Coming up on 50...

Hi friends! How goes it? I am just sittin' here at work without much to do. I can't complain though, a job is a job these days. I promise I am not slackin' though, there are no projects for me to do! It is so great seeing everyone I worked with this summer. This is post 49 of my blog, 50 will be here before I know it!


First things first, my new wheels. OMGosh. I rode on Sunday. The weather was beautiful, chilly, but beautiful with very little wind. It was a perfect day to test out my new wheels. Before Sunday, I don't remember the last time I rode Tyrone. I know I did a few times on the trainer before I got sick, but other than that, nada. I was definitely a little shaky on the bike and throw a new set of wheels on, phew I was having a little bit of trouble. I am very comfortable on the road bike (Jamie), not so much on Tyrone right now (though I have a feeling that comfort will come back quickly)! Regardless of the nerves, I had a really great time and was happy to enjoy the weather outside!

On the the hip...
I think my hip is getting better! I ended up taking yesterday off so I could visit my cousins up in DC.

[They added a new one to the family the Monday of Thanksgiving week. Of course we had planned on visiting later that week, but since someone got mono, we decided it would be best if we waited until the sickness in the family was gone. So, I got to see my month old baby cousin, who is absolutely adorable.When I was talking to my parents on the way home, we thought it was funny that we completely forget about all of our other stressors and were just focused on the kids. It is stressful with all the commotion, but totally stress relieving from everything else we have to do].

Anyway, with the day off from any real hip flexor activity, I think it really started to improve. I could shift my weight on my right leg without much pain, it is such a relief. I was debating starting to use  crutches because my limp is/was pretty bad, especially in the morning. My Mom (and I) are a little bit afraid that if I keep limping, I will end up with a injury on my left side once my right hip is healed. That would be NO BUENO.

I have already been to the chiropractor twice since I have been home, and I think that is helping, too. Meghan also had this type of injury and recommended heat. I checked up online about it, and heat is said to significantly reduce recovery time. Don't worry though, I checked several different sources. So I am heating once in the morning and once at night. I also throw some ice on after I do any sort of cycling/swimming or rehab exercises.

In addition to the rehab exercises, the chiropractor and rest, the most important part of recovery is The Great Healer Himself. I am one of those who likes to have everything in control and planned out. However, I am slowly but surely learning that this is never going to happen. God is the one in control, not me. If whatever I am planning doesn't fit in with His master plan, it isn't going to fly. I have a few personal experiences that I think God had planted in my life to bring me closer to Him. They always seem to come at the times I am most confident in what I am doing, not what He is doing. I have begun to *almost* solely rely on Him in my recovery. Nothing I do on MY OWN will heal me, it has to be in conjunction with Him and His great plan. So my point, I am praying harder than I have ever prayed before and talking to God more than I ever have. He is bringing me closer, I am following, and I never want to change it. Thank God for mono and thank God for the hip flexor strain. I have never been more happy while sidelined, I just hope I am running again really, really soon! I have Nationals to train for!

I am lucky to be reading Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. Having this devotional in my life right now is  a huge blessing. I wanted to post this a few days ago when I read it because it is so relevant right now:
"Trust Me by relinquishing control into My hands, let go and recognize that I am God.  This is My world.  I made it and I control it." And the bible verse that went along with it:
He says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10

And this is my brother's bearded dragon, Reggie.

 I love him. So good to be home.

And I Ain't Got No Worries

So, that most recent post was out of frustration, anger and stress and the hip crisis is no longer a crisis. My grades will be fine, I just need to do some reviewing. And the mono, I will just continue to take advil for my throat!

The lesson is still there that I am not invincible and that I probably don't give true sleep and rest enough credit.

I just got back from the doctor here at school and it looks like my hip is nothing to be overly concerned about at this point. It appears to be a hip flexor strain and not a torn labrum or stress fracture. Of course we can't say absolutely not to either, but I will be getting some imaging done just to make sure. After a quick session, I already feel so much better and all signs point to hip flexor, caused by not engaging my core enough. So! I will be doing lots of stretching (but not over stretching) and strengthening. Hopefully I won't be out of [running] commission for too long!

And now I am off to study for Macro. I hope I don't fail.
"It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." Deuteronomy 31:8

Too bad race season is still 4 months away...

Oh and here is a picture of my bike. I bought myself a niceeee set of of 2012 Mercury M9s. Merry Christmas to Me!!

Turned the Corner

It seems I have turned the corner with what has now been diagnosed as mono. I am so glad to finally be feeling a little bit better. I stayed awake all day yesterday AND rode the trainer for 30 minutes! This was a huge accomplishment at this point.

