burying Wongstar 1.0

Ok, this is it. I turned 30 today. Hello, Dirty 30's! I'm hanging out in an airport...WITHOUT A BIKE BOX, on my way to chill for four days at a beach in Florida, where temps will be in the 70's (both highs AND lows!) while Delaware's impending winter looms and I try to figure out what to do next.

People keep asking what I'm doing next year, regarding races. I don't know. They tell me once I get over this injury, I'll be motivated again. That if I still had the passion and desire, the best is yet to come.

Confession #1: I never ordered the Wongstar fan club stickers. My knee hurts right now and it felt wrong to a) promote "make pain your bitch" and also b) take your money when I don't know if there is anything worthwhile I'll be doing that would require fans or a fan club.

Confession #2: My knee still hurts. (Wait I said that already.) Maybe I've been downplaying it because I'm from the school of "having a good sense of denial to achieve things you're not destined for" but I honestly can't tell if it's getting any better. There's the questions of "will it ever get completely healed?" and "how long until it gets better?"

So in the meantime, I stopped doing things that kept hurting the knee.

I put White Tiger away in the garage. And put all my biking things away.

I stopped running too, since that even flared up the knee. How did I get through a marathon on this? Was it because I took ibuprofen during the race?

And I don't see the point of swimming if it's not followed by biking and running. What, did you ever think I actually swam because I enjoyed it, or even wanted to?

Sometimes I feel like I went through what Buffy the Vampire Slayer did, when she died in season 5 and her friends brought her back in season 6...against her will and back into a new world strange and unfamiliar to her. Sometimes I think too much about my bike accident and how close it was to being fatal. How I swerved into the glass at the last moment, which probably saved me.

How maybe I got the option to return, but the trade-off was to return in a body with a bum knee. My new life is so different from the one the previous Wongstar knew before. I did go through the 5 stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance.

It's been a strange year. I'm not one to just sit around and get fat. I'm looking for another sport to do, that doesn't hurt the knee. So that's what's next. I just don't know what.

an eventful 2011

This weekend is Ironman Arizona weekend--last year, it was my season finale. Next weekend is Ironman Cozumel, which I originally planned to do, and was 2009's season finale. The daylight savings time change has come and gone too...all signs point to the end of the 2011 triathlon season.

On Friday I am turning 30 years old. Just like that, it's the end of an era in the life of the Wongstar, and the beginning of a new one. But more on that later.

So 2011 in terms of triathlon turned out to be rather eventful despite being lacking in events, if you know what I mean. Let's have a quick overview:

April: Samui Triathlon in Thailand is cancelled due to severe flooding.

May: Ironman China has its swim cancelled allegedly due to some permit fiasco...then the entire thing is called off just DAYS before I'm supposed to fly there. Instead I get a last-minute entry into Ironman Texas.

June: I decide to split from teamTBB, get a job offer to return to my career as a CPO, and start working with Beck Preston as my new coach.

July: Ironman Korea was supposed to be my last race as a TBB'er and BAM! I swam a 1:02! then BAM! I smashed into a minivan on the bike course!

So I decided to skip Full Vineman.

August: still recovering...Ironman Louisville is out too.

September: I finish ChesapeakeMan on very little training and super sleep deprived going straight from a medical mission in El Salvador.

October: My health insurance kicks in so I finally get an MRI on the knee that got bashed up in Korea. I learn that I've been training on a torn quad muscle, partially torn knee ligament, and bone bruise on my femur. Beach2Battleship is a no-go then.

November: Decided to call it a season and focus on healing up. Ironman Cozumel is out.

Really not the triathlon season I was looking to have: two races cancelled, hit by a car in one, 4 races skipped because of the injury and one of them completed without knowing how injured I was...well...surely there is something in all this that I can be somewhat proud of or happy with???

Being annoyingly positive at times, I figured I should at least make a list of my favorite performances that I'm most proud of for 2011. Here goes nothing!

2011 Highlights

1. Winning the 20km road race at the Penn Relays (back in April), and winning a gold watch just like the sprinters get!
2. Swimming a 1:02 at Ironman Korea!
3. Running a 3:56 marathon at ChesapeakeMan--even with walking a mile and having two long potty stops, not to mention being WAY undertrained AND unprepared and well, injured.

