Playing in the rain!

Well yesterday was my first bi which was a 5K run followed by a 12.5 mile bike.

Part I.
The knee ache:
I am assuming it is iliotibial band syndrome. I have never had trouble with my right leg, ever. It is always something with the left leg...some times the pain is inside my knee, sometimes outside, sometimes the hip flexor...but never any trouble with my good right leg. Not any more....

The start:
Last Sunday, I ran the Perfect 10 miler race. This race was far from perfect as a few miles in things started churning in my stomach. At the 6 mile mark I hit the bathroom which cost a couple minutes but at least I was able to finish without any more trouble. I was just not feeling great with my stomach issues which continued for the rest of the day. When I got home, my hubby asked if I was alright as apparently he was also having issues....I suppose something we ate was off. At any rate, I had finished the 10 miles in 1:24, a far cry from by 1:17 at the beginning of the season. Bummer...and then as if that was not enough that night a knee pain set into my right leg. With a couple light days the pain went away until...

The 15 miler:
Saturday's 15 miler went well. Felt great, time flew, but 3 miles to the end the darn pain came back. Spent Saturday evening icing the knee and got everything ready for Sunday's bi.

Sunday's Biathlon
Sunday, I awoke with a sore knee, nothing awful but definitely there and felt with every movement. I was not sure what to expect as my 8/5 5K was disappointing as was my 8/20 10 miler and now my knee hurts too! It was pooring outside yet for some reason I still felt giddy because I was looking forward to doing my first bi. I caught up with some pals before the start and was off. I felt a little off because I was missing my headphones but I figured that messing with them at transition would not be worth it. As I ran my knee ached. I started looking at my watch 7 min...no mile marker, 8 no mile marker, about 9 in, I decided that there was not one. This was sort of bothered me because I was not sure where I was at. The course turned around twice on the run and I could see that I was in 4th and 5th female for most the way and was pushed into 6th right at the end which I did not worry about. As I came in for the 5K I was excited to finally break 22 minutes! 5K time 21:54 and into transition.

In transition, I was trying to hurry as I knew many others were not changing shoes but I figured I always ride in my bike shoes so that even if it may cost some time to put them on, I did not want to change things on race day. 45 seconds later I was back out on the course in the rain and unsure of where I was versus the other females now I just started pedaling. My legs and lungs ached but I just tried to slow my breathing down and concentrate on a high steady cadence. A few men passed me and then one girl with a Cleveland Mountain Biking Jersey on passed and as she went by, she cheered me on. That chick ruled! I did not get to talk to her later but she really helped me as I pedaled the last 7 miles or so doing everything I could to try to keep her in my sights. I thought perhaps I may have a chance to catch her at the end but a car cut me off and I lost some momentum there and I just ran out of time. Total biking 39 minutes at just under a 20mph pace. Total time was 1:01 and I am still not sure what place female overall I was, but I am guessing 5th.

In retrospect, I was pysched to pick up my first in my age group award in my first bi. I really enjoy the running and biking events b/c my swimming is not there to really hold me up. More than anything I was excited that after two poor races, my time was redeemed here on my run. The only bad thing is my knee continues to hurt. So today I bought a IBS band and a streching band and I plan to spend more time stretching & icing and hope that I can get this issue worked out!