Not the Valentine's Day I Expected

Do you ever dream of a romantic Valentine's weekend with your hubby.... in a hospital emergency room with him vomiting uncontrollably? I didn't think so. But that's life, in't it? Throwing us curveballs when we least expect them.

Hubby was on the road for actual Valentine's Day, but we planned to go for a bike ride on Sunday followed by a nice brunch where we could finally get some quality together time in. As it turned out, he got appendicitis on Saturday when we were on our way back from our daughter's dance competition, and we ended up pulling off the highway into the ER where eventually he had his appendix removed.

Here's where my public service announcement comes in: If you experience vomiting that gets worse and worse, even if you've had something like food poisoning before that seems similar, it could possibly be appendicitis. This is something I did not know before this weekend. I also didn't know how fast someone could go from perfectly healthy (we ran 5 miles together on Friday afternoon) to near-death (by Saturday afternoon he was in massive amounts of pain and heading toward surgery). Since his experience, I have heard horror stories from others about how fast this kind of thing can come on and how dangerous it can be. So: abdominal pain or severe fever or severe vomiting - get thyself to a hospital or urgent care!

Also of course, he's a bit derailed from his Ironman training for a couple of weeks, but I think he's bouncing back pretty quickly for as sick as he was.  I guess I could look at the bright side - it's usually me in the emergency room. It's a bit of a relief to be the person in the support position for once.

Also, this kind of event tends to focus you on what's really important. As you hold your husband's hand at 3:00 in the morning as they prepare him for surgery, life becomes very distilled. The things that are important become very clear: your family, your love, the time you have together. I'm glad that even though he's on the road so much, we do make a priority to get out there and spend time with each other. Maybe this kind of clear thinking is the best Valentines present after all.

The Twelve Blog Posts of Post-Christmas

I think I should get used to doing mini blog posts. It seems like I think I have to have some big involved idea in order to post, and then I never have the time to sit down and write something big and involved. It may be that one paragraph bursts are all I can do for awhile. Since it's now been 12 days since I posted, here are twelve things that happened recently that I didn't manage to write about (in no particular order):

1. My son started college. Wow, can't believe I typed that. One of the benefits/drawbacks of homeschooling is that the kids are ready to move on pretty early. He's currently enrolled at our local community college, pursing a certification in IT, preparatory to continuing on to a computer science degree. Since he's 16, and doesn't have a driver's license yet, this week involved getting him used to the bus schedules he'll need to keep track of, learning his way around campus, buying textbooks and other new things, and most importantly making sure he has enough food packed, and that all the food he needs for a day and evening can actually FIT in a backpack - sheesh, 16 year old boys eat a lot. On the first day, he informed me that the lunch I packed (two sandwiches, a container of yogurt, an apple, a banana, three fruit leathers and a protein bar) had all disappeared by lunchtime and he was hungry by the afternoon.

2. The heater broke on our club's pool. By Wednesday, it was at a chilly 75 degrees, and I had the BEST WORKOUT in forever. I forgot how much I love swimming in cold pools. I came out invigorated, and extremely pleased that in descending sets of 100's, I was able to hold 1:15, 1:12, and 1:08 respectively. Woot! My swimming has been getting stronger and stronger lately, but this was definitely the best I've felt in a very long time.

3. My hubby was home for 4 straight weeks. Now that was weird! Normally he's gone just about every other week, it was nice to have him back with us for awhile. We got some good bike rides and runs in together, and the occasional sneak out to Starbucks for a mocha.

4. I get to  go see my sister and brother-in-law in a few weeks in Seattle. I wish we lived closer!

5. This is unprecedented: Our weather report says 10 straight days of sunshine are coming our way. In January. In Oregon. Yeah baby!

6. Chip Kelly is going to keep coaching the Duck football team.

7. I've managed to lose 15 pounds since last March, and kept it off over the holidays. Better for my (recovering) knee.



8.  There's a heart-shaped lake I see all the time on a local bike ride. Love it.

9.  I CAN RUN. Well, I'm up to 9 miles a week. That's very good news.

10. Immediately after her performance run as Veruca Salt in the musical Willy Wonka, Asa has auditioned for the musical Aladdin. Because we can't have a month or two without shuttling to rehearsals now can we?

11. I saw Les Mis. I loved it. Again. Just like I fell in love with it when I first read it (26 years ago, in French Literature class), first saw it on stage (20 years ago), and last saw it on stage (last year's 25th anniversary touring company). Now I have the CD on endless repeat on my car stereo, can't get the songs out of my head. I'm reading it to the kids (in English this time) as our bedtime story.

12.  I re-wrote my resume for the first time since 1988 and submitted it for a job in the computer field. Not saying just what yet, but cross your fingers for me.