Honorable mention: my 5:17 bike split at Ironman Texas off very little outdoor training and 200+ hours of  indoor riding on the trainer over winter. I was crying for the first hour too because I was so upset that I swam like crap.

What a mind trip. Just goes to show you...racing Ironman is not just about your physical health and preparation...there is the mental and emotional side too.

Anyway, good riddance to 2011. There were ups, there were downs (well mostly downs), and you will go down, hands-down, as my worst triathlon season in all my 12 years of triathlon.

We can only go up from here.

bigger My Little Ponies!

Yesterday's Operation T-NET adventure was...horseback riding! I rode this gorgeous horse. His name is Ace!

I borrowed Woody's cowboy hat...which threatened to fly off my head whenever Ace went too fast. (And yes, I totally yelled "Whoa, horsey!") Apparently foam hats do not stay on very well. And I wore the cowboy boots I bought when I was in Cozumel two years ago to race Ironman. I also learned the real purpose of spurs. I didn't wear spurs.

The "new & exciting" was in full force as I have NEVER ridden a horse before...unless you count that one time, at summer camp, when I sat on a horse for a few minutes while the horse handler person led us around the ring. (This was actually when I was 23 years old and volunteering as a counselor at a kids' camp.)

The cowboy in charge handed me a brush to brush out Ace before we saddled him up. I said "oh yes, I had a whole stable of My Little Ponies when I was a little girl, so I am very experienced in brushing horses." The only difference was that his eyeball was as big as my head, and ok...he wasn't blue or purple.

Someone else took pictures of me actually ON the horse, with my hat and cowboy boots on, I promise! but I'll have to acquire those and upload them later.
...

In other news, I realized I am suffering from a combination of "injury brain" (arguably different than brain injury) and "impending 30th birthday brain" (similar to quarter-life crisis). I was watching last week's episode of How I Met Your Mother and there was this sideplot on Lily and Marshall being given a house in the suburbs...but they determined Lily wasn't allowed to make any big decisions, because she was suffering from "pregnancy brain," which affects her judgement on EVERYTHING.

I've been trying to make some big decisions on the triathlon career recently, and have decided to chill out for now. The combination of being injured and turning 30 this month has me changing my mind every other week. The best advice I've gotten from people (you know who you are!) is to heal up first, and then figure it out.

In the meantime, doing new and exciting things is pretty fun. And exciting. On the horizon next for Operation T-NET is Atlantic City on Wednesday! Monopoly here we come!

big needles!

Make pain my b!tch, huh? Well I'm sitting in bed with my leg propped up on two big pillows after getting sent home following "the injection" with two bottles of prescription painkillers. This was the blood centrifuging machine...for size reference, check out the magazines in the upper right corner:

"The injection" is in quotes because the needle was so big (in order for the platelets to get through or something) that it required multiple smaller injections of novocaine to numb up the area before the MULTIPLE site injections of PRP. I'm trying not to sound like a super wuss, but I was limping my way through the pharmacy and have strict orders to take the next 3 days completely off training. Then very slowly build back up again.

It's like one of those "it's gonna get worse before it gets better" kinda things. I'm not suppose to take any sorts of anti-inflammatories because the idea is that we WANT inflammation to promote the healing process. Hmmm...so am I not supposed to be following my super healthy anti-inflammatory diet right now? ;)

On the bright side, the MRI report shows my injury is actually a muscle tear of the VMO, with only minor ligamentous involvement. So that's an update on the initially suspected MPFL tear--but the MPFL and VMO tendon combine as I very skillfully described before, so it was hard to differentiate on the ultrasound. This is actually GOOD NEWS because muscles have much better blood supply than ligaments, so my recovery time will be relatively quicker! Not surprisingly, there was still evidence of a bone bruise on my femur 3.5 months post-crash, albeit a minor one that won't be causing much trouble.

My activity is going to be more limited than it's been in the last couple months (ugh did I really do an ironman on this thing?!), but like the doc said, my job is just to heal now! Send happy healing vibes, thanks :)

it's a girl! no, it's a boy! no...

Oh, how lucky you are today! TWO blog posts in one day!

So this morning after my last C-Man blog, I went to the doctor and had my very first ultrasound.

SO....is it a boy? or is it a girl? Or is it too early to see any little penises? (that's right, I totally said "PENIS!")

Oh! Oh! Is it twins?

Well, if you must know...

It's a partially torn MPFL. That's the medial patello-femoral ligament. Not to be confused with the medial collateral ligament (MCL), even though that's what Wikipedia would redirect you to believe.

