One Month to the Day

It has been a little hard to settle into the 'old' routine of not working out but my feet have made that pretty easy. I still have raw skin where my blisters were. They seem to get healed and then the skin bubbles up and the process repeats. Some days it's not too much fun walking to my car at work because just my socks rub on them. Because of my feet I have shorty, non-cute shoes for Lynn's wedding. Because of my feet I canceled my hotel for Trails to Rails. Because of my feet I have not spent much time with my horses.

Olaf and I did started doing P90X at home. We have survived one week of it. Honestly it's quite a workout. For some reason I thought that any workout you do at home cannot be that hard...yeah right. Our pull-up bar arrived yesterday. I did a whopping three, next round two and then 0 - 0 - 0 - 0. It is nice to be sore again! I nearly forgot what sore muscles feel like.

The Grand Total

I totaled up all expenses for IM that I could think of. This includes my bike, helmet, pump, tubes, YMCA membership for 1 year, master swimming, coaching plan, training races, wetsuit, bike repairs, chiropractor, clothes, shoe covers, sunglasses, new treadmill....on and on.

The total - now this is not including the hospital visit after, because that's after the IM, so it doesn't count, right? Ha ha! Hopefully it's fully covered by insurance.

The grand total.... $ 7,852 dollars

It's not too bad especially that the total includes my treadmill, bike, YMCA membership.

IronMan Cozumel

Olaf, stop reading this. Close your eyes. There's an IM Cozumel, brand new this year. I love Cozumel! I have been there several times. In November Olaf and I seem to go on a diving trip somewhere warm. Infact we are going this November to Isle Mujures, just off the coast of Cancun near Cozumel. The swim is in the park where I have swam with dolphins years ago and went snorkeling in 2008 with Olaf. How cool would it be to do an ocean swim with a reef under you? The bike course is really flat and goes into down and back, and then out again. Everything is really flat on the island. That would be awesome after IM-WI. This is the exact reason why I'm still wearing two plastic bracelets from last Sunday. One is my IronMan to allow me access to everything including the race and remind me of what I did. The second is my hospital bracelet to remind me to never do another one of these again. I think the hospital one has to come off now. Olaf, if you are still reading this perhaps we should plan a trip to Cozumel in Nov 2010...you know for diving and stuff. ; )

The Days After

Monday we went to the awards banquet from 11:30 - 1:30. We had a nice breakfast. I ate two plate fulls, yum. It was great to see the age grouper winners. My highlight was watching a pro go down the steps at the parking ramp and she could barely move. It secretly made me feel good because I thought pros never were sore or stiff. I felt great except for my blisters.

Tuesday I did laundry, put things away. I thought I was going great so I went to Wal-Mart to pick up my photos and get more blister pads. I got pretty dizzy. I called my clinic for an appt. but they didn't have any openings. They wanted me to call 911. I went home and laid down. I made an appt. for Wed at my clinic. I wasn't sure why I was still dizzy and I was also concerned with the bee sting on my leg. The sting had two circles now and was changing colors and getting darker.

Wenesday the sting was turning purple so I was glad I was going to the dr. She said my sting was infected and my left foot was on it's way or was already infected. As far as dizzy she said to eat lots of salt and go home and sleep. I stopped at McDonalds and ate two burgers and fries.

I feel good now. I even rode Deuce on Wednesday night. It was great. Despite not riding all summer he was great and my legs are super strong.

16 hours 18 minutes and 52 seconds

Sunday, September 13, 2009 I got to hear "Bridget Edgar YOU are an IronMan". It was one of the most amazing moments in my life. Here's what the day was like for me.