Full Circle Relationship Ride

Two weeks out from my half Ironman, we come to the last long bike and run of the season. Mother Nature has obligingly parted with some sunny mid-70's September weather, and hubby decided to accompany me on my long bike ride yesterday. This is a banner year for us, we've come full circle back to a point where we can do things together again. We started our relationship skydiving together, hiking, scuba diving, snowboarding, mountain climbing. Then enter the kids and Screeeeeech... it all comes to a halt for many years. For a long time it's been "can you watch the kids so I can go for a run?", "Okay, but I'd like to go for a bike ride tomorrow". We've traded off. But here we are again, able to go out together. The kids are often busy, at activities and friends' houses, and we have plenty of time to enjoy our sports with each other.

So yesterday it was sixty-five sunny miles up to the lake, along the shore and back. Sharing Clif bars and conversation, just enjoying some time together. Next month it's been eighteen years since we met, and part of the glue that has stuck us together has been these things we love to do. Are there any sweeter words a man could utter than "I think next year when you train for the Ironman, I'll go with you on all of your long rides"??? I think not.

What Doesn't Kill You.... Makes You Cry??

It didn't seem like it was going to be that hard of a bike ride today: 42 miles, a lot of hills (but what bike ride around here doesn't have hills??) not a ton of wind (the usual 12 mph afternoon perpetual headwind, no matter which direction you're biking it's there). I knew it was going to be warm, temps have been in the low 90s all week. Who knew it would be almost 100 today? I guess that serves me right for not looking at the weather forecast.

We set out at 12:30, and hit the first hill at 12:35, the second at 1:15, and by 1:45 we were on the biggest ascent: a 700 foot climb of exposed piece of blacktop that was baking under our wheels. This is the point where I should point out that I don't sweat. Also that hubby in his kindness got both of our bikes ready this morning while I was coaching, and he happened to fill both of my bottles with Gatorade. I usually keep one with water to douse myself with since.... I don't sweat. Somewhere along the switchbacking broiler rack of a road, I went from just plain hot to truly hot, then ridiculously hot then dangerously hot. By the time hubby looked back and noticed me struggling and pulled into some shade, I was close to dropping over. Once in the shade, I proceeded to break out in big sobbing ridiculous tears, and then hyperventilate. Good thing hubby keeps a cool head on his shoulders and got me breathing right and poured some water on me.

A long shade break later and I was ready to keep rolling. A stop at a little store later and I had a stock of water to dump on myself. The rest of the climbs (all 1700 feet of them) seemed easy by comparison. It's funny, but I remembered that the only time I've ever cried in a triathlon was (no, not getting my toe dislocated at Ironman Florida) when I did this race in a hellishly hot and windy location in the Columbia River gorge. It was 104 degrees with winds up to 30 mph. The 38 mile bike course took me three hours instead of my planned two, and when I hit the run in that blowdrier I just started crying uncontrollably. Then some lady rescued me with a lawn sprinkler and I managed to finish. I have never DNF'd a race, but that was the closest I've ever come. And I've never not finished a bike ride but I came damn close today. I wonder why I cry when I'm overcome with heat? Panic maybe? I'm not usually a crybaby, but that sure got to me!

Reminder to self: you don't sweat. Take water (plain water) and dump on self repeatedly until normal temperatures have been achieved. Also, don't go out on a hilly ride on the hottest day of the summer in the middle of the afternoon! As I write this at 11:30 at night, it's still 78 degrees outside according to weather.com. I think tomorrow's long run better be at 6:00 am, so I should be going to bed now...

Violating the Ten Percent Rule

Normally I try to follow that tried and true rule of thumb: don't increase your long workout by more than ten percent each week. Although I don't follow a specific triathlon training plan most of the time, I know that by this time of year I'm building up my mileage toward a fall half-Ironman, and that means for three weeks I build up my longest bike and run distance, and then every fourth week I cut my volume in half for a rest week. By August, I'll be ready to fine-tune everything and will have a good base of endurance built up.

This year I got a late start with the broken arm and didn't really start building up my bike mileage until May. Then it rained all of June, not just rained but poured buckets of water from the sky. It only stopped at moments when I couldn't possibly get out on my bike. The net result is that my longest ride so far has been a measly 38 miles.

So when hubby asked me on Saturday if I'd do a sixty-five miler with him, I of course said no. Really? No, silly of course I said yes. On the hottest day of a heat wave, and throw in some hills to boot. Surprisingly, I can actually walk today and dare I say I feel just fine? I was definitely fatigued by the end of it, but that was offset by getting to spend four hours with my hubby doing something we both love in such a beautiful part of the world. This ride goes through forested hills, winds by a river, heads out into the broad valley past wheat fields and pastoral sheep, through quaint towns and rolling countryside. Though it violated my ten percent rule, it was one-hundred percent worth it.

The Hubby Tri's!!