Yeah, I had a diagnostic ultrasound on my sometimes complaining knee. (Did I totally PUNK you or what???) It's gotten significantly better since that #@!$(&* minivan smashed into me (or vice versa) 3 months ago in Korea (I mean, seriously I got through an ironman on it) but still wasn't 100%. Since my new health insurance just kicked in with my new job at IPO on October 1st, I figured hell, let's get everything checked out for sure. If for anything, peace of mind.

The good news is that it's not permanently damaged, and I didn't make it any worse by training with it. But since it's ligamentous, it has a poor blood supply and that's why it's taking forever and a day to get back to 100%. I'm actually allowed to continue training as long as I'm wearing a knee brace or Rocktape to help keep my patella stabilized. 

No wonder I felt it when I was biking and not running--my extensive Google researching shows that "As the MCL approaches the patella it combines inseparably with the tendon of the VMO and together they insert strongly into the most ventral aspect of the medial border of the patella all along its articular surface." (Reference article is here if you don't mind seeing photos of dead people's dissected knees.)

Yes, the infamous VMO (vastus medialis oblique) is known for its patella-stabilizing powers. It's that quad muscle on the inside of your knee that totally sticks out if you are a badass cyclist, or nonexistent if you are a scrawny basketball or volleyball player. Back in college, one of the athletic trainers actually told me I'd never have patella tracking problems because my VMO's were so strong (unlike the basketball and volleyball chicks who came in with knee issues). Well, I guess "never" doesn't take into account when your knee gets slammed into a car with the same force it takes for a chin to break a window.

Anyway.

When I am biking under load, I'm activating my VMO's, which is "inseparable" from my sadly stretched and partially torn MPFL as they attach to the patella.

Ohhhhh. That's why it hurts when I bike, but not when I run. It doesn't look like I need to have it surgically repaired, but I'm getting an MRI this weekend, and will get a shot or two of this magical PRP injection therapy thing soon enough.

All right, well think happy MPFL thoughts for me, and be sure to thank your own MPFL's for the hard work they do. Promise them you won't take them for granted any more!

ironman #21 = ChesapeakeMan Part #4

The best thing that Noreen and Sam said to me on race morning was that they would be there for me at the finish line, no matter how long it might take me to get there. I had told them I really wasn't sure, but around 11 hours would be pretty good, and they were well aware that it was to be my first ironman race back since the car crash. So Noreen said she'd be there between 10-12 hours after we started...but added that it was perfectly fine if I ended up needing another hour or two or three....etc.

That helped me quite immensely when I was debating against my demons whether or not to finish. Because even though I said my only goal was to finish, I couldn't help but want to do well too. I wouldn't be a professional triathlete if I didn't feel that way, and it is hard to quiet the killer instinct which always wants to do more than "just finish." But given the options, DNF... or finish without causing more damage to my health, I chose the latter.

So I made a new "just finish" plan. The first priority was to get rid of the headache. If I could get rid of the pain in my head, I knew I could get through the marathon, even if I had to walk and take my sweet time. I don't have many pictures from during this race, so instead you get random cartoons:

I ended up rolling up to the next two aid stations, stopping, and taking my time to figure out a headache remedy. I had only been drinking Gatorade in addition to eating snacks, maybe my hydration was off because I needed some plain water. So I tried some of that and took a bottle for the road. I also asked if any of the volunteers had Tylenol or Advil. I'm usually against medicating myself with pills but desperate times call for desperate measures! Luckily someone had a single tablet of ibuprofen to spare.

As I spun home to T2 in an easy gear, my head started to feel better and my spirits began to lift. I had slowed down quite a bit and my final ride time on the bike computer was 5:32. The official split was 6:08, so that was an extra 36 minutes from ineptly changing out the flat tire and the two leisurely aid station stops for headache management. Not too bad considering all of that! I think before joining teamTBB, 6:08 would still be faster than my previous Ironman bike splits I did as an amateur, so...it's kind of hilarious.

I took my time in T2 and kind of just relished it. There were 2 or 3 other girls in there with me and I was feeling really chatty and chipper. I was psyching myself up for the marathon ahead and wanted to make sure I felt good starting out, and erase the mindset that I was racing so I wouldn't put too much pressure on myself to run fast. It was like pressing the "reset" button.

