Crash Dummy: A Peach Pedal Recap

I managed to have my SECOND bike crash in 3 months at the Peach Pedal bike rally in Weatherford.  I had a big day planned.  I was going to do the 40-mile ride that morning and then tackle the 25K run at El Scorcho at midnight.  The bike ride was going pretty well.  I rode with two friends of mine, Stacy and Dee, and we stopped at two rest stops along the way (it's hard to pass up pickles and fresh peaches!).  We were in the home stretch where the 20-, 40-, and 60-mile courses converged.  I was at 35 miles and I was just behind Stacy and Dee.  I was passing quite a few 20-mile riders on the left.  However, I didn't realize a pack of 60-mile riders was trying to pass me.  I went down on my left shoulder, elbow, and knee, just like my crash in Galveston.  Also, my helmet was cracked.  Somehow my collarbone remained intact, which I'm very thankful for.  However, I couldn't get up at first because of the pain in my back.  A lady that had been riding behind me stopped to help me, and a volunteer was there momentarily.  I was finally able to get up from the middle of the road and hobble over to the side, away from the bike traffic.  The paramedics came, and I convinced them I was okay (I know better than to agree to an ambulance ride).  The volunteer, Mike, drove me back to the race start/finish at Weatherford High School where I met up with my friends.  I was feeling pretty queasy, so I laid down in the parking lot.  When I tried to get up, I realized I couldn't walk well and my groin area was hurting significantly.  Long story short, I pulled my groin muscle (adductor), had some pretty gnarly road rash on my left shoulder, and had some deeper cuts on my elbow and knee.  Fortunately we still had my crutches, and I was able to use a crutch or two to help support my weight.  After my first appointment with Dr. Brian, I was walking much better (and without a crutch).  Over the past 2.5 weeks, I have had four appointments in an attempt to hasten the healing process.  I've also been using the foam roller and lacrosse ball (who knew a little yellow ball could be an instrument of torture?) on a daily basis, and I have a massage scheduled for Tuesday.  I am signed up for the River Cities Triathlon, but I am struggling to swim or walk the dogs a half mile.  So for now I am focusing on getting better, and I'm trying to limit my workouts to activities that don't aggravate my injury.  I can't wait to run again (but I might hold off on cycling for a while!).  

10 European Vacation Memories

Cliff and I ventured to Europe for the first time.  We spent 5 nights in London, where we rented a flat through Airbnb.  Then we flew to Dublin, stayed there one night, rented a car and drove to Shannon, and met Cliff's two kids and his daughter's husband.  The 5 of us spent 1 night in Shannon, 7 nights in Kinsale (purchased at the basset hound rescue auction last year), and 1 night in Dublin.

The Cliff Notes version... 10 amazing memories - in photos!

1) I swam around Sandycove Island, which is inhabited by wild goats, in Kinsale.  The swim out to and around the island was roughly 1900 meters (about 1.2 miles).  The hard part was that the water temperature was around 56 degrees and I was in my Speedo (no wetsuit).  Definitely a chilly memory that will last a lifetime!

2) We went to Veeraswamy, an Indian restaurant in London, to celebrate our 5th anniversary.  It was a fantastic dining experience.  The service and the food were spot on, and it was a fun and unique dinner.  Plus I'm sitting on an elephant chair in this photo.

3) I asked our Airbnb host for a running route in the Chelsea area, and he suggested Battersea Park.  This was a great (and beautiful) start to each day in London.  I ran 20 miles in London and 37 miles in Ireland.  Not too shabby for a vacation!

4) We visited one of the top golf courses in the world, Old Head, in Kinsale.  The views were breathtaking, and we stopped for lunch at the Club House (near the 18th hole and lighthouse).  The second photo was taken by the front entrance to the golf course.

5) The Guinness Storehouse was not what we were expecting (it was more of a museum than a brewery).  But the view from the Gravity Bar on the top level was spectacular.  And I feel like Guinness deserves a spot in the top 10.  Cheers!

