Eileen Swanson's Tales

After IM LOU, PG tri, and a week in Canada for a training camp, I got sick 2xs. Yup, I won’t lie, it sucked and I was pretty upset. I know my body was telling me something and I know that I am stubborn and want to keep going and going. But on Day 5 of our training camp, I had to just stop and stay in bed. I had a bronchial cough and was coughing up green mucus. Sounds gross and it totally was!! I knew I was not well and probably needed antibiotics. I stayed in bed all day on Friday, only getting up to drink and eat. Saturday, I again stayed in bed in the AM and felt a little better so I walked down to a pharmacy to see if I could get something to help relieve the painful cough and burning sensation in my chest and lungs. By Saturday night, I started feeling better and knew I only had one more day of camp left. So, I got out of bed on Sunday morning to meet up with Haley, Katya, John, and Coach Dan for a 5 hour ride and short run.

I was feeling just ok on the ride, but coughing up a lung every so often. The ride was hilly and hard and we all split up at 2 hours to do our own 3 hours at IM race pace. It was ok at first, but as the time went on, I started feeling lethargic and knew I was now stuck out in the middle of no where and had to suck it up and ride back to the Lifesport office. I was hurting more from being sick than anything else, and every hill I climbed I was starting to feel sicker. By 5 hours, I thought I was so close to the office, only to find out that I was lost! ARGH! I stopped and asked a guy walking down the road for directions and he didn’t speak English. OMG – I was getting frustrated at this point and just so ready to be done with the ride. I stopped again and found a really nice man who said I was only 18K out of the way. He was so sweet and felt so bad for me when I told him I had been out for 5 hours and 15 minutes and that I was from CA and totally lost He gave me perfect directions and I was back at the office in 5 hour and 41 mins. Yup, alot longer than I had planned for, but I was just SO HAPPY to be done. Coach Paul was there waiting for me to get back and told me to head out on my run. The run was nice and short and I actually felt ok. Phew!

Ok, so after getting back home yesterday, I called my doctor and asked to be seen. She was available and I went in to get checked up and to ask a ton of questions. Not only have I been sick a couple of times this year, I have also had some weird early onset muscle soreness and fatigue which has gotten really bad lately. Basically, when I start running, no matter how slow I go, my muscles lock up and feel like I have just run a marathon. I can push through the pain and discomfort and eventually my muscles loosen up and feel better by 45-60 mins. So strange and really frustrating. I did some research online while I was sick last week and found that this may be related to my thyroid issue. So I asked my doc and she seemed to think this may be the case. So I got a ton of blood work done yesterday and hopefully we will have a clear answer by tomorrow. I also had an EKG done as my doc thought she heard some odd sounds in my heart. She thinks it may be normal since I am so active, but she wanted to test me to be safe. Anyway, we will know results of all tests by the end of this week. I hope everything will be ok and that I will get the help I need to be back to great health soon!!

E

Icing in the Pacific, Katya and I

Haley Cooper and I post Starbuck’s treat

Well, of course you will say I am stubborn, BUT I just had to race – 12 days post IM Lou! I wanted to go out and support Tri California and race an Olympic Distance race yesterday! I thought no problem, I can totally do this!! Easy, right? NO WAY!

My recovery from IM did not go as planned, I got sick with a sinus infection and sore throat a week ago. So I hadn’t worked out since IM, except a couple of easy swims, a short ride and a short run. I thought I would be well rested and ready to go on Saturday. The race was ITU style and the start list was very small, so $$ was going to be a given if I finished!