I had a leisurely porta-potty stop and then I was out on the run. Over 5 minutes, when T2 usually only takes me a minute!

The run has always been my first love and it's still my favorite part of the triathlon. You are going slow enough (and on land, not submerged in water) so you can see and hear all the people cheering for you, and let's face it, I'm an attention whore (Jan Brady middle child syndrome). There were actually a few Wongstar fans that recognized me and yelled for me by name. I beamed, and I was so happy to be out there!

Flashing back to race morning--I had been standing in the porta potty line and randomly talking with the guy behind me, who would be attempting his first iron-distance race today. After learning I was a pro and had raced 20 ironmans before, he wanted to know my best piece of advice for a first-timer...other than "have fun and just finish, don't even try aiming for a specific finish time." (Advice I was taking myself that day!)


So I told him this: "You will experience very low lows and very high highs. Ironman is a complete emotional roller coaster and if you are feeling really bad, have faith that you will feel better." More foreshadowing???

My run was going to be my "very high high"! After the first couple of steps, I knew that my knee was going to be okay. (The injury seems more quad-related--running feels better than biking, which is unusual for most injuries.) Anyone that has ever seen me race before (or heck, seen my race photos) knows I am usually a super smiley face when I am out on the run. I was genuinely really happy to be there, a complete 180 from how I felt during the bike. I was smiling and cheering for my compatriots who were also racing. If I wasn't having a good day, I could at least give my fellow racers some positive energy!

I need to get my own set of
smiley face mugs, like Natascha!!

Later some of them would ask why I was so happy during the run. The truth was, I thought about how I couldn't run at all for a whole month after getting hit by a car. I was doing these long walks with a backpack. It was TORTURE. I can't stand walking for exercise (I'd much rather run really really slow) and I had some dark moments there when I wondered if I would ever be able to run again, never mind do another ironman. So to be running again, and in an ironman marathon, well, it was pretty much very smile-inducing.

I surprised myself by clocking 8:20's the first couple miles, and then settled into an 8:15/mile pace that entire first loop. (The run course was out-and-back, 3 times, so just under 9 miles each loop.) It felt easy, I felt awesome. Then at the end of the loop I got the stomach gurgles. So I hit a porta potty and took my time. Truth be told, I was already having the stomach gurgles during the last couple days in El Salvador, so I wasn't surprised at all.

Then it was back on course and having a happy long run. I stuck with a group of guys for a little bit. One guy had a FuelBelt full of all kinds of stuff--like pickle juice in case he had cramps! I had never heard of this before...he said if I cramped up later, he would be happy to share some with me! I was super chattery. I would tell guys they were awesome. I would tell girls they had the cutest socks...or top... Not everyone would return my smile or thumbs-up (some people are way too serious!) but many of them did, which pumped me back up. I could tell we were all hurting out there so it was important to keep the positive vibes flowing.

University of Maryland's triathlon club was manning an aid station and they were always happy to see me because I would always yell "woohoo, COLLEGE BOYS!" and they would give me whatever I wanted. On the last lap, my lack of fitness finally caught up and my quads were just screaming. They were so sore--remember, I hadn't run more than 2 hours for the last 3 or 4 months--and I had to take a walking break. I stopped at the UM aid station and told them, "I need something magic to get me going again. What do I want?" and one of the guys was like "um...college boys?" LOL.

Another of them had a bag of "Munchies" which consisted of Cheetos and Doritos and other tasty chips. It was his own personal stash and not part of the aid station offerings, but THAT'S what I wanted. I was tired of all the sugar from Coke and Gatorade and wanted some salty savory goodness. They filled up an entire cup for me and I walked a whole mile just relaxing and eating my Munchies.

Ok! Then I felt better and was ready to run again! My legs were still super sore, but I could now will myself to ignore the soreness and do a hobbling run (the ironman shuffle) through those final miles. There was another leisurely porta potty stop...

...for the stomach gurgles, and when I emerged, a fellow running behind me saw my Bike Boutique shorts and said "were you on teamTBB?" "...yes..." and the inevitable:

"ARE YOU WONGSTAR?!"

"YES!"

