made me nervous because I REALLY wanted to go to crit practice to get ready for Sunday's race but I still felt ill, so no go.

Wednesday I was on the upswing but we had already made birthday dinner plans with my parents so again, no workout.

Thursday morning I got up bright and early and WORKED OUT! For the first time since the race on Saturday! My legs were ready to go but my chest and nose thought otherwise. Welcome to the snot factory!!!

Friday I got up bright and early again to get in my swim. Drove to the pool at 5:45 and remembered the pool was closed this week for annual cleaning. Great. Another day off.

Saturday - no workout again. Why this time? I WAS HUNGOVER!!! We threw a huge party Friday night for my birthday - which was a BLAST! There were over 30 people at our "kegger" - some people I hadn't seen in YEARS and some people I didn't even know. Paul and I went to sleep at 5 am Saturday morning. I felt so guilty. I had worked out exactly ONCE in 7 days! ONCE!!! AND I was racing on Sunday. Idiot.

Not to mention that Saturday I had signed up to volunteer FOR THREE HOURS in the 96 heat at the Tour of KC. Thankfully I was working registration in the shade but I was already dehydrated (from the night before) - I drank three 26 oz bottles of water and one 26 oz bottle of Gatorade in the 3 hours I was out there...standing on my feet...in flip flops. I am so smart. Not.

Okay...so Sunday is finally here and I am NERVOUS! Some of it is my own damn fault, (getting drunk off my ass two nights before a race), and some of it is not (being sick). I had been to ONE practice before this race and that was like, a month ago! So I went into this with one goal: get through it and learn as much as I can on the way.

Warming up sucked. I did a couple of intervals up a tiny hill just to get the heart pumpin' and I felt it. I thought I was going to puke just after doing my warm-up. Oh well. I did it to myself. Head over to the start and find the girls - Teri, Sarah, and Jen all came to cheer Aubree and me on. They gave me a TON of advice and support.

Next thing I know, we're lining up and I'm finally calm. Women 1/2/3 start out :30 ahead of us. I think there were about 10 of us Cat 4s. Then we're off. First few loops are easy and I'm thinking maybe I'll be okay. A couple of girls drop off but I'm still hanging on -I'm at the back but I'm still there!!! And I stayed there for a good long while! Maybe 20-25 min. I'm starting to figure out what part of the loop I hurt the most at and where I can take a break. If I can just hang on. Keep hanging on - do NOT get dropped!

With maybe 9 laps to go I'm starting to fade. It's HOT (92) and WINDY (15 mph) and I'm not prepared. Renee, a woman I was introduced to earlier, pulls up to me and quietly asks me how I'm doing. I tell her I want to puke. She asks me if I can go three more laps - WHAT? WE only have three more laps?? YES! Uh, no...she asked me if I have enough in me for the LAST three laps. Negatory.

That's about when I fell off the back. I come around and see the counter says 8 laps to go...but it's really 9 for us Cat 4s. Fine. I will finish this thing. I can do anything for 9 laps. I ride about two laps on my own and then I see Stacie up ahead. YES! I'll catch her and we will work together until the end! I pull up next to her and tell her "Let's GO!" but she raced yesterday and she's tired. Okay. No problem - still gonna finish this thing.

Two laps to go and the pace car comes around with the 1/2/3 leaders. Stacie shouts some advice at me and I try to act on it by following them up the hill without getting in their way but I'm too tired. They cross the finish line about 20 feet from me and their race is done - but I'm not. The announcer tells me - and the two other 4s behind me - that we still have one lap to go. So that's what we do...but when we make the final turn for the finish, the guys are already lined up. Hmmm...guess the race is over. But then this girl comes from behind me and is out of her saddle and she's sprinting toward the guys and I'm like...this doesn't feel right, but what do I know? So I push it a bit and then brake and right then the official screams at us - YOUR RACE IS OVER! WE TOLD YOU TO STOP! But we never heard it because we were between laps. Ha ha! Oh well.

See, I learned something new!

I have no idea where I placed. I'm guessing 8 out of 10. So at least it's not DFL. Hee Hee. And come on, I wasn't out there to prove anything or place. It was HARD but it was FUN! My parents even came to watch - and cheer (oh my God, they were obnoxious!).

I found the girls later and they were so encouraging and supportive! It's just like being at my first tri all over again. I'm soaking up all the knowledge like a sponge but I know I won't REALLY know what they are talking about until I actually experience it for myself. Live it, learn it.

This week is another CRAZY week. I'm heading to Chicago to train with Elizabeth and a couple of my blogger pals/Liz's athletes. The schedule looks ROUGH - and I will be doing the Downer's Grove crit which is HUGE but again, all about experience. Trial by fire. No fear.

Man, this post is long. I'm going to bed. Hopefully I'll have some new photos to post soon. :)