I went back to the doctor today to discuss test results and without going into ridiculously boring and unnecessary detail, I am finishing up the acute phase of Infectious mononucleosis. I was seriously bummed when the doctor told me it was definitely mono. I have heard so many horror stories about how it is the worst thing ever and that I should just go ahead and not even plan on Collegiate Nationals this year. There is no way I would be ready. So naturally, I burst into tears as soon as the doctor left the room...

When he came back, we discussed what mono would mean for my training (and going back to school, I guess that is pretty important, too). My doctor explained to me what mono exactly entailed. Mono does have the reputation of hanging around for what seems to be forever, however, it depends on the person. The fever usually goes away after about 10 days, though the swollen glands and lymphnodes may take up to 4 weeks to heal (ugh).

Mono is also thought to bring along fatigue that can last up to a few months. This is the part that concerned me the most, Courtney's irrational thought process: I DON'T HAVE TIME TO BE TIRED. I am a collegiate triathlete with a job and sorority. I don't have time during the day without taking naps, now that I have mono I will HAVE to take naps. The doctor put me at ease when he told me that this "fatigue" is often attributed to a depression that occurs with mono and this "fatigue" is mental! He explained that people are very exhausted with mono during the acute phase (generally first 2 weeks) but then it will go away as you heal.

The other part that had me worried about mono is the enlarged spleen/liver issue. I have been told that contact sports are pretty much out of the question when it comes to mono. My doctor initially cleared me to run and swim as my body let me and that I could pretty much return to normal training. However, they cautioned me about riding outside with the risk of damaging my spleen or liver in the event of a bike crash. Initially I was okay with this because most of my interval/strength training this winter is done on the trainer, but then I got to thinking, 3 days of riding the trainer for 60-90 minutes at a time just seems dreadful. It is especially dreadful since I live in an area where the weather is fairly mild in the winter. Of course there are a few days when riding outside is out of the question, but when its beautiful and sunny and like 55 degrees, being on the trainer is sad. All that being said, it looks like I am in good shape! There was no swelling that he could palpate. Also good news, my liver and spleen are apparently in an awesome position that if they were to swell, it wouldn't cause too much of a problem because I have extra room in my rib cage? So even if they did swell, they would still be protected.  You know, I was cursing my huge rib cage the other day because I couldn't fit into a dress I really wanted (don't even want to go there right now) but now I guess it isn't so bad! The doctor cleared me to ride outside, but just be careful. The only way I would really be in trouble is if I ended up jabbing the handle bars exactly up into my rib cage and spleen, but if the crash were that bad, it would be the least of my concerns.

So, as I sit here concluding this post and getting ready to watch Greys (yay). I just have to remember to be so thankful and gracious for everyday. Mono is such a benign issue when it comes to health. Rarely do people die from mono and I know I will be perfectly back to normal in, at the most, 6 months. I really can't complain. There are so many people who have it so much worse than me. I am lucky I am in good physical condition that my body can fight off infections like this. The worst case scenario from this, I just take extra good care of myself for the next few months: getting enough sleep, drinking water, eating right, and studying. I know that once I get it in my head that I will make it through this, I will! Don't worry, I will be at the start for Collegiate Nationals in a few months in the best shape of my life.

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might."
Ecclesiastes 9:10


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001617/

Expectations

This is a rather long post, so bear with me. I have a point. 

We all have expectations, whether they are realistic or not. I am famous for building up these really elaborate, awesome ideas in my head, then something I was definitely not expecting happens. I am not saying that the reality is necessarily better or worse than the expected, just different. Sometimes it is better and others it is worse, much worse. Sometimes I learn lessons, other times I don't.  These expectations don't just appear in the triathlon aspect of my life either, they are everywhere. I promise I'm going somewhere with this! Stay with me. 

Scenario:
Rumpass in Bumpass Triathlon 2012 just finished. I am thrilled with myself because the outcome of the race was MUCH better than I expected!
Expectation: don't get hurt, stop if need be, don't be disappointed with a personally poor time, walk the water stations, tackle the run as 20 min on/2 min walk.
Reality: finished the race strong, had a relatively decent time, tackled the run as 10 min on/2 min walk and still managed a run time sub 50 minutes! I finished the race with a stupid smile on my face and Erin is right there at the finish. I look great, I feel great, I am high on life (well maybe endorphins). Actually, the "look great" is probably debatable too...

Rockin' the post race baggy shirt and lake/sweat hair. 

Fast forward to that evening and we are back on campus eating dinner. My stomach is a little bit off, but that is totally expected after a race and I don't even think twice about it. One of my best friends is in town visiting and I am so excited to go out that night and celebrate my age group win!!!! Erin, Meghan, and Maura-- you know where this one is going! HA.