He was so excited he said he had to shake my hand. The first thing that popped in my head was "Um, I was just in the porta-potty and my hands are freshly anti-bacterialed" (because the posh porta potties were well stocked--big thumbs-up!) and I think it came off wrong, like I was saying I didn't want to shake his hand if he was all gross and germy. (I meant that I myself wasn't gross and germy so it was ok to shake my hand.) But he replied that he was happy to fist-bump with me! We chatted a bit and ran the next few miles together--turns out he had been in a horrific skydiving accident years ago, breaking his neck, back, and femur (his race report is on ST here) and this would be his first ironman ever! WOW. It was really impressive...it made my car accident seem pretty minor, but I felt I could relate to him even just a little bit.

I had a lot of energy to talk with people and cheer for people...it was more like I was limited by my level of fitness. After kicking the bike demons to the curb, mentally I felt like I could go faster but physically my body was holding me back. And that was okay. I was still able to hold 9-min miles even though my quads felt like they were all locked up. Maybe time for some pickle juice?

Except I had left my pickle juice friend somewhere back in the race. Oh well, only a couple more miles. I stopped stopping at all the aid stations. I wasn't racing with my signature Camelbak this time...I was SO unbelievably unprepared for this race, and just picked up whatever I felt like at the aid stations. Perhaps another contribution to the stomach gurgles.

Anyway, "mind over matter" I kept telling myself. Even if my quads were super duper sore, I would will the legs to keep turning over, turning over until I got to the finish. And there it was! The finish chute! My face lit up extra as I SPRINTED through the last section and Noreen caught it on camera:

My knee has been taped up with the blue argyle Rocktape, a super sticky brand of kinesio-tape that is as stylish as it is functional. It's like having a knee brace on without the bulk!

I was happy to cross the finish under 11:30, which was right on target if you subtract the silly flat tire change. Later I was surprised to learn that my marathon time was 3:56--even with two leisurely potty stops and walking a whole mile. Kind of impressed with myself given the amount I've been (not) training! Another sign that I'm still fitter than my amateur days--my fastest IM run back then was a 4:20. So I haven't lost everything.

I was very happy to see my foster family for the weekend--Sam and Noreen. They were great at being my finish line catchers along with homestay hosts! And it was nice to do a non-WTC race, it wasn't crowded at all and TriColumbia treated us very well. And I mean all of us athletes...not just this lone pro here!

Let me tell you...finishing an ironman is still one of the best feelings in the world. Ok, euphorically if not physically. ;) I still get the heebie jeebies typing this up. This one was #21 for me after having to "re-do" #21 with the bike crash in Korea. Maybe it wasn't the smartest idea in the world, maybe I was too impatient trying to get back onto the racing scene, but it was still worth it to once again experience the awesome "run through the ironman finish line" feeling--which helped erase the bitterness of the "get taken away on an ambulance" feeling.

This 11:28 race is over 90mins slower than my fastest, but it's one I'm extremely proud of--with everything stacked up against me the past few months, the El Salvador week, and how close I came to quitting so many times on the bike; I feel I really conquered some big demons out there.

There's more photos from the awards and I have more thoughts and props to give out, but perhaps I'll end up doing a part #5 with all that. Since right now there's a little race called Ironman Hawaii going on that I'm spectating online.

What I will say though, is that it's been 2 weeks after ChesapeakeMan and I've decided to end my 2011 triathlon season early. I was pretty hell bent on racing IM Cozumel over Thanksgiving and start chasing Kona points for 2012, but Project Kona is officially on hold for the time being. I took a few steps back and decided to prioritize getting my knee completely healthy before attempting to race again.

I now know that I can finish an ironman on very limited fitness--and it's soooo, soooo painful--but in order to race at the professional caliber, I must have a fit and healthy body...and mind. To anyone reading this, thanks so much for all your support this year and for continuing to follow me through the ups and downs!!! xox

Double Header: ChesapeakeMan RR part #2

ok! let's get on with it then, Wongstar!!!


So I got into the water. It was a mass start with everybody (300+ including the AquaVelo'ers), 2 loops in a protected part of the bay and different colored buoys. There were actually 3 other races going on since it was an "Endurance Festival"--AquaVelo, half IM and sprint--so the layout of the swim course was a touch confusing if you didn't know which buoys to aim for. I'd been out of the water for over a week, save for a 30min swim in a 12m pool at the hotel in El Salvador.

Let's repeat that swim picture, shall we?

