Snapple Tri Team

***DISTANCE***

Swim: .62 miles
Bike: 17.5 miles
Run: 3.3 miles

***RESULTS***

Overall
Age Group

Overall: 1:36:20, 8th female overall, 4th amateur overall
Swim: 15:51
T1: 1:24
Bike: 53:45
T2: 1:17
Run: 26:06

***PRE-RACE***

Iron Girl…always my favorite race of the year! This year would be EXTRA special because my Dad and Ginger would be coming to visit and watch. My Dad’s 1st triathlon! YIKES…this made me more nervous and excited! So he is either going to think I am more or less crazy

I told my Dad we needed to be there for my start my 6:40am. He looked stunned…and he still did not know that meant leaving before 5am. buhh. He and Ginger were great sports about it and were in bed by 9pm, while Sarah, Matias, and I were pretty wired and did not head to bed till after 10pm. ehh what is another early morning.

I was up and feeling pretty stellar the next morning…aside from my usual bathroom issues (if anyone has any recommendations for keeping out the of the bathroom pre-race…I’d be interested in any suggestions…not involving Imodium please). We all arrived at Centennial Park in good time. Set up transitions and headed to the lake…arrived just in time for my wave to go into the water.

***RACE***

SWIM – Starting in the pro/elite wave…always exciting! echhkk. water felt gross. They said 87…but I am not sure it was quite that warm! We were off. Two flew off the front pretty quickly. I stayed in the second pack of 3…my friends Ally, Underdonk, and I. Everyone else dropped behind. I stayed with them and pulled closer as we neared the finish. The 3 of us were coming into the finish together and ran out Ally, me, Underdonk into T1.

T1 – Working on becoming a T1 specialist. Really been focusing and practicing this one. Solid.

BIKE – Off on Bananas. It was raining. Bananas was getting dirty. oh well. I had passed Ally in transition and was 3rd onto bike. It was quiet for a bit. Then someone flew by. Legs were feeling decent…but nothing special. I knew the course pretty well…good thing…a few turns had not been marked yet and some of the cops were not yet out of their cars. BUHAHA. About 8 miles in and about the turn around at the school my legs were starting to feel a bit more warmed up so I tried to bust it heading in. I have felt that I have been pretty conservative on the bike my last few races…anxiousness and saving up for the run. I have not had my game face on. Pushed it in and off the bike in 7th.

T2 – Still raining. Dad, Ginger, Matias, and Sarah were all there and very excited to see me coming in! I ran into transition and fell down the hill. It was steep, wet and muddy…and trying to focus on all the people still coming out of the water. With over 2000 competitors ladies would still be starting when I was finishing.

RUN – My form was actually starting to feel like I had a real running form and I was not just trying to get through it. I tried to keep a fast cadence. I could see a girl about 100 yards behind me. She would most likely catch me. bust. I looked behind me several times in the 1st mile…maybe she would not pass me. Then at about 1.5 miles there another girl coming up. junk. it hurt…but not bad. 2 miles to go….I tried to pick it up. 1 mile to go…she seemed to keep coming nearer. I again picked up my pace to as fast as I could. I was huffing and puffing. .5 to go and I BUSTED it all the way to the finish. She never got me.

***POST-RACE***

My Dad and Ginger seemed so proud! Dad was as excited as me! YEAH!!! And my hips were not hurting…I was not as sore as usual. Something was changing. huh.

Up Next: Reston Triathlon, September 12, 2010

Luray International

***DISTANCE***

Swim: 1500 meters
Bike: 41K
Run: 10K

***RESULTS***

Results

Overall: 2:41:04, 3rd female overall (listed as 4th but 2nd place DQed for only doing 1 loop of the bike course…OOPS), 1st in age group
Swim: 24:09
T1: 1:26
Bike: 1:22:52
T2: 1:11
Run: 51:28

***PRE-RACE***

Going into the Luray Double weekend…I was not sure how the races would go but was really just looking forward to the weekend…spending some quality time with Sarah, seeing lots of great friends, and hanging out in Luray all weekend…always a good time. I don’t think I had run more than 5 miles since last September so all the running I would have to do this weekend worried e a bit. But if I had to pull out of the Olympic after 3 miles I was fine with that. I had more potential in the Sprint and I was more concerned with Iron Girl, coming up next weekend.

