Southern Star Brewing Company 5k

Less than a week after Cypress triathlon and I'm ready to race again! 

I am so happy I finally talked my hubby into running a 5k with me! It helped it was at a brewery and there was plenty of beer at the finish line! He did AWESOME! His first 5k and he broke an 8 minute pace!!

This was my best run ever! I felt strong and I felt fast! I came in at 22:24 with a 7:13 pace! A new PR! One minute and 7 seconds faster than my last PR at Run WIld 5k!   

I won FIRST place in my Age group! 

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Cypress Sprint Triathlon Race Report

The Cypress Sprint was a 550 meter swim, 13 mile bike ride, and 5k in the Bridgeland Community. It was a really nice course! 

SWIM: It was a very foggy morning. The fog was so dense you could not make out the buoys in front of you. The shaded goggles didn't help. During the swim a man was turned around and swimming the wrong direction, that's how little you could see. I started with my usual panic and breast stroke. Eventually I got over it and swam, but it took way too long! I got out of the water feeling defeated, but when I look at this picture I feel strong! It was a tough swim!

BIKE: The course for the bike was really nice. Mostly flat, but more incline than I am used to. The most difficult challenge on the bike was the 40-44 year old guys were in the wave behind mine and on the bike it was tough because they were flying by me! At one point I was being passed by guys on the left and another guy illegally passed me on the right. I screamed pretty loud, I am sure I was a sight! Ha! While what he did was wrong and potentially dangerous, I really need to get out on the road more so I can handle those situations better. My bike was again my fastest ride yet! My average speed was 18.3! Which is super for me! I got off the bike and sped thru transition. 

RUN: When I got to the run I was passing people like crazy! Not a single person got by me. I felt good! But I had my watch set for total time and not pace and so I had no idea what my pace was. I feel like because I was passing everyone I felt like I was going fast, but I probably could have pushed faster. 

FINISH: My overall time was 1:27:28. And I was 18 out of 53 in my age group.

  

I love having teammates out there racing with me! So fun! Love these guys!

The swim pace was adjusted because the course ended up being longer at 600 meters rather than 550 meters. So swim pace for the adjusted difference was 2:45.

Run the Wild 5k

This was the first 5k I have run healthy or have run for me and not just running with my kiddos or friends for fun. And it felt great! My boys came and ran their 5k and my friend Ellen came and ran her second 5k! It was my fastest 5k yet! My time was 23:31 and my pace was 7:34!! I was 6th out of 57 in my age group! So close!

TriGirl Super Sprint Race Report

A week after my first triathlon and I was ready to do another one! It was Mother's Day and I woke up early to do the TriGirl Super Sprint. The swim was 200 meters, the bike was 8 miles, and the run was 2 miles. The swim was short but tough! The water was really choppy! I was kicked in the nose, saw stars, and went under. A lifeguard came to my rescue, but I just said thank you and struggled along! Regaining my wits made for a longer than usual transition time. But I got out on that bike and again did my fastest ride yet! It was really windy on the bike course and there were a couple close calls. I made it to the run and flew! So many things I could have done better at the beginning of the race, but I finished strong! And I was 7th in my age group! It was a fun race!

My First Triathlon Race Report - CB&I Sprint

Swim - 500 Meters

Bike - 15  Miles 

Run - 5k

Swim, Bike, Run! I got it DONE!!! I could not of dreamed of a more perfect race day! I was most worried about biking since I am still so anxious and cautious on the bike. But the swim turned out to be the biggest challenge. Out in the water, with all the people turns more into survival than swimming! But I made it out of the water slowly but surely. And ontoe the bike! It was a strong ride for me! It was my fastest ride yet! I was still slower than most, but every person who passed me I called out in my head I'll get you on the run! And I did! I was flying past people on the run! And when I crossed that finish line I burst into sobs!! I cannot believe after all I had gone thru I was able to accomplish so much! I finished in 1:37!! A very respectable time! Top 25% of my age group! Not bad for a newbie! It turns out I'm pretty good at this! I have lots of room to grow and improve, but I know I can accomplish great things!

How lucky am I to have so many people come out to cheer me on?

I am so grateful for all the support and all the sacrifices my husband, my kids, and my parents make for me to be able to accomplish so much! I could not have done it without them!

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Over the last two years I have been seeing so many specialists. I've seen a pain specialist, orthopedists, endocrinologist, oncologist/hematologist, cardiologist, dermatologist, and more. I had 8 injections in my spine, daily iron infusions, a slew of medications, and even more diagnosises. Finally my endocrinologist worked with a rheumatologist in getting me in. After ordering a copy of all my tests from the various doctors and a very thorough blood screening it was determined the reason for my pain is inflammatory arthritis. My grandfather died from complications from rheumatoid arthritis. And having hypothroidism and raynaud's it's not unusual for other autoimmune issues to turn up. I am just grateful we now have a course of action to take. And treating it early helps to prevent progression and further damage to the joints. 

A week before my first triathlon, and I woke up unable to walk. I was covered in a horrible, itchy and painful rash and my body swelled up. Every joint in my body hurt. I was experiencing a flare in my arthritis. My dermatologist and rheumatologist work closely together since many of the symptoms are related. So I went in to see my dermatologist. I scooted my feet into the building. It was a painstaking journey. She took pictures and biopsies and got in touch with my rheumatologist. They increased my steroid dosage to a high dose. And within two days I could walk and I was able to get back to my training! I was hopeful that I would make it to do my triathlon. I did not want this to stop me from my dream! I had already come so far and overcome so much!

 

Bike Crash!

My friend Christy took me out for my first several bike rides. A little less than two months after I started riding, I ventured out on a ride by myself for the first time. It wasn't a good plan! I had been in the hospital twice that week with chest pains from Raynaud's Syndrome. But I decided to head out anyway. Just a few minutes from home, I'm not sure what happened, but I lost control of my bike and hit a curb. I flew off my bike and landed very close to a fire hydrant. I'm very lucky I missed it. But I didn't walk away unscathed. I laid on the ground in intense pain. Cars passed and did not stop to help. I reached my phone and called my husband. He left right away and came to get me. Right before he got there, finally a man unrolled his window to ask if I was ok. Sad how little concern people showed to an injured biker on the side of the road. Thank goodness I wasn't unconscious! Rick brought me home and my mom met us there to take me to the ER for the 3rd time that week. It turned out I shattered my clavicle. It was Sunday and I was scheduled for surgery on Friday. That was the longest, worst 4 days of my life. Every breath I took I could feel my bones shift and rub against each other, I had road rash, constant vomiting, and we couldn't get the pain under control. My mom and dad moved in for that week, so my mom could take care of me around the clock. I could not even go to the bathroom by myself! It was bad! 

After surgery, I began physical therapy. For months! And I had no range of motion in my right shoulder. The PT kept telling the orthopedist there was another injury from the crash that we hadn't addressed. Finally he did another MRI. The pictures were bad, so the results were inconclusive. He decided to do nothing, so I decided to find a new dr! The new dr looked at the pics from the MRI and said they were unreadable. He ordered an MRI arthrogram of the shoulder. And the results were obvious. I had a severe case of Adhesive Capsulitis. The tissue was thick and very inflammed. And so a second surgery was required. The second surgery was a success and almost immediately I could feel improvement. So after some more therapy I was quickly regaining my range of motion. Still working on it, but the doctor predicts a full recovery! I only wish this had been found four months earlier when I suffered the injury! But all this and I am still determined to do a triathlon!