Swim 2.4 Miles
I luckily was able to sleep from 8 pm Saturday night until 3:58 AM when I woke up. I got up at 1 AM to use the bathroom so I had slept great that night. I made my oatmeal in my bowl I brought from home, put on my swim suit and a comfy dress over it with my pajama pants under that. I forgot to bring any sort of pants with. We left the house at 4:30 am and headed to Monona Terrace. I first went to my bike to check the tires because I was worried about them popping in the heat but had let out quite a bit of air. Everything was great. I had the tires inflated, nutrition on my bike, plastic bag off the seat. Olaf and I went and dropped off my special needs bag. We waited inside Monona Terrace until 6:20 and I was just going to get on my wetsuit and go outside and saw Sue and Shawn. I was so thrilled! We took photos and I waited with them. We went out to the lake together. I started crying when I had to say goodbye to Olaf, it was just so much emotion built up inside me from going out there and seeing the people, the music, the sunrise. It was so beautiful that morning because it looked like a beach paradise with the sun coming up and the kayaks, boats, paddle boards. I was scared but excited. An older lady looked at me crying and grabbed my arm and said it will be alright. It was really nice. I said goodbye and got into the water. I treaded water for about 25 minutes waiting on the far left side of the buoys. I kept positioning myself away from any large men that might crush me in the water. There were so many people watching, it was amazing to look back at everyone. I wished I could have taken a camera with me. When then cannon went off I took off. Slow and steady. I kept reminding myself that it's a LONG day. I had no idea what my pace was. Going to the first turn around it was wonderful. Smooth, no waves, didn't hit one person! The corners were another story. It was really crowded and people were stopping which didn't help the flow. It seemed long going down the far stretch coming back for the first loop. I was getting bumped around more. Another corner done and on the last loop. The second loop went fast although, I didn't pick up speed. I exited the water about 1 hours 31 minutes. A bit slower then I actually thought I would go but I did it without getting hurt or losing my goggles. Yeah, the worse is over I thought but it actually seemed easy. I had my suit stripped off. It looks more fun then it is because it happens so fast. I ran up the helix about half way and started walking the second half when I realized I'm in my swimsuit jogging up a ramp with thousands of people watching every ounce of me jiggle. I ran into the ballroom get my bag, I had to get it myself and went to the changing room. A lady came to help me and she had to get my sports bra on and jersey on. She even helped get my shorts pulled up. It's really hard to change when you are wet. I put on chamois butter, she snapped on my race belt and off I went. I had them put sunscreen all over my arms and legs but forgot my face and back of neck. I felt good going onto the bike.

Bike 112
I helped the volunteer get my bike out of the rack and ran it to the end to mount. I had worried about riding down the helix and falling over so I didn't clip in my shoes yet until the bottom. I was hearing a lot of "yeah George" cheers because I had Curious George on my jersey. I had so many compliments about it through out the day. : ) Every bit helps during this race. We headed out and I had not biked the leg to get out to Verona and it was not as flat as I thought it would be. We were climbing some hills to get out of the city. At mile 8 I was shifting from big chain to small and my chain jammed, my pedals were locked and luckily I got unclipped before I tipped over. I was really concerned. This is what happened to me at Dairyland Dare. I got off and checked my bike and thankfully it wasn't jammed up too bad. I pedaled the bike and it was good. I got on and kept going. I have done most of my training in the big chain but the hills I needed that small chain so I ended up riding the first 70 miles in small chain. It made me slow. I was so scared of something more major happening to my bike or myself if that chain jammed on me. This is when I realized a 600 dollar used, heavy, old bike from Craigslist might not have been the best choice for the IronMan. At mile 20 I stopped for to apply sunscreen on my neck and ears. I'm so glad I did. I just took my time and everyone was saying 'no hurry, we have 17 hours'. I just relaxed and rode. About mile 30 I was coming down a large hill going towards Cross Plains and I was stung by a bee on the inside of my thigh. It was throbbing for the next 20 miles. I couldn't believe it. I had everything but the kitchen sink in my special needs bag but nothing for a bee sting. It helped divert any other pain. I was feeling really good, eating when I should. I saw my friends cheering me on at different areas. It was great. Verona was cool riding though the streets lined with people. I was able to stop between Mt. Horeb and Crossplains to have my bike checked by a tech because of my chain. She tightened the chain and said no guarentees but hopefully that will help. It didn't make me feel much better. I was still afraid of it. It just seemed to jam under load so the plan was go be in the small chain before I'm on any hills. The three sister hills were great with all the people cheering on the first loop.