Sarah and I left Reston for Luray Friday about 2pm. Got there in no time…headed to packet pick-up and were off to find the cabin we had rented for the weekend. First bust…the Versa could not get up the rather HUGE hill leading up to our cabin. I decided to gun it and we ended up stuck half way up the hill. nice. We just left it there. BUHAHA.

Pretty uneventful rest of the evening. Sarah and I arrived at Lake Arrowhead with too much time the next morning. I don’t like too much time at the site pre-race. I usually just end up going to the bathroom over and over and over again.

***RACE***

SWIM – I was in the second wave (women 35 & under). water temp = 84 degrees. NO wetsuits allowed. And we were off. Pulled ahead with a few others. And then it thinned out. I felt kindof crummy. Felt like swimming was taking a lot of effort…would be a long race this way. I noticed Shelly right ahead of me…so I tagged along. The course was a pac-man shape…so somewhat hard to navigate. Shelly did an awesome job with that. Neared the shore and busted it in. I ran out right behind her and caught her coming into T1.

T1 – Been working on my T1. Been aiming for fastest T1 time. 3rd place today. not too shabby. I headed out of transition as 2nd female.

BIKE – Off on BANANAS. I had forgotten that this course was a bit challenging. I loved climbing though. A few miles…I still felt crummy…just could not get the game face on…though I continued to bust it. About 5 miles in I passed the lead female. Sweet. That was always a huge confidence booster. Miles 10-15 a huge head wind hit. guhhhh. And then I realized we looped this part of the course 2 times. Treid to keep a quick cadence and not trash my legs. On the second loop I was starting to feel a bit more warmed up…and finally was on the home stretch…hit the last big hill. I felt tired and really unsure if I should even attempt the run. The hips were feeling a bit strained and I could feel the tight hamstring that always nagged me (anyone who has any advice on a tight or constantly pulled hamstring please contact me). Should I just call it quits? hang with Sarah (who had done the swim/bike portion and would be stopping due to a knee injury…but high five to her for getting out there and having fun), prep for the Sprint tomorrow which I probably had more potential in, rest for Iron Girl next weekend? SUCK IT UP I would. 1st female of the bike. mehhhh.

T2 – Quickly transitioned into the Newts and was off.

RUN – Well OK. If the hip strain/tight hamstring did not hurt much more than now than I would be OK…but that was not usually the case. Course was 2 loops…I could pull out half way if need be. Mile 1 or so a lady passed me. BUST. She was moving. At least I could keep a smile on my face. 1st loop turn around Shelly was gaining and shortly caught me. I kept her just ahead…I could do this. She seemed to slow so I caught up and ran with her a bit and then towards the end of the 1st loop I pulled away. The hip pain was going away?! But my legs were freakin sore…guess that is what happens when you have not run too much. I was going to do the 2nd loop or bust. Rounding into the 2nd loop another lady passed. OK I was in 3rd. I began to quicken my pace. Feeling pretty strong…best I had felt all day! Made it to the turn around and pushed all the way to the finish…no one passed me Came across the line in 3rd with hopes that none of the later wave of women were faster. Results were in and I had come in 4th! Later to find out that the woman who finished 2nd in the results had only done 1 loop of the bike course…so I had finished in 3rd and qualified for Best of the US! good day.

***POST-RACE***

I was ecstatic…first time to finish the Luray International distance EVER! geez. Maybe it just took me about 3 miles to warm up? Sarah and I decided to celebrate and hit up a winery that had just opened in Luray called Wisteria. Headed home where we grilled some eats, drank some more wine, and hot tubbed. I felt wasted and passed out before 9pm.

