Post Ironman Slack - Importance of working out, especially for EDS

I sit here 6 weeks post Ironman and  6 lbs up from the race (actually 5 days post IM was my lowest IM weight). I'm frustrated, feeling puffy, wiggly, and very out of shape.  I should be in the best shape of my life, instead I let my excuses get the best of me.

It is typical for post-Ironman to give into to the "you did that, so you get a break", but you have to be careful how far you take that excuse.

I ate Cheesy Fries with Bacon and some sort of high-fat dip for I swear 6 meals in a row.  I've been loading on cookies, pasta, and anything gross.  I did watch the scale. I did 'intend' on going to the gym, but every 5:45AM spin class gave me an excuse.   My coach even iterated "You need to stay active, if you don't you will regret it."- Yup Coach, I regret it.

I've spent the last 2 years with a coach, with workouts planned for me, with the accountability to 'get it done.'  Turns out, I am a total slacker without that accountability.

I imagine many of you have that same accountability problem, so I've created a 'myfitnesspal' account.  If you would like to share accountability with me, my username is fatgirlironmanjourney .

I've been slapped in the face with EDS lately too, on something that I KNOW already but I guess choose to ignore!?  For those of us with EDS it is SO important to work out.  Our muscles are all that hold us together, without them, we are wet noodles!

Ligaments, tendons, and anything connective tissue related can be pretty useless.  Our muscles need to be strong to compensate for any of that laxity.  I made the mistake of not working out for 6 weeks, and I'm paying the price.  My neck is the most wiggly thing on me.  Loose bones in the neck cause Migraines (even for non-EDS folks).

Yesterday I somehow subluxed something in my esophagus!? I didn't know that was possible.  What that means is I have to keep my head down or it hurts the front of my neck. I have to keep my head back with perfect posture to prevent migraines.. you see where this is going?

There is no relief except to get my butt back to the gym and restore these muscles!  Unfortunately EDS muscles have a very rapid atrophy rate.  Many of us get in downward spirals, where we are active and put together, have a bad week, can't go to the gym, which makes it worse, which make the following week bad, and so on and so on, never letting us catch up.

Morale of this story - DO NOT STOP, Ironman training was actually pretty good for me!  No excuse is worth the pain and fat collection!

If you want to be accountable, create a myfitnesspal account and let's share data. Once we have some folks on there, I will create a private group for discussions!

Good luck with the Holidays.  May you balance out your enjoyment of the holiday food with some good workouts!

I do have some plans for FY14, I'll share them with you all on Facebook.  I hope to see many of you at some of the events!

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IMFL RACE DAY - Thank You (Part 5 Race Report)

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The sad part for me is I know I can't do another. (well shouldn't). So this was a one and done.  I have adapted my swim and bike and am perfectly comfortable with both sports and my wiggly joints.  Running kills me. I can't keep my hip in place or my arches.  Often many other joints are falling out.  I know if I continue running, that I will end up NOT being able to walk unassisted in 10 years.  I sit here and have the 'high' that the rest of the finishers have and contemplate doing another, and I know I can't.  I will continue with my Aquabikes, I will continue with the Pan Mass Challenge.  I will continue to be a slow biker but will rack up the miles.  I am not done with the sport, just the running part.

I will look to encourage others to try something new, to push a little bit, to get "out of their box."

I get to say now and forever that I AM AN IRONMAN!

There are so many people to thank in my journey.


First, I must thank my husband John.  Seriously you cannot do this alone, it takes a village!  He has been supportive of my crazy addiction, he comes to races, drags my crap around, cleans the house, does the laundry, and doesn't complain (too much) :). He is a gem.

I would like to thank my family for making the trip to Florida from PA.  My brother took his only vacation for the year to see my race.  Thanks Mom, Dad and Norm.   Thanks to my cousins Tanya and Bernie for making it out as well!

A HUGE shout out to Kelly, Rebekah, and Naomi who administered my facebook page for 17 hours!  They did such a fantastic job, there is no way I can repay you for what you did, amazing job!

