mountain century

aka the mountain century that never was. at least for me, that is.

picked up niece from the airport on Friday. ordered Thai (from our regular place), chowed down before driving most of the way to the ride site in NH. felt some bubble-guts action going on during the 2.5hr ride, but i have a sensitive stomach so that's not anything new. sometimes it means impending NO BUENO gut action, and sometimes it just means bubbles.

slept well, woke up early to prep and drive the last 20mi to the ride start. bubble-guts sensation had morphed over night. much more crampy, pain, and urgent feeling. just like a flare about to start. in my 4am wake-up-haze, i ignored the signs and downed a double-shot espresso and my regular pre-long workout PB bagel sammy.

<for those of you with IBD/CD/UC/IBS, or with a friend or spouse with any of the above, or with any general knowledge of GI troubles, you're probably thinking--OY! a big meal + caffeine? nononononono.>

so, yeah, it's probably no surprise then that i had to stop at a random Dunks on the way there for pitstop #1 of 4,328 that day.

used the restroom, registered, used the restroom, got the bike ready, used the restroom (see a pattern here? i refused to, and decided i could still ride 100mi at ~10mph speed through the White Mountains. riiiiiiight.)

only made it 5mi before i had to hop off my bike and find a bush. went a few more times before the first big descent out of Bear Notch. luckily i didn't have to go during that 2mi downhill, with rumble strips, no less!

suffered my way through that pattern for about 40 miles. i realized, as i was crying behind a bush because i was scared i was starting to flare, that maybe riding through this wasn't the best idea. i seriously can't believe it took me that long. i was miserable.

so. i DNFd the Tin Mountain century, and was totally destroyed by it over the weekend. i had so so so SO wanted to test myself on those mountains. i had decided that if i could do this century, i could do anything and Louisville would be no match for me. so i took it quite hard when i had to pull out.

add on top of that the fear that my colitis was returning--something that could potentially make me DNS Louisville. i was not a happy camper driving home.

but after a few days of low-residue eating, little to no caffeine, a break from workouts (2 rest days, and one 40mi bike ride once i felt better on Sunday), and a rainy afternoon on the couch waiting to be called in for work, i have come around a bit. i have realized a few things, some of which are less 'realizations' and more 'oh-duh-dumbshit-read-your-own-blog-to-remember-why-you're-doing-this':

1. my guts, and my health, are priority #1. i should not have even started that ride. 
2. doing or not doing the TMCC century would not guarantee me a finish at IM Louisville. nothing will *guarantee* that. 
3. i LOVE climbing mountains on the bike. momma needs a nice light road bike for some serious post-IM cycling love. (but seriously...i was the only idiot out there on a tri bike! hahaha.)

so. i ended up logging 80mi for the weekend. it's not a crazy hard century, but not a complete fail either. and no amount of mountain centuries will make Louisville easy. and i have PLENTY of long rides and long runs between now and then to worry too much about missing part of one. hard-fought for fitness, sticking to Coach Jason's training plan, good rest, good food, and good execution on race day will make Louisville doable. and if i have anything to do with it, fun, too.

saw this dr. seuss quote today on pro triathlete Andy Potts's site. i like it particularly for the mountain reference. if an IRONMAN isn't a sort of mountain, i don't know what is.

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