Luray Sprint

***DISTANCE***

Swim: 750 meters
Bike: 17 miles
Run: 5K

***RESULTS***

Results

Overall: 1:32:57, 4th female overall, 1st in age group
Swim: 12:17
T1: 1:21
Bike: 53:13
T2: 1:10
Run: 24:57

***PRE-RACE***

It was like groundhog day. Up and out to Lake Arrowhead to race again. My only real worry was the serious blisters I had gotten yesterday during the run. Did some minor surgery the night before and should be good to go.

***RACE***

SWIM – Off again in wave 2 (35 & under ladies). Swim felt a bit stronger today. A few of us took the lead. Toward the end another woman and I battled it in. I may have been 3 or 4 out of the water.

T1 – Passed most of them in transition. Perfect practice makes perfect.

BIKE – Off on BANANAS and passed the lead female on the first climb. and within the first 5 miles a lady blew by me. I felt stronger than yesterday. I think yesterday had helped warm me up. I never feel good on my bike until after some solid riding (maybe running was the same?). Held my position for the rest of the

T2 – Uneventful transition and I was off and running. OHHH blisters.

RUN – 2nd female going into the run. Karolina caught me in the 1st mile…she was CRUSHING it. That girl is ready for Louisville! Only 3 miles I told myself…hold it together. At the turn around I saw Krista closing in on me quickly. I tried to keep my pace and maybe pick it up. She caught me with about 1 mile to go. I tried to keep with her, watched her cadence and form and tried to model it. It was working. I tried to slowly catch up…ran with her for a bit…and pulled away. About .5 miles to go I gave it ALL that I had. Came across the line 3rd female. Again would have to await the final results. An older woman had gotten both Karolina and I…putting me in 4th overall. Not too shabby!

***POST-RACE***

OK. That was the most I have run in a long time. Almost feel I could do a half right now. April I could not run 1 mile. WHAT THE BEEP. I have changed some things since then. In April when I was diagnosed with LOW iron I started a liquid iron supplement called Floradix. I now call it miracle in a bottle. I have also probably tripled my daily protein intake. The problem has always been that I eat what I want. And what I want really has no protein. So I had been experimenting to find something with a lot of protein that I preferred over foods with no protein…and I have FINALLY found it! ARCTIC ZERO…oh wow. With 16 grams of protein and 150 calories a pint…you can eat the whole pint in one sitting! no joke…It is like a frozen protein shake that tastes like heaven. One or two of these a day for the past few months…something feels different.

Huge thanks to David and Krista for another awesome Luray weekend! It was great to see so many friends and familiar faces out there on the course. And big Congrats to teammate Dirk De Heer on his Olympic finish!

Up Next: Iron Girl, August 22, 2010

***DISTANCE***

Swim: 750 meters
Bike: 16 miles
Run: 5K

***RESULTS***

Results

Overall: 1:26:24, 6th female overall, 1st in age group
Swim: 10:39
T1: 1:00 (1st overall…practice pays off)
Bike: 50:23
T2: 1:13
Run: 23:12

***PRERACE***

Must swim before bike racing. Sooo maybe this makes me a true triathlete? After my 1st road race a few weeks ago I really wanted to do a triathlon. I felt ready. The way my body behaves I should probably just wait to sign up for these things until a week or two prior to the actual race. I probably could have had a FEW new bikes now with all the races I have signed up for and not been able to do

So Culpeper Sprint. I really enjoy the Set Up Event races.

Sarah got home from Taiwan and decided to spend the weekend with big sis. She even woke up early early with me and came out to the race with me. I felt really special Of course we still enjoyed ourselves the night before. Hit up a cool little place in Old Town called Grape & Bean. good stuff. We were passed out before 9pm! nice.

Got to the race site at the same time everyone did. But manged to get in just in time for packet pick-up, body marking and transition set up.