Ready for a night out.... so we thought...

Expectation: Great night with great friends. Party all night. Dance. Celebrate a fantastic race!!
Reality: After we all get ready to go out, my tummy still doesn't feel good. I tell my friends that I am just going to go back to my dorm and sleept. I am nauseated at the thought of a sip of water or even eating just one Cheerio. Erin insists on driving me home and spending the night with me to make sure I am okay. By the time I get home and in bed its about midnight. Other friends are calling me to meet up, but all I want to do is sleep and make my stomach stop hurting. I call my mom and she thinks I need to go to the the hospital since I can't eat or drink and that I am probably severely dehydrated. I finally give in once 1:30ish rolls around and go to the hospital. Erin is the best and drives me there and sits with me while I am getting fluids and drugs pumped in via IV. Turns out I WAS severely dehydrated and had a mild case of rhabdo. Scary. 
Lesson learned: DRINK WATER! You better believe I will never be dehydrated again.  

As you can see, the realities of this day are completely different from my expectations. My triathlon reality was better than expected, while my "college girl" reality was much worse than expected.

So, where am I going with this? Well as it gets closer and closer to Nationals (and the start of a new year/new semester), I find myself thinking about the summer: what I could have done differently in training, in racing, in work experience, in my social life. I am getting more and more nervous about competing at Nationals. I know I can only really focus on one thing at a time. So Nationals it is until August 18 at approximately noon, then I go into full "figure out college" mode. I don't want to disappoint myself, my family, my friends, my training buddies, Connie, the list goes on at Nationals. I have some very big and important opportunities resting on my performance at Nationals. 

This summer of training has been FAR from what I expected. I expected not to have any injuries, I expected to run without pain, I expected to not get first in my age group in the races I did this summer, I expected my swim times to stay the same as they have for the past year. My expectations were very different from reality.

I hurt my hip during one of my first hill (run) workouts of the summer. I have no idea what happened but I felt a twinge, ran through it, came home and stretched, and the next day my hip was killing me. I had to take a few days off of running and suffered a little bit of pain for a few weeks, but now it is all better. Praise the Lord.

I hurt my IT Band after a race in the beginning of July and had to take the rest of the week off from running and biking! TERRIBLE. I was so upset that I had hurt myself, for what, one small race. I ruined Nationals. I ruined my training. But guess what, it was all better the following week! Courtney FTW. Yay!

I have gotten first in my age group in every single race this summer, except for Jamestown when I got 3rd overall, even better. This was not something I was expecting. People at my mom's work told to her to prepare me because I was "moving up an age group and things were going to be a lot more competitive and much harder to win." Guess what, I didn't let it get to me and have done great!

Now swimming, this has been the biggest shocker of all. I had actually been talking to some friends about my swim toward the end of the semester... I didn't see the point of training because I felt like I was just at a plateau and I was the fastest I would be. I hadn't seen any significant gains, so shouldn't I just focus on my bike and getting my run time down. Everyone knows the bike is probably the most critical part of the race anyway, it is the leg you spend the most time on. You can definitely win or lose a race on the bike, you can only really lose a race on the swim. I know I am a solid front of pack swimmer. However, I was very wrong. This summer I have dropped my swim down by about FIVE seconds per 100! I am swimming just about as fast as I was in high school if not faster! 

However, my run still isn't where I expected it to be. I expected myself to be running just as fast as I was last summer. I expected myself to be throwing down 2:45-2:50 800s for my first track workout. That did not happen, I was more in the 3:00-3:08 range. I was disappointed, angry with myself. Why had I not just taken care of myself? Why did I even run? Its a stupid sport that just makes you hurt everywhere anyway. And don't they say its bad for your joints anyway? But I had to keep telling myself that my legs would/will come back. Running is where I started as a triathlete! I have been a runner since I was 13!!!! I love running, and I knew I couldn't let some times bring me down. It was my first track workout in over 6 months anyway! Low and behold, I have gotten faster, last week I put down a 2:56 800. It isn't perfect, but it is something to be proud of. I have worked hard this summer to get my running legs to come back. 

Back to Nationals... My dad has always enforced the rule "Hope for the best, prepare (or expect) for the worst." I think I am going to change that quote around in preparation for Nationals. I want to expect the best. If I expect the best, I may be setting myself up for failure. But I have seen incredible gains this summer, and am really thinking I will surprise myself. I have to keep a positive attitude. A positive mindset. With that said, regardless of the outcome, I am competing with some of the Nation's fastest Age Group Triathletes. That is something else to be proud of.

I am going to expect the best.