At 56 miles I was able to get my special needs. I put on chap stick and filled up everything with Gatorade. I was really going through liquids since it was so hot and sunny. Who knew we would finally have a 84 degree day in mid-September when we hadn't had any all summer. I drank at least 7 bottles in the first 56 miles. I started off again just relaxing while riding and about mile 70 I started doing the math and thinking about the bike cut off. I started asking riders what was the cut off again. After that many hours of going I couldn't remember for sure what it was. Was it 5 pm, 5:30 or 6 pm? I couldn't remember and everyone had a different time. I biked next to an older lady and asked if she thought she would make the cut off, she wasn't sure. She said the last two years she missed it. I thought to myself I have to get ahead of her because I do not want to risk missing it. I biked harder the last 42 miles then I had all day. I didn't eat anything because I didn't want to slow down. I drank everything I had and should have refilled but didn't. I was so worried. That's when I had to start using my big chain to give me more speed. I thought it was either shift and pray everything works or not make it in time. About mile 90 I stopped for the bathroom and refilled everything and then hammered it home. I believe it was about 5:12 when I got into town. 5:30 was the cut off. Phew, I made it!

When people say if you keep going and can kind of take it easy, it's not really true. You do need to work out there and get your MPH up. I felt dizzy in the transition and actually sat down to get into my run gear. The volunteer (Barb, who later Facebooked me the most wonderful note about her volunteer experience and I was one of her memorable athletes!) this time completely did everything for me. She took of my jersey, helped with my shorts, took off my shoes and socks. My feet felt like they were on fire. I didn't know they hurt so bad. We put on my running top and as we got it on I realized I wanted my sports bra off so we had to put on my running top twice. It was a chore being so sweaty and out of it. I grabbed a peanut butter and honey sandwich in case I got hungry and a salted nut roll as well as a bag of salt sticks because I felt that this was going to be an emergency need for them or something. I hit the restroom just outside and I guess Ryan was there and said my name and I looked at him but didn't recognize him. I wasn't looking really good and later I found out he was really concerned because something wasn't right.

Run 26.2 Miles
I tried to run but my feet hurt. I saw Cari and Tina right outside of transition and said Hi and told them my feet are on fire, they hurt so bad. They told me not to worry that everyone walks the first two miles and everyone hurts like this so it's normal. I really needed to hear from someone. I was feeling really dizzy so I just walked. I thought I had rocks in my shoes so I stopped to dump them out and nothing. It was just my feet in pain. I figured it must be massive blisters and I didn't want to look. I ate my salted nut roll which went down great. I was still dizzy. I started walking with a guy named Jason who said he was going to walk the entire marathon. I told him I'm dizzy and I might pass out just to let him know.

About mile 7 I started jogging and felt better, but then my right knee had intense pain. I had Advil with and hadn't taken any all day. I popped two of them and waited 15 minutes and started running again. No pain in the knee. I was finally not dizzy and told the guy I was walking with that we should jog and walk. I was pushing him harder then he wanted to we parted ways. I was feeling so much better that I was able to run and knock off a few miles. I wanted to make sure I made the half marathon cut off. I got there about 8:20 I think? About mile 15 I met an older guy named Gary speed walking and he walked a 15 minute mile so we did a couple miles together. I then said that I can't cut the finish that close and started running again. My feet were starting to hurt again. I caught up with a lady named Julie that was really moving speed walking. I mean passing joggers moving.

Olaf was sitting along the running path near campus and as I was coming through the darkness I saw him cheering with a tall, attractive blonde. I really thought in my head "what the..." When I have ran races before I have finished and found girls flirting with him. Once I was literally puking behind a tree and some blonde girl was flirting with him. So here I am miserable 14 hours into this race and another blonde girl is hanging with him. I got closer and said Hi Olaf, then I said "Oh, Olivia". It was his cousin! I was so relieved!

I walked with Julie until the end. I could feel my blisters filling up with fluid and it was get so painful and then they would burst and I would have relief. It was a continuous cycle until the end. As we approached the finish line Julie told me to go ahead since this was my first and run in. I did and I ran as hard as I could. I wanted to enjoy the moment as best as I could but I was again feeling dizzy. Everyone was cheering, I didn't even hear the words I waited all day but go to the finish and it was such a blur. I missed "Bridget Edgar YOU are an IronMan". I crossed the finish line and the catchers grabbed me. I had so many people around me in my face, what size shirt, I need your chip, here's your hat. It was shocking. I couldn't even think at that point. I didn't even know there was food at the finish. I got my items socked into my arms and was handed off to Olaf I think? I don't even remember that part well. I do remember Lynn and Greg and Olaf taking pictures. I told them I didn't feel good.

