Suck it up Buttercup

This weekend was my 2nd Olympic Triathlon

 Strategically placed 4 weeks before the 70.3 

so I would have enough time to taper and work out any kinks

well as luck would have it I woke up Saturday morning sick

I figured it was allergies, took some meds and went about my day 

well by bed time I had figured out that it was indeed not allergies 

I took some more meds and hoped for the best

Sunday I woke up still sick but determined. 

I made some hot tea, ate my oatmeal and tried to sit in silence as much as possible to save my throat

when we arrived at transition I was a nervous wreck plus I was starting to drip snot

always a good sign 

Oh and I had forgotten to lube up the chassis before I put on my suit. 

good times. good, good times

I know I am not the classiest of ladies. 

I get it. 

My love of beer and inability to hold in a burp are part of me

However dripping snot while prying open my bottle of lube and simultaneously sticking my hand into my tri shorts makes quite a picture. 

I made it out of transition just in time to hear them say they were closing it right as I also realized I had not pumped up my tires. 

I crossed my fingers that they were still full from my last ride and promised myself to check them before I got on the bike. 

Next up? standing in line with 1400 people in bathing suits and gas. 

I don't know what it is about triathlons that makes people evacuate their bowels

especially with people standing close behind them

I swear somebody shit their pants in line, Heather can vouch for me. 

The swim was hard

 I have never been kicked and hit so much in my life

it was also a really fast group of swimmers

I can normally break free and get to the front but not yesterday

I was constantly surrounded by people and I still ended up getting out of the water in 32 minutes.

I stuffed a PBJ down,waved to my parents and hopped on the bike 

This was my 3rd time on this course

we are old buddies

The bike course is an old buddy that I want to push into oncoming traffic

its a lot of turns and a few hills thrown in for good measure

not enough to make me switch to the small ring

just enough to piss me off

I heard a lot of "ON YOUR LEFT!"

I kept a 15mph average and people were crushing me

I have to find a way to get faster on the bike

It is super demoralizing to have everyone you passed in the swim then pass you on the bike

I knew I just needed to keep pushing

The bike was pretty uneventful, I tried to clear my nose as much as possible so I could breathe 

Clearing my nose = snot rockets 

again the classiness is overwhelming, I know. 

I probably coated 4-5 bikers in snot

I finally rolled back into transition around 1:30 

laced up my sauconys and headed out on the run

It was hot

like really F'ing hot.

My dad said it was only 93, I think he lied. 

I ended up going through 4-5 bottles of water, an orange and a packet of gummies

I was trying to get any form of energy in me that I could

What energy I did have the flu monster was sucking right up

I had stayed on top of my nutrition but my body was giving me the middle finger

It was done

This was the first time I have thought about DNF'ing myself

during the first loop I kept thinking screw this shit. 

This is dumb, I am dumb. 

Then I would think no Screw that! Keep going idiot. 

You will be so mad if you stop now

Its Arizona, you were raised in this weather

SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP

So I blew another snot rocket, said Fuck a lot, and started the second loop

I knew when I started that I would not be breaking any records

my only goal was to keep going

Just keep moving forward

this is only half the distance you have to do in 4 weeks

SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP

quit whining and run, walk, crawl do whatever you have to do to get there

luckily I ran into heather around 1 mile from the finish

It makes a big difference to see a smiling face out on the course and have someone to talk to when all you want to do is sit down and throw an almighty hissy fit

So we talked

we walked

and then we ran in to the finish. 

I finished in 3:45

thats 15+ minutes from Mtn Man 

but thats ok

I finished

4 weeks to go until Ironman

70.3 miles

Time to trust my training

I will be focusing on losing a few more LB's and getting down to race weight 

Ideally that is 5-10 lbs

I will be eating pretty strict and my post 50 mile blowouts are over until after Ironman. 

I can almost taste the Pizza now.