Thank you to all the Fatgirl fans!  It took me 2 days to get through all the comments, I cried several times. I am inspired by all of YOU.  I am going to create an event for all of you who said you were doing 'something' this year, I hope you follow back with us and tell us how you're doing!  I am amazed by the support, by the number of people that followed me all the way until midnight!  I am inspired by your stories!  Both those that are here for the 'fatgirl' side of things, and for those that are here for the EDS side of things.  I am so happy to see that others are going to get active!

Thank you to my training partners.  As I mentioned before there are only a handful of friends who are willing to go the distance with me at such slow paces. I appreciate you more than I could even say!   Jay, Michele, Ali, Kim, Stacey, Kurt, Naomi, Sarah, Nate, you guys rock!   *I apologize if I missed someone*

Thank you to my Coach Hollie Kenney.  She believed in me, encouraged me for 2 years, and used her 25 years of pro triathlon & coaching  experience to push my odd limitations to an IRONMAN!

I am thankful for the experience. I learned so much about myself and others on this crazy journey.  I especially learned to embrace the EDS part of me. Most of you know about it, but I tend to not write about it. I always felt like I was complaining when I did.  The EDS foundation put a link to my journey and I found so many others that WANTED to hear my story, it was amazing.  It was talking with Joe Stone that made me realize that I need to be more forward about it.  Those with EDS, or even other 'limitations' need to hear that, yes I did an Ironman, but no it wasn't all unicorns and rainbows!

Everyone has a journey, we can't judge by what we see on the outside, you NEVER know what someone is going through, or what they may be overcoming!  For the most part, triathlon is very encouraging, especially as you get to the back of the pack!  I hope to keep up what I can, and be more forward about how I'm feeling too!

I look forward to sharing the next chapters as they unfold.

Right now I'm just eating ice cream and cheesy bacon french fries :).- I'll go to the gym on Monday!

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IMFL RACE DAY - Run - Finish (Part 4 Race Report)

Continued from Part 3...

I yelled my number again to the volunteers for my T2 bag, and they directed me to an isle to 'go find it' myself.  I'm not sure why they weren't handing them out but it was easy.   I ran into the 'ballroom' for a quick change.    The woman in T2 was wonderful, dumped out my stuff and was handing me things.  Very nice!

I changed my shirt to a sleeveless, changed my socks and shoes. I wear foot compression socks to hold my arch in place, and I lubed my feet with aquaphor to prevent blisters (which didn't work).  I left my peanut butter pretzels behind because even though I had been eating them for ALL of my training, I just couldn't on race day.  They were too dry!  Weird!  I grabbed my 2nd Garmin and stuffed it in my pocket in case my battery wore out on the first.

I headed out of transition only to see the REST Of my family up on the hill.  Too bad they had to watch me head into a portopotty!  

It was hot (although people in Florida think that was cold).  I felt a little nausea and wanted to 'rest' a bit. This was my first real mistake of the day. I ignored my 2 min run 3 min walk buzzer on the Garmin and decided I would just "walk" until I found my stomach or cooled down. I had a banana from the first aid station, which usually eases my stomach.  38 min into my marathon, I decided I better pick it up and I continued with my run/walk plan.  

I have to say the run went pretty fast, I did start to get a blister on the bottom of my foot by mile 10. Apparently EVERYONE had this same blister!  I had even lubed my feet and still had it.. grrrr.  BUT, I'm happy to report that was my biggest physical issue on the run!  My hip hurt but that is normal, and my arch stayed where it belonged!   I was close to the park and saw Val, in her Tutu- she came running across the road in her socks, gave me a huge hug and it gave me a little boost.

I definitely was so distracted on the run, I wasn't paying that much attention to my Garmin. Normally I'm glued to the pace.  It seemed like there were aid stations every mile, which was super nice!  As soon as the sun started to set, the stations had chicken broth.  That stuff is like heaven.  I stopped at one aid station to sit and lube my feet again, but by this point it was a lost cause.  I saw so many people throwing up, I was really glad it wasn't me. I felt so bad for the ones who were outright shivering.  At this point I felt pretty good, stomach was ok, I was hydrated and my legs were moving.