***RACE***

SWIM – no wesuits. 84 degrees. my perfect temp. I was in the 2nd wave…ladies 34 & under. I positioned myself in the front closest to the buoys. The seaweed monster was trying to pull me under! eeeyuck! And we were off. Pulled ahead with 3 others. I felt awesome! Interesting since I had not been swimming as much as the usual…maybe that was a good thing. Got into a good rhythm and quickly came upon the 1st turn and caught up to the wave ahead of us. I stayed to the outside to avoid any congestion. Before no time I was running out of the water.

T1 – ran through T1, grabbed BANANAs and was off. I had been practicing mounting and dismounting with shoes on my bike…this was a wee bit difficult as we immediately went down a hill. But I killed T1…#1 time.

BIKE – I believe I had beat the other women out of T1. 1st going into the bike. Leslie DiMichele was right with me. We went back and forth for about 5 miles. And then another woman flew past us both…she was LONG gone. I was not feeling to great. I usually do not feel good on the bike until about 20 miles…bike would be over by then. Leslie and I continued to go back and forth for the entire course. No other women passed us. I was gonna bonk. oops.

T2 – We were into T2. Quickly put on my sneaks and was off. Leslie beat me out. She had me…she was a much stronger runner than I…as are most

RUN – So 3rd women into the run. Now the race was on. I felt decent. Every time I start the run I think about what Mary and Al have taught me…keep a quick cadence. SO I focused on that. Course was several out and backs…one one of the returns on could see a woman really closing the gap on me…and yep, she passed me a minute or so later. guh. With about 1 mile to go I started to pick it up knowing I only had to bust it for so much longer. Finally I could see the finish line…after inifinity DNFs it is always such an amazing feeling to finish a race

Up Next: Luray Olympic & Sprint, August 14-15, 2010

I got the poop knocked out of me on Saturday.

Decided to give bike racing a go. Signed up for my USA Cycling license, finalized the road bike purchase. After a lot of issues trying to get the new tri bike to fit right…Rockstar got the boot…and Ruby (2010 Cervelo R3) became my new buddy. Anyhow…I needed a break from fighting the body and the run.

1st road race…Giro di Coppi.  I had no expectations.  Well maybe not to get dropped.  I actually prefer “dropping out.”

The CAT 4 women would do 3 12.5 mile loops…for 37.5 miles total.  We went off at 1pm.  WTF.  This would be a dripper for sure.  I woke up at 7am and went for a warm-up swim.  Cycling just would not seem right without getting wet first and I was a little anxious and swimming is what I do best in those circumstances.  Headed out to Barnesville, MD around 10:30am.  I arrived with plenty of time…registered and got ready to warm-up.  I found Matias who had just crushed the Cat 3/4 men’s race (6th place).  He went for a warm-up/cool-down with me.  My legs felt stale as ever.  It was HOT.  Rode EZ for about 20min.  Then the ladies started to gather near the start.  There was maybe 30 women in the Cat 4.  I hung with Shauna and Meg while waiting for the go.  And we were off.  I was told to position myself on the outside but closer to the front.  And was told the pace would feel slow.  I held a decent position a few rows back on the outside.  I am never too comfortable on the inside or middle.  Hmm about the first 2 miles were slow and then the pace began to quicken.  And this was NO flat ride.  14 or so might have gotten dropped.  There was only a few behind me now.  I felt like I could hang on.  Felt strong on the climbs.  But then all of the sudden on a climb about mile 10 got the hurt dropped on me.  I “dropped out” at that point.  BEEP.  guh.  junk.  Soo bust.  3 other had also “dropped out.”  The 4 of us played yoyo for the last 2 miles of the 1st loop.  One of the women was done at the start.  The other 2 and I kept going.  What the heck…I may as well get a good training ride in.  I was so HOT.  One of the other women, Melissa Tallent, and I were going back and forth…I pass on the uphill and she pass on the downhill.  She told me we should work together.  I agreed so we rode together for the 2nd loop and chatted a bit.  We wondered if we should continue on for the 3rd loop or not and decided we would unless they pulled us off.  Which, we were not supposed to be pulled unless we were lapped by the field.  No one had passed us or caught up.  We could finish 12th or so?  Coming into the 3rd loop I was hoping Matias was in site with some water.  Saw him and he handed me some water.  A ref told Melissa and I we were done.  Later found out this was not because we had dropped out BUT because I had gotten water outside of this “feed zone.”  DQed!  Big time BUST.  At least I made some new friends   What a BEATER.

