One Month To Go!

I woke up at the ungodly hour of 6:45am and hopped in the shower even though I'd still be getting lake-ified, but I needed to loosen up my muscles and take the edge off of morning stiffness. I was on my way to Lake Michigan to attempt my first half mile swim in open water. I was meeting Kajal, a super cool lady from the tri-club, and we were off for an 8am ish start. Fleet Feet was awesomely renting wetsuits for $10 bucks/ 2 hours, so I thought, let's try it!

Damn, it's hard.

Kajal took off, she was going to do the mile, but all of my breathing technique quickly evaporated as I struggled in the current. Lake Michigan has got some waves, y'all. It does. I wore my knee brace under the wetsuit, and with the compression from the brace PLUS the suit, my knee wasn't an issue at all. Though Kajal had told me that if she were my physical therapist, she would be telling me not to be training for the Tri right now. Good thing she's not my PT! I said, "BUT I SPENT SO MUCH MONEY ALREADY!" To which she said, "Ok, start strengthening!" She's a physical therapist and has given me some good advice on getting back into run mode eventually. Which means NO RUNNING right now. But soon.



The point of this story is that I swam that 1/2 mile. I swam it slowly, but I swam it. And out on the water I saw my new tri friend Dave attempting his 1st mile. Friends! Tri friends uniting in spirit and one common goal! I have also met an awesome para-triathlete who has similar pain issues in addition to only being able to use one arm.This dude gives me inspiration! We're all doing this!





I only just told Kajal the day before that I had fibromyalgia. I didn't want to necessarily set myself apart from everyone else, but I have to be honest with my limitations and I know it's nothing to be ashamed of. It just means I have to go more slowly and listen to my body with extreme precision. I just don't want people to get the wrong idea about this syndrome. I don't want people to think that fibro doesn't actually limit people, that it doesn't limit ME, and that I'm able to do this kind of thing all the time. I don't want to misrepresent what this disorder does to people. But it's either staying sick or taking it into your own hands to do everything you can  to feel healthy. This took months of flares to get to the point where I'm at now. It's no easy task to take your body from negative activity to massive activity without going through the inevitable modes of 'overexertion.' But I've done it. And sure, I've had days where I've felt like someone has pulled my plug out of nowhere. Those are the days I stop. It just depends how forcefully that electrical outlet has been tampered with.

Kajal's response to my fibromyalgia?

"Way to go, girl!... Way to go balls out with the International distance as your first race!"

Sometimes I can't believe I'm doing this.

But I have to admit, I've noticed more energy and I've felt a surge of spirit. I took a broken body and a broken soul and started weaving the pieces back together. And you know what?

I'm more proud of this than almost anything else I've attempted in my life.

I have about a month left to get things in gear.

Like Kajal says, I'm going balls out.

~K.xx

Cortisone and 90 degrees.

Continued knee issues. My old rheumatologist fit me in and gave me a cortisone shot since my prescription anti-inflammatory has been doing squat for my knee. Apparently I have a sprained ligament which is causing issues. He messed with my left knee a bit to see how they were different but it feels like he flexed it too far and now the left is pretty sore.

DAMN MY KNEES.

Still waiting for the cortisone to take effect.

Still do not have a bike.

Lymph node is super sore, fighting off illness best I can.

Less sleep cuz of the moon and the weather.

Trying to keep flares in check.

It has been over 90 degrees for the past 3 days.

We have no AC.

HEY UNIVERSE, knock it off!

STOLEN BIKE = BAD KARMA FOR EVIL THIEVES!

My bike was stolen.

Needless to say, this sucks. BIG TIME sucks!

I woke up early Sunday morning for my longest ride yet, and when I opened the door to my porch balcony, it was gone. I had planned to ride 25 miles down to Promontory Point, had been a good girl and didn't go out the night before, but what I had failed to realize was that someone had actually scaled my balcony and stolen my bike off the porch two nights earlier. I just hadn't realized it til Sunday morning. Oh, sweet, sweet, mountain bike that I had converted into something ride-able, farewell. I had this bike in Chicago for 6 years. And the first time I actually needed it for something important and upgraded its gear, someone decided to case my joint and steal my bike. 

DAMN HUMANITY!

I have one word for the thieves: KARMA.

They may have pocketed a few dollars selling my bike parts (and my new helmet) but they will forever have bad karma.

Luckily, I have a few amazing friends who have offered to let me train on their hybrid and or road bikes, and one friend even offered her bike up for race day. I also have a few random triathletes I've never even met before from the Chicago Tri Club online forum, who have offered their assistance and their bikes for me for that weekend!

