IMTX Banquet

What a great evening I had at the Ironman Banquet! It was an honor to be among so many amazing and inspiring people/athletes!

Oh my gosh I met Mike Reilly! And the best part is he knew who I was! It was such a highlight for me! He is so genuine and excited for us athletes that you can't help but be inspired. And with his million dollar smile you can't help but grin from ear to ear! 

This lady has been with me from the very beginning of my tri life! My coach, Gena Alvarez, has coached me thru illness and injury and got me to each start and finish! Let me tell you that is no east feat! She has seen me thru many tears which if you know me is rivers!She has held my hand in the ER! And she has gotten me thru training for one of the most physically challenging races there are when the odds have been stacked against me! She got me to the start line of Ironman Texas ya'll! And I can't wait to see her at the finish line!

I finally got to meet up with my friend Jana Richtrova! Talk about an AMAZING athlete! I got to see her cross the finish line and place in Kona last year (not her first time or her last)! Hoping to see her again in Kona this year! She is such an inspiration! (And I'm hoping some of her speed and talent rubbed off on me at dinner! Lol!) 

And Susan who has been my life line thru this experience, Brian our fearless Tritats leader, and I hanging with the Iron Man Voice Mike Reilly!!
This has been an amazing, emotional, and inspiring evening!!

Race Day Check In

This week was extremely emotional! Tears and trepidation ran amuck. I was in tears at check in and two volunteers on separate occasions cried with me. I was just so happy I made it this far and was going to race! And I want it so bad!! Nothing is going to stop me!

This Mind Over Matter shirt is my favorite! It is all me!!

I am so grateful I had my friend Susan going thru this experience with me! She was my rock! We texted each other thru everything!

I was happy to be out there with Susan and Sean! They are amazing athletes!!

Nicholle met me at Ironman Village and we ran a few easy miles along the Waterway. It was just what I needed for my nerves!!

Gear is packed and ready for race day! Whew! I am going to do this!!

IronKids 2017

To say I am proud of my guys is an understatement! I love watching them enjoying doing what I love to do. I am so lucky they share in my passion. And let me tell you they are most definitely determined!

Sawyer started strong and eager!! He was rearing to go!

Emerson (5 yrs old) was very anxious. He wanted me to run with him. But as soon as we started he was off!

Sawyer (6 yrs old) stayed fast and strong all the way thru! He finished 7th overall and the kiddos who finished before him were all 8 or older!! He nailed it!

Look at that form!! What a beautiful runner!!

It was so fun running and finishing with my little guy! He ran hard and fast! When he finished he said I could have done that by myself! He is such an anxious kid and those pre race jitters get him every time! Just like his mama!!

Everett (9 yrs old) smoked his race! He was so fast! He even beat his big brother!!

Ricky (11 yrs old) had some trouble with his asthma out there. But he still ran hard and fast!! He killed it!

All my boys finished in the front of their races! It wasn't a timed race. It was just for fun, but it sure did give them the bug to race again! They are ready to sign up for another one!!

Lululemon IMTX Wall

Every year Lululemon displays the names of all the participants in Ironman Texas on their windows. This year I got to find mine! My boys made me promise I wouldn't go without them because they wanted to be the ones who found my name. And they did! I just love how excited they were! And I loved seeing my name up there!!

My Battle, My Journey

My immune system has taken a big hit from RA, my medications, and Ironman training. I recently had a severe UTI that was not responding to treatment. On my fourth antibiotic I developed pneumonia. For that I was given a Rocephin shot and another oral antibotic making it 6 antibiotics in 2 months. The dr then decided to continue me on an additional 30 day treatment of antibiotics.

I had an appointment with my rheumatologist and got some news I didn't want to hear. Osteopenia has progressed quickly to Osteoporosis which explains why I break so easily. I am at high risk for another hip fracture and fracture of the major bones. The inflammation caused from RA as well as the Prednisone and Methotrexate increases bone loss which is one of the reasons we are trying to taper to a lower dose of Prednisone. We are beginning treatment for Osteoporosis.
The doctor took a listen to my lungs and there is still fluid in my lower lung. The pnuemonia has not yet resolved.
My RA is not repsonding as well as we'd hoped. We're going to make another adjustment to my RA meds and depending on how I respond discuss other treatment options.
None of this was news I wanted to hear of course.

When this journey began, I was told never to do more than a Sprint distance triathlon with Rheumatoid Arthritis. I have done every distance but a 140.6. That WILL happen on April 22. As you know it hasn't been an easy journey. In just these two years of training I have had 4 broken bones, 4 surgeries, nerve damage in my elbow, numerous illnesses, and my daily fight with RA. I know it sounds insane. Should I have listened? Why is it so important to me to keep going thru all this? While a lot of people wouldn't understand, I think many of you who follow my journey do. There's a fire in you too! You fight your battles and you don't give up!