After the race found out the Cat 4 women lead group had caught the Cat 1/2/3 women, who had gone off 5 minutes before us.  Some very FAST ladies out there!

Up Next: Lost River Classic, July 24, 2010

***RESULTS***

1-mile (wetsuit): 23:55, 2/82 female, 1/13 30-34
2-mile (wetsuit): 50:04, 8/77 female, 1/12 30-34

***PRERACE***

Liquid Iron. That seems to be solving a lot of my past issues. good stuff. Definitely on the up since the 10K in Miami. Energy levels are much better…now just trying to get the messed up tendon in my leg to heal…must run soon. I was not sure how the swim would go. Mary and Al are in charge of me now…so only swimming 3/week…but quality not quantity.

***RACE***

1-miler

Water was about 77! What the heck. The normal Lake Audobon temp is about 68-70 at this time of year. People were stressin. Not me. I was excited to wear my new Xterra Vendetta. Air temp was in the high 60s. Feelin toasty in the suit. Entering the water was very refreshing. I was in the 2nd wave. We were OFF. I started front and right and held my ground. Stayed ahead of the wave with one or two others. Felt pretty good throughout and tried to hold a steady pace. Caught up to a few from the 1st wave. Arms started wearing towards the end…2 miler should be fun. I guess this was the price for not swimming as much. But quality not quantity WILL make me faster…I just might not be able to swim 10Ks…sacrifices.

2-miler

I always wished they would do the 2 mile before the 1 mile. I was just gonna take it EZ. 3rd wave this time. Took my front and left position and was OFF. Again pulled ahead and held it. I did feel a bit more warmed up this time. Felt pretty good the 1st loop. Then my arms really started to wear. I would be sore. And to think I had a full day of moving ahead of me. I felt wasted already. I held a steady pace and thought about rolling and good form. Heading in I busted it.

Jim M Swims always a favorite event each year. Lots of friends and familiar faces

Up Next: DC Triathlon, June 20, 2010

-Katie

It was a loooooong winter.

Yes, I tend to overtrain. I train like I am doing an Ironman and train even when I am not gearing up for any big races. Because I enjoy training…I really do. Leading up to my first race (Swim Miami 10K) I was feeling less than stellar. My morning workouts are always my stronger ones…my body just feels the best at this time of day. Well leading up even mornings were rough. One, I was having a real hard time getting up (normally I am good about popping out of bed and ready to take on the day). And two, I was bonking within the first 30min of each session. And my pm workouts…I am often a little tired for these but lately they were a serious effort…and a lot of times just defaulted to hot yogs. Yea, 10K swim could be rough.

10K swim…the last straw. Put the HURT on me. Hypothermia took a lot out of me. Pulled a ton of muscles in my chest and breathing was wearing me out. Of course the next day I decide to go for a run. This finished me off. Pulled a tendon or muscle/possibly whole IT band felt wrecked. I was good for nothing. Anytime I exerted myself muscles felt like they were straining and very easily would I pull mess something else up. Chest hurt to swim, leg hurt to run. Thank the stars for hot yogs. After some visits to Mary and Al…it was found that my iron and ferritin levels were very low. doh. Time to get going on that. Decided to stick with yoga and ez riding for a bit and work on getting more iron. A friend recommended liquid iron…so I decided to give that a try. A week of yoga, liquid iron, and a little bit of riding and am I feeling like a new person…feeling like I just woke up.