There are some good people out there. I'll figure it out and I will not let evil bike thieves ruin my race or my training.

OTHER UPDATES:

1. Did my first open water clinic. I failed to consider that: YOU CAN'T SEE SHIT IN LAKE MICHIGAN.

I was able to use a wet suit from Element Sport and test it out. Well, damn, swimming in a wet suit in open water with many other people all going toward the same buoy and hitting and elbowing each other by accident AND the current make your technique disappear faster than a jar of Nutella sitting in my cupboard.

I will need to work on this.

2. Right knee remains super busted. I'm pretty sure I have an effusion and I'm icing it and wearing a compression sleeve. This stinks. Say bye bye to running for awhile.

3. Lymph node is swollen since yesterday. Please please please Health Gods, please fight off whatever is bubbling and brewing in my body. I cannot deal with another flare like in May. I won't. Not when my knee and my bike and my family are going crazy. I should have known that stress would eventually cause another flare, but I am saying NO. knock  it off.

4. Accepted a role with Lifeline Theatre Company that starts rehearsals in December! Understudying two tracks! Yay theatre!

5. Fibro pain remains in check. Sleeping has been okay, so less pain. Slight nerve issues, slight costo issues, slight fog, but nothing major.

OKAY. So, figuring out this bike thing. Right. To buy a hybrid or borrow? To buy a road bike or borrow? 

Updates will come shortly.

Love,

K.xx

Still tri-ing...

Brand new shiny slicks and a new saddle have made a big difference in my biking! Took it out for a 2 hour ride over the weekend and it was awesome. I still went slowly and didn't hit 25 miles which makes me worry about how long it will actually take me to do the bike portion of the race, but at least I covered more ground than normal. I can't invest in a new road bike right now so I had to convert my mountain bike the best I could. $90 bucks later, I have a smoother ride, but it's still not fast. Well, I'm not trying to break any records here, just finish the race. So I'll go with what I've got.

My pool is closed. I had hit 1250 yards when I was back in Michigan, but I only got in one swim workout last week and it was not good. I was so tired. Got 30ish lengths in and had to stop. Skipped the swim workout on the 4th because I was doing 4th of july things! And now my pool has a busted pipe so it won't be fixed until next Monday. Which means my next swim workout is going to be in open water after over a week of not swimming. More like almost 2 weeks! I'm going to a swim clinic in Lake Michigan on saturday morning so I hope I don't drown. It'll be the first time attempting open water. I'd better get used to it.

The running has come back. Kind of. I got out for a 45 minute run and it was awesome! Tight right knee but not bad pain. I had acupuncture during the weekend and I think it might have helped. The acupuncturist put two needles in my left arm near my elbow to help with my right knee. Definitely less pain. But the run last night lasted maybe 25 minutes and I had to stop because of pain. DAMN RUNNER'S KNEE!

Tri club meeting tonight at Goose Island. Hopefully i'll start meeting more Tri-ers! I need some more tri friends!

F*#$

Several developments.

My first bout of costochondritis while swimming hit me in the pool back in Michigan. I had gotten about half hour into a swim workout when the first stabbing pain in my ribs started. It was intense and every time I breathed in I would feel a stabbing sensation like I was being stuck with knives all around my heart, not just on my left side where I normally feel it, but my right side as well. Both sides of my ribcage at the same time!? WHILE SWIMMING? My breathing and strokes started to become erratic and shallow, as I could only breathe in small breaths so as to avoid the stabbing. I started to freak out. What if this happens in open water???? I stopped at the wall and rested for a moment and tried to stretch out, but knew I should keep going. I turned onto my back and started backstroke for a length, then when I felt well enough, I started with breast stroke. Things seemed to loosen up after 2 lengths of breaststroke and I kept going for another 15 min or so before I knew I had to stop. Aside from the fact that the gym was closing, I was in pain again. All I can do is pray I don't have any costo issues while swimming Lake Michigan.

Back in town now, it is as if all the energy I had while at my parents has disappeared. I am positive the traveling took its toll, or maybe it's just that it finally caught up with me, or maybe it's just that I sit all day long at my desk job. In any case, whatever is causing it, my workouts have sucked. They are not the amount of time or miles I have been scheduled to swim/run/ride.  In fact, I have skipped two workouts already this week and shortened the other ones. My knee is still busted even after a month + of not running and doing strenghthening exercises. I made it out for a 20 min run tonight though, so, maybe at the very least, I can just hope that I'll run through any pain a month and a half from now when the big day comes.

Planning on going on a bike ride tomorrow and maybe going to hot yoga to see if I can reset.

Onwards and slightly discouraged slightly daunted but still enthusiastic, and still planning on rocking this thing.