MM 2015 IMLP RR
Wednesday: Left early from North Carolina, 2 dogs, 2 bikes, and me to drive to Lake Placid New York. Arrived about 8:00PM in the evening.
Thursday: Checked in. Explored athlete village and went for a swim. Attend EN dinner.
Friday: Slept in. Get gear together and organized. Wait for parents to arrive. Attend 4 Keys Talk.
Saturday: Slept in. Ate a good breakfast. Took items to be dropped off in transition. Lost car keys in transition :-( Stayed calm, asked of the volunteers near where my bike was if anyone had turned in keys. Yes, they had, and YES, they were mine :-)
Sunday: Up early. Have all things ready to leave. Realize my garmin is somehow not charged. Put on charger, remain calm, drink UCAN, and eat a banana. Garmin is finally at 85%, time to roll to the race and try to beat the Garmin before it shuts off.
Swim: Started in the 1:00 to 1:10 since that is typically my IM swim time. Swim was combative and I tried to get away from the cable as it seemed to be worse in that area. Was kicked really hard in the face and thought my goggles were broke (this is important later). They weren't leaking so I kept swimming with the plan to re-adjust going into 2nd loop. Started 2nd loop with re-adjusted goggles, had space to get into my rhythm and soon the swim was done.
Transition 1: Planned to shorten the time I usually spend here, and managed to do exactly that. Was very happy. Went to get bike and the volunteer actually had it at the end of the rack!! Wahoo!! Saw Coach P and Mariah on my way out of transition.
Bike: Stayed where I wanted and started to eat and drink early. Even when I didn't want to eat, made myself take in the UCAN. For the most part I watched the watts I was putting out and ensured they weren't to crazy. Loved coming into town and seeing the crowd, 2nd loop, my mantra was same as the first, but more control, head down and ride. This worked for me and for the first time I was excited about running the marathon.
Transition 2: Again, telling myself not to stay in here all day. Transition came and went...was able to put a bunch of Vaseline on a crazy toe that had caused some problems on the bike. No issues with it during the run.
Run: Whoa....I am so dizzy, nauseous, crap!! What is going on?? Take in fluids, just get them in. Ugh, HOT and FLAT coke!! Doesn't matter keep taking it in. Try to run, whoa, not working. Doggone it, I know I did not push to hard on the bike. What the heck is going on. Come back into town and tell Coach P. He says get some chicken broth. Chicken broth is not on the course yet. Get to run Special Needs, look inside my bag to get things out, when I look up I almost fall backwards. So dizzy and nauseous. They catch me, I tell them I am ok and keep going. I get myself into a nice tunnel vision and begin to count my steps and say my mantra. I notice that as long as I don't look around or speak out loud, I am fine and actually do some form of running. I stay focused and notice my times are getting much better. Then the watch dies, no idea what the time is, but I am making the final turn for the last out and back. I keep going, and finally it is time to run into the oval! Oh my goodness, what an amazing feeling to go where so much history has taken place!! I am so very excited to cross the finish line!! My mom was there to put the medal on me and then off to medical.
Medical: Labs show I am well hydrated and sodium levels are good. YAY me!! I nailed the nutrition and electrolytes. Then they give me something for the nausea. Finally I start to feel better and am released.:
Tuesday: Still in LP, but feel worse with being dizzy, woozy, and lightheaded. Take myself to Urgent Care since I am planning to leave the next morning. Dr does some interesting tests during the exam and figures out I have benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. This is most likely caused by the blow to the head in the swim. He prescribes me some meds to help with everything. I am on the mend, but still feel foggy and get short episodes of dizziness. It should resolve itself within this next week. Until then, I am in complete chill mode 
Overall I didn't get my sub 14 that I was hoping for, but am happy for nailing everything within my control!
Comments
The Race.... it sure is hard to improve on a statement like this .... "but am happy for nailing everything within my control!"
Congrats, heal up quick!
Suffering vertigo is no joke - been there done that.. and it's amazing you could run at all.
Was great to meet you and spend time, I really enjoyed your company and endless enthusiasm.
Congrats on a great race!
Whoa, the brain is a funny thing, no? Part of it kept you going all day, while the other part was knocked for a loop. But then, you are such a positive, energetic gal - that positive energy carried the day.