Lynn and Greg headed home and I thought maybe we should watch some more people finish. I had to see Gary and Jason to see if they made it. I saw Gary finish, but then I started getting more tunnel vision. I sat on the park bench with Olaf and then decided to go to the medical tent. I thought I was going to pass out. I got into the tent and they weighed me. I was up 5 pounds which was weird. They sat me down and I remember hanging onto the table next to me because the room was spinning and I thought I was going to tip over. The volunteer asked me "soda or chicken broth". I said, "What?" What an odd thing. I told them I felt like I will pass out. So I sat there and drank soda. After a few minutes I noticed they were not going to do anything more with me. Two people across the tent were vomiting over and over. A lady was brought in and was vomiting the entire marathon, she lost 12 pounds so they took her back for an IV. I finally asked the guy to take my blood pressure because something isn't right. He did and it was 60/40 or around there. Pretty low. I told him I need to lay down because I'm going to pass out. He got another few helpers and took me to the back. Somewhere on my way back I did pass out. Next thing I remember about 8 people around me on a bed shouting "Bridget" at me. "Bridget can you hear me". It was freaky. I had two people on each arm trying to find a pulse and then two more people trying. They kept taking my blood pressure over and over. I was kind of going in and out. They kept trying to keep me talking. I was shaking because I was so cold. They put a finisher tin foil thing on me. I couldn't stop shaking. I heard bits of what they were talking about. They said since I'm up 5 pounds no IV, but they weren't sure about my pulse because they couldn't find it. They then said I need to go to the hospital and I said to tell my husband and told them I have Health Partners insurance. I heard someone say her lips are blue. Next thing I was in the ambulance but I didn't remember getting to that point. I think they started me on some sort of IV in there or maybe it was before in the tent, I'm not really sure. The last thing I remember hearing was if we should go lights on or off. I was listening so hard to hear the answer. For some reason it took all my power to try to listen and focus on the medical staff. The medical people said I was critical so lights on. I remember thinking, dang, that's not good but I was so happy to be leaving the medical tent and getting real Dr. to help me. Olaf said I left a little after midnight. I don't really remember going into the hospital, but I remember them saying to take her to room 9. They hooked me up to monitor everything, did a EKG, gave me some glucose solution. I had a IV in my right arm and another in my left. They did blood tests to find out what was wrong. The tests came back great. They said my sodium and potassium levels were normal which didn't seem normal after what I did all day. I don't take salt pills. I had two salted nut rolls during the run, a couple sips of chicken broth and 1/2 banana. That made everything more perplexing. My white blood cells were low which was expected after such a long day. My blood pressure was coming back the longer I was in there. My pulse was found! About 2:00 am they had me get up and walk around the ER to see if I was still dizzy. I felt better. We were discharged and home by about 2:40 am. What a day! Poor Olaf looked so tired at the hospital. I sure put him through a lot that day.

I was scared that night to go to sleep. I thought I wouldn't wake up. I did get about 3 hours of sleep and was up early eating food. I had cold pizza, cheese its, and an ice cream bar. My stomach wanted food so bad there was no way I could sleep.

We went to the awards ceremony and watched the highlights video. They are the best videos ever. It's really emotional to watch. Most people are holding back tears. Even the people that didn't do the race. Afterwards we headed home. I was so thrilled to have finished, happy to have it done, happy to be alive, happy to have my life back. I know I said I would never do this again but maybe someday... it's just something that everyone should try. Dedicate 1 year to training and do the IronMan. Your life will be changed forever.

Just Waiting for Sunday AM

My bike is racked, my gear bags dropped off....now the wait until bedtime and tomorrow morning. Woo hoo!

Dropping off my bike I ran into Sue and her daughter which was cool. I also ran into Pam who owned my Softride. She recognized the bike and said Hi. Super cool to bump into people in Madison that I know. There are 2701 athletes for IM - Madison. The largest number ever because so many volunteers wanted to participate this year.

