Now that the stress has subsided from my most recent experience there is something else I want to share.  After all is said and done, I will tell you this; I was not suppose to do Vineman.  My training leading to Vineman had its ups and downs that is for sure.  I would have a week of training where I would hit all my workouts, then I would have a week where life wouldn’t allow much else and I would have to forgo a workout or two or three or four.  All in all though I was having some pretty goodbike  rides and my running and swimming were starting to come back around.  I was really looking forward to racing Vineman and the closer the race came the more excited I became. The week before the race I had several key workouts.  As I started one of them (long trail run) I noticed I had a pretty tight glute-but it didn’t seem to be too bad so I just sort of pushed through it.  Sunday, the week before the race I had a GREAT workout day.  I did a lactate swim session at Stanford and then went and rode 6 X 5 minute hill repeats on Kings Mtn.  I had 2 great workouts, I was on a roll, so I thought I could sneak in that one last hard run before Vineman, so after the hill repeats I did an hour tempo run.  As soon as I started the run my glute was so tight.  It actually felt like I was having a hard time bringing my leg forward-but I was still running hard so I powered through.  I knew I would be having a low week of training leading to the race so I was okay with pushing through; I figured I would take Monday, Tuesday easy, go hard on Wednesday and then rest into Vineman on Sunday.  Well, when I woke up on that Monday pre Vineman I was a wreck.  I was so sore and tired, I could barley swim 1000.  On Tuesday I tried running and was in so much pain I only made it 18 minutes.   First thought, apparently I over did it Sunday.  My Wednesday hard day turned into a damage control day and by Thursday I was really questioning going to Vineman at all.  I knew I could get through the run but the question was, how much damage was I going to do to my glute and how would that effect my Kona training.  In my gut I knew I should not race but I decided I would just rest more until race day and take 4 advil before the start and if the glute was getting worse during the race I would drop out.  That was the first time I thought maybe I shouldn’t race.  Then on Friday pre Vineman I woke up feeling HORRIBLE.  I felt sick to my stomach all day, I took a 3 hour nap and just felt miserable.  I couldn’t eat all day and it took every ounce of energy to spin an hour.  That was the second time I questioned going to the race.  BUT, I decided I would see how I felt Saturday morning.  On Saturday I woke up feeling a bit better but not 100%.  I had to go pick up my husband, brother and dad from the airport who cam back from a fishing trip in Alaska.  After I picked them up I brought them back to the house and heard all about their trip.  Gabriella was so exciteded to see her daddy, between that trip and the strike teams for the fires we have burning in the state, Chris had been gone for almost a month.  So when it was time for me to drive up to Santa Rosa for the race, it was not sitting right in my gut that I was leaving.  BUT, I had told myself this was the race to give me the data that I needed for Kona so I needed to go.  That was the thrid time I thought about not going.  Did I mention it took me an hour and thirty minutes to get over the Golden Gate Bridge? (It usually only takes 50-60 minutes).

So, Can you see how getting my bike stolen may have been a blessing in disguise?  I will tell you, when I realized it was gone, I was sitting in my car, with it running and I just looked up to the sky and said, “Really?” “Really?” “Are you kidding me?” “Is this how I get “out” of racing today?”  As I drove to pick up my friend for the race I told myself, my bike is coming back to me, I know it.  As I was driving around the race course looking for my bike my brother called to tell me how sorry he was and I told him about my whole week lead up and how it just wasn’t feeling right to race.  I told him that if my gut was right my bike was coming back to me.  I found out later that he hung up laughing and said I crazy.  He does not think I am so crazy now.

Following your gut is so hard to do.  I have given speeches about it and still find it hard to trust myself, even though I have MANY examples of how it works.  A lot of what I am doing, this whole second comeback, has to do with changing my processing.  I am getting better at it, slowly.  I did Honu 70.3 in May and had 2 flats on the bike and at Vineman 70.3 I had my bike stolen.  I am telling you, I am going to have a kick butt Ironman Hawaii, I can feel it!

Let it Go,

Gina