I'm beginning to think that I just might be the recipient of some bad karma. With a race coming up this weekend, I was not overjoyed that I got really sick. Nausea, dizziness etc. but I was so excited about my little 'mom's getaway' that I was determined to go anyway.
My friend, Brittany and I went up the night before and had a lovely child-free evening reading magazines, flipping channels and laughing it up in the family suite of the Best Western. (only the best for me) I woke up this morning, with a pit in my stomach feeling like it was going to be a really rough day. Bootcamp on Thursday left my legs super sore (I had a hard time sleeping because my glutes/hamstrings were SO sore) and my upset stomach wasn't convincing me that I'd made the right decision.
The race started and I was actually feeling OK in the water. It was a much more comfortable temp this week (62°) and before I knew it, I was at the first buoy headed to the second. I was feeling a bit dizzy but stomach was steady when I felt a huge kick to my belly by a frog kicking swimmer. (I swear, it should be illegal) Feeling nauseous, I swam on and no more than two strokes later, she gave me another belly shot and an even harder one to my ribcage. It totally knocked the wind out of me and that's when my stomach decided to rebel. A reversal of fortune, I believe they call it. Where do you throw up in the water you might ask? Well, you don't. I'll leave that to your imagination, I'll just say that it wasn't the most pleasant thing I've ever forced down. Ugh. A kayaker saw me and before I knew it, I was in a boat trying desperately not to repeat. I've never been pulled from a swim before. I always imagined that I would feel like the biggest loser ever if it happened. I'm sad to report that it didn't bother me in the least. I'm not sure what that means, but there you have it. They were so nice to me and as we neared the shore, they even radioed ahead and let them know that I'd like to finish the race without the timing chip. Coming out of the water with the guys was so cool, even though I knew it was bogus. For a brief moment, I knew what it felt like to be up front. Brittany and a few of our other friends were so excited, I was sorry I'd have to explain the truth later.
The run to transition was slightly miserable in the gravel since someone snagged my flip flops on accident. Man, I'm bummed about that. It's hard to find sweet looking flip flops that are comfy too.
I was on my bike, and I have to say having the pressure off me was kind of nice. I was almost to the turn around when I saw a small group of cyclists gathered on the other side of the road around someone that crashed. It was one of my friends from bootcamp and after I saw her face covered in blood, I knew I had to turn around and help her. I figured I was DQ'd already so it didn't really matter a whole lot. She was really beat up. I swear she looked like a horror movie covered in blood. She had large gashes on her forehead, arm and knee that showed to the bone and even though she was relatively coherent, and other people were there, I really felt like I should stay with her. She had tons of road rash and for a minute we wondered if she'd lost a tooth. As it turned out, everyone else got back on their bikes to finish the race and the bike support that stopped to help, radioed for an ambulance and left. We were left there alone until the paramedics came about 20 minutes later. It was really strange. She's one tough chick. We just sat there on the side of the road and waited. We had a good laugh when I retrieved her helmet. It had a huge chunk taken out of the top and right above her eye where her gash was. The paramedic told her that if she hadn't worn a helmet, he would have been calling for a helicopter. Lucky girl. We went to see her in the ER and it looks like she's going to be fine, lots of stitches, but fine. She doesn't remember what happened, but from what a girl said that was there, it seems she hit a pothole and because she was in aero her weight was on the front tire. She lost control and went over her handle bars. A good reminder to pay attention! It's so easy to settle in and zone out.
After the ambulance came, the race director offered my bike and me a ride back. Since the bike leg was over now, I gladly accepted that my race was over. As I was telling him about the strange race-day I'd had, we ran over a poor little chipmunk in the road. I looked at him and we both started laughing uncontrollably. I told him there's a good chance he'd be safer with me out of his vehicle.
What did I learn from today?
1. Don't ever do bootcamp two days before a tri
2. Don't swim while sick
3. That 'froggy kick' thing sucks
4. You gotta know when to hold em, know when to fold em
5. If someone crashes, stay with them. Seriously, it's a freaking triathlon. It really doesn't matter as much as you think it does.
6. Pay attention!! Always!!
7. Things can always be worse. (poor chipmunk)
My next triathlon is in Aug. I'm ready for redemption. Well, I'm not like READY, ready (I'm still dizzy)... but I will be!
