World Arthritis Day

Tomorrow (Oct. 12) is World Arthritis Day. Please wear blue to show your support if you or someone you know is living with a form of arthritis.

Race update: Longhorn 70.3 is 12 days away. I'm number 1228 if you want to follow me online on Oct. 23! Then I start my 30 week program to Ironman!!!



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More fundraising!

Just got done dropping off fundraising material at Ft. Bend Rheumatology Associates. I am hoping for a lot of good traffic here since everyone in the office is affected by arthritis in one way or another. Looks pretty good!!!


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Location:Creek Way Dr,Sugar Land,United States

Fundraising Material is Ready!

Want to help me in my fundraising without donating another penny yourself? Do you have a business, place or worship or other community location with a board for posting? I now have full color poster/fliers as well as business cards with a link to my donation page (which is www.active.com/donate/texasironman2012). Email me at sabs35@comcast.net if you would like fundraising material to post in your place of business, worship or community center. I would love to run out of material and have to print more!

I also want to give a shout-out to the following businesses that will soon be proudly displaying my poster: Bella Salon in Katy, Bike Barn (all 6 locations), Stitch Designs, and Ft. Bend Rheumatology.

That's all for now. Training updates coming soon!

And we're off...

It's offical! Fundriasing is underway for the Arthritis Foundation and we have our first donation! I would like to personally thank Michael Alexander for being the first person to donate to the Arthritis Foundation for my Ironman campagin! Thanks Mike! Who will be next?!

A goal within a goal

As I mentioned in my opening blog, my Ironman dream is more than just something I am doing for myself. I want to make my Ironman journey a fundraiser for an organization that really means something to me. It has taken a bit of time to get off the ground, but it is now offical. Let the fundraising begin for the Arthritis Foundation!

www.active.com/donate/texasironman2012

Why the Arthritis Foundation? Arthritis and the conditions that it encompasses has affected me and my family deeply. When I was 21, I was diagnosed with Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disorder (also called Mixed Connective Tissue Disorder). My condition has the symptoms of RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis), Lupus, Scleroderma, and other rheumatic conditions- yet it is not definitively any of these. Many people with my condition go on to a solid diagnosis and others remain in an undiagnosed limbo. Also, my mother is currently battling RA and over the last few years I have seen the physical and mental toll it has taken on her. Other members of my immediate family have suffered (or are suffering) from conditions including osetoarthritis, fibromyalgia, pseudo-gout, and lupus. Its hard to say if it is truely genetic or just bad luck. I do know I am the youngest member of my family to have symptoms.

I am able to manage my condition with medication and by staying active. Completing an Ironman is difficult enough for someone without a joint condition. I know it will be tough but I know that I will have to rely on my mental toughness to get me though when my physical body may begin to let me down. Though my blog, I want to highlight the different conditions under the label of "arthritis" and show everyone what I do to control my condition as well as some of the symptoms and treatments of my mother as she battles RA.

I am fortunate to have been put in contact with the Houston office of the Arthritis Foundation and I have set up my donation page. All proceeds will go to the Arthritis Foundation. My rheumatologist is also helping me with my fundraising. I will be setting up a display in his office with links to my donation page. He has also agreed to donate money towards my new bike as he participates in triathlons himself. I hope to have him write a guest blog for me someday!! ;)

If you know anyone who might be interested in helping me in my campagin, please send them the link to my donation page (www.active.com/donate/texasironman2012) or have them email me (sabs35@comcast.net). Thanks for the support!

Great Link!

I got this from my (Ironman) friend Debra! I dedicate it to Samuel and the next year of our lives!

http://btothes.wordpress.com/2011/06/29/how-to-date-a-girl-endurance-athlete/

Great article on Team Endure

Here is a great article on some of the members of Team Endure and our current race card for PJ! CANCER SUCKS!

http://www.hillcountrynews.com/news/article_d26ba386-91dd-11e0-aa86-001cc4c002e0.html

CapTex Tri 2011

On Monday I competed in the Cap Tex Triathlon in downtown Austin. I have participated in this event before and I was excited to be racing this challenging course again. Little did I know what a challenge it would be. I was racing with Team Endure (formerly Veterans for Sarcoma), a team started by my brother's friend Kirk who was in military when he found out he had sarcoma. He almost lost his leg to sarcoma but he came back fighting and now competes in tris and raises money for sarcoma research and families dealing with sarcoma. The Cap Tex Tri is one of two races on our Battle Card for little PJ, a 4 year old who has been battling sarcoma for almost a year. He just finished up 6 months of chemo treatments and to date the team has raised almost $6000 for him and his family. CANCER SUCKS! (Kirk's motto)

I was a little tenative going in to the race for a few reasons- I haven't raced a tri since Longhorn in October of 2010, I had a wicked case of bronchitis two weeks ago (102 fever, horrible cough, etc.) and the latest factor- increasing winds. I went for an easy ride on Sunday morning and even then the winds were starting to gust. I looked at the forecast for Monday- high of 96 and winds 25-35mph with gusts near 40! That is murder on the bike and can cause the swim portion to be canceled if the water is too choppy. The weather combined with Austin hills had the potential for a tough race.

