Back on the Bike!

Tonight I rode a bike for the first time since my little accident. I was nervous, but my fellow tri-babe Kim invited me for a short loop and dinner at her house. Who can say no to that!?! For those of you who don't know, last summer Kim and I worked out together almost every day! We were basically inseperable, but this year our schedules have not matched up and we barely see each other. We FINALLY got to get out there and ride together, and for old times sake, we decided to take the mountain bikes! Whoo hoo!

Now I don't own a mountain bike, so Kim's husband graciously let me use his. It is actually the bike that I did Valley Girl on last year, so the bike and I go way back :) It felt SO different being on the mountain bike compared to my tri bike. We towed Kim's son Joey in the bike cart, so we got quite the workout! The best part of the ride was when Kim was pulling Joey up the biggest hill of the ride, her legs were killing her, and he kept yelling from the cart, "Mamma! I'm just SO hungry!" Apparently, Joey was ready to go home :) Dinner was delicious and the conversation was fantastic! Thanks Kim and Tom and Joey for a wonderful Wednesday night! I LOVE having dinner with the Montecuccos!

Never Before Seen Footage From the ER

**I would like to start this post by saying, if you don't like blood, you may not want to look at what is coming!**

I had tons of people asking me more about my trip to the ER (which was only my second time there EVER), so I thought I would give you the full scoop on my stitches. Roger and I rolled into the ER at approximately 9:02 p.m. It was Saturday night, so we were fully expecting to see some wierdos there, but no such luck. I would like to note that Roger is an AMAZING friend to go to the ER with high-maintenance me on a Saturday night! There were probably about 1 million other things he would rather be doing, but he knew I needed support and he offered to come with me. THANK YOU SO MUCH ROG!!

After waiting for about 45 minutes, we finally got into a room. (Good thing we were on the "fast track.") Here is how my leg looked when they took off the bandages Roger put on at the race. Thank goodness Roger slathered on the Neosporin, because it kept the wound moist for the 9 HOURS between the accident and the stitches!

After waiting for FOREVER, they did the initial assessment of the damage, and it was clear I was going to need stitches. Roger reassured me that it was the right thing to do because he said shaving would be a huge pain if I had deep scars on my calf. At this point in the evening, I believed EVERY word Roger told me, so stitches it was! Next came the local, which consisted of I think 4 shots in the wound to numb it. I didn't cry, but I did have to do some deep breathing to get to my happy place. Roger informed me that he was not going to look either!

When it was all over, my wound was numb and I was much happier :) I appreciate Roger so much for chatting my ear off this whole time! I now know RT's entire LIFE story, so if there is ever a trivia game on random facts about Roger Thompson, I am SO money! He is such a great guy and he made me laugh so many times it was ALMOST fun to be at the ER!!

Next came the cleaning and the nurse scrubbed my leg like crazy! She did a really good job of getting all that stinkin' grease off! Apparently she used some cleaner that I had never heard of, but Roger had, so if you are looking for a good cleaner, ask Rog. It worked miracles on my leg! (I thought the dripping blood was a nice touch...)

After my leg was cleaned, we waited around for FOREVER again for the doctor to come in and stitch me up. Initially, he estimated 6 or 7 stitches. But I ended up with 11! One of my favorite memories from the evening was when the doc was giving me the lowdown on not working out with my wound. He said I would need to wait atleast a week, if not longer, to ride my bike. Rog was sitting behind the doctor shaking his head and mouthing the words "NO!! Two days!" Then the doctor said I would have to wait until the stitches were out to run again. Rog shook his head again and mouthed the words "NO!! Three days!" The doctor had no idea Roger was underminding his authority on the matter, and it was HILARIOUS! As I said earlier...at this point I believed every word Roger told me!

Finally, my leg was all patched up and ready to go! It only took 2 1/2 hours, and that was on the fast track! Roger and I were both yawning by the end and we were ready to go home for sure!

As we were leaving, the nurse offered me some cutting tools that she had used to cut my bandages and stuff, but I didn't need them because I already had a set from the last time I was in the ER (that is a WHOLE other story!). So I offered them to Rog and he was thrilled! He is going to use them for bike tools, of course! Who knew you could get parting gifts from the ER!?! Look how happy his face is :) Priceless!