I felt tired but I kept telling myself "big training day" and motored through the swim. I got on some feet, sometimes, if they seemed like they were going the right direction (they usually weren't), but mostly I forged my own straight line (I've got excellent sighting skills since I'm used to being dropped by the pro packs) while punching the guys who got in my way. I definitely didn't feel so peppy and it was actually the legs that felt most tired--later in hindsight Coach Beck mentioned something about "travel legs" which didn't occur to me at the time. I spent the entire day before flying from El Salvador to Miami to Philadelphia, and then driving to Cambridge. I wore my SLS3 compression socks while traveling of course, but note-to-self, don't do a big travel day right before a big race...or even "just" a big training day!

Lap two of the swim, I felt like I was at least more warmed up, and increased my effort to get in a decent swim. Negative split? who knows, but it was what I call "negative effort" anyway, and my official time was 1:14:44. Awesome, right where I wanted to be. I was fairly happy getting out of the water!

Transition was quick enough, and I got onto the bike, holding 20-21mph right away. Almost like I was racing normal, except for the fact that I wasn't used to smashing out a 5hr bike ride every weekend like it was nothing. So it seemed like both lack of fitness and mental training/patience made me feel like..."OMG WHY IS THIS TAKING FOREVER. IT'S NOT EVEN 90 MINUTES YET?" It's like when you are endurance training, you are training yourself both physically and mentally.

I amused myself seeing the road markings marked "C-MAN" as it reminded me of Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory (my favorite nerdy show). There was an episode where it was suggested he think of himself as the leader of a team of superheroes...like Professor X of the X-Men. Only he would call his minions... his "C-Men".

Yes. I still think it's hilarious.

My knee also started to complain a bit only 2 hours into the bike ride. I am what you call a big "gear masher" and this was when I felt the knee...hard efforts pushing a big gear (or going uphill, which this bike course didn't have). At the same time, I was developing just an absolutely massive headache, of which I was fairly certain was attributed to my severe lack of sleep the last week.

So I was battling a huge headache, a knee that didn't want to go so fast, and the whole negative inner monologue "are we there yet? why is this taking so long?" when BAM! or rather pffft...pffft...pffft... I got a flat tire in the rear tire. This was about 3.5hrs into the bike.

I WAS SO PISSED.

After 20 ironmans, this was my first time flatting in an ironman race. The culprit was a staple. Actually, I wasn't just pissed but felt devastated and almost helpless--not because I couldn't fix a flat tire, but it just felt like "the straw that broke the camel's back." I was already just feeling so awful at that point and was an incredible mess mentally. My head hurt so bad that I put in a brand new tube and did everything in about 10mins when I realized that the stem on the new tube was barely poking out of the rim on my Token wheel. It was too short and for whatever reason the valve extender wasn't in my little spare kit. My brain was so dead, so I thought it was perfectly fine if I didn't automatically switch out the tube to my other spare (which had a super extra long valve stem which would work) and figured "oh no, this will work!!!" I used one of my two precious CO2 cartridges and freezer burnt my index fingers as the CO2 went anywhere but inside the goddamn tube.

I stared at the now-empty CO2 canister and still-flat tire in horror and sorta disbelief (but sorta not, as there was that voice in my head that said "you f***ing dumba$$, I told you so"). I kind of lollygagged pondering what to do next, asking the bajillion triathletes who blazed by if they had a valve extender. I don't think anyone knew what I was talking about. I ate a snack and drank some more Gatorade and then went about changing my flat tire properly, with the right size valve and my 2nd (and last) CO2 cartridge. I knew this was my last chance, unless I wanted to rely on tech support or try to bum some spare parts off the other athletes). Under 10mins of course but I wasted nearly 30mins with that entire tire change.

This picture was clearly taken earlier on in the bike ride when I was actually feeling good!

Ok, back on course but my spirits had taken QUITE the beating. I was already not feeling very well with the pounding headache and the complaining knee and now the ridiculously long tire change. *SIGH* This was when I gave in to the evil DNF demons.

I decided I was going to quit once I got into T2.

It's amazing how you can justify anything in your head when your day isn't going so well. And how negativity breeds negativity...

• "Even if I get to T2 that's farther than I got when that car hit me in Ironman Korea..."
• "My knee hurts. Everybody would understand if I didn't continue because of the bum knee."
• "Hmm, maybe I should've just signed up for the AquaVelo."
• "Really? Are you sure it's smart to run a marathon after all this? You've only run up to 2hrs in training. ONCE. and 90mins a couple times."
• "There is no way you can run a marathon with this awful headache. That's just stupid now."
• "It's ok if you don't finish. It's not like you still have a no-DNF streak you have to defend."