It seemed that in no time I had finished the half marathon and was at  special needs.  A volunteer grabbed my bag and I sat down to change my socks and re-lube my feet AGAIN.  I rounded the bend and saw my family!  I gave my sun glasses and chiropractic activator to John because I didn't need it (WOOHOO).  Less weight to carry!  

I got to slap my mom and cousin Tanya 5's!  and I was off for round 2!

As I was headed back out, someone yelled out of their car window "it's her.. "GO FAT GIRL".. I know that people were horrified at that, but it was awesome!  It pays to wear a pretty distinctive outfit!

Somewhere along that route I ran into John's roommate from 20 years ago.  His daughter Zoe wouldn't let them leave, she wanted to see me finish. Zoe you are awesome, I can't wait to come watch you do an Ironman someday!

It was just one foot in front of the other, and I entered the park in the pitch black.  The sky was beautiful, amazing stars! HOWEVER, I don't recommend looking up at them. After 15 hours of working out... I almost fell over.  

I saw Patty in the park, she's a great speed walker, I so wish I could walk that pace!  I think she finished 30 min ahead of me!  Then I saw Kellie and her cape!  She's another speed walker.   From there the 'crowd' of runners was getting thinner.  It was more what I was used to in any given race!

About 5 miles out I ran into Marie from Team Bazinga and her husband Andy.  Andy pushed us to run 2 min/45 sec rest. He was great. I'm not sure I would have made it in time if he hadn't pushed me.  We plowed through the rest of the aid stations (including the 2nd to the last one that was CLOSED UP).  I am glad I took the 20 seconds to hit a portopotty again though, because I probably would have peed my pants on that sprint to the finish.

About 2 miles out Marie's coaches found her and were going to run her in.  They were super sweet, she ran faster than me so dropped me pretty quickly (btw Marie can be found in the finisher video too, just before me, blowing kisses). Her one coach kept coming back to me making sure I was ok and encouraging me to 'keep my pace.'   I think at this point I knew it was 30 min out.

Words of wisdom to those that might be near the cutoff, find out what your watch time vs the race clock, it will save you lots of anxiety!  "is my watch right?"

I came aorund the corner near the Campers Inn (where our RV was) I knew it was about .4 miles from there.  A volunteer came running up to me and said "You have 4 minutes"-- WHAT ? 4 minutes? Sh!t. I joked that if I had to run a 6 min mile those last 2 miles, I would do it... however I didn't think I would ACTUALLY HAVE TO!

This volunteer "Glenn" (if you know him please send him to me), said "I'm running you in, you have this."  He was super encouraging, and kept telling me to keep moving and I would make it. Then this other volunteer yells "you have ONE MINUTE." SH!T!  ok Vince, (Chi Running).. LEAN.. LEAN.. and GO.. Glenn says "oh you DO have more in you?" -

I literally sprinted down the chute, it was the loudest thing, there were 10 people deep and hands, arms all hanging out and banging on the sides. I could hear my name "oh it's Laura Backus from Webster MA" and then this insane irruption of cheers.  I could see the lights and all I wanted to see was that damn clock, would I make it? ok one more gear, faster!  .. then I see the clock. I had 20 seconds. seriously 20 seconds?

I wish I had 5 seconds to take it all in, but I just HAD to get to that line.  I get there and realize I have to do my kick .. If I hadn't just SPRINTED the last .2 miles, I would have had a better one, but hey I'll take it.  Annette was there waiting to give me my medal!

Disappointing as it was, the pros were all gone. They were gone because Ironman can't count. They ran out of medals at 11:30, seriously, we paid $700 and no medal? unacceptable!   They also didn't say 'Laura Backus, you are an Ironman" - What he did say to me and the woman  2 seconds behind me "2 more in the box"-- ok new slogan for me, I guess I'm "IN THE BOX" :).


I turned and saw Joe Stone and crew. What a guy, I am not sure I could have come back out there but he did, what an athlete. I can't wait to come back and watch him make history!

