Happy Birthday and Lymes Update

Birthday:

I turned 31 on Friday. It was a blast! My party theme was John Hughes Movies (Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller, Sixteen Candles.....). We'll do this in pictures:

Gotta love the 80's mid drift

fluorescent yellow is always a must

I was going for Sloan from Ferris Bueller, but look alittle more Watts from Some Kind of Wonderful

Shitters full! -cousin eddy

no caption needed

Party decor

It was a great night with great friends. I'm so glad that it went so well. The best part? Our recreation of Sixteen Candles:

Sam also got me the NEW Garmin. I was pretty stoked!

I have done 2 days of Yoga and am over a week into my Lyme's Disease antibiotics. I'm feeling great - after feeling like death for 2 weeks - and I'm kicking Lyme's ass! Stay tuned for tomorrows post and SuperGoop product review!

 So glad to be feeling better, thank you for all your thoughts and well-wishes! Getting back on track.

Diagnosis: Lyme's Disease

Yep. I've got it. I've been suffering from headaches, eye strain, and general "funk" since my ER visit. I went to the Dr. on Tuesday because I was just tired of feeling awful. I typically NEVER get sick. I rarely get colds. So, to have headaches all the time and not feeling good is way out of the norm for me.

Dr.'s first question? Always the same. "Could you be pregnant?" My answer? Always the same "I better not be!" I have two great boys, that's all I can handle! My husband got a vasectomy when Mason was 3 weeks old. Done and done! I really really don't want to end up on "I didn't know I was pregnant". I would like my reality show career to start a very different way.

Blood work came back positive for Lyme's. I started antibiotics yesterday and feel slightly better. I feel a little tired, some headache and that's about it. I don't like feeling tired. It's terrible. Also, it's 104 degrees today!

The GOOD (very Pollyanna of me):
- this happened during the summer when I'm not really working
- I do not have a race until September 11th
- my body probably could use some down time to recover from life

So, taking it easy. Relaxing. Trying not to go crazy. Any good books I should pick up?

Colonial Beach VA Sprint Tri Recap

I've been on an emotional rollercoaster with this one. I was super stoked to begin this tri. I was with some ladies from my team, my family was there, the weather was great, and I had trained hard.

We look ready to rock, right?

Here it goes:

Getting there wasn't too bad. We left Friday afternoon, stopped for lunch, and got to the hotel around 2:30. It was right on the water, about 2 blocks from the transition area. It was AWESOME! The lady that owns it has worked there since 1953! She was pretty cute - wish I had gotten a picture of her.

The boys played at the beach and then we got dinner. We just happened to be in walking distance to a ice cream stand, so we hit that up too.

Complimentary clothes line. Did your hotel have that?

There were crazy storms that night. Pouring rain, thunder, lighting...the whole bit. Made for some beautiful skies.

Race morning!!!! I woke up at 5:20. Had to be at the transition around 5:45. I
got ready and left the hotel. I was about a block away when I dropped my bike. Ugh. The brakes were rubbing, so I walked back and Sam fixed them. Whew! I set up transition, got my chip, got body markings, and then just took it all in.

Swim: There were only 5 swim waves. Pretty tiny race (288 peeps). I knew that I had the opportunity to be in the top or dead last. I really would rather not be dead last, but someone has to be. The water was real wavey - someone called it a washing machine swim. It was tough. My goal was to swim freestyle the whole way and to not panic (Rumpuss I spent 2 minutes trying not to drown). Well? I met my goals! No stopping, no panicking, just pure swimming. I felt good, but I felt alone. I never looked - but I felt like I was the ONLY one out there. Turns out, I was. I was dead last in my wave. I was embarrassed until I did my stats (yep.  nerd) and I improved my swim time by 2 minutes! Yeah me!

one is the loneliest number....

T1: WAAAAY too long. No clue what I was doing there!

Bike: This course is flat. Perfectly flat. I was really excited about that....until I was on it. Did you know that if there are no downhills then the biker is the ONLY thing supplying speed? I found that out. My quads were on FIRE! My goal was to maintain a 18 mph pace. I came really close with 17 mph! My first race I averaged 15.2 and the 2nd race was 15.4 average. I have to say I'm really happy that I pushed hard and made such a huge change in my bike performance! Once again - Yeah Ann!

