The real-life LinkedIn happens on the roads, trails, water, and in the gym.

I've poked fun at LinkedIn before, and even though I'm on it, and I recognize its potential value, I realize more and more the *real* way many of us "link in" with people is on the roads and trails, in the water, and in the gym. Today was a classic case!

My friend and swim group lane-mate Jilian put out a call for those interested in a sunrise hike to McAfee's Knob, a scenic mountain-top rock outcropping that overlooks a lush valley. Me and three others said yes to meeting up at 4 am to drive to the trailhead and get to the top by sunrise. I didn't know the other hikers, but as I left my house at 3:55 am, I found it odd that another car was coincidentally leaving the house down the street. A new family had just moved in and I'd not had a chance to meet them yet.

So yes....one of the hikers was my new neighbor Erin! What better way to get to know Erin and fellow hikers Korey and Daron than by hiking single-file up a dark mountain, chatting all the way.  We all have kids and enjoy active lifestyles that run the gamut and we have commonalities in work and community.

When it got light enough to turn our headlamps off, I got my first real look at everyone. It's not often that you engage in conversation with folks for an hour without really seeing them, and how interesting that it never mattered or even occurred to me.

We left the parking lot at 4:41 and made it to the top at 6:21 am. The sun had just cleared the horizon and we made the most of the photo ops and took in the beauty of the distant mountains and the valley below.

with Jilian...who made this happen!

This hike joins a growing list over the last six weeks that fall into the category of "things I would not have done had I been in training." I see that I need to leave a little more wiggle room in my life for some spontaneity like this because this sunrise hike with new friends was very special. My friend Gail suggested this picture represented making it through the dark and starting a new day. Indeed!!!

Later in the day (after a nap), I headed out for a walk/run (5 x 2 min), on yet another route I'd last finished in tears. This time I finished very happy...a new day, a second chance.

Speaking of....BIG congratulations to Kelly Williamson for winning IM Texas today!! It's her first Ironman victory, and comes eight months after her external iliac artery repair surgery. What a comeback and THEN some!!

Swim, bike, run, week one!

Yay! I started back to a bit of real swim/bike/run this week, beginning Tuesday...exactly 6 weeks and a handful of hours post surgery.

Run. 

I headed out Tuesday on the Huckleberry Trail for a 45 minute walk with a plan for 5 x 1 min of running. I was going to go without Trixie, but in the end I took her, and she did just fine.

About a mile in there is a tiny hill where I used to "test" myself to see if I was still having a problem, and it would deliver a resounding confirmation of YES you are still screwed up. So I could not resist starting my first bout of running up that little hill. I headed up, waiting (expecting?) that bad "feeling" of shutdown to come. When it didn't, and I felt fine, I unexpectedly burst into a sobbing mess of tears, just so happy to feel I could begin to answer the question:

Am I fixed? 

I allowed myself to think maybe yes. My feet were flying and so was my soul. I came back to a walk and diverted off to a flat loop that had been the venue for many frustrating runs. I repeated these short bouts of running four more times. I had my Garmin on, but I wasn't looking, and it turned out I had been dipping below 5K pace. I ended up with maybe ten minutes of running. It was too fast (very much pointed out by Coach Jim), not smart, but I felt amazing.

Bike.

Wednesday I headed out onto a flat section of road for 30 minutes of easy pedaling. I felt really good both sitting up and aero. The best part is that I could feel all my toes the whole time - no numbness. I was a little sloppy on the road though, not super straight or smooth.

Swim.

This morning I woke up and my legs were both sore, maybe the left a bit more than the right, but at least it was both. I suspect I am paying the price for my unsanctioned "sprints" on Tuesday. I headed to the pool and saw Coach Tom and the swim group (they are looking good and swimming faster). It will be a few weeks before I am ready to rejoin them. I swam 1000y and that was plenty. I am fairly certain they have put heavier water in the pool. I shared a lane with friend Jane and I kept swimming too close to the lane line and hitting it...one of the little things you don't have to think about when you swim every week!

The Virginia Tech track team was at the pool too because the campus pools have already closed for the between-semester break. They have a whole water workout they do and they clearly all knew the routine without a word being said.