Friday AM Swim with a Dead Body

Thursday Olaf and I arrived about 2 pm. We went right to Monora Terrace to get my race packet. First they check if you are a USAT member and ID you. You stand in another line to get the wavier and sign your life away - literally. Then you go downstairs where you are weighed. They need to know what you weigh incase you have a medical and they can tell if you are really dehydrated or over hydrated. Next stop they shout out your number in a huge room "2304". They sure know how to announce things. I received my race numbers and chip. After that I received a poster and of course there is a sales table to order photos. I ordered one finisher photo in a mat. I can pick that up on Monday after the race.

Friday morning I met Sue and her crew at the lake for a practice swim. Sue said there is a dead body out there yet to be found. A fisherman went in on Wednesday night and they are still looking for him. It was a great distraction to the swim. I didn't think much about swimming but instead focused in on hoping to not run into the body. I hope they find him soon for the family. We heard by Sunday he should surface. The water was nice and warm. I think my plan is to start on the far right side and give myself more room. I will decide race day either far left or far right. I just don't want to be in the huge mix of people right away.

After swimming we went to Marigolds for breakfast. It was packed with IM. We had a great breakfast. We will have to go back into town tonight for the race dinner and madatory meeting. So far so good!

Ready for Madison

I have literally been off and on packing for two whole days and printing guides, nutrition plan, emails to friends at where we will be. I even started putting together my special needs bags in April. While riding on my long rides I would think of something else I might like...electrical tape, zip ties, bio freeze, rain poncho, pepto, advil, lip balm - you name it, I have it in my special needs bag, especially the bike one.

I have my car loaded with my bike, a box of t-shirts, hats and clappers for fans, a box of food, a bag of nutrition and drinks, my tri bag with swim stuff in it, a small cooler to bring some food to Lynn and Gregs for the non IM people, a suitcase with clothes/shoes for IM (rain, hot, cold) and my planned on outfits, a duffel bag of a few clothes for the weekend, my foam roller, basketball, red soft ball. Hopefully there will be room for Olaf! Lynn and Greg's eyes will pop out when they see all the gear I have with. : ) Watch out, I'm moving in!

My nerves are better today. Erin sent me a nice email telling me "I can handle this". I will keep saying that in my head because really, anything that the day brings I have been been through before. I have been kicked, pulled under, put in the sleeper hold, freaked out in the water; had flat tires, rode in driving cold rain, windy terrible days, hot days; ran a marathon with strep throat, in driving rain, on the hottest day ever. Even if this is the worst conditions ever I have handled it and I can get through this. Thanks Erin!

Who I will be Sharing the Course With?

Yes - I'm convinced that these people are a bit crazy. Here are some of the occupations of the people participating this year. I wasn't as creative. I just put IT.


Animal Lovers
HOUSE-CAT TAMER
DOG SWIM INSTRUCTOR
DONKEY HERDER
COMPETITIVE DOG PADDLE INSTRUCTOR
MOUSE TAMER
GOAT ROPER
PROFESSIONAL CAT HERDER
SNAKE CHARMER
COW TIPPER

Professionals
UNEMPLOYED MISCREANT
SKIRT CHASER
NUKE OPERATOR
REALITY SHOW HOPEFUL
JAKE OF ALL TRADES - he's named Jake
JACK OF SOME TRADES
CIRCUS TRAPEZE PEFORME
CUBICLE JOCKEY
SLUM LORD
MONKEY
AVID ADVENTURER
SOCIAL CAPITALIST
MONKEY DOCTOR
PLANET ALIGNER

Probably on Match.com
ALL-AROUND GOOD GUY
ROMANTIC
ALL AROUND NICE GUY

Drunks
GUINNESS CONNOISSEUR
BEER DRINKING UW ALUM
GUINNESS GUZZLER
PROFESSIONAL BEER TASTER
PROFESSIONAL CHEESE SPREADER


Celebrities
BRAD PITT'S WIFE
COOKIE MONSTER
PAPA SMURF
SUPERMAN
JESSE'S GIRL
BODY DOUBLE FOR THE ROCK
CHUCK NORRIS' STUNT DOUBLE
ADULT FILM STAR (RETIRED)
SHREK

Other...
YARD GNOME
SCHMOOPIE - not sure what that is
UNDERWATER FIREFIGHTER -he's probably a good swimmer?
CRACKHEAD
VAGRANT
UNDERWEAR MODEL
SPEED RACER
KEPT MAN
CHEESE CURD FRYER