I looked to the side and saw my whole crew. I felt pretty good, although Annette said I was wobbling.  Good thing about how broken down the finish line was, is my family got to have a picture with the Ironman background.

It was pretty great to show my family what this whole "Ironman" thing was all about. NO one really knows unless they're a triathlete or have been to a finish line. You can't explain it. It is an experience of a lifetime.

I even made the official Ironman Florida video!

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IMFL RACE DAY - Swim - Bike (Part 3 Race Report)

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Race day is here!

5 years in the making, and today is the day.  I woke up, saw that the ocean had not calmed down that much. I just shrugged, what can you do? just go try!

I went to put my hydration and last bit of nutrition on my bike only to notice the untrued wheel!  Ugh, saw the mechanic twice and I had unintentionally turned my bike upside down and dumped out my pretzels and Swedish fish. - Oh well, I did have more in special needs.  The mechanic was able to release my brakes enough for me to ride.   I ventured back to my room and suddenly it was time to get our butts over to the start!

Kellie and I walked to the other end of the beach and left Melissa and John behind to venture "under the arch."

Florida was one of the new swim start corrals.  I think it was pretty cool, I would have gone far outside anyway, but this way I was with people my own speed.  The downfall of swimming with people your own speed, if you have a crazy person next to you, you can't get away. I really can't get enough of the swim pictures!

We heard the pros go off, then a handful of us from Team Bazinga were hanging together, had one last group hug and it was time to get in the water.  The cannon went off and I can't even describe the excitement of entering the water with 2800 people.  We all were tackling the surf, diving down, jumping over and as we passed the breakers, everyone would yell "weeeeee" as they jumped over some waves.  You couldn't actually 'swim' for about 100 yards, after that, you could - sort of.

Swimming like a pack of sardines was interesting. I am not afraid or anxious of the water. I am also a 'defensive' swimmer.   Always have an arm out front, and this protects your head a little. I did have a guy elbow me square on the top of my head.  You get bumped, punched, and the thing that really got me was people who would grab you and pull you back like they were using you as a spring board.  If someone did that to me, I just did it back, it was kinda fun.  I loved the look when they would grab me, yank me, and be all offended when I returned the leap frog!  I had more 'free swim' than I actually thought I would.   The draft is just amazing. Before I knew it I was rounding that first turn buoy!  As I turned the buoy, I took a breath left and saw WAYNE, he saw me, we both yelled "Laura? Wayne?" was pretty funny in that sea of arms and legs, where we ALL look the same, we see each other.  It made me smile.

I looked at my watch and saw I was pacing just ahead of where I wanted.. AWESOME.  I hit the beach and looked for my crew, I could not find anyone so I ran up the beach, grabbed a quick water and back in for round two.

Before I knew it, the swim was done.  I really had a great swim, loved every minute of it, even the crazy people.  I especially got a kick out of the swearing I heard "DUDE, WTF" about 300x.  An Ironman swim is not for the faint of heart!  I am so glad I'm a fish.

Next we ran up the beach to the wetsuit strippers, I really didn't want to sit in the sand but did anyway and it was off in 2 seconds. I hit the showers and HAD To get the sand off my butt. I was trying and a volunteer was yelling at me to move.. haha not until sand off my butt.   I ran RIGHT past my room and my entire family to transition.  For some reason they were not handing bags TO the athletes when I was there, I yelled my # and they just told me which row to run up. Ok, no problem.

I got into the change tent and was in and out in no time. 112 miles of cycling, here we come!  I decided to wear my Phils Phriends team jersey from the PMC.  I ride in the Pan Mass Challenge, 192 mile bike ride across MA. This year we raised $39 MILLION all going to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute - 100% of the rider donations .. 100%!  Anyway I wanted to carry all of those fighting or who have lost their battles with Cancer with me on my Ironman.  The motto on the shirt is "Be realistic, plan for a Miracle" - it seemed appropriate!

There was about a 10mph headwind for most of the course.  That was pretty normal for most of my training so it wasn't 'that' bad. Of course everyone wants a tailwind but I was trained for this.  I venture to guess it was about 80 miles of head or crosswind and 30 of tail.  The bike was pretty uneventful for me.  In the beginning there was ZERO way to not draft.  If you would leave room between you and the guy in front, someone would jump in that spot.  It was also pretty difficult to pass for the first 30 or so miles because of the thousands of bikes!