Head.

It will be a while before I feel confident that I am OK and fixed. I am constantly on high alert for anything that seems off and I remain slightly skeptical even while moving positively forward. The only thing that will really give me answers and confidence is time. I'm certain I am better off than before. And most importantly, I CAN swim, bike, and run. So whatever this body ultimately hands me to work with, I will work with, gratefully. 

The last six weeks have been really good for me in so, SO many ways. But I am happy to be returning to the sport I love.

Mom Day Half Marathon (walk) & Kid-Made Second Breakfast

We are not big celebrators of particular "days" but I have to admit this was a pretty nice Mother's Day. I was up early (first at 3 am ugh, then for real at 6 am-ish) and kicked off the morning by folding two loads of laundry.

WAIT! It gets even better! Hard to believe, but it DOES!

After first breakfast and coffee, Trixie and I set out with a goal of walking/hiking a half marathon on the trails. OK, that was my goal, but she's game for anything. We warmed up with some goose chasing, then shifted our attention to looking for early spring Mother's Day flowers in the forest. They were offered to us in colorful abundance!

After an awesome high-energy, discomfort-free hike/walk/amble (and soak in Poverty Creek), I returned home to these amazing kids and this beautiful sight...

...second breakfast prepared entirely by Spencer and Grant. We enjoyed quiche Lorraine, fruit salad, scrambled eggs, and cinnamon apple toast. MMMMMMmmmmmmm. It was absolutely delicious and extra nice to have it on the front porch on a beautiful day.

Last but not least...Happy Mother's Day to my beloved mom (who I talk to nearly every day) and to my big sister Kristen who is an awesome mom to my nephew and nieces! I dug through my archives and found this:

My dad is a very happy guy, but he looks a little perplexed in this photo!!

I hope this blog will start to get back on the triathlon track now - back on the bike and in the pool later this week!! That should be interesting. I haven't had 7 weeks away from swimming since I started this sport five years ago. Yikes!

Jacob's Ladder

Jacob's Ladder is a reference to a dreamt-of ladder to heaven from the Book of Genesis, and it's also the steepest most direct path up the mountain from Panadapas Pond. I can't recall when I went up it last, but I surely hadn't been on it all last year with my necessary hill-avoidance. There are sections that are pretty washed out and you end up climbing up roots and rocks like a staircase. It's part of the Brush Mountain Breakdown trail race I've done a few times and I've not yet managed to run up the whole thing without walking.

With my ab and leg incisions feeling pretty awesome these days, and as I am a half-week away from the six-week mark, I figured I was ready to head up this trail. Even at a walk, my heart rate zoomed up pretty quickly and both calves were feeling it, my glutes somewhat too. But my quad was fantastically quiet with none of that tiresome pleading-for-oxygenated-blood stuff.

I emerged from the top of the trail feeling rather heavenly!! Trixie didn't quite share in my delight, she was tired and wondering why tops of mountains don't have streams and perhaps some cheese.

We returned down Snake Root which is one of my favorite trails with vistas like the one below. We saw a giant something - eagle? hawk? - take flight in front of us.

Next week I start back to swim/bike/run, but I am prepared to take it slow. I listened to Ryan Hall's recent interview on Competitor Radio and he talked about a two-year period of time going from injury to compensation injury to compensation injury. I know from my past that it's not unusual for injury to follow injury and I'd very much like to avoid that.

I told Coach Jim that even though I feel good, I acknowledge that my two legs are not the same yet and won't be for a while. (He of course knew that would be the case, but I wanted him to know I knew it too.) I still have numbness on the surface of my leg and noticeable differences in sensation in the L/R quad muscles themselves in my stride. Nerves are disrupted in the course of surgery and though things are improving, the return of nerve function is not quick. The two sides of my abs are also not the same. The left external and internal obliques and inguinal ligament were cut. I don't need that asymmetry/weakness to lead to overloading of the hamstrings, glutes, back, etc.

Even as I type the words "I am prepared to take it slow" I know that will be a challenge. In my mind I feel like I could go knock out an Olympic distance triathlon tomorrow.