6) I kissed the Blarney Stone for the gift of the gab!

7) Our host was a great guy, and he ensured that we had everything we needed.  He even gave us a tour of Kinsale.  This picture was taken in a beautiful spot overlooking the harbor.

8) Kinsale was a unique town with a lot of history (and numerous restaurants and pubs!).  This photo was taken at the (tiny) Mansion House.  I loved how the buildings were painted with bright, bold colors.  

9) My favorite historical site in England was Windsor Castle.  We did a day trip to Windsor Castle, Bath, and Stonehenge.  I wasn't super excited about going to Windsor Castle, but it turned out to be our favorite of the three.  The grounds were so beautiful, and the inside of the castle was loaded with tons of interesting things to look at.  

10) My favorite historical site in Ireland was the Rock of Cashel, which we visited on our drive from Shannon to Kinsale.  The buildings dated back to as early as c. 1100, and the tour guide told us some pretty amazing stories about the cathedral.

Now that we've been to Europe, we can't wait to go back and explore more countries.  

Galveston Half Ironman

What a weekend.  Cliff and I drove down to Galveston on Friday morning, April 4.  We checked into the hotel and had dinner (and some good craft beer) at Jimmy's on the Pier and our roomies (Kendra & Chris) arrived that night.  The weather forecast leading up to the race showed a 100% chance of storms, but we proceeded with the Saturday ;pre-race festivities like the game was on. 

Packet pick-up

 

The obligatory expo purchases

 

 

The bike gets the entire backseat, while 3 humans share the front

 

I looked way more excited about my bike before I got knocked off it

 

We were diligent about doing our practice ride and practice run on Saturday

 

Carbo loading at the Italian buffet

 

Prepping in transition for the big day

 

Posing with our men before taking off for the swim

 

The swim was surprisingly rough on the way out.  I couldn't see or site so I relied on the girls next to me.  We duked it out some, but I tried to chill out and enjoy some draft.  The swim seemed to take FOREVER.  My time was 30:25, which was 3rd in my age group (the girl who took the overall win for the age group was just ahead of me in 30:19, there was a girl who went 28:53, and there was a girl right behind me at 30:26).  My T1 time was 3:27.



 

Heading out of the bike

 

Since we were the first age group wave after the pros (and I beat some of the pros and was 3rd in my age group), the bike course was pretty desolate at first.  I was a little nervous about making sure I followed the directions to get on the main road, because I didn't have anyone within eyesight.  Once I got on the seawall, I got into a groove.  I knew there was a nice tailwind because I would look down at the speedometer and see 25 or 26 mph, and I'm not that much of a bad ass.  I tried to stay in control and not let the excitement get to me.  Plus I knew I would have a headwind on the way back.  My split at the turn-around was a 22 mph average (which was on the Athlete Tracker but subsequently removed from the race results since I did not finish). 

 



Kendra passed me around mile 35, and I tried to keep things in check.  I wanted to stay strong without giving too much effort on the bike so I could try to have a 2-hour half marathon and have a total time under 6 hours (maybe even close to 5:30).  I was near mile 37 or 38 when a guy ran straight into my back tire.

You are probably wondering how this happened (because I still am).  I am assuming the guy was looking down and trying to avoid debris since there were quite a few folks with flat tires.  Also, I'm guessing he was riding considerably faster than me.  At that point, I was used to being passed since I was in an early swim wave.  But I was good about staying to the right, knowing that these 40 year-old men could out-cycle me in their sleep.  The guy apologized profusely.  I was kind of out of it though, and I tried to get back on my bike.  He did the same, and he was able to make forward progress (and he was off... no, I didn't get his race number).  I was faced with botched back brake pads rubbing against my tire and (what was later diagnosed as) a fractured collarbone.  I messed with my bike for a minute or two, but it was a feeble attempt (especially since I couldn't move my left arm much).  A random (somewhat creepy) guy not affiliated with the race offered to give me a ride.  If he had candy, I might have said yes (kidding).  I politely declined and said I had to wait for race support.  Fortunately a guy on a motorcycle found me and stayed with me while he called the sag wagon.  I got transported back to the medical tent, and those folks who helped get me there were unbelievably nice. 