Race morning was pretty usual- up SUPER early (like 4:20am) and out the door to caravan with the team. We arrived at the Palmer Events Center Parking Garage right about 6:00am which left 45 minutes to complete transition. Every time I have a race, I set everything out for transition the night before and double/triple check that morning to make sure I have everything I need for the race. Glad I did because I originally didn't pack socks for the run! That would NOT have been fun. This race used a new system called Tri Tat for numbers, labels and even temporary tattoos for your race number. That way the only thing you needed from body marking was your age on your calf. I personally didn't like the tattoos as they were sticky and hard to get off. But I guess they stayed on though water, sunscreen and sweat. I set up my transition, although I didn't have much space. The girl next to me had a HUGE duffle bag set out for her transition and our bike rack was VERY crowded. It was open racking in your age group and I got there early but lots of other people crowded on the rack. Oh well, I don't need much space. I pumped up my tires, cliped in my shoes and set up my run gear. I'm good to go. I saw my friends Jason Levin, who raced his FIRST EVER Olympic Tri, Jeff and Mare Schaberg, as well as lots of my Team Endure friends. It was a fun time in transition.

After helping my dad figure out how the relay would work (he was SO worried about it...mind you my dad is 70 and still runs...a lot!), we headed over to help Kirk and company set up the tent. My mom was out to cheer us on so she was greatful to have the tent and a comfortable folding chair to sit in. My wave didn't start until 8:18 (and then I found out they were running 12 minutes behind!) so I had a lot of waiting. I hate waiting. It only makes me more nervous. Grr. Anyway, I headed down to the water with my wetsuit half on. I realized once I got down to the water, I forgot to put on Glide to keep the wetsuit from rubbing in places. I would come to regret that. The time actually passed pretty quickly as I made casual conversation with other athletes in my wave. I had heard the water was 73-74 and I was starting to regret the wetsuit (even though it was still cool enough to be wetsuit legal). But once I jumped in off the dock, I was REALLY glad I had it. It was NOT 73-74. It was more like 70-71 in my book! The water was also filled with lots of sea/lakeweed. YUCK! And we are off. I liked this swim course...keep the bouys to your right. Well, I tend to veer right anyway so I had no problem hugging the bouys. I hit a few with my hand and even got inside of them a few times. On the back stretch the wind really started to pick up and at one point I went to breathe and got a mouth full of lake water. BIGGER YUCK! That made the back half of the swim rough...well that and the fact that I have only swam 2-3 times this season! He-he. Anyway, out of the water in about 31.5 minutes...not my best but not bad, all things considered.

As I was getting out of the water, I had lots of people helping me up the boat ramp and one of them pulled down the strap on my wetsuit. As I am running towards the wetsuit strippers (what a great job title!), I am pulling the wetsuit down to my waist and taking off my cap and goggles. For those of you who have never done a tri, coming out of the water and trying to run is the WEIRDEST feeling in the world. You are going from horizontal to vertical and your heart rate, which is already high, JUMPS up! Its almost dreamlike. Anway, I got to the wetsuit strippers and before I could even lay down they had my wetsuit on my waist and as soon as I hit the deck, it was pretty much off. The pulled me back up and I was off.

I keep forgetting that this transition is a long on with lots of dirt, pebbles, gravel and other nasty things. I don't mind dirty feet (I ride barefoot and run though transition barefoot as my shoes are clipped into my bike already), but this was ROUGH. I got started pretty well as far as getting into my shoes but as I started the bike course, I had NOTHING in my legs. It normally takes me .5-1 mile to get my legs under me once I get on the bike but it took me the better part of 4 miles to really feel good. The wind was a factor right of the bat. Cross wind blowing me around on the 1st street bridge. Going up Congress was uphill and the crosswind to contend with . The worst of the hills are around the side of the Capital building. I'm pretty sure I used EVERY gear on my bike during this ride. I know I hit my granny gear going up some hills (into the wind!). And I hit 27+mph going down some hills (which was scary with a gusts of crosswind). The thing that made this course even tougher was it was a 4 loop course. So I didn't have to contend with those hills once but FOUR TIMES! The wind really took a beating on me. Not my best bike, at all. I think I averaged about 14.x on the bike...not good.

