So far so good! I'm surviving school (it's only the 3rd week of the semester) but that's not to say that I won't have at least one melt down before the end comes. Training is going surprisingly well, despite having so much stuff to do. It's all gonna get more complicated and busy from here on out, so the goal is to stay as organized as possible and minimize the freaking out I'm so so good at doing ;) . I have one of the best training partners in the world, she's there no matter what (minus the swimming, but pools don't generally allow her kind). She's always down for a run, no matter how long, and is always up for more play time after! I guess you just can't beat the energy levels of an Australian Shepherd, right? She's still learning the complexities of the bike trainer, like that the pedals go around in circles and it's not a great idea to stick your head in the area where they move...she'll learn.
I decided to finally get my own racing wheels. I have read nothing but good things about the Neuvation C50 carbon tubulars, and I have a set of the M28 Aero 3's for training, which I love. I've actually raced a fair amount on the M28's and even though they're purposed as training wheels for me, I put out my best bike times ever on them, and I haven't had to true them yet. So needless to say I love the wheels, and love that they're not $2000 for a set (try, like, $600 for a set of carbon racing wheels...wow). So between new wheels, training, and tweaking the TT bike position to make it more aero, I should be riding pretty fine this time around! I've been drooling over the amount of carbon in the setup....oooh sexy carbon....haha.
Well, it's official. I'm trying a coach. From what I can tell a very qualified coach. I need a coach for several reasons, number one being that lately I haven't been able to push myself because I don't know if I'm training right. I will work my sorry little ars off if I know that I'm going in the right direction. It's really too bad that Nuevo Mexico doesn't have much in terms of coaches. I've only found coaches with a level 1 certification, which, by now is about as much knowledge as I already have. So that wouldn't help much. And I'm looking to go pro, which means ITU style racing: fast swim, draft bike (but still important), and run as fast as you friggin' can off the bike. I'm sure I have the physical capacity to make it, I just need help gettin' there :)
Or whatever everyone celebrates :) It's the holiday of eating too many sweet things and drinking too many sweet and alcoholic things. Not that they taste bad, they're just not that good for you, but hey, as long as you're having a good time and relaxing, who cares? I have my share of them.
Finals are done, finally! Thought I wasn't going to hold it together with all the stress they put me under, freaking out seems to be my forte, whether it helps me finish final projects or not haha. But before the stress of finals hit I was feeling really good. A hard swim and 60 miles on the bike right after didn't seem to beat me up nearly as much as it probably should have. But, stress makes you tired, makes you sick, so that didn't last. The energy levels are just now starting to come around, just in time for Christmas, when training tends to be harder anyways with everything there is to do. Then next week I'm heading to the Great White North (duh duh duuuhhhh) to visit with my amazing boyfriend's family. Luckily it sounds like we'll be playing a lot - rock climbing, skiing (of the xc sort, though if we do downhill, he must expect to pick me up from my fallen heap...let's just say I've been skiing a magical 3 or 4 times...my whole life), then there's snowshoeing, and the indoor pool/track that's pretty close-by. So I'll at least be able to keep moving until I'm back. Then the real prep starts. Collegiate Nationals is April 17th, my last one. Because then I'm done.
Or, rather, where did the year go? It's December already! That means it's time to start training again...it looks like my thyroid is behaving itself for the time being, so yay! I have to excuses for being a whiner now ;)
That being said, my first race in months is next weekend, the Jingle Bell out in Rio Rancho. It's going to be a COOOLLLDD race! Luckily it's a backwards tri - run, bike, swim. And the swim's indoors. Yippee! Though that didn't save me from nearly freezing to death at the last race on this course. But this time I'll remember to bring a change of clothes (and a towel) for after the race is done, and hopefully it won't be raining cats and dogs.
Off to prep stuff for tomorrow, gonna hit the pool at 5:30, dark and early...