This was Wayne's first Olympic distance triathlon, and serendipitously the Black Diamond race weekend fell on his birthday as well, so it was a fun way to celebrate turning a year older for him. A few months ago he had me write up a training plan, but the real training started when we began working with his swimming stroke last winter. He had not previously been a fan of swimming, for the same reason many athletes aren't - too boring going up and down the lanes, too frustrating when it feels like you're battling the water. Fortunately, it didn't take too long for him to turn the technique around and start moving up to faster lanes in the Master's swim group and then with the addition of a wetsuit this summer and some lake swims, he really took off. That all paid off this Sunday with a rocking 24:27 swim time, putting him as the 32nd fastest swimmer of the day. Yeah!
We had camped out at a campground along the race course, so the kids and I walked out to watch him come by on the bike, and he was right up there with all of the super-aero'd out tri-studs. He looked great on the bike, keeping up a good pace of 18.5 mph despite being on his heavy steel frame touring Bianchi with no aero bars. He finished up the bike strong with a 1:20.


Onto the run, he got to experience that lovely lead-legs feeling that triathletes love to hate, but shook it off eventually. Unfortunately, an injury left him not able to really train for the run this summer and so he missed enjoying some of his usual distance running speed, but he still clocked a respectable 53:59 on the run for an 8:41 average pace (not bad with almost no run training in the last 2 months!) and brought it all home in 2:46:17. Asa asked the race officials if she could run down the chute with him, and so he finished in style with a smile on his face. I'm just so happy to see how excited he was by this race and looking forward to doing some more race weekends together in the future. I think with the addition of a more aero bike position and an ability to utilize his running ability he will be able to kick this time down in the future.

Go Wayne!

Happy Anniversary Baby, Let's Tri!

It's now official, Wayne and I signed up to do the Black Diamond race weekend. He's doing his first Olympic Tri (he's done a sprint before) and I'm doing my 4th Half-Iron (2nd on this course). I'm so excited to be signed up for this race and training with my guy. We just celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary this week with a quiet dinner at home with our kids. Yesterday went out for a five-miler run together. Life doesn't get much better than that.

When we met, he had just gotten out of the army, still had a military haircut and wore his camo pants everywhere. He was a pilot, just started flying jump planes at the drop zone I was skydiving at and I had sworn not to date another pilot or skydiver, ever. But you know, those magnificent men in their flying machines and all that. He won me over with his charm and his earnest plans for his future. I knew this was a guy who would always be moving forwards, never be dull or boring. Well, it hasn't been boring, I can say that much! From the depths of the ocean in Belize to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro to raising our kids together, it's been an adventure.

So here's to love, and many more miles together!

It's Just Not the Same

My house is missing one big and important thing these days: my husband's laugh. Now let me preface that by saying that of all the laughs on the planet, his is absolutely the best. You can't hear Wayne laugh and not at least smile. He's got this great big infectious laugh. Any funny movie you might see is ten times funnier if he's sitting next to you, the theatres ought to pay him to come to their comedies, I swear. As you can see, he's quite the joker around our house.

But the poor guy had hernia surgery last week and he's still not anywhere near being able to laugh (hurts too much). It's horrible to see someone you love in pain, and recovering from surgery is all kinds of pain. Add on to the fact that he's a very active guy, and recovering just isn't easy psychologically for us active types. And he's had this great running group this year that he loves to run with, can't do that. He started swimming with the Masters group at the club this Fall (and by all the accounts I hear, he's kicking some booty in the lanes and getting faster by the workout) and can't do that either right now.

I was able to share with him my post-partum workout secrets, which considering that I tore all of my abdominal muscles apart at the seams (there is a downside to having tight abs after all) I can remember both the pain and how hard it was to get those muscles back in action again. I had to start my sit-up routine by lying on my back, holding both sides of my stomach muscles together, and lifting my head a scant inch off of the floor.

So for anyone who goes through abdominal muscle issues, be they pregnancy-related, hernia-related, or injury-related, there is definitely a path to getting those muscles functioning again, it just takes time and patience and an ability to take it very slowly at first.

As for my hubby, he's sleeping right now and I'm hoping for those muscles to heal up fast. Not just because I want to see him happy and active again, but because I miss that laugh.

So, My Husband Was Punching Me Again

Actually, there was a lot of punching going on, and yelling, and a bit of kicking too. And for this, we got a babysitter? Yep, date night at our house: extra karate class. Tuesday and Thursday evenings the class is taught by the husband and wife who run our dojo, and it's an excellent class. The kids sometimes come, but sometimes don't feel like going more than three times a week. So last night it was just hubby and I. Mostly, I'm not paired with him since we're different belt levels. At the start, I was paired with a young teen who is very very talented at karate, fast on his feet, and very serious. We did this extensive sparring drill to warm up and I was breathing hard he asked me a couple of times if I needed to slow down. Hah! I didn't tell him that at that heart rate, I could go for another twelve hours. These young kids might have speed, but they don't have the endurance of an Ironmom, LOL. But I had to work darn hard to beat him to the punch. Now my feet have blisters from all that turning on the floor. DH and I also got to practice together for awhile - elbow techniques, bunkai, and sparring.

We actually have gone out to dinner together this week, and also to a movie. So beating each other up isn't the only kind of quality time we spend together ;-)