T2: Seriously? Long again? Pull your head out of your ass!

Run: Here's where it all goes downhill. I used the porta potty before the race. I get nervous poo (TMI) EVERY race. Sometimes twice. This race was twice, but I only had time to go once. Right when they called my swim wave I knew I had to go again. No time. Oops. So, I swam and biked.....but on the run you just can't hold it. I started out the run and realized I was moving at a snails pace. At about 2 miles I saw a lady watering her garden. Yep. I did it. I asked to use her restroom. She agreed. I blew it up and ran to the finish. I picked up the pace by almost a minute a mile after that. It's the slowest 5K time I've ever had, but what can you do?

pre pitstop

post pitstop

The moral of this race? You really can only compare yourself to yourself. I compared myself at first to other racers. Big time sadness. 13/15 in my age group. Dead last on the swim. That all sounds terrible. Awful. BUT - today I got out my  nerdy chart and put my times in. Here's what I found:

Date	Swim 750m	Bike	Run
10/10	22:57 3:03/100m	47:05 12 miles Ave: 15:29	29:38 5K 9:32 pace
4/11	22:46 3:02/100m	48:24 12.4 miles Ave: 15.4	28:30 5K 9:10 pace
7/11	20:13 2:41/100m	49:23 14 miles Ave: 17.0	33:30 5K 10:46 pace

Racing Weight........HELP!

I love working out. I love training. I love racing. I have days that "I don't want to" - but not too many. Training for my first marathon I gained 10 pounds. Not muscle. I checked. I can't find it. I'm not sure how it happened - or at least I don't want to believe I overdosed on GU and electrolyte drinks (but I'm pretty sure I did).

Instead of hating my scale and poking my fat (you do that, right?) I'm going to celebrate!

I'm going to work on getting to my racing weight.

First step: line up a babysitter for Wednesday nights. Sam and I go to a team track workout/date night. (done!)
Second: Up my veggie intake and back off the sugary crap

Anything you would like to celebrate? Blisters? Black toenails? Chub rubs scars (I got those)

PowerBar Winner...and some 4th of July pics!

Mason went fishing for the first time

Scored some loot at Potomac River Runners 4th sale

Ready for some fireworks!

Dancing to the music

It's getting darker.....

Getting comfy

The winners are......................
#2: SupermomE12
#6 Ozone3

Send me your mailing address at ann _ hardman (at) hotmail (dot) com. Congrats! and Thanks for following my journey

I Love the Tavern Race Report: by Sam Hardman

I think most of us know the feeling of race nerves.  The butterflies, the feeling of not knowing what you were thinking signing up for this race, the wondering if that really will be your last trip to the port-a-potty this morning.  I did my first tri in June of 2010, and I will never, ever forget the race nerves I had that morning.  It was something I had not felt since I was 18 years old, I got off of the bus at boot camp and the drill instructors started yelling at us.  I didn’t know what the race was going to be like and I knew that I had not properly prepared.  Those just added to the typical race day nerves. I finished the race in 2:20:55.   But this year was different.

This past June I did the same race, although there were some major changes this time.  This was going to be my 4^th sprint triathlon so I felt like I knew what I was doing.  More importantly, I had been working out with FeXY Coaching, I knew I was ready and was excited to prove it.  

I woke up before my alarm (at 4:00am), took a shower, got my race bag, which had been packed and double checked the day before, and waited for my friend to pick me up.  We got to the race at 5:30, set up my transition area, got marked, picked up my timing chip, rechecked my transition area and walked to the swim start.  I was in the first wave and we started at 7:00.  There were almost 100 guys in my wave and this was a race where I was able to stay towards the front of the main group for the whole swim.  It was a pretty physical swim, I was hit it the face twice (my goggles were nearly knocked off), someone swam into me from the side and used my back to push off with.  It was a quite the experience! 

I got out of the water and felt really good.  I hit T1 and got on all my gear.  It took longer than I had wanted (2:50), but I got of the bike feeling fresh and confident in my ability to get this ride done quickly.  I had a great ride (got up to 43mph on a hill!!) and got out of T2 in :50.  I was really happy about that time and knew my plan for the run.  I also saw Ann and my boys for the first time at T2.  I heard them cheering for me and I yelled back to them as I ran past.  