So that was it. I was going to quit. Roll into T2. Call it a day. End the misery.

Or would I? To be continued...again!

earthquakes and hurricanes...and training, oh my!

Tuesday afternoon we had what seems like the first earthquake in the history of Delaware, or heck, the East Coast. As a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, I pretty much suspected immediately that it was an earthquake...but was completely confused because everyone here told me we didn't get earthquakes here. Clearly the world is ending.

And now there's a hurricane headed towards us...

We are in the hot pink "EXTREME" zone. My boss put a "hurricane supplies list" in each of our mailboxes today, which tells you to stock up on things like batteries, flashlights, cash...and diapers. (Obviously the diapers are if your power goes out and the toilets can't flush any more.) Me and the Sherpa already have a big stockpile of liquor (including Haamonii Shochu of course!) for special events like natural disasters.

In triathlon training news, my banged-up knee is practically brand new now! The irony (iron-knee? ahaha) though is that now that I can train at pretty much full capacity, the last few days I've been so busy moving out of my apartment that it's squandered my training. Ah well, as Coach Beck says, sometimes life just gets in the way, and once the move is complete I can focus back on training again! Looks like I'll be ready to have a go at the whole ironman racing thing again next month at ChesapeakeMan.

How to make water running more fun!

I remember my former teammate Brandon always saying that you could always tell when pro athletes get injured or were having a bad season, because they go off the grid on their blogs and Facebook and stuff. But I like to blog and have been told by some fans that they will actually check my blog every day for an update (!!!) so that's encouraging. People want to stay posted on how I am doing with the crash recovery, plus, almost everyone can relate to being injured. So I figure I can write some of my tips on how to stay motivated when you have to do something boring like...water running!

I'm still not running on ground yet but Coach Beck has me putting on a pair of old running shoes and running in waist-deep water. 30mins isn't too bad to tolerate but today's session calls for a whole hour, and there is only so much back and forth you can do (most pools are 25 yards here and only go about halfway, 12-15 yards before the big deep end drop-off) before you get super bored.  I love running to music, especially when I'm unmotivated, but was afraid of dropping one of my ipods into the water (I have the latest generation ipod shuffle and the new ipod nano I won from that photo contest...).

Sherpa came to the rescue and said I could use his old archaic ipod shuffle, which is 5 years old. Apparently he's loaded or something because he said "well it's only $50 if you drop it in the water." Hmm I think I picked a good one! ;) So I clipped it onto my new SLS3 visor (stylish isn't it?!) and wrapped the cords around the headband-ish part. Should be well above the water! We'll see. I forgot that the Y doesn't open until 10am on Sundays. No actually, I forgot it was Sunday. I thought it was still Saturday. Wishful thinking heh heh!

This is also the outdoor pool, and to make water running more enjoyable I look at this as an opportunity to even out the discrepancy in skin tone between my torso and my arms. So I'll throw on a two-piece swimsuit and work on my tan!

I have the torso of a white person and the arms of a brown person.

Because the Wongstar is all about the power of positive thinking, and she can find a positive side to everything!

Knee Knews

My knee is getting better! And my first swim was awesome! Even though working in the field of prosthetics and orthotics makes me appreciate the ability to swim, bike & run more than most people, having these crash injuries multiplies that much much more! I won't be taking those abilities for granted any time soon.

I saw Dr. Jannelli, my "body mechanic," on Weds and he pushed my medial meniscus back in its place. It's already feeling loads better. (Pun intended! bwaha!) He thinks it just shifted and isn't torn or something awful. We're also playing with some kinesiotape. Range of motion with weight bearing is coming back, slowly but surely!

He always has a container of little dark chocolates at the reception desk which also makes my body feel better! Sometimes they (the chocolates) even tell you motivational messages. :D

As for cycling, I thought the indoor biking was over when the snow melted, but I am back at it and making good use of my Delaware library card. Now that I've been a member over 6 months, I have full grown-up privileges, which means I can borrow up to 10 DVD's at a time instead of just 3 (the peewee membership). I started watching the Sarah Connor Chronicles with Summer Glau as a good-guy Terminator. Ever since Firefly, I'll watch anything with Summer Glau. Dude, she's super hot and kicks major ass!!!