And you stand beside me as I fight mine. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. I can honestly say this journey wouldn't be the same without you and without your support!

In 30 days I will be running in this very spot and I WILL hear the @ironmanvoice Mike Reilly call out "Iron Will Iron Jill YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!" 

I have an amazing team of doctors and I owe them so very much! I wanted to share their names with you in case you ever need them! Good doctors/people like these ones are so very hard to come by! I am so thankful for each and every one of them!

Dr. Randall Johnson - Rheumatologist 

Andy Cox - Physical Therapist 

Dr. Albert Lipscomb - Orthopedist

Dr. Raj Syal - OB/GYN

Dr. Kelly Aguilar - Endocrinologist 

Dr. Kristyn Payne - Dermatologist 

Dr. Samir Shirodkar - Urologist 

Dr. Bernardo de la Guardia - Cardiologist 

If you would like one of my team shirts they can be ordered at https://flyingacetees.com/ironjill

Hard Days with RA

I don't talk about my daily struggles with Rheumatoid Arthritis often, but I felt like it was important to write about the struggles I am facing right now because it is affecting my training. You see every day is a hard day it's just that some days are harder than others. This has been a rough couple weeks. I am trying to taper down on my prednisone which is a very long process. I just recently dropped down  again and it's been tough. But I want to see if I can work thru it because I desperately want to be off prednisone or at least on a lower dosage. There are a lot of side affects I am dealing with. One of these side affects is a lowered immune system. And because of this I am susceptible to picking up all kinds of things. For example I am on my 4th antibiotic for a chronic UTI. Not sure if you have experienced a severe UTI, but the pain is akin to urinating shards of glass and holding a match to your urethra. Sorry if TMI, but you get the point. It's pretty awful. Not to mention abdominal cramping and frequent urination. I'm also pretty sure I'm working on a case of bronchitis. And I have been fighting an RA flare since lowering the dosage. So needless to say I am not feeling good or sleeping good. But I don't have a lot of time left before race day and I'm already behind due to breaking my foot, so I can't afford to let anything hold me back. I know I need to train smart and healthy too, so I'm trying to find the balance and take care of me too. 

Today I had a long swim on the plan. I really wanted to just stay in bed. The house keeper was coming so that was out of the question. So after getting all my boys off to school I headed to the gym. Near tears, in pain and exhausted, I seriously considered sleeping in my car rather than going in. Even after going in, I sat in the locker room feeling sorry for myself. But then I pulled myself together and got into the water. And I DID it! I swam. And I swam 4400 yards with a 2:22 pace. It was hard, I was tired, but I got it done! There are going to be more hard days and I will face them as they come. But this day I won and RA did not!

Swim Smooth Video Analysis and Correction

"The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus." - Bruce Lee

My friend Jana of e3tricoaching, who is an amazing triathlete (4 x Kona finisher who placed in her AG), suggested I see a swim coach that she has been to. So I contacted Gemma Hollis of Push Glide Kick and I am so happy I did.

Gemma uses the Swim Smooth approach. She is kind, straightforward, and super encouraging! We hit it off right away! I am a nervous person and she made me feel extremely comfortable. 

I opted to do the Swim Smooth Video Analysis Session. The session begins with video filming both above and below the water. Below is video footage of my swim.

Next you receive a full analysis of your swim that is recorded for your keeping. This was important to me because I am a note taker and here I had visual and auditory notes that I can refer back to as often as I need. During the analysis, Gemma also compared my stroke to other swimmers, so I was able to see the correct form and its efficiency. I was able to see measurements and angles of my stroke and where it should be. I was able to see what needed improvement but also what I was doing right.

See the link below for my full video analysis.

Full Swim Video Analysis

The final part of the session was the correction. I got back in the pool to work on what we had discussed. I wore bone conduction headphones while Gemma spoke into a microphone, so I could make corrections during my swim. This was more helpful to me than discussing it after. We worked on several drills to correct my form. Right away I could tell a difference. The main things we worked on for me was head position and breathing, rotating my hips, and my catch. I was lifting my head before turning to breathe. Not only was this causing drag, but I was losing my bow wave and this is why I was drinking water. And once I started rotating my hips other things started to fall into place like better breathing, more of a reach, and better kicks. We worked on some drills to better my catch. I could tell I was using muscles I don't typically use. And I no longer had the windmill effect going on. I could actually feel myself gliding thru the water.

Also with the Swim Smooth Approach, you get access to The Swim Guru which gives you videos, drills, and workouts all catered to what your needs are as a swimmer. You get homework to help you continue to focus on your areas for improvement.

I have to be honest, I thought I would pick up a few pointers, but I had no idea how much I would learn in 90 minutes. So if you haven't had a video analysis done I would highly recommend it. It would be beneficial to swimmers of all levels. 

I hope this helps YOU as well!