I'll continue to fill in around the limited swim/bike/run with walking and am adding in more stretching/rolling to get some flexibility back.

It's nice that my pants and shorts fit again. I still have some swelling and some sensitivity around my ab and groin scars, but it's sooooooo much better than it was.

All-in-all, happy happy!!

And for all the moms out there, Happy Mother's Day!! I leave you with this gem:

The FUN of Race Course Marshaling

Last weekend I volunteered for the Appalachian Power Smith Mountain Lake Triathlon. I've raced it every year for the past four, so even though it was kind of a bummer to miss it, volunteering gave me a way to be a part of it. It's the season opener for many in the area.

[Sidebar: I am pretty sure that "Season Opener" translated from the Greek roots means "Cold as *$%* Lake Water." That part I was OK with missing out on. Other than that, the racers (and volunteers) got a near perfect race day.]

The first thing I did was recruit a friend. Equipment Coach was happy to go to see probably twenty of the Roanoke Tri Club kits go by with his Solar Connexion logo prominently featured on the sides! They were sharp looking!

Bob the Builder. Yes he can.

I took my job VERY seriously. With the orange and yellow vest comes great responsibility. And tremendous power (even if only in my own mind...bwah hahaha!)...which I took full advantage of, stopping cars with a single outstretched hand, and yelling what I hoped to be power-inducing phrases at the cyclists.

I set up my little station with folding chair (not used once the first cyclist arrived), bottle of water, iPhone. Then I sat down and waited (not long) for the first cyclist who was minutes ahead of everyone else, earning him a police escort! A resident pulled up to my stop sign in his car to watch, health reasons keeping him from walking. His daughter and her friend were racing.

Then, while keeping an eye on the traffic behind me (maybe six cars over 1.5 hours), I tried to take photos of athletes I knew. I clapped and yelled vague encouragement to the speedy front-packers. They wouldn't hear anything I said anyway. At this point, I was totally amped up!!

Then, when the mid-packers arrived, my mouth opened, and out spewed a near continuous stream of roadside cheerleading on this uphill portion of the course. I tried to assess body language and facial expressions to carefully select the right words for each cyclist. I quickly developed a repertoire of (I hoped) encouraging words that included such phrases as:

• This is what you trained for!
• Dig, dig, dig!
• If it hurts, you're doing it right!
• You've got great momentum up this hill, keep it up!
• A happy racer is a speedy racer! (for those with smiles)
• Nice and smooth (for those looking like they were about to go off the road)
• Go get that guy! (pointing ahead)
• That drink had super powers!
• Believe!
• You're a climber! I can tell!
• You've got another gear, I know it! (I got thanked for this a few times)
• Who will get to the top of the hill first?? (for groups of two or three)
• Don't let that guy pass you!
• You're eating this hill for breakfast!
• This your first triathlon? One pedal stroke at a time, you're doing it! (end-packers)

The cool thing was really seeing the range of triathletes - the ages (13 - 75), the body types, the fitness levels, and the bikes. I saw at least a dozen mountain bikes out there which to me is a sure sign of a healthy local race that welcomes the newcomers. One thing that did not vary were the looks of determination from the very first rider to the very last (one of which had suffered a flat but carried on).

As I encouraged one of the final cyclists, she turned and said, "this is for my mom, I know she is watching me!" I told her I was sure she was and she was so super proud!

I wished I could know the story of each and every athlete out there. You know they have them. What led them to the sport, and what will this finish mean to them? I am so happy I got to have a tiny part of it all and I hope I didn't overstep my "Marshal" bounds. But I couldn't help but offer my energy in the only way I could, through my words.

Everyone should take the opportunity to volunteer at a race and see the bigger picture. I thoroughly enjoyed it and expect to do this some more.

I just looked for the blue Mill Mountain Star kits of the Roanoke Tri club and snapped away!

And for anyone curious about my recovery, I was back to see Dr. Davidson last Wednesday. I'm allowed back on the bike trainer and will continue walking through six weeks (May 14) when the abs will be at the point where I can't really do any damage. Then I can begin my gradual return to swim, bike, and run. I am feeling really good and pretty happy with how my recovery has gone!