As I rolled into T2 to get ready to run, my feet felt like ground beef. All that barefoot running on my uncallused feet was starting to catch up with me. My feet were really dirty so I tried to wipe them off as best I could before putting on my socks and shoes. Off to run. Or some reasonable faxsimile thereof! It was still really windy and now it was down right HOT! My water that was frozen in my water bottle was hot and gross. I pretty much just drank the water on the course as it was cool. Not ice cold but better than what I had. I ended up walking about 60-70% of the run course due to the heat, my ground beef feet, and a wicked cramp that had started in my glute and worked its way down my hamstring into my calf. I know this was becuase I was behind on my salts. I had a bottle with 4 scoops of Ironman Perform on the bike but I now know I need to start hitting the salt sticks/caps when it is this hot. I also had a Gu on the Bike and on the Run but still, not enough sodium/potassium/etc.

So I finished, and that is about all I can say. It wasn't pretty but I made it happen. I got my medal more importantly, we raised money and awareness for sarcoma. And, like with every race, I learned a few things.

1. Might help to pick up the training a bit. :)

2. Salt sticks/caps need to be my friend. I will start experimenting with that in my training this summer.

3. WIND SUCKS. But...there is nothing you can do about it. I have to make myself get out there and traing in all conditions becuase no one knows what race day will bring.

The next race on my calendar is the Waco Tri in mid/late July. I did this race last year and I really enjoyed it. After that I plan on 1-2 more Olympics, maybe TriGirl Sprint in August (if my 13 year old niece decides to do it) and then Longhorn in October!

And then...the big one!

The Inspiration for my Blog

A friend of mine shared this video with me back in the fall as we were training for a half marathon. I about died! To the outsider, what I am taking on is rather crazy. But I can totally relate!

Please excuse the language in this video. This why my blog is titled as such!

It's Offical!

It's offical! I am on my way down the road to crazy. And that road is 140.6 miles long. I have taken the first step in completing, what really is, a lifelong dream. I remember watching Ironman competitions on TV when I was in middle school and high school thinking, "That is *$^&ing impossible! Those people are nuts!" But in the back of my mind, I though, "How cool would that be?!?!" And now, through a series of events in my life, I am setting out to do what 14-year old Sabrina said was impossible.

I have three main goals with my Ironman journey:

1. Be a legal finisher!
2. Have a memorable journey, hence the blog! My intentions are to blog my training, thoughts, and other musings on the road to Ironman.
3. Fundraise for a charitable organization- but more on that in another blog.

So here is how my trip offically started. I was excited to hear that Texas was going to have the first ever full Ironman event in the Woodlands (an hour from me). I, of course, wanted to be in the action in addition to the fact that I knew several people participating in the event. I signed up to volunteer in the fall, knowing somewhere in the back of my mind, volunteers got proirity registration for the next year's event. I completed my first half Ironman (Longhorn 70.3) in October of 2010 and somwhere towards the end of the run I really started to wrap my head around the fact that this ultra-endurance sport was NOT impossible.

As the Spring wore on, I rode the MS 150 (two day 150 mile bike ride <160 actaully...but who's counting?!?!>) I really began to think to myself, "You should do this. Its in your backyard. You can train the course. You don't have spend money to travel. Your family is in Texas to support you. You should do it." So somewhere in the month of April (I think?) I started to verbally say, "I'm doing Ironman Texas 2o12!" And I made it a (subconsicous) point to tell a lot of people. The more people I told, the more people that would hold me to. Hence, another reason to blog!

Anyway, back to the weekend. I volunteered on the bike course but my volunteer coordinator (whom I NEVER met!) didn't tell anyone about how to get priority registration nor did he ever bring me my offical volunteer shirt. But I KNEW my name was in the system as a volunteer. Thanks to my good friend and training buddy Dinh (Bacon) Pham, he forwarded me the email with information on sign up and loaned me his stinky volunteer shirt!

I got up at 4 this morning (my alarm was set for 5...think I was excited?!?) and made it to the Woodlands a little after 6. There was a line of about 30 people already formed. As I got in line, I realized that most of the people in line were athletes from yesterday who wanted to go to the Ironman store to get their finisher gear. Hmmm.... Once the flood gates opened at 7:00, I went in quest of someone who knew where I needed to be for registration. I was successful and when I found the tent, I found that I was FIRST in line! They said registration would open at 9 but they opened more like 8:30. I was actaully shaking as I handed over my credit card ($625!) and my ID. My heart was fluttering when he said, "Okay. You're in!" No backing out now. No refunds. It's on!