Rewind

Time to back things up a bit. I've been on vacation and need to go back and talk about the past few weeks.

Post-Ironman....OUCH!

We all know the obvious....sore quads, sore calves, and even sore shoulders and back. I am convinced the latter is due to holding on for dear life while flying Down those endless hills. Who knows.

But of course, I hurt. I expected this. I also had a strange nausea and lack of appetite for almost a week after the big day. This was a total surprise to me. I anticipated an enormous appetite. Not so. I could barely handle food.

Oh..and I couldn't sleep! The night OF the race, I was wired. But it continued! I was up at 3-4 a.m. for almost a week after the big day. Very strange.

By Thursday, I was able to walk without my ado. I only went downstairs backwards for a few days. I also regained my appetite. Darn.

I was quite happy to have a WHOLE WEEK OFF!! 100%. No Training!! Woohoo!!! I do love training...but I truly savored this week.

Many people had asked me, "What will you do After?" I will take a BREAK!!! I said it with pride---I had earned a true break.

To make it even better, we were going on Vacation. To my Favorite place on Earth. I may travel all around the world someday, but I do not expect to ever find a place I love more. (photo at top...still struggle to get those in the right place!)

We moved into the cottage and things were perfect. however, my week OFF was gulp, over. It was time to move again. Ok, that's fine. I'm ready to go.

45 minutes....easy.... a run.

Um....NOPE! I felt almost as bad as the final miles of the IRonman. I trotted. I shuffled. My legs were heavy. Tired. Sore. I walked...I stretched. I hoped my family would drive by and give me a ride. Thankfully, I didn't wear my HR monitor or garmin. Only a watch. I knew nothing. This was good.

I had about 1/2 mile left when yeah....my boys Did drive up! (I knew they had an errand to run..) Cameron ( age 9) and Tommy (7) ran track this year. There was no need for everyone to leave the cottage so I said, "hey boys...want to run back with me?" They did....they had on tevas...not even running shoes. I told them we had to run. They were fired up for this. They ran along with their arms flailing about with their awkward and enthusiastic run styles. I was just hoping to get home. After a few minutes Cameron said, "Mom....can I just run?" What? I was TOO SLow!!!??? Wow. good thing I had that Cool Ironman hat on my head to remind me Why I was too slow for my little boy.

That's about how the week went. I am still recovering. That's fine. I relaxed all week. I sat on the shore for hours and hours. We had a blast. I stayed up late, got up late, and put away the Triathlete magazines. I even had...ice cream! And...fried Clams! My son Tommy said, "mommy, it's good to see you take a few days off and eat Ice cream with us!" Yes, it was good.

I didn't really expect to miss the training as much as I did though. It's hard to explain...on the one hand I was Happy not to schedule workouts into our vacation. This was Very good!! Perfect. The only way to truly rest actually. However, my body really missed the feeling of a good hard workout. I am still missing it for that matter.

Soon. Soon I will have it back.

I have had to rest my mind from Ironman a bit. I was wound up about 7/26 for so long in advance. I has been very nice to step back and say, "ahh...I did it. I did it well. all the hard work paid off."

But now, I have a new goal. I have to heal this body quickly and prepare it for a race that will prove even more challenging.

I am going to Hawaii. I am going to Be IN that race I've watched on TV year after year after year. That Race that I tape every single year so I can play it while I ride along on my trainer. That race that makes me cry.

How is this happening? I am not sure...I can't believe it. I'm sitting here in Maine......preparing for a race in Hawaii. When I decided to buy a bike back in 2006 and give this sport a try---I never thought I'd be here. I never even imagined it.