What now…

Simmer down on the training. I do not need to do as many hours as I have been. Maybe more time for hot yogs! A day OFF after any race/training event is a great idea. Seems my biggest injuries occur after a big race when my body is fragile. I need a coach. Under the watchful eye of R2R now…

The 2010 race season…Kinetic this weekend is gonna be a no go. Although I am feeling better I still do not have all the energy :/ Leg is still not awesome and don’t want to set myself back. Smart thing would be to wait till later June to race…and stick with Olympics and Sprints this year.

Create more balance in my life, focus on other very important things in my life…like Phil Collins.

Interesting…longest time off swimming since 2003. Been about 2 weeks. My hair feels awesome! And I have really been enjoying taking morning yoga classes and seeing all my yogi and yogini friends But also ready to get back in the pool. I think…

***PRERACE***

Sarah and I left Reston Friday am…picked up Holly and Jeff in Arlington and the 4 of us were off to Miami. No hassles getting there and we were shortly in our Nissan Cube heading for packet pick-up.

I had one worry going into this swim…water temperature. As most of you know very well I choose my pools very wisely…temps above 82. Yes, this is a tad warm. I usually warm up but when I swim for over say 90 minutes and the body temperature drops I start to get cold again.

I emailed the race director numerous times to find out what the water temperature would be and to see what type of suits were allowed. I was pretty sure wetsuits were not allowed but wanted to know about full leg/zipper suits. The race director told me about 78 degrees, no wetsuit and he would have to check on the Xterra speedsuit. Never heard back from him on it…so I packed it anyways. 78 with nothing would be cold to me. I mean a mile or 2 OK sure no problem….but a 10K would be at least 2.5 hours. This made me nervous.

At packet pick-up I asked again. Now they told me the water was 75 and I would have to ask the officials in the morning. Cripes…could no one just give me an answer. I needed to prepare mentally. 75…dang.

Race morning…Sarah and I were up at 7 and headed down for Starbucks. This was nice…race did not start until about 10am…so we got at least 9 hours that night. Had some tasty gluten-free oatmeal and the 4 of us headed to the swim. We arrived to find ourselves at a teeny-bopper beach party. interesting. After asking a bunch of people some dude told me if I was a masters I could wear my speedsuit. GREAT…I felt much less anxious.

***RACE***

Time to enter the water. eee it was chilly. Good thing for the Xterra speedsuit (little did I know the darn thing does not keep one warm). Holly and I kinda went back and center. Normally in a triathlon I would go in the front…but this was serious swimmers business. 10K Olympian Poliana Okimoto from Brazil was competing…I did not want to get run over. The 10K course was 4 counterclockwise loops. As the map shows it was in the ocean but a protected cove. My goal was to hit each about 40-45min. We were off. I held my spot and moved past a few people. The front group was out of site pretty quickly. Within the first 10 minutes I was passing a few people and arms were feeling strong. Water was chilly but I was warming up. The first part of the loop was to swim inland, make the 150 meter turn, and then out 1100 meters towards the main ocean, make another 150 meter turn, and then back to the start/finish. I was feeling really solid on the way out towards the main ocean. WHAM…a wave of dudes with motors ran me over (5K must have started). I don’t think I have seen open water swimming this way before. They were like a pack of kicking dolphins. Some of them turned onto their backs to scope the competition behind them. pretty amazing. As I got closer to the next turn I started to feel cold. Yep, body temperature had adjusted and now it was getting cold again. not good. I told my self to quit thinking about it, tried to think about something else. Started to make the turn…current was really bad out there…felt like it took forever to make the turn and head back in. And heading back in was no fun either…the current was definitely against us. and geez I sure did not want any margaritas tonight…salt water was killin me. I was cold and chilled where the salt water rubbing against me felt so terrible. suck it up. 1 loop down…39min. Being on time made me feel better. As I went into the 2nd loop I was feeling a little like I had been through a spin cycle, cold, body felt tingly and funny from the cold and salt. Making the turn I felt really dizzy…when I lifted my head to site I really could not get focus on the buoy. shake it off. Tried to relax heading back out to the main ocean. A rough turn again and back towards the start/finish. Still making my times…but starting to feel really bad. cold, shaky, chills, and unable to focus because my eyes were spinning inside my head. After making the first turn of the 3rd loop my arms were really numb. I looked at my hands and they were purple at the joints. ehh…maybe this was not good. I stopped near a kayak..the girls in it asked me if I was ok. A boat came and pulled me out. I was shivering out of control I noticed when we I was in the boat. I did not think I was that cold. Then I was on land and in the medical tent. They took my blood pressure and pulse, which was really low and said I had all the signs of hypothermia. Sarah and Jeff were there giving me water and gatorade, which made my stomach hurt. I got warm clothes on and Sarah and one of the medical guys took me back to the car. Walking back I felt so dizzy it was like I was drunk. I laid down in the heat and then had a migraine :/ what a day.