I am not a fast runner, but I knew if I wanted to hit my goal I had to work hard here.  I was hitting my pace but I knew that for the last mile I would have to push.  My Garmin was scrolling through screens so I was having trouble finding my pace as quick as I wanted to, so I ran by my HR.  At my normal race pace my HR is around 160-165, so I decided to try to stay between 180-185.  

In 2010 I finished this race in 2:20:55 and had a goal to finish this year in 1:45.  As I came towards the finish line I could hear the announcer, the music and the crowd.  I came out of the trail into the finish line shoot and saw Ann and the kids.  I pushed as hard as I could for the last 100 meters.  I could see the clock ticking away and crossed the finish line at 1:45:00!  One more second and I would not have met my goal, but I did it!  I finished the race 35:50 faster than I had a year earlier!  I got a big hug from Ann and both boys at the finish line.  It felt great, I was so happy with my performance.  My training had prepared me!  What a difference a year makes.  I can’t wait until next year!!

Don't forget! I am picking a powerbar winner tomorrow!

What I have survived.........

We have all survived or are surviving something. Whether it's small or HUGE - we've all been there. Sometimes it's hard to see to the other side and sometimes it's so big we aren't sure there is a other side.

Yesterday I experienced a horrible health scare. I was in the grocery store with my kids and got hit hard by something. Thinking it was a "I need a snack" moment I got a latte. I love Starbucks in the grocery store. I didn't even drink half. I was so dizzy and nauseous I knew I just needed to get home. I was well enough - for the moment - to get myself and the kids home safely.

I called my husband and told him what was happening and that I was not feeling good. I got home. Laid on the couch and 45 minutes later awoke to my mother in law coming in. Sam had been calling me, friends, and my mother in law to find me. She came over and held my hand and stroked my hair. I started crying. I was dizzy (couldn't even open my eyes), nauseous (huge fear of throwing up), had ringing in my ears, and my whole body was tingly. Sam got home, saw me, and called 911. Then I got scared. He is my cool cucumber. For him to think something is wrong, well - that means it is.

The ambulance showed up and asked me a TON of questions. At this point my face felt funny. I felt like I was talking slow and I couldn't think clearly. Both EMTs said "stroke?" Enough said. I panicked. I tried to "be cool" but I was melting. I didn't say "bye" to my kids! I'm too young! I have a race Monday and Saturday! Ugh. Terrible. I passed all the stroke tests and they checked my blood pressure, pulse, and blood sugar. All was great, but the blood sugar was low (73). They put me on the gurney and wheeled me out to the ambulance.

waiting for lab results

After a few hours in the ER - at least I had my own room - I was diagnosed with BPV. Benign Positional Vertigo. It may never happen again, it may happen in a week, it may happen in a year. I got some medication for now and future occurrences and was good to go. All my blood work came back great. The Dr. actually told me a few times how low my blood pressure and resting heart rate (58-65 in the room) were and attributed it to triathlon training! She even said I inspired her to try one (she panics in the water).

One thing that really helped was being in training. I knew exactly what I had eaten that day, how much I worked out, what my max heart rate was during that, and that I've been doing this - it's not new. I heard each professional say "she's training for a triathlon". It sounded so silly at first. The more I heard it the more I felt "bad ass".

Today I'm good. I'm exhausted and I'm feeling hung over from all the crap from yesterday. Survived! That made me think about all that I have survived in my life and just felt like writing it down.Some are good, some were terrifying.

1. being adopted
2. 2 car accidents at 16 (oops)
3. graduating high school, college, and graduate school (thanks mom!)
4. finding Sam, falling in the love, and marrying him!
5. meeting my biological mom the day before my wedding
6. my parents divorce
7. having two beautiful boys (c-section scar to prove it)
8. working full time
9. completing my first 5k (got me hooked)
10. completing my first 1/2 marathon (getting choked up here....)
11. completing my first marathon (tears)
12. meeting my biological dad on st. patty's day 2010 - we both had green beer
13. supporting my best friends as they both lost someone they love (sole sisters)
14. completing my first triathlon (thanks sam!)
15. forgiving my adopted dad and visiting him in the hospital to "say goodbye"

I feel so strong reading that list. I'm sure I have forgotten good and bad survivals too.

What have you survived?