Comeback Tour 2014

One stroke, one peddle and one step... followed by multiple more. Gotta love Wildflower!

One year and two weeks ago, I had surgery on my anterior cruciate tendon. When the doctor was finished, he looked me in the eyes and told me the tendon could not reach and I would never run again. I remember tears flooding my eyes as I realized my job had come to an end and my life as I knew it would be totally flipped upside down.

Then something amazing happen. I prayed and I trusted that God would heal me if it was in His plan. My parents and my sister were my biggest fans and they continued to encourage me when I felt like the road had come to an end. With determination and phenomenal physical therapists, I got back on my feet and started working to strengthen the muscles in my leg. I still remember the first mile I ran with my PT Jason. It was a grueling 8:43 mile and I didn't think I would make it the entire way, but I did it. Slowly, I built my way back to race shape.

A year later, here I am: Lake San Antonio, California. My Santa Barbara Tri Team is here; Sloan is here; my mom, Todd and Richard are here! Life is great!

The morning started at the bottom of my tent. In Wyoming, the kids nicknamed me Inchworm because I would inch into a new sleeping spot throughout the night. Last night, I inched to the bottom of the tent. I woke up and laid in my bag for a bit before making my morning oatmeal in my Darth Vador mug from Jameisha.

*Sidenote: Happy Star Wars Day! May the Fourth be with you! Remember last year I had a Star Wars marathon day on this day? My, how things change.
  

After setting up my transition area and meeting up with Richard (which completely made my day!!), I got on the shuttle and headed out to Harris Creek. I had almost 2 hours until my start time, so I did some squats and some Optimal Core Performance/Pure Awesomeness. This girl Heidi set up next to me and we became fast friends! Turns out her dad lives in Santa Barbara! Heidi and I walked down to the race start and got ready to go.

This year's race was a little different because of the water levels at Lake San Antonio. It was so low, they had to move the swim out two miles from the transition area. So, instead of the typical swim 1.5k, bike 40k and run 10k, it was a swim 1.5k, run 2k, bike 40k and run 4k. The water we swam in was sludge. As soon as you put your face under the water, it was a total black out; even darker than if you had closed your eyes.

All of that is usually covered in water

The swim felt awesome! It was the first race I felt really confident in my abilities. Hiring a swim coach was a great idea. A big thanks to Jeremy for whipping my butt into gear! I was able to spot pretty well, even after having my goggles kicked off and losing my cap then having to carry it in my hand while I stroked.

During the first run, I was right on pace. I felt like I was floating on air! But I looked down and realized my timing chip had come off with my wetsuit. Oh shoot. I debated turning around, but I was already 1.8 miles in. When I got to the transition, I had hoped to get out within 3 minutes, but I had to run around trying to find someone to get me a new timing chip.

The bike started about the same time Lynch Hill started. Eek! I heard Richard and Laura cheering my name then climbed that hill like nobody's business. Right when I hit the point of utter exhaustion, I heard Todd call my name. He was running up the hill next to me, my cell phone in his hand. "Your mom wanted me to play this for you," he shouted. Eye of the Tiger blasted through the speakers. The woman next to me commented that she was sticking with me the whole way and I asked Todd if he would run 25 miles with us.

My mom was at the top of the hill, yelling and cheering. I tore down the road, pressing and pulling. My legs felt so strong. The entire bike was amazing. People nicknamed me The Pink Powerhouse and kept commenting to each other that they didn't know how I was able to climb so well. One man told me that he was known for being a great climber, but he was impressed that I was kicking his butt. No one ever passed me! I don't know if it was the new bike, my legs or just the fact that I trusted God would get me to the end, but I felt so good!

I rode into the transition area ready to go, but once I was off of the bike and had my Kinvaras on, my quads started to seize up. Todd ran up beside me with music, but once we hit the first hill, I had to walk. I had never felt so much pain in my life, not even after my accident. The hill was a beast, but I didn't have to take off my shoes this year!

Running down Lynch Hill toward the finish line, I knew I had not met my goal of completing the race in under three hours or placing in the top 20, but I raced with all I had and I did it! My tendon held and I am here to tell the tale!

My race ended with hugs and notes of encouragement from my family and friends, a bouquet of gorgeous flowers from Richard, a bracelet from Todd and a huge grin on my face.

This just goes to show, with faith, encouragement, determination and hard work, you can do anything to which you set your mind.

Next race: Ironman Boulder! Let's do this!!!

Whip Me Up Some Motivation

3:47AM. The alarm on my phone sounds. Technically, this should be the reminder to eat my banana with peanut butter and chug some water, but the only thing I remember is my desire to not get out of my warm bed to do this deed. I ignore the irritating buzz coming from my green and yellow phone and drift back into sleepy land.

4:45AM. The first alarm of five that will hopefully rouse me from my sleep. I give him an F for Failure because he definitely was not effective at his job.

An hour later, I finally threw the covers off with a strong arm. The chilly morning air met my bare legs and I shivered. Saucony Scofield bounced up from her spot on the edge of my bed and ran to the door, looking at me expectantly. After throwing on my running tights and a long sleeve shirt, I dipped my banana in a tablespoon of peanut butter and quietly opened the door to the living room where Yo slept soundly on the couch.

"Meow, meow, meow," Scofield kept reminding me she was ready for food. I tossed in a handful of dry cat deliciousness and pulled my Saucony Kinvara's on  (Yes, I did name my cat after my favorite racing flat).

Down the still-dark street I trotted. I pressed start on my Garmin and looked at my pace. Wow... that is a slow trot, Ash. Maybe you should just swim instead of doing a track workout. I was not feeling it.

Most of you know, I did the runner's walk off shame off the track two weeks ago. It was pretty humiliating. My pace group abandoned me with their quick turnover. My feet just couldn't stay up. Last week, I had to work for my boss, so I didn't get to do the track workout. I was worried I wouldn't be able to keep up with my pace group. Temptation haunted me. A little fat Buddha man sat on my shoulder.

"Just do your own easy run. Go maybe 4 miles and call it a day. You've been biking a lot lately," he urged me.

No, you little fatty face! I'm going to the track. 

As I rounded the corner, I met up with some runners from the group. They were in the middle of their warm-up. It was decision time: Do I join them or do I continue on my own?

"Just do your own thing. You just started your warm-up, they are almost done with theirs. Give yourself some time," he was using logic now.

Okay, Fatty Face; you win.

I sauntered on alone. Hmmm it's actually kinda nice out. Maybe I should go home and get a t-shirt. Oh, and put on deodorant. I totally didn't do that this morning.

I made a right and took the long way home. This would give me more time to warm up anyway. The closer I got to my house, the more tired my legs felt.

"Remember that circuit you did with Perry yesterday? Oh, not to mention the 40-mile bike ride and the hour of swimming? Maybe you should just go home and work on the website."

Darn you, Fatty Face! That sounds so good! Must... resist... the... fat... man's... words.

I ran upstairs and changed shirts, rubbed some scented odor blocker on my underpits then turned and ran back out the door before the fat man could convince me to be a slacker.

When I arrived at the track, the crew was about the start their second set of 2k's followed by a 400. I jumped into the pace group Rusty told me to join and totally forgot that I was tired. It was a strong workout and I could not be happier I did it. Take that, Fatty Face.

Moral of the story: You may not always feel like doing your workout. Motivation may be lacking. Do it anyway. Get out there and at least start it. Once you finish, you will be so glad you stuck with it!