With A New Season Comes Change

Well, I made it (almost) through the 2011 triathlon season without being sidelined with some catastrophic injury. Notice I said almost. So essentially I didn't meet all of my goals one being, get through the season without as much as a hangnail. FAIL.

  I had a little visit with my friends over at Coolidge Corner Imagining last week, just  one week after my last race of the season. It's like home-away-from-home there.  I can just about remember all the techs by name and front office staff. It's just a matter of time they will be including me in their fantasy football pool and maybe if I'm lucky, even the staff holiday party!

Now you all must be thinking, "Why doesn't this knuckle headed blond just stop when something is hurting before it gets so bad?"  All I can say is either i have a VERY high pain tolerance or I have a  VERY VERY high pain tolerance combined with a short circuit to TAKE YOUR HAND AWAY FROM THE FLAME issue because none of the previous injuries have ever felt serious yet each one has literally drained the color from my face from shock when told the diagnosis. One thing I can take from all of this is I'm seasoned now.  There is no face color draining, no hissy fits, I just let it roll.  My deepest sympathy  to all who in the past had to bare my wrath  with my fists pounding on them (if they were lucky enough to be there) or had to listen to me cry and moan, moan and cry on the other end of a phone for days/weeks on end.

 Three's a charm and I'm above that now.  A mature, seasoned injury specimen smart enough to ask to have the radiology report sent to her email so I don't have to wait days on end to hear from a physician when they get around to telling me. Take that as your tip-o-the day and yes, I'm still wait for the call for the info I already have.

   I'm on stress fracture # 3 in three years to be crystal clear.

It is apparent I'm made of match sticks and/or balsa wood disguised as bone. We will leave it at that for now.

Lets  focus on the positive shall we? I trained. I raced and each one, I gave it everything I had.  I have been the queen of consistent TRX suspension training 2 days a week since January.  I am fit. I am strong and my hips,back,core have never been stronger.

I did 4  triathlon races, 2 open water swim races and 5 road races.   My run times progressively got faster and I managed 2 first place finishes in my division and 2 second place for the 4 sprint triathlons all on 4 years of set-backs and very inconsistent training due to my match stick bones.

So my fall season (badly needed run focus) is now on the top shelf where I've had to place things too many times.

It is what it is and I shall persevere which brings me to cyclocross. You know... cowbells, mud, caution tape and beer?  I was not going to have anything to do with it this year sticking to my guns and focusing on running but it only took one race (photographing) and I was drooling. So.... if my paw holds up in a rigid shoe without much issue, I will perhaps jump into a few races in which I don't really race, I just hang on for

dear life in the back and pretend I know what I'm doing. 

My new goal? Finding someone who can teach me to remount my bike with out the dreaded double

hop syndrome I can't seem to get rid of.  I watch it over and over and over but my head and  butt can't seem to make it happen. 

LIKE THIS!

  Here is Mo Bruno Roy, my massage therapist/ mud loving Pro CX athlete showing exquisite technique.Kudos to one of my favorite photographers Lyne Lamoureux who takes BAD ASS cycling photos and caught this shot.

 I know!!!! Maybe.. just maybe..at my next massage appointment I forgo the massage and I get her to spend the hour with me on: Perfecting The Remount!!!!!

Ya think?    

This match stick girl can STILL dream and dream big. 

Thanks for stopping by.