XTERRA

let's do a little re-cap.
i raced the see jane run 1/2 marathon a few weeks back.  this was kind of a big deal for me.  i PRed!!  by like 5 minutes!!  but this was also sort of a test.  if you re-call, this was the first race i did after my surgery.  it was about 2 months after finding out about the tumor and having a craniotomy to remove it.  can you tell how happy i was to be running?  THAT run was a big deal!  i went from bonking on a 4 mile walk a week before surgery, to getting horribly sick from a 100 yd walk around the unit at the hospital, to being able to finish a 5k running.  It wasn't fast but I was thrilled.

the following weekend, right before starting radiation, i did another 5k - 6 minutes faster than the previous one!  i was on fire and nothing was going to stop me.
so my goal for recovery was to race the XTERRA Black Diamond.  Since we missed the ITU World Championships because of the surgery, I had decided that Black Diamond would be my world championships.  luckily they offered a 1/2 distance!  so about 2.5 months after surgery and with about a week or two of radiation treatments in me, i was feeling good and ready to race.  and boy did i!!  i was 2nd woman overall in the 1/2 distance and i was on top of the world!!  radiation eventually took its toll but i was still able to get in another 2 triathlons and another 5k and an ohio trail run race before another surgery on my big old head the week after thanksgiving.  this surgery was much easier, just to take the metal plates out.  it was a quick overnight stay and i was back at work on monday and then on the road to recovery again.  fast forward through some brains leaking out doing yoga and no swimming or bike helmet wearing and a buzz cut and you get to the wenatchee 1/2 marathon in april - 37 seconds shy of my pre-surgery PR.  WOW!!  how was it even possible?  my doctors even said they were impressed with my progress, amazed that the bit of tumor they left in there was no longer visible on the MRIs and all of my blood work was coming back normal.  was it the running? was it the lack of swimming?  what was it??
one year after that first post surgery 5k, i went back to See Jane Run, but this time for the 1/2 marathon.  and THAT is where i got my 5 minute PR.  and i even think i could pull a few minutes off of that one.  give me until next year and Jane will have no idea what hit her!
that brings me to this past weekend.  XTERRA Black Diamond.
I have done this race 5 times before.  FIVE TIMES:
2008 - DNF
2009 - full distance
2010 - full distance
2011 - Relay
2012 - World Champhionships
and now 2013.
the fabulous Danelle Kabush was coming to the Seattle area to help the LUNA Chix with a clinic of some sort.  since the fabulous Danelle Kabush is an XTERRA racer, we decided that putting on an XTERRA Clinic and Pre-ride and then racing at an XTERRA would be a great idea!  Luckily, we had a perfect opportunity at the XTERRA Black Diamond.  Danelle flew in from the great nothern country of Canada on friday.  we were going to take a quick swim at the lake, seeing as i had only done one previous OWS, but we convinced each other that there was no need for that since it was raining and there was gelato and birthday cake oreos that needed to be eaten.  on saturday we hung out in the morning doing who knows what until it was time to head out to the clinic.

we had a great group of ladies!   some were first time triathletes, some were first time xterra racers, but all were there to have some fun and learn some great things about racing and pre-riding the course.  AND we raised a ton of money for the Breast Cancer Fund! Thanks to the great people of WeRaiseTheBar and XTERRA Black Diamond for your support of the clinic!
  on race morning, danelle and i woke up early and got to the race course first thing.  apparently not quite first thing enough as the parking lot was full and we had to park about 1/4 mile away at the school.  no big deal.  we set up transitions, i hit the bathrooms, danelle went on a short warm up ride, i went on a tiny run and then next thing we were being escorted out of transition and getting ready for the race talk.  after i was able to get my wetsuit on and take a stroke or two in the water before it was go time.  although i hadn't slept well all week and wasn't sure how the race was going to go, i wasn't nervous or scared, although very curious how this swim was going to go.

 turns out the swim went quite well.  i was swimmming uncharacteristically straight!  i was out of the water, not fast for the distance, but one of my fastest at this race (plus there was some talk that maybe the course was long)  i was off to a good start.  my calf did cramp up like crazy in T1 when i was putting on my shoes, but i just went with the flow and hoped for no more cramping.
i started out on the bike with my new strategy of not going all crazy at the start.  i was worried about getting caught behind people and not being able to pass, but turns out that my placing out of the water was perfect for this.  i did wind up passing about 20 people from the long course, and i don't know how many possibly from the short course, but i really didn't get tripped up behind anyone and was able to ride very well.  even in the super sketchy parts i was happy with my riding and only had to get off my bike twice in the super duper sketchy parts of the first part of the 2nd lap.  man my bike (meaning my bicycle) is awesome!!  my back was hurting some on the first lap, but i just tried to keep an eye on my posture on the bike and race as best i could.  it turned out to be my fastest bike leg on this course ever!!

matiecakes coming in from the bike - overall winner!

danelle looking (and being) fast on the run, overall woman winner

seamus at frog pond waiting for me to come through

 and then the run started.  goodness.  i was pretty good for about 10 minutes.  then i made it to 16 minutes, then i made it to 25 and then one full loop. 

up the hill the first time.  i actually look like i am running.  the next time through was not so glamorous

and then the wheels started to fall off the bus.  i started walking, and not just the up hills.  i didn't walk any of the downhills at least, but some of the flats were suffering.  i was drinking and pouring water over me every time i went by the aid station. then i hit the frog pond again and it wasnt getting any prettier. but luckily it was almost over!  

2nd time through frog pond, i twisted my ankle badly twice, and the zombie apocolypse was upon me.

i wound up crossing the line and never before have i gone straight to lie down.  almost, but not like this time.  i laid down right away.  i was so thirsty, while i was out there i was convinced i had developed diabetes insipidus, which can be a complication of the tumor and surgery and such, in which you have un controllable thirst and your kidneys no longer regulate water and your sodium levels get all crazy and it can be really bad.  but i didn't,  but those are the things i started to think about.  but i quickly was able to get up and drink two bottles of water.  i felt better but didn't feel much better until quite a while later after enjoying some of the delicious chili and then a giant snickerdoodle that they had at the race site.  oh and then the iced venti decaf americano on the drive home!  the run wasn't my fastest here, that was when i did the relay, but it was pretty close to my fastest when completing the entire course.

happy LUNA Chix after the race

the race was really fun, the entire weekend was really fun.  the ladies from the clinic all did exceptionally well, a few even made it onto the podium, but all should be very proud of what they accomplished!!
as for me, this was my personal best on this course.  it was only by a few seconds, but considering this past year, i am pretty darn happy!!  makes me want to race more!!!

and I will most definitely get that opportunity because - BECAUSE!!!  just a few days ago i was selected to race for the Oiselle Volee Running Team.  I am so excited to have this opportunity!!  being able to represent another women's brand with an exception product, representing exceptional values!  i'll be sporting the Oiselle singlet in running races moving forward, and you can already spot me in my Oiselle Bum Wrap or Roga shorts at any of the LUNA running workouts.  It is going to be a super fun year!!