This Sums it Up

"In an entire lifetime, there will not be many days like Sunday. Sunday is not the end, but the celebration of a journey, and a celebration of living life to its fullest. We will see plenty of family, friends, loved ones and thousands of strangers cheering us on. We are the lucky ones.
We get to experience this day, from our side of the white line. We get to find out what these wonderful machines we have been blessed with are really capable of. Most people never take advantage of an opportunity, to try to answer the question we are all curious about. What actually would happen, if we were brave enough to push the accelerator all the way to the floor? Everyone comes from the factory with numbers on the speedometer go that high, but should we dare? If we really tried, and pushed ourselves to the limit, what are we actually capable of? Some will make stupid comments like “I wouldn’t do that if a bear was chasing me”. To that we say to ourselves, “Really? You would just stand there and let it eat you? Without even taking a step? Not me!” Sunday will be like every other day, in that we don’t really know how it will end, or where it will take us. We have hopes and dreams, but not knowledge of its conclusion. What we do have, is the courage to get in the water for the start. We do not and will not do this in a reckless manner. We’ve all methodically prepared for this day for a very long time, and it’s been a long journey. It’s been hard on our bodies, our schedules, our families, and we lost a dear friend along the way. To have the gift of ability that we have, and not take full advantage of it, at least for one day, is to be disrespectful to the gift. Let’s enjoy our celebration of the gift."

Taper Time!

I had Thursday and Friday off from work to get in my last LONG training. I biked about 70 miles on Thursday. I was so excited to ride my 'normal' route for the last time. I like seeing the same routines in everyone's life when I bike. I always find a older man reading the newpaper in Headwater Parkway, his dog always barks at me and he waves, I go past Neal Hennings and the horses are getting fed on my way out, I bike past my the Kelly Land and Cattle Co. and it's quiet in the morning, head down to the Gateway Trail to use the porta-potty and cut across to Lake Elmo the long way. ERRR - today the Gateway Trail was closed with machinery all over and trees down. I was really bummed. I turned and headed north to Big Marine. I stopped at the Park Reserve and it has an awesome beach and went up to the little store in Big Marine and bought my final Snickers Ice Cream bar. I headed back home and it was back to the regular sights, now Neal was out riding, saw Dan the local farmer with his semi and giant haybales always making the turn at 170th Street, saw Don out cutting hay who thinks I bike to Milwaukee weekly. I got home and realized I won't be biking that route again for a long time. My next 'long' ride is only 30 miles and the it's the IM. I felt a little indifferent about the ride.

On Saturday I had a 13.1 mile run. It was a virtual half marathon - the Sprit of Columbus. I have never heard of a virtual half marathon, but you have to register for it and map out your run. The day of it you wear a Garmin or heart rate monitor. When you are done you upload your results and you are ranked. You are sent a finisher medal, shirt, etc. Kind of different but that is why I did it. I think this was the first virtual half marathon ever. I took it easy since I was wearing new shoes. I had only worn them 2 miles prior. It was a nice run but a little windy. I went south to Millers on Main and headed West on Main Street until I hit the 7 mile mark and turned around and headed home. My feet felt good when I was done - no blisters either. That is what I needed for a longer run to give me a confidence boost.

17 Days!

I just picked up my bike from Penn Cycle. They did a little tune up on it. I'll have to take it out tonight and see how it is. I put new tubes and tires on it on Sunday so I think I'm ready now for IM.

I haven't swam since Saturday. Sunday I thought that I was strong enough to pick up my huge honey extractor and put it on a wagon to rinse out. I did but that night my shoulder woke me up hurting. It's pretty sore so no swimming for me. I even thought I shouldn't be picking it up on my own and thought I should get Olaf to help just to be safe. At least I got in some really good long swims last week. I have Thursday and Friday off for more training. I have another 80 mile bike ride with a run and then a 13.1 mile virtual half marathon on Saturday. It should be nice and cool for my run. Fun fun. After this weekend it's all downhill till IM!!