Rog, one more shout out for hanging with me the whole time and making my visit to the ER a blast! I know we didn't have time to go over my life story, but I enjoyed every minute of yours :) Thanks for taking all of the killer pictures! I owe you big time friend, and as far as I am concerned, you are the sweetest guy in town! I mean 2 1/2 hours in the ER on a Saturday night, after driving for 6 hours, for some chick who isn't your wife...who does that!?!

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A side note: After telling my first grade students the story at school today, one of them raises their hand and says, "Miss Cudney, did you fall because you were riding without your training wheels?" Gotta LOVE first graders!

Mother's Day Triathlon

Okay...okay...I got sucked back into the blogging world! I always knew I would at some point, but I felt like I needed a really great story in order to start blogging again. So here it is...

About a week or so ago I was eating lunch with Tiffany at school and she starts the conversation off with, "I have a proposition for you, and I don't want you to say no right now." Great! More and more I find conversations between Tiff and myself starting out this way. She proceeds to invite me on a road trip to do a triathlon in Elma, WA. Now, being still new to the sport, and being the planner I am, I had only 3 races on my schedule for this season. A race in Elma was NOT one of them. But after some coaxing from Tiff and Jessi, I agreed to sign up for the fun. Who could say no to a road trip with Roger, Jessi, Tiff and Steve!?!

So the trip started off on Friday after school with Tiff and I running to the store for some healthy snacks for the road trip, then heading over to the Thompson where we met up with everyone else. After loading up the Excursion with 5 bikes, one million bags, 3 pillows and some snacks, we were off! The bike rack on this rig was amazing!

The ride over was full of laughs, awesome music, jokes, stories and fun! The best part was watching "Wedding Crashers" and then running lines from the movie the entire weekend :) Our hotel was super plush and we crammed all 5 of us, 4 bikes, a roll-away bed and all of our gear, including Steve's, in 1 room. Can you say Tri Fusion slumber party!?! I acutally got an amazing nights sleep and woke for the race well rested and not too nervous. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at the hotel and each took turns discussing our 3 goals for the race that day. (Thanks to Jessi for that fun game!)

My three goals for the race were this:

1. Use my aero-bars the whole bike course.

2. Run ALL 3 miles of the run course (this would be a first for me)

3. Finish the race in under 1:45 (hopefully!)

Upon ariving at the race sight, my nerves started kicking in like crazy. We set up our transition area and tried to get everything in order.

A big thanks to Steve for pumping up my tires for me! What a gentleman! After getting transitions set up, it was time to get into our wetsuits. This was my first time swimming in a wetsuit and my second time ever BEING in a wetsuit. It was pretty hilarious watching everyone get theirs on :)

As we headed off to do our warm up swim, all I could think of when I looked at the lake was chocolate milk! For the record, I would like to point out that this time last year (we will call that portion of my life "Trish 2007") there was NO WAY I would get into a muddy lake to swim in sub 60 degree water temperatures! Remember, I didn't even like to get my hair OR face wet! But today I was ready for the race and jumped into the muddy water full force! The swim went really well for me and I think I swam the 250 m in right around 4 minutes! Yippee!

After the swim I ran over to transition to get onto the bike for my 13 mile ride. The ride started off great, but when I tried to change my bike computer from time to cadence, I reset the distance on accident! That meant that until I got to the 6.5 mile turnaround I would have NO idea how far I had gone! Are you kidding me!! The rest of the bike went well and I used my aero-bars the WHOLE time! I got to see Roger, Jessi, Steve and Tiff on the bike and we shouted encouragement and waved. I love seeing my friends out on the course, and this totally helped me along the way! As I finished up the bike, I was in good shape to meet my overall time goal as well. So far, so good...

After rolling into transition and dismounting off my bike, I started to "run" my bike back to its rack and my legs gave out! I fell on my bike and sliced it on my chain rink. I instantly got up and checked my leg. No blood yet (thank goodness because we all know I am a fainter!), so I should still