***POSTRACE***

I was so proud if Sarah for finishing the 5K and Holly for finishing the 10K. beast.

That night we had Sangria to celebrate. I felt pretty out of it…but had a good time with my friends. And got another 9 hours of sleep. Decided to get on the elliptical the next day to get moving. Hips felt funny (but a different pain than my past hip pain) and that quickly moved into my knee and ankle (all the way down the IT band). Seemed like I had tweaked something from kicking hard. Having a hard time walking and some numbness in my foot, I decided to call Mary and Al. They said to find a massage and come see them when I returned. I got the massage…felt a tad better. And went to see them first thing when I returned on Monday. There diagnosis was that I did a number on my IT band from kicking and sighting…and hopefully with some stretching, ibuprofen, and time it would go away.

Very disappointing and now worried about my body going into the season. one can only get back on the horse so many times.

***LESSONS LEARNED***

-I need to start choosing my races like I choose my pools. Pay more attention to what you are signing up for! do more research on courses. doh.

-Katie

RATS Swim Relay from Katie Davison on Vimeo.

March 27, 2010 was the Multisport World Conference and Expo in Bethesda, MD. Bonzai Sports held a relay team swim challenge. Each person swam 400 yards. Steve Pohnert, Dan O’Connell, David Cascio, and I entered as a RATS relay and took 2nd place! I had the 2nd fastest female time (4:41). Wore the Xterra Velocity++ and felt really smooth and fast in the water. Video showed my arms still really shorten up when I am sprinting…gotta work on rolling more. good stuff.

Up Next: Swim Miami 10K, April 17, 2010

-Katie

What does that mean?! I asked the rhumatologist, after he had diagnosed me with Osteoporosis a month prior. It all seemed to make perfect sense to him now. I was confused. Here is an interesting story:

Summer 2004:

I was getting bored with swimming everyday. Bought a bike and learned to ride. Signed up for a triathlon or a few. I was hooked.

Spring 2005:

After a solid first season I was ready to CRUSH IT. Swimming, biking, and running leading up to the season were feeling good. Swimming probably more than necessary and running probably less than I should be (say 10-12 miles/week). But, coming from a swimming background my body did not handle the running as well. One morning I am on the mill at Worldgate and all of the sudden very sharp pains in my hip area. I stopped and went for a swim…figured I could stretch it out. Musta pulled something…hopefully it would shake off in the next few days. Days, weeks go by…I was still limping around. Time to find a doctor. Ended up going to an orthopeadic, getting some scans, and finding out I had a stress fracture between my femur and pelvis. The ortho looked at me…told me I had been running too much and just needed to eat more pizza and drink more beer and this thing should heal in a few months. He seemed pretty serious about the injury…giving me crutches and telling me if fracture breaks anymore I could need a full hip replacement. And told me if it did not heal in the next 6 months or so I would have to have surgery (a pin put in to hold the thing together). guh. At least I could still swim and bike.