DNF DLD

Olaf and I left on Friday about 2:00 to get to Dodgeville for Diaryland Dare. It was 280 miles one way. I rec'd my race packet on Friday night, we had dinner at Pizza Hut and went to bed early at the Super 8. I was up by 5:30 to get ready for my 100K ride. I had downgraded from my injuries. The first few hills going up my chain jammed. My pedals wouldn't move at all and I thought I was going down. Somehow I got unclipped in time. Someone stopped to help me with it. She said I should get grease at the first rest stop. She also asked if I was biking along and I said Yes. She said this is way too grueling to do alone. Great I thought. Everything else was going OK. The downhills were scary but I was just trusting that I wouldn't get a flat. Then I hit pea gravel. There's no way I'm biking down a hill on pea gravel or up a hill. I couldn't believe how much of it there was. About mile 13 I was going up a hill and a lot of people were walking. I thought I would bike as much as I can and get off. Well, getting off at 3 MPH going uphill is a little hard. I couldn't unclip in time and fell to my left. I was just bruised, but fine. I walked up the hill almost in tears. I just wanted this to end. I really wasn't having any fun at all. I biked a little more and hit more pea gravel. I saw a SAG wagon so I flagged it down and called Olaf. He met me at mile 20 rest stop. It was really hard to give up but I was afraid I would get seriously injured and it wasn't worth it to do this ride and risk it all so close to IM. That was my first and hopefully last DNF. Dairyland Dare is something I 100 percent don't want to ever attempt again.

We hit the road back home about 10:30 and took our time. We stopped at some Amish stores. We even stopped at a Amish house that had donuts for sale. We went inside their kitchen and bought a pie, bread and two donuts. They have really nice houses with of course nice woodwork. She had a cast iron oven almost in the middle of her kitchen. That was the highlight of our trip. We also stopped at a farmers market in Virquoa because we saw a bunch of buggies in the town square. We bought a utensil basket from some more Amish people.

Three Weeks Left of Hard Training

I had yesterday off to put in another 80 mile ride. It was supposed to have been 115 but I did 110 a few weeks back. I cut it short because of my achilles and right hip. I'm still trying to be nice and rest them. I also have Dairyland Dare on Saturday. I think I'm going to do the 60 mile ride. I still wish there was a 100 mile ride in there.

I can't believe I have about three weeks left until taper time. Time has gone so quickly during this training.

Ah - Temporary Relief

I went to the chiropractor yesterday and my right leg was about 3/4 inch shorter then my left. No wonder why I have been in so much pain with my right hip. I felt great for about 3 hours and now the pain is coming back. I'm going back on Wed to get adjusted again. I'm also taking Ligaplex that is supposed to help with rebuilding damaged tissue faster. I started it yesterday so we will see how that goes.

Can I get permanently injured from doing an IronMan?

I was reading these last night after I googled "Can I get permanently injured from doing an IronMan" Olaf asked me that question.

I did find this and thought it was interesting knowing it will be painful. No one has really put it this way. I guess all my pain and hurting up to this point is also training for the pain I will feel that day. I'm ready - bring it!!!!

Manage the pain:Pain is part of the Ironman experience, and no matter how long an athlete takes to complete the race, suffering will happen. Working through and conquering the pain is part of what makes Ironman finishing-line emotions so special. So don't ignore or fear the pain; embrace it and manage it as part of the Ironman journey, knowing that ultimately it will make you stronger and your sacrifices and victories all that much sweeter. Your mental approach to pain can be the difference between a finish, a PR, and a DNF.

Half IronMan - so glad it's done!

I did my first Half IM on Sunday and probably my only one. I would rank this much harder then any marathon I have ever done. It progressively got more difficult as the day went on. The swim (1.2 miles) was great and I finished faster then I thought I would. I was in Wave 8 and they went off two minutes apart. I seated myself towards the back and outside on the right hand. I was able to relax and swim. I worked on my stroke, sighting, trying to balance my weak arm with my strong arm. I felt great after wards.

Onto the bike (56 miles) - My legs were feeling a little weird in the beginning. My right hip didn't feel very powerful at all. On Wed just four days prior I had a really aggressive chiropractic appointment working on my right him from the top of my stomach down. I think that it inflamed it more then anything. I kept my speed at 18 MPH and if I went over that I coasted. The course didn't allow much coasting at all. It was a slight incline going north and a slight decline going south. At about mile 20 I biked the rest of the race with a nice 20 something year old from Rice Lake. This was also her first half IM. That made the time go by quickly. We finished the bike leg in 3 hours 30 minutes.