"But if we hope for what is still unseen by us, we wait for it with patience and composure." Psalm 8:25

Race Recap: Culpepper International Triathlon 2012

Last night before I went to sleep I told my parents "I am going to feel like I got hit by a bus when I wake up tomorrow." Guess who was right? This girl. My shoulder and hamstrings are killin'  me. Luckily, I have a relatively easy but long-ish bike ride today. Gonna get to that.... eventually, probably this afternoon. I know I need to do it, but I want to relax this morning. 

But, now its time to talk race.

Day/Night before:

I knew that it was going to be a HOT, HOT race. The pre race report said that he water was 86 degrees! WOOWEE...I knew swimming in that nasty hot pool at school wasn't a total waste. I knew I was going to have to hydrate like crazy. I went on a 45 minut easy bike ride Friday morning and was sure to drink a full water bottle. I went to the pool and laid out for a bit. I drank a sport bottle of gatorade and alternated with water, I think was 20 oz? I learned it is very important to alternate between water and gatorade to keep the electrolytes in balance! 

For dinner, I had a little more than half a breast of rotisserie chicken with a small salad and mashed red potatoes... lots of mashed red potatoes. And a small bowl of cereal right before I went to bed. I make sure the label says "Gluten Free" if it is the day before a race. 

Unfortunately, I could not fall asleep for the life of me. I got in bed around 10:30, but didn't fall asleep till well after midnight. Around 12, I went downstairs and told my parents I couldn't sleep and that there was no way it would be safe for me to drive two hours to the race in the morning. My mom responded, "Can you just blow off the race?" WOMAN ARE YOU CRAZY?! NO!  I woke my dad up at 4 and he said he could go with me! FOR THE WIN. I slept the whole way to the race. 

Pre Race 

I was up at 4:05, put on my tri suit and wrote down my bible verses to help get me through what I knew would be a tough race,

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper
 you and not harm you, plans for hope and a future.'"

made my oatmeal, and poured my cup of coffee. I also prepared all of my hydration for the race.

2 white bottles for the bike (1 water and 1 Gatorade), 1 water and the rest of the
Gatorade for the ride up, and of course my coffee. I drink about half of that cup before races. 

I ended up getting to the race so early, Google Maps said the race site was 1:46 away, so I just told myself 2 hours to give myself extra time to get lost and for lines. I wanted to be at the race at 6:30-6:45 since it was an 8 am start. Well, It only took us an hour and a half. I was at the race site at 6:15. To be honest, it was awesome getting to the race early, I racked my bike where I wanted it had time to do a thorough warm up (10 min ez bike, find out gearing I need to be in out of transition and 5 minute run + drills and stretching), and had time to clean off my wheels since transition was in wet, freshly cut grass. 

Bad news: I forgot scissors to cut my bike number

Good news: I remembered to take a picture of transition! 

Gotta love Blackberry pictures! Look how much room I had, my rack was so empty! 

Swim.

Now, I don't have any pictures yet of the swim, but I can tell you it was definitely one of the most memorable swims I have had. This girl was such a jerk. I know open water swims are tough and people are mean, but I have never had someone deliberately try and push me down and get me out of the way. I'm already getting angry just thinking about it. SHE PUNCHED ME! What the heck. We swam together the whole way. I think she ended up getting 3rd overall, so I guess she is a good athlete. I was so frustrated though. Nothing much else to document on the swim. It was hot and slow. ick. 

Bike. 

This is where the race got interesting. I had a different goal for this race than I usually do. The idea was not to kill the race, but to spin hard and fast up the hills and recover the downhills. It was hard to let people pass me down the hills, but I knew I needed the recovery after pushing the hills. It was a freakin' hard bike, but I did hit about 40 mph going down hill! That is definitely new for me and am super proud of myself. Time to face my fears and have some fun! Confession: I am slowly but surely becoming an adrenaline junkie. 

Run.

Holy cow. This run was intense. Huge hill out of transition and rollers the rest of the way. Same mentality/strategy as the bike. Power up hill, recover down hill. I passed people during this race on the run. That is such a huge step for me after the stress fracture. I had zero pain in my hip during the run, just a little IT Band tightness. However, I don't feel too tight this morning. Awesome. I love running without pain. The number one problem with the run was how hard it was to pace because of the hills. My times were all over the place.... seriously 6:34 one mile, 8:30 for another! 

All in all, a good race, a hot race, a tired legs race, a tough race, and ready for a taper.

Poor quality blackberry photo. The girl who got second was a
stupid fast runner! 

Split break down: 

Swim- 25:36 

T1- 1:05

Bike- 1:15:31<< like I said, tough bike

T2- 0:46

Run- 47:23<< OUCH

First in Age Group.
Eighth Woman overall.
Not too shabby.