A very cool thing for me was the passing. I never pass anyone, and I passed more people on the bike than I ever have in any race.   I saw I was pacing just fine, I never tried to catch anyone, just went with my plan.  I went with perceived exertion only, I managed my MPH, but really I knew I had to keep the "exertion" at a certain level to maintain myself for 17 hours.   I did have some knee inflammation, no idea why, but it wasn't unbearable, and it went away the next day. Other than that my body had been super cooperative so far!

The Special needs road is a mess.  If you read any race report on it, you will hear horror stories.  Someone mentioned that it looked like a bike shop. It certainly did!  Entire rear cages, xlabs, bottles, co2, tubes, tires, it was crazy.  The road itself was like a bike path with lots of tree roots. I rode enough of those in my training for it not to bother me. I just slowed down and took that section about 12mph, why risk it?  I saw a few accidents, and had a few close calls. There were some crazy people out there, especially the ones who don't call out 'on your left' then come within inches of you.

I stopped once on the bike to pee, no I won't go on my bike!  I did train for this too!  I was in and out of the portopotty in about 20 seconds.  The guy doing the piddle dance next to me actually said "HOLY SH!T!" when I came back out that fast :).

The ride back was fun, I didn't anticipate the hills though.  I looked at the maps and it looked flat (compared  to New England anyway). For those local folks, it's like the Patriot course in MA.  Flat, but not flat. No biggie, I HATE hills but this was doable.  I killed it in a few areas though, I was over 25mph for a bit with a nice downhill and tailwind. Yup I had fun on that part.  **Btw if you want a legitimately FLAT course, Eagleman or Chesapeakeman is FLAT FLAT FLAT**

As I turned onto beach road, I saw I was going to come in around 7 hours. At that point I knew I would be an Ironman that day. I had so many unknowns with my body and with my BIKE (thank you Ironman for breaking my wheel). I knew I would have almost 8 hours to move my legs 26.2 miles. I knew I had it!  The last 5 or 6 miles down beach road was a nice tailwind, and knowing I was going to make it was pure joy.

As I was approaching dismount I saw John and Melissa.  WHOOHOO.. it is SO awesome to have support at races, seriously awesome.  I dismounted, handed my bike to a volunteer and actually remembered to grab my meds and my garmin (I was terrified that I would forget that).


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IMFL Eve (Part 2 Race Report)

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Friday came so fast!  My family had arrived and I had a few last minute items to take care of... .like organizing my gear bags, racking my bike, etc.  I also had to go visit my A.R.T. friend  JOE.  He hooked me up again, but my sacrum wouldn't budge so he told me to come back at noon, just before they close.

There was an insane storm brewing.  25mph winds, heavy rain, and double red flags on the beach. Thank God the race wasn't on Friday!   I knew that the front would pass and a North wind would calm the ocean for Saturday so I wasn't really worried.  There were several, IMO, idiots who were attempting to swim anyway.  I mean, why on earth would you go into a "DO NOT SWIM, DANGER, RIPTIDE" water the day before your big race?  You gain nothing by swimming the day before anyway.  The energy it would require to get through those breakers was not worth it, plus, major riptide warnings!  I just watched from shore and hoped no one drowned.

Kellie and I with the RED flag. It eventually went to double red (meaning NO SWIMMING).

I double bagged all my gear, because you had to leave your bags in the parking lot, in this monsoon.  I had 2 gallon ziplocks inside my gear bags. Sure it would take an extra 10 seconds in transition, but was worth it to have DRY stuff!

I headed off to rack my bike, of course there is always a rule that you must rack by the seat.  My bike is so small 49cm, so if I hang it by the seat it dangles 3" off the ground. It's rather dangerous on a normal day, but with 25mph winds it was insane to leave my bike banging into the others.