The medical tent experience was not very good considering the high ratio of medical personnel to athletes.  In their defense, there wasn't much they could do for a bone fracture.  They eventually gave me ice and a sling.  The doctor let me use his cell phone to try to reach Cliff.  Eventually Cliff found me and we headed to the urgent care a couple miles away.  The nurse cleaned my wounds on my knee, hip, and elbow.  They x-rayed my shoulder area and the doctor was pretty clueless.  She told me the x-ray showed everything was okay.  After we got back to the hotel room and cut off my new $60 sports bra because I couldn't lift my arms, the doctor called and said the x-ray showed a "deformity" in my shoulder, and she could not specify whether that was a fracture. 

The next morning we left on a cruise.  I was in a lot of pain, and I was also really frustrated because I didn't know exactly what was wrong with me.  Fortunately before the cruise ship left the port, I was able to book an appointment to see an orthopedist in Dallas.  I probably wasn't the best travel companion, but we tried to make the best of it given the circumstances.

When I saw the orthopedist the next week (on Tuesday), he clearly saw the fracture and showed me the x-ray.  Fortunately I fractured it in an optimal spot (if there is such a thing).  I went for my follow-up appointment a month later, and I was cleared to do everything except ride my bike for another month (so I wouldn't risk falling off it again). 

I feel very fortunate my injury wasn't more severe.  But on the same token, I am bummed that I trained so consistently for this race and really felt like I could crush the 6-hour mark.  I am a little nervous about getting back on the bike, but I'm excited too and I even have a little itch to do a full Ironman again.  For now I'm just trying to maintain my weight and stay in shape.  So far I am signed up for the El Scorcho 25K in July and the Rivercities Tri in August.  I'm toying with the idea of trying a half again in September, and I have been talking to some friends about doing some bike rallies this summer. 

St Patty's Day Sprint Tri

This was my first triathlon since 2006 or 2007, but I knew I needed to practice racing prior to the Galveston Half Ironman.  I put my big girl pants on (that may be the wrong analogy) and signed up for age group rather than Athena.  And in an OHMYGOODNESS surprise, I actually won!  And there weren't even like 3 girls - there were 29 girls in the 30-34 age group. 

Here I am prepping for the race.  This picture doesn't do the cold temperature and the wind much justice (except for some bangs in the face).  Also note my race number... 26.  Inevitably, I had to swim over a handful of folks.

The swim was a single-file start (jumping, no diving), and we snaked up and down the lanes (6 lengths/300 meters/long course).  My swim split was 4:27.5, which wasn't very stellar.  But I passed some folks and tried to chill out a bit.  My first transition (2:23) was considerably slower than others in comparison, but I put a long-sleeve shirt and socks on, and the wardrobe change was well worth the extra time.

A lot of people complained about the wind on the bike, but I had done a lot of my training rides at the Texas Motor Speedway, aka the "wind tunnel."  So I felt pretty strong given the circumstances.  The only odd thing that happened was I had to brake at an intersection because there was a dog hanging out next to the traffic cop.  I averaged 17.6 mph, and my bike split was 40:59 (the fastest in my age group).  My second transition was faster (1:17), even though I had to tie my running shoes. 

Looking like a (green) cyclist:



I was hoping to run sub-8-minute miles on the 5K.  My red tomato face was indicative of my effort.  I ended up running 8:11/mile pace for a 25:21 5K.  I'm pretty sure that was my fastest 5K split in a triathlon.  My total time was 1:14:28.  I figured I might have won an award, but I assumed I didn't win.  So I skipped the awards ceremony and went to breakfast with my friends.  Oh, well... a friend picked up the award for me. 

Me, Kendra, and Melissa (I tried to be spirited with the green clothes):

Melissa (and her shamrocks!) and Me

The token "bling" photo (and a cute, sleepy bulldog)