The run (13.1) - dun dun dunn! I was suprised how good my legs felt and I was able to actually stride out right away. I ran the first 6 miles in 1 hour and the final 7 miles in 1 hour 30 minutes. I was dragging at the end. The sun was so hot and in the warmest part of the day. Every water stop I poured two cups over my head. I was so glad to finish after the run.

It took me 6 hours and 37 minutes. You can see the agony in my face in the photo with my parents. I thought I was smiling.

A Nice Open Water Swim

Since the Madison ride I have been laying low. I have been really tired with a sore throat that comes and goes depending on how much rest I get the night/day before. I took last weekend off and didn't go for a long bike ride or run. I was going to do a small brick on Saturday and swam about 45 minutes in the pool straight and went to bike on my trainer and my bike was grinding bad. I immediately got on the phone and brought my bike to Penn Cycle. They removed a link in the chain and took off the 'dork disc'. I tried it out yesterday and it seemed much better, we will see on the hills how it is. I went swimming last night in Turtle Lake and Olaf kayaked alongside. Susan swam along the shore and did speed work. I swam about 45 minutes straight. It's so odd how different it is in open water. My left shoulder was getting sore. Next time I would like to go for about an hour. I have my first Half IM on Sunday so I need to really rest up the next few days if I can. It's been so much running around lately that I feel exhausted all the time.

Madison Training Ride

I have had July 11 picked out as the date for the IM training ride for about 8 months ago. I can't believe the day is already done and we had a beautiful day to ride.

Friday about noon Olaf and I headed to Madison to stay with Lynn and Greg. Lynn had a great BBQ on Friday night with some friends and awesome food. Saturday morning at 7 am I met Sue and Erin in Verona at the Firemans Park to ride the 40 mile loop twice.

Something I want to remember (not that I'm going to do this again) is that Firemans park has a really nice small lake and a lot of people do a swim there before going out to bike and there's some trails nearby for running on. There's food, showers and restrooms there. A really nice place to park for the day to train.

It's broken into three stages I learned this week. The first is from Verona to Mt. Horeb and it's a steady climb. The second is Mt. Horeb to Cross Plains and that is mostly down hill...kind of scary big downhills. The third stage is from Cross Plains back to Verona and that is the hard one. It has the "three sisters" or "three bitches"...personally I think there is four because there is a 4th climb that is a killer after the other three hills. Erin joined us for the first loop and was full of so many tips and advice that I could have asked her questions all day. She did the IM in 2007. We met up with Ryan and a friend just before the three big hills and they biked with us for a bit. We dropped Erin off in Verona and did it a second time. The first time wasn't bad at all. The second was hard towards the third stage. The most surprising thing was that you don't get to spend much time in your aero bars. You are either rocketing down a hill 40 MPH I hit or going up and climbing. The other thing is you are always shifting. Always! My hands were pretty sore from this ride. I'm use to shifting for the hills and then relaxing on my aero bars and not shifting the entire ride. We averaged 14.5 for the entire ride. I was happy with that. If I can do that the day of the race I will be thrilled.

Olaf, Lynn and Greg found us on the course which was awesome. They stopped in Mt. Horeb to check on us and then drove the course to check out the hills. Later they were waiting for us in Verona at the park sitting in the shade having subs. Sue went for a run after the bike but there was no way I could turn down a sub in the shade and someone to drive me back to Lynn and Gregs house after a long biking day. It was a great day, now it's time for some sleep!

Did you know your crotch just falls off after biking 108 miles. It's true!

This was something I posted on Facebook. I had a lot of funny comments and had to save this for the laughs so here they are copied and pasted.

I would never make it that far so I guess I would have never known without you letting me know ! lol
OMG, are you going to live?
Your Crazzzzy GIRL!
Ok - that's just funny!!! :)
WOW, I had no idea how dangerous biking was! LOL
LMAO!!
damn
OMG...HAHA
My hypothosis was correct and you are Crazy!
OMG Bridget, thine ears!
sorry to about your loss Olaf
ouch......
Oh my, that hurts. There is chammy butter to help you with "that" issue.
Wow! Didn't know that....that's a good tid bit of information! If I ever bike 108 miles and my crotch falls off, I won't worry I'll just remember it's normal :)