I hung it by the handlebars then went to find an official.  I found one who told me that "once they're all on the rack, they wont swing" and that "he would watch mine for me."  The person next to me never racked their bike so mine had a full 2 feet to swing back  and fourth!  **Note when I arrived on Saturday AM, they had switched my bike, un-trued my race wheel and screwed up my brakes.  Thanks Ironman you SUCK!  I even talked to the RD and he basically said "so what, that's the rule." Hm, really? how about you keep my gear safe, you would never do that to those damn Princes or the Pros.. so why the rest of us? I think you have a DUTY to keep our gear safe, especially when you have a KNOWN risk.   Not sure if my wheel can be fixed, I guess I'm just out $1K.  Bleh!

I did find Joe in the A.R.T. tent again and he was able to put humpty dumpty back together again! WOOHOO.  I felt pretty darn good!

As I was leaving, I ran into Joe Stone and crew.  I helped check in his killer wheels, by this time there was a HUGE line and we had to wonder to the back. This gave me some time to hang out with Joe. Really, I'll say it again, check out his story!  www.ironmansjourney.com  He is amazing.

Joe is an advocate for getting others out there and active, regardless of their limitations.  I feel the same way with overweight AND with Ehlers Danlos folks.  He inspired me to be a little more open about my EDS.  In the past I felt I was complaining if I mentioned it too much, but I learned this weekend that I can help others by just showing they aren't alone.

On Friday the Ehlers Danlos National Foundation also posted a link about me and I started to get some amazing support from my fellow EDSers.  I was partially glued to my phone looking at the comments on my facebook page for fatgirl.  SO many comments, I felt I had a thousand people to do this for! The feeling was pretty surreal.

After the bike racking, I headed back to my room to hang with my family. So happy to have my husband John, parents, brother and 2 cousins come to cheer me on.

I didn't go out to eat, my pre-race meal is a Shrimp Alfredo from a restaurant in Massachusetts.  I ate half of it and froze it before we left.  It seems like a heavy meal, but I ate it once and it worked, so I continue to eat it before every race, even if I have to transport it 1400 miles!

After dinner we just hung out and everyone left pretty early.

I turned my facebook page over to 3 awesome admins: Kelly, Rebekah and Naomi.  *Wow, they did an awesome job!   *

I tried to go to sleep.  Yea right. No one sleeps the night before an Ironman.

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IMFL Race Week is Here (Part 1 Race Report)

Race Week is Here (Part 1 IMFL Race Report)

I packed up work stuff on Thursday Oct 24 and was ready to go!  I had all day Friday to pack and get things in order.  I had my list and checked things off 3x.  I should have just packed them in clear bags as I felt the need to open each back 3 more times to make sure I had everything.

Friday AM I headed out to get my nails done, I knew I had to step it up this time so this is what I ended up with :  Ironman Florida, plus zebra to represent my Ehlers Danlos Syndrome!

In the days leading up to our departure I had several medical issues, from bones, ligaments, out of whack to a sinus and ear infection!  YIPPIEE!!   I also could not run the last 2 weeks because my last half marathon just killed my hip.  I was indeed worried about the race, but I figured I'd stress about that on Race day.

First non-physical stress of the week was the RV turn signal would not work.. I think we need that.  Luckily banging on the light fixed it.

We spent 3 days taking our time on the 1400 mile drive from MA to FL.  I spent half the time (probably more) on Facebook, posting to Fatgirl and chatting with my virtual BAZINGA team!  What an amazing group of folks, it was so nice to have everyone!

I was very excited to make it to the beach.  Warm sunshine YIPPIE! - Although in my haste to pack, I did not pack any "non-race" bike shirts, so I wore my one for race day.  IMPROVISE..you have to improvise to do an IM, nothing EVER goes exactly as planned!

I posted a note to the Bazinga group as I needed to do an easy hour ride, Matt agreed to meet me and we headed into the State park.  This is where I had my first REAL race panic. I was looking for my Garmin, could not find it. I ripped apart EVERY bag I had packed.  I had them in their respective race bags too!  The funny thing was I had TWO Garmin's with me TWO and could not find either!  10 min later they appeared.. WHEW!