The swim or as Tri Cal calls it “the kelp crawl” is loaded with tons of thick green kelp. With my style of swimming (choppy stroke) the kelp seems to get wrapped up all around me and I tend to struggle with it and constantly have to keep reminding myself to relax and stretch out. Yesterday, being as tired and sick as I have ever been before the start of any race, the kelp seemed to bother me just a bit more All 6 of us girls started on the beach, ran into the ocean and I felt surprisingly ok. As we got close to the first buoy, the kelp began to thicken and there were less clear patches of water, I started to struggle here. Rounding the first buoy I sat in 2nd place and felt a bit lethargic and winded. Uh Oh, by the turn buoy, I was feeling IM and my sickness coming on hard! Bummer! But I pushed as best I could without blowing up and a couple of girls went right by me. I just couldn’t go with them. As we got close to shore to run up the beach, around a rock, and jump back in the ocean, I really began to hurt. I rounded the rock in 5th and there was still one girl behind me. I tried to bridge up to the first group, but I just didn’t have the power or speed. The 6th girl caught me and we both struggled with what seemed to be growing kelp. It was everywhere and there were no clear patches of water on the 2nd lap. It got ugly. Kelly Couch and I both were frustrated as was evident by the video I watched, we were wrapped up in the kelp and you could see the weeds of green stuff all over our arms on each stroke. It is heavy stuff if it gets stuck around you. It’s like dragging a weight behind you while swimming. Yikes!

We exited the water together and ran up the ramp to our bikes and Kelly was mumbling “the kelp sucks.” HA, I totally was with her on that one It was just not an easy day already, people were yelling, “you guys are a minute down.” Argh! Both Kelly and I had a tough time taking our wetsuits off, and we had slow T1’s. Geez, huh? We finally got on our bikes and that was it! I had no power, no speed, nothing in me. My body was saying no way, forget it, stop, now! Kelly rode off and I couldn’t even sit on her wheel. It was rough seeing my only hope of someone to work with on the bike ride away, while I felt like I was spinning in place. So, we were now on our own for the rest of the race. Kelly could not catch the 4 girls working so effortlessly together up ahead and I couldn’t catch Kelly. (Oh I forgot to mention I was riding a a loaner road bike, which was a bit too big for me, since I don’t have my own road bike. Yup, great idea, I know!) I felt like I was a parachute in the wind, and it was super windy! It’s always so windy on this bike course since it’s along the ocean and the race starts at 12:10PM. It is however, so beautiful!

I was feeling weak and tired and just ready to lay down and be done with this race as soon as I got off the bike. But I know all I had to do was finish to get prize money since 4 of the girls on the start list never showed up. I sucked it up, rode in despite being so slow and frustrated with my body, and started the 10K run. Now this is where I really felt like I was ready to lay down and STOP! My legs tightened up to where they were cramping up. My quads hurt so bad that all I could do was 6.50 pace. Well, that was just for the first 3 miles, then I slowed WAY DOWN to half IM pace. Yikes! It was embarrasingly slow, but I finished and earned my biggest paycheck of the year $700!! YAY! I totally need it since quitting my job 5 weeks ago.

Next race I’ll be so fresh and ready to ROCK! No more of this racing tired! It’s just not for me

I have to say the coolest part of this race was meeting so many awesome pro’s. The men were incredibly friendly and the women were as well. Some of the awesome pro’s are Haven Barnes, John Dahlz (who I already know and rides on some of the same group rides), Rebecca W-Huber, Joe Umphenour (AMAZING ITU athlete and SUPER SWEET guy), Jeff Piland, Alexis Smith, and I can go on and on. These athletes make racing as a pro so much sweeter!! Thanks so much!

E

I know 95 degree heat and plenty of humidity is not everyone’s cup of tea. But for my awesome husband, it’s his calling. Reid spectated and was my #1 cheerleader last weekend in Louisville and saw how tough this IM looked by the carnage on the side of the road. But this didn’t stop him from deciding that this course would totally suit him, so he signed up for 09! Yup, he really did!

Crazy enough, I decided that I would join him. I didn’t have to sign up yet, but I made a pact with Reid that I would be out there and this time I would get it right! I am not scared of the heat, humidity, and rolling hills anymore, I am hungrier than ever to have a great race there!! I now know what it’s like, and I WILL train plenty for it this time around. I am super stoked to go back to Kentucky next year, this time with a new plan in place and a better heat trained me

Now, who will win this one, Reid or me?

IM Kentucky 09 will be AWESOME!!

Belle and all her friends cooling off at the lake….Trail walk after Belle’s swim

OUCH, running down the finish chute!

Bike out in 2nd place at this point