Summer 2005:

Had not made much progress. Looks like I would be working on my swimming and biking this season. Was pretty unmotivated on the bike…so did A LOT of swimming…the obsession grew.

Summer 2006:

Still not much progress. And I had not been back to the ortho…I was scared…and I felt like he mocked me. I really wanted to race full tris. I decided to go back. Time for the pin he said. We scheduled the surgery for the coming October. It sounded awful and I had to lie down while he was explaining it to me. I don’t do well with doctors and hospitals.

Winter 2006/2007:

Before getting the surgery I met Mary and Al Delaney of Rehab to Racing. The strongly urged me to work with them…thought I needed a second opinion before just going under the knife. The surgery had only about 25% success rate…that worried me and them. We postponed it and got some more opinions. They sent me to a new orthopeadic, Andrew Parker at Commonwealth. Mary, Al, and Dr Parker wanted me to have some more test before taking any other action. They sent me to a rhumatologist for a bone density scan. After the test the doctor comes in and starts flipping out…saying I seriously have Osteoporosis….and I am much to young to have this. He was outraged and had to call Mary and Al immediately. I got very upset at his reaction…what the beep. He decided to run some more tests (blood work, etc) to rule out anything more. A month later I went back to his office.

“You have a gluten-intolerance!,” he shouted with joy. “WHAT does that mean?!,” I said very much confused. He said that I could not eat foods with wheat, rye, barley, or oats. So I am thinking OK gotta cut that wheat bread out…I mean I don’t eat wheat bread too much anyways…so not sure how this was going to solve all my problems. He explained how Celiac Disease (gluten-intolerance) is something you have your whole life and when you eat foods containing gluten it destroys your small intestine so that you do not absorb sufficient nutrients. It started to make sense…so my whole life I have been eating foods with gluten, my small intestine is wrecked, I do not absorb Calcium, I develop Osteoporosis (a complication of Celiac), and I am stuck with this stress fracture that will not heal. hmmm…sounds pretty ridiculous. He suggested going to a nutritionist and starting on this gluten-free diet. I was not huge on going to a nutritionist and would figure this out for myself. My first stop outta there was the grocery store to see what actually had wheat in it…

Headed for the bread aisle. Yep, wheat bread had wheat in it. BUT so did white, bagels, ALL breads. I started to cry…this was the worst thing ever. I LOVE bread. What was I going to eat?! I was so confused. I went home and started doing some research online to this disease I had never even heard of.

Summer 2007:

I decide to swim across Lake Champlain while still waiting for my busted hip to heal. It did feel though things were changing. My constant stomach issues were pretty much gone, I had endless energy, and was learning more everyday about this gluten-free diet…and learning to love it.

Summer 2008:

I complete my first half ironman, Eagleman, as well as Savageman. I was SO happy. I honestly never though I would run again. Back on track…ready to start crushing it!

More Info on Celiac:

What is Celiac?: also known as gluten intolerance, is a genetic disorder that affects 1 in 133 Americans. Those affected suffer damage to the villi (shortening and villous flattening) in the lamina propria and crypt regions of their intestines when they eat specific food-grain antigens (toxic amino acid sequences) that are found in wheat, rye, and barley. Oats have traditionally been considered to be toxic to celiacs, but recent scientific studies have shown otherwise. This research is ongoing, however, and it may be too early to draw solid conclusions. Because of the broad range of symptoms celiac disease presents, it can be difficult to diagnose. The symptoms can range from mild weakness, bone pain, and aphthous stomatitis to chronic diarrhea, abdominal bloating, and progressive weight loss.

What is the treatment?: The only acceptable treatment for Celiac Disease is strict adherence to a 100% gluten-free diet for life.

The Forbidden List

Still trying to figure it out…

-Katie

A new Endurance Films USAT Training DVD Series promo featuring Champion System proudly highlights Team Snapple’s triathlon kits.  Huge thanks to Sky Temple for the awesome design!

Champion Systems New Promo Featuring Team Snapple!!!! from Katie Davison on Vimeo.