Sparklinglady: Xterra Black Diamond

on sunday i raced in the World Championships! Ok, not really, but it was MY World Championships1
If you recall, eric and i were both supposed to race the ITU Cross World Championships in May. But due to my "condition" we weren't able to go, despite Team USA super suits, air plane tickets, hotel and car reservations. All those things were canceled except the super suits. eric and i were stuck with Team USA super suits with our names on the fronts and the arses. I wanted to wear that super suit!!!
a while back when i started to feel better and started to get outside for some runs and biking, i decided that I would race at Black Diamond. they offer a 1/2 distance which i decided would be perfect. i had done this race 4 times previously: 1x DNF, 2x full distance, 1x relay and i was excited to add the 1/2 distance World Championship!
leading up the race i swam a few times, and rode my mountain bike a few times and ran a few times. any intensity put my on my arse, so i was really trying to take it easy. i wasn't totally sure i'd be able to finish the race, but since i had no idea what radiation would do to me, i kept all options open. xtie pre rode with me the day before the race, just in case i decided it was going to be too much and she would jump in and do the race with me as a relay. but i felt so good after the pre ride that i was pretty excited about the race.

xtie avoiding wet feet

that evening we went to mat's house for a BBQ. he was racing in the morning as well, but he still cooked for us and showed us his mad slack line skillz.

that night, once the kids were asleep and eric and i were chillin', we heard some music outside. it was super hot so we had the windows open and that music was way loud. it was after 9pm, which in our opinion was too late for that kind of racket! so eric put on the head lamp and stormed out the back door. he was on a mission to find out whichever neighbor it was and to tell them to shut it. about 20 minutes later her came back saying it wasn't in our hood and was coming from somewhere over there. he pulled out all of the local papers trying to find out what event this could possibly be since it turned out to be live music. we couldn't find anything about it. so we went to bed. the music went until midnight, and that combined with being a little nervous, i couldn't sleep! once the music was done though, i was able to drift off.
i woke up before my alarm and put on my super suit!
i switched out my normal PBJ race day breakfast for 2 eggs and 1/2 banana with almond butter. i also sipped some heed. it was going to be a hot one so i really needed to make sure i was hydrated.
we got to the race site and i was so happy to see janet! and charity! and and marci! and mel! and mat! and nigel! and kyle! and ian! and Amy & Tom! race day is so fun! so happy to see so many friends!
they sent the full distance swimmers off first, and then the 1/2 distance swimmers about 10 minutes later. i was able to get in the water for a few minutes and get in a few strokes but not a real warm up. the water was perfect!
and we were off! i was happy with my swim. i wasn't sure how i was going to manage, or if i would have the endurance to swim the whole thing, but i did! i was swimming amazingly straight and i just kept going. i was so happy to be in the water and feeling so good!

only moments after this, i was doing the robot.

I realized while setting up transition that i hadn't done a triathlon in over a year - since chelan man 2011. whoa! even though i didn't wear socks, my T1 was soooo slow. i felt like i as in there forever!
i headed out on the bike, not sure how much power or speed i would have. but i passed a few people right away and was passed by a few right away. it was a bit of a cluster for the first 1/3 or so of the bike since the 1/2 distance people (me) were coming out of the water with the full distance people. i am usually towards the back of the pack coming out of the water, but because of the mix of the two groups, i was in a big group. there were a ton of clusters and people getting off their bikes at every root or tiny hill. it was a mess. eventually it cleared up and things got better. i was always riding with someone and that always makes it extra fun. during the last 3rd of the race i realized my head didn't hurt. it didn't hurt AT ALL. i realized that oh my gosh, i have been riding for quite a few years with my head hurting and just assuming that was part of mountain biking. it wasn't like the last two rides before we found out about the tumor, but there was jarring discomfort that i just assumed was normal. it wasn't normal! mountain biking is FUN and can be done without your brain jiggling around!!

coming back in on the bike

eventually i got to the point during the bike where i was like, omg, thank goodness i don't have to do a 2nd lap because my arms were getting tired. everything else felt pretty good, but my arms were getting tired.
T2 took way longer then it should have. i stayed with no socks, but stood there trying to decide if i should wear my visor or my sun glasses or both. i went with the visor.
the run was terrible. well, it started out terrible. it started on mowed lawn. i was so slow. i was running but i wasn't moving. janet and her kids were there to cheer me along and i was like, am i walking? why is walking so hard? but i was running. i kept going until the first hill. i walked that whole hill. oh it was tough. but i ran, well, jogged once i got to the top. i wound up walking all of the hills, at least most of them. i eventually met up with a guy and he lead and i followed for a while. it was nice to run with someone and chit chat. i was just trying to get the run done, the body wasn't doing anything awesome to go any faster. eventually he left me behind on a hill.

shuffling

the best part was the 2nd small loop. it went by so quickly and next thing i was going down the gravel hill and off to the finish! a few times during the run i looked back to see if anyone was near by, but i really didn't have anything in me to push it any harder. i didn't even pick it up towards the finish line. i didn't leave it all out on the course, i just didn't have it to leave out there, but i did go as hard as i could and took the first opportunity to sit down. i recovered quickly and was up cheering on the rest of the racers coming in.

My favorite photo of the day!

i was super happy with my race. for one thing - i was happy that i was even able to do it, and able to finish! i am so lucky to be well enough to do such fun things like mountain bike and swim and run. there are plenty of people without brain tumors and radiation who aren't healthy enough to do those things, and there are so many people with brain tumors and going through radiation who aren't able to walk, talk, read or any of those things. i think about that every day. this brain tumor thing is a pain in the ass and it gets in the way sometimes but i am so lucky that it just caused a small bump in the road and didn't take away my life.
2nd of all, i am happy that i was able to actually race. even though i am no where near where i was before, i pushed myself, and in my mind felt like i was being competitive. even though i stopped to walk and wasn't able to give any last ditch efforts at the end, i never gave up. in my mind, i raced the whole thing.
3rd of all - i was 2nd overall woman in the 1/2 distance! how did that happen? totally unexpected and such a great surprise!
mat won the overall for the full distance, and tom came in 3rd. it was a good day for both of them!

sirus supports his favorite racer, mat!

Tom, Mat and Bruce on the flat, grass podium!

the kids raced too! it was their first event of the year, and sadly probably the last. the kids tris are so stinking expensive. they had so much fun tho! sirus has a little bit of a competitive streak in him!

getting their game faces on!

sirus coming in right in front of seamus!

today marks day 13 of 29 radiation treatments. it took 3 days to recover from the race. i had to save all my energy to go to work! i went 3 days this week! each day i came home and promptly fell asleep right up until my radiation appointment and then slept again after my appointment. i even fell asleep during my MRI on Monday and the MRI machine is LOUD. on tuesday i stayed in bed most of the day! next week i will work the same hours and then hopefully i will start adding in more days each week. i'll hopefully gain more endurance so i am not so exhausted after, so i can hopefully begin working longer days, too. the radiation will start compounding more too, and i am feeling the effects of that. i am tired, i'm exhausted actually and my stomach hurts, but it will all be better in a few weeks.the doctor says the best way to combat the exhaustion is to stay active. i will have to find a happy medium there since i promptly need a nap after activity, and i want to have enough energy to go to work, which also causes me to need a nap. the doctor says the hairs will start falling out next week, too, or maybe the week after or so. that is going to be interesting!