They're back

Right before leaving on vacation I found myself waking up several times a night. Itching. No, not that kind of itch. My belly. My back. Scratch, scratch, scratch. After applying lotion, I was able to go back to sleep. I just assumed it was dry skin from winter.

The Back of my Leg
Yes, 22 hours in a car is a LONG time

On the way to Florida, I discovered a small patch of hives on the back of my knee. Grrr. I started applying cortisone cream like a mad woman.

Once in Florida, my elbows and forearms started to break out. I'm taking Allegra but I wish I had also brought the Zantac 150 for an extra dose of antihistamines. Cortisone cream is not helping.

I guess I should be thankful that it has not moved to my eyes yet. Guess who will be going to see a dermatologist next week?

Yes, ME. GRRRRR.

Buying the Ironman Farm

Because I used basic math in yesterday's post, I thought maybe we would decipher a more difficult problem today. How about a word problem? Did I tell you that I love math? Mrs. Leach really was a fantastic high school teacher and I still remember a lot of what she taught us even today.

So back to our word problem. Let's calculate the speed at which one vehicle will close in on another. One mode of transportation, D, is traveling at 15 miles per hour. A second vehicle, T, is traveling in the same direction and traveling at 60 miles per hour. Vehicle T is 100 yards behind D. How long will it take for vehicle T to close in on D? Oh, and don't forget to take into account that D is traveling up a small incline and speed is slowly decelerating.

Now don't miscalculate this. An error in your math could cause you to look like a bug on T's windshield...SMASHED.

I miscalculated during my bike ride on Wednesday. I saw the bumper of a service truck come within a few feet of Dolce's rear tire. It was an error which, needless to say, caused my heart rate to spike. Just as I'm sure it also affected the driver of the service truck. Believe me, I am sure if his window had been down I would have heard more than a few choice words coming from his mouth. I was truly scared at the thought that I almost made a fatal error.

Instead of finding me in Louisville, KY fighting for my right to call myself an Ironman, you almost had to come find me buried with my parents in Oak Ridge  Cemetery. Or maybe I could convince my dear sweet husband (who will probably lecture me after reading this and then worry incessantly for the next 38 days) to bury me along side Ballard School Road in front of one of those beautiful horse farms so that I can cheer on my fellow T3 teammates on August 26th.

Thankful for God's grace on my ride, I decided the open road was not for me today. I came home via the best back roads I could find. I finished my workout at home on the treadmill. Not only did I not want to be out on the road, but I was looking to avoid the heat. A 30 minute brick on the treadmill is just what I needed to bring focus once again to my workout.

Looking like a goon, but keeping the sweat out of my eyes

As of Wednesday, my hives are slightly better. I hate to say it for fear of having to eat my words. My legs and arms are not itching much at all. The skin above and below my eyes is dry and scaly, but the redness and swelling are starting to reduce. I used the Desoto beanie again to keep my head cool during my scary ride and paired it with a headband which I pulled low over my forehead in order reduce the amount of sweat pouring down my forehead and into my eyes.

Once again, I am singing God's praises and thanking Him for watching over me today. I did indeed learn a valuable lesson: Don't be stupid.

Century Ride

Sunday morning arrived with the usual sun and humidity one would expect in mid-July.  On Saturday, we did receive some light rain, but all it seemed to do is tease the crops and provide even more humidity for us on Sunday morning. Because I'm still dealing with these chronic hives, I decided to wear my neon yellow bike shirt by Pearl Izumi as well as my DeSoto Cool Wings and beanie.

All ready to ride.

Awesome Cheryl & I decided to leave from my house and follow the hilly route which another T3 member recently shared with me. Riding from my house through Washington and Germantown Hills to Metamora should be approximately 52 miles. We were then going to hammer it back to my house and do some extra miles if we need to hit 112. With highs about 94, we wanted to get started early.