There was some wind, but totally doable.  It was a nice relaxing ride and even included some deer and a baby that were NOT afraid of us!

Tuesday was our first swim. I met a few of the Bazinga team.  See, I REALLY AM SHORT!  These guys were awesome. I was the slowest of the bunch and they waited for me on the turns :) thanks guys!

Immediately following the swim I met Joe Stone's crew (Kevin and Fiance Amy)  If you haven't read his story, please do http://ironmansjourney.com/  He chose Florida to be his attempt at being the first quadriplegic to complete an Ironman.  Inspired to say the least!

Wednesday was the start of Ironman Village. It was also the day we checked into the Hotel.  We had 2 places to stay, our RV across the street and a room in the SWIM OUT.  That was rather convenient!  NO port-o-potty for me, or my crew!   This is the view from our back door. Those are the showers for the swim out.

I had an interesting encounter as I was checking into the Hotel. Some random guy was there, getting his 'balcony room' so he could watch the swim. I said "no watching for me, I'm doing it." He looked me up and down and said "REALLY?"-- I know so many of the bigger triathletes get this all the time, seriously folks, you are spectating, get over yourself and stop judging.

In Ironman Village, they had the clock ticking down.  72 hours.  Note behind the sign, secret service types (men in suits in the 80 degree Florida weather).  They were 'guarding' 2 Middle Eastern Princes.   I do have to say that these guys were quite annoying, their posse was everywhere, and even bothered several folks on the course with their 'chase vehicles.'  They had so much special attention it was sick.  They even kicked several folks out of their hotel who had reservations from the year before!  (and caused them an additional $150 at the NEXT hotel).  Not cool Ironman!

 So my next stress was when I was about to pick up my packet.  I got a call and text from my cleaning lady.  Frantic.  Apparently our electric stove top was ON, heat coming from it, but everything was in the 'off' position.    She was smart enough to go cut the breaker to the kitchen and shut if off.  Everything cooled down.  Insanity!  Panic, seriously did I need to have my HOUSE burn down as a stress?   30 min later my neighbor went over and everything was fine once the power was cut.  What an insane thing, and thank God she came that day!

So, as I tried to lower my heart rate, I went and stood in line to get my packet.  It was uneventful.

The swag was kind of cheap, my Eagleman bag is SO much nicer!  *the finisher tshirt and hat were also pretty lame*- but I shall use them them pride anyway!.  Although I doubt that plastic licence plate holder will last one winter here in New England.

 I guess it is real now!

Apollo and Athena made the trip with us.  Athena is named for a category in triathlon, and mr Apollo is one irondog!  He is going on 13 years old in a breed that lives 6-8 years.  I swear he needed to see me through this!

Kellie and I (Tri NewEngland peeps) hung for a bit, attended the pre-race briefing and just enjoyed the day.

I am happy to stalk Rinny again, but am also super upset at Ironman for running out of medals and making the pros not stick around till Midnight.  I KNOW she would have given me my medal!

I had asked around to see if there was a chiropractor around and I got an early Christmas present, there was an ENTIRE TENT full of them!  A.R.T. practitioners, doing FREE, yes FREE work!  My sacrum and hip were out of place.  JOE hooked me up and told me to come back on Friday.  I eventually figured out that the sacrum issue was from the HOTEL TOILET, yes toilet.  EDS is a strange disorder!  The height and angle of the toilet just pulled apart my sacrum!  nice, eh? The toilet hurt me more than an Ironman! - I'm so glad Joe was there to hook me up!

Thursday we had another group swim, with team Bazinga- what an awesome group.

Thursday evening was the athlete banquet.  We paid $30 for John and in my opinion, was quite overpriced for what it was. I was, however, impressed with how they can serve 2000+ people that quickly though.  We were PACKED in. There is no way to actually capture the number of folks in this room.

We listened to the program, heard Joe Stone speak and ventured home to rest.  Thursday is supposed to be a 'feet up' day, YEA RIGHT!

Race week FLEW by, I was surrounded by awesome people, new teammates and great family and friends!

Click here for Part 2


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