things that happened

summer is almost over.  so sad!  the days are getting shorter, a little bit cooler and much rainier.  the rain makes it seem cooler than it really is i guess, its still in the 70s and 80s, which is nice.  i don't want it to end!  and i dont' want the kids to go back to school either!  its been a fun time with them this summer, without having to deal with homework and biography projects and heritage projects and who knows what else.  what will 4th grade bring?  yikes!
i did the iron girl triahlon a few weekends ago.  i signed up for this not really realizing that it was the old danskin tri.  i did the danskin twice before, once as a relay with my mom and sister in 2008 and then once solo in 2006.  bot experiences were good, but man, i totally forgot about the logistics involved with the race.
this year was somewhat better than in years past, in that you could pick up your race packet at the same location where you had to rack your bike the night before.  previous years it was a complete cluster, driving back and forth all over seattle and bellevue!!  and honestly i don't mind the bike racking the night before. but race morning, they said no parking in the neighborhoods so you had to park at safeco field and take shuttle to the race site.  this is a bit of a pain.  especially since they then charged $10 to park at safeco!  but i did it, because that is what the rules said to do.  it was fine, whatever, no biggie, but whatever.  it was still dark when i got there, some nice group health ladies pumped up my tires, i hit the honey buckets, went for a really quick warm up run then put on my wetsuit and waited the hour, yes, the entire 60 minutes from when they kicked everyone out of transition until the start of my race.  the swim was good, actually somewhat enjoyable.  i don't hate swimming.  really i don't.  i just dont want to do it.  the bike was good and fast!  happy with my effort and happy with my time.  and the run was interesting.  i was a bit disappointed when i saw my finish time and pace in results, but turns out the course was measured .2 miles long, or somethign like that.  so take that into account and my pace was better.  i came in 6th in my ag and 32nd overall.  not too bad!
after i joined the rest of the LUNA chix at the hill on the run to cheer on the rest of the racers!

heading to the cheer station post race!

LUNA ladies all decked out for some cheering!

i was able to re-purpose my hair from the warrior dash! and to think i wasn't sure i'd ever get to wear it again!

 the following wednesday was Swim for Life.  this is a 2.5 mile swim across lake washington benefitting the Puget Sound Blood Center.  I have done this swim twice before.  the first time in 2010 as part of team We don't do fly, we ARE fly, i was terrified 

because it was windy and choppy and i wasn't sure i would ever be able to swim so far!  but i did it!  i was never so happy to see milfoil as we approached the madison park beach!

janet posted this photo from that day on my facebook page the day i was having my surgery with this caption " Once you get through the rough waters there are smiles and hugs waiting for you!"  makes me tear up even now!

the 2nd time was in 2011 which was warmer and flatter and beautiful!  and as a special treat, eric was our kayaker!!

i missed 2012, and when i was asked to join the team this year i was like, uh, i haven't been swimming very much yet, uh, not sure about that, but with the encouragment from janet and lauren and glen and then the promise of having clem as our kayaker, i said, what the heck, why not.  turned out to be a beautiful morning and a fantastic swim.  i never had a more delicious clif shot than the one i had out in the middle of the lake that day!!

The Recommitments 2013 - tough guys

big group of swimmers from Samena where i used to swim with the master's group

beefcake photo with mat and clem

kisses for the mrs. 

i passed out after all of that smooching!!

 then i went home and fell asleep. it was such a beautiful day and i hated wasting it on a nap, but it was needed!  i love that swim, i hope to do it again next year, although glen and i joked the entire time about who would get to be the kayaker, the idea that we would all just go kayaking instead did come about!

summer happens

 the kids and eric went to eatonville for a friday evening mtn bike race put on by eatonville outdoor.  they did the long loop.  not sure what that means since i wasn't there, but i guess it was pretty tough.  but they are tough kids.

 when they went camping in winthrop, they also went mtn biking.  quite a bit i guess.  i love this photo of sirus heading down the trail.

 the kids went to several camps.  seamus went to mtn biking dirt riders at duthie hill.  it was on tuesday evenings for 5 weeks.  i think it started when school was still going on.  but she also went to track and field camp.  both kids went to lacrosse camp.  they look pretty tough and they both really liked it.  whenever sirus would talk about it his little hands would instantly go into position holding an imaginary lacrosse stick and enacting the cradling motion.  then sirus once again proved how he isn't our kid and went to tennis camp.  last year it was golf camp, this year it was tennis camp.  good for him for branching out.

 seamus spent the weekend with grandma.  they went to the star ball which was extra fun since they got all dressed up and stayed in a hotel!  the star ball is a ball room dancing competition of some sort. 

 seamus raced the xterra the same day i did.  i guess it wasn't technically an xterra, they call it the kids rock triathlon or something.  she had a tough time on the swim - she got out to the turn around buoy but then help onto it until the kayaker came over and let her hang on.  then eric swam out to her and they swam back together.  after the race she told me and danelle how she thought the swim should be shorter and the bike longer. 

 then we went white water rafting.  we went through the osprey rafting company in leavenworth.  we did the main event!!  this was very fun.  but lets start with how i made the reservations like 2 months in advance.  i wanted to make sure we were all going to be able to go and wanted to make sure we picked a weekend that would work. i forked over the cash and got my confirmation emails and documents.  on saturday july 27 we woke up at the crack of dawn and drove out to leavenworth.  when i went to check us in, guess what?  yeah, our reservation was for on wednesday - the 31st!!  what?  WHAT?  i checked my print outs and ya know what, they said the 31st!  thankfully, they had a group of 10 that didn't show, so they were able to put us in a boat!  the day could have been very disappointing but instead, i am very thankful that they were able to accommodate my huge mistake. 

 no wetsuits?  huh?  i thought we would get them.  we did get booties, but no wet suits.  seamus got a a paddle, sirus did not. 

 this is still in the first group of big rapids and i love the look on seamus's face! 

 after that first bit of excitement, we stashed seamus's oar and eric and i switched places with the kids.  had i known that they would have been able to stay in the front of the boat like that, i would have suggested that from the very beginning.  they had a blast!

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!!