Jeff decided to join us on the first 10 miles of our ride before looping back home because he's training for another sprint triathlon in August. After Jeff turned back to ride home, we had a long stretch on Dee-Mack road which leads to Washington where we had our first pit stop. We stopped at the Casey's to refresh our drinks and use the facilities.

Our next segments meant it was time to hit the hills and HIT them we did. I tried to view this ride as a training ride. I left my bike in the big gear to try and push my legs to get stronger, more prepared for Ironman Louisville. The hills on this route are tough, but on the downhills an odd combination of scary & fun as long as you find the right piece of road. On a couple of the major hills, I had to come out of aero position. I was way too nervous flying down these bumpy hills at 34+ mph.

We made another pit stop in Metamora where I decided to stay with water. I bought a Gatorade at the last stop and it just tasted way too sweet and the flavor too strong. My nutrition plan for the day was to use Perpeteum in my aero bottle. If we were in between stops, I would refill with water from my down tube bottle so we could keep going. I had another water bottle with Hammer Heed as well as Stinger Waffles and Gu Gels in my snack sack. During the time where I didn't have Perpeteum in my aero bottle, I used the Stinger Waffles and Gu Gels to make sure I kept my nutrition up to about 250 calories per hour.

I don't really mind the Perpeteum. A lot people talk about how thick it is. Yes, it is thick, but most of the time it hasn't been a problem. I like using Perpeteum because it's readily accessible at our local biking stores.

On the return home, we stopped at in Washington again to re-freshen our drinks. We were 70 miles in and I thought I was feeling pretty good. We hit mile 80 and I felt the wall start to come crumbling down. Right before hitting Washington I started to notice a pain behind my left knee. I was concerned about whether it was an issue of pushing hard on the hills or possibly a bike fit issue. I struggled through the next few miles trying not to push with my left leg which meant my speed was greatly reduced. Cheryl & I thought we were going to try and get 120 miles in, but she was running out of fluids and I was concerned about pushing through more hills with my knee. So we decided we would have to be happy with 100 miles and headed home.

As soon as we got home, I could have laid down for a nice nap. It's amazing to me how my body automatically turns to recovery mode. However, a nap was not meant to be. I needed to go take an oatmeal bath to ward off the hives as much as possible.

Later that evening Cheryl & I went to the T3 open water swim. My legs were tired, but I simply wanted to be in the water. I was hoping the water would refresh my body, maybe even wash away the hives. Maybe?

Note the red, swollen eyelids. Not good. 

On Monday, I didn't have a lot of energy in my legs. With the launch of Body Flow 57 that evening, I decided to take it easy and make sure I had my choreography down. Monday night I taught ZUMBA,  launched Body Flow 57 and then taught Body Pump. By Tuesday morning, my eyes were red and swollen which only had the affect of making me want to cry. I thought I could handle this. It's only 40 more days. 40 days of itching my arms and legs I could handle, but the redness and swelling around my eyes is not only very uncomfortable it's very worrisome.

I've been trying to ice my eyes as much as possible, but it doesn't seem to do much except freeze my nose and sinuses. I put a call into the Good Doc today. I'm not sure what he can do for me at this point, but I need to try. Cheryl & I are debating another long ride this weekend which just means the situation is only going to get worse not better.

I'm sure the antihistamines are doing their best. It's just not clearing it up. It's like they just can't get ahead of my body. I've always said I'm a one Ironman girl. I guess my body is definitely trying to send me a message saying, "Yes, become an Ironman on August 26th because after that you need to rest....and not try to do this again."

So, if I'm not an Ironman by midnight on August 26th......I doubt I ever will be.

Punching Bag

Here I am. Looking like my husband is using me as a punching bag. Good Lord. (sigh)

I'm feeling frustrated and anxious about doing Ironman 70.3 Muncie this weekend. I hope my body doesn't react even worse to the activity this weekend. My personal prescription for the week has been rest. However, if the swelling around my eyes doesn't get better by tomorrow,I will be calling Dr. S again begging for more drugs!