I know, I know, it's been a month and a half. To be fair, I've been sick, busy, sick, busy, tired, trying to train, then sick again. Haha school definitely ruins training plans! But, I've been feeling better than I have in a really long time. And it looks like my thyroid is correcting itself (cross your fingers that it keeps doing that!). The next month is going to be full of homework and exams, meaning that time is going to be shorter than ever. And I'm not very good at not procrastinating, so...yeah...I'm hoping that I survive the end of the semester.
Throughout the season I've been struggling with training and racing, more-so than usual. Everyone who does train struggles with it in some way, otherwise everyone could be an athlete, right? So I thought maybe it's all just in my head, I'm not actually feeling tired, I'm just being a wuss. Watching my heartrate I knew it was a little higher than normal in resting and in training, but I figured it must just be a cold or I'm just tired or something, no big deal (which I did have a cold over the summer that turned into bronchitis).
Well in June I had a blood test done that included a thyroid scan (because every time I get a blood test the doc decides to just throw it in there). So I've had many a blood test that said the thyroid is normal. The blood test in June came back saying that my thyroid was 'just a little hyper' (doc's words) which of course I didn't believe because I'm always healthy so I didn't worry about it. But I went ahead and got another blood test just to make sure because I didn't want to miss something important. This blood test came back saying that the thyroid was even more hyper than before...by almost twice! Well fine, this finally got my attention that maybe something is wrong here, and the doctor launched me into more tests. Thyroid ultrasound came up with a super small cyst, and the next blood tests were 'consistent with Graves' Disease' (doc's words again). Doing some research I found (on the Mayo Clinic site):
Graves' disease symptoms may include:
Anxiety
Irritability
Difficulty sleeping
Fatigue
A rapid or irregular heartbeat
A fine tremor of your hands or fingers
An increase in perspiration
Sensitivity to heat
Weight loss, despite normal food intake
Brittle hair
Enlargement of your thyroid gland (goiter)
Change in menstrual cycles
Frequent bowel movements
However, sometimes I'm irritable anyways, sometimes I can't sleep, I'm usually tired from training, and I'm always sensitive to heat. My hair is short, and usually isn't too great anyways from being in the pool a lot. The heartbeat rings a bell though. And I found that some people have persistent nasal infections with this, too (and the ears and nose are connected thus a possible explanation for an ear infection that really hasn't gone away when I don't normally get them - ever???). And I'm having problems with bonking while doing things that I shouldn't have a problem with without eating.
The next test for me is a radioactive iodine test, which tells you how the thyroid is functioning.
The info that I've found says that once this is fixed by either partially killing the thyroid or by medications to control it, you are back to normal. And there are many women athletes that have this, so that gives me hope.
So I have some time to try and relax, because stress aggravates everything, especially when something isn't right. And training is going to be all very low-level, non-exhausting long slow distance. Or just days off if I feel like I need it.
It's not always about pushing yourself, sometimes you gotta just step back and fix a few things before you get moving again.
So I've never had this problem as long as I've been swimming: swimmer's ear. I have NO IDEA how I got it. It hurts, believe me, and I'm very not happy about having to stay on dry land for a few days. I'm getting a doctor to look at it tomorrow morning, but it hurts, itches, can't touch it (don't even THINK about shoving a wax earplug in there - ouch!!), and my ear feels like I've gone down to the bottom of the deep end and didn't equilibrate my ears.
Theories are that maybe it was the water in Tuscaloosa (which was really grody) and somehow it hung around for a week, and I think the kicker was then spending another week in the swimming pool, chlorinated tho it may be, and keeping it wet made for the ideal environment.
Whatever the cause, I've learned: 1. When you swim in grody water, use the ear cleaning stuff (alcohol/vinegar/water) 2. That today's going to be a running day...so much for swimming.
energy levels of an Australian Shepherd, right? She's still learning the complexities of the bike trainer, like that the pedals go around in circles and it's not a great idea to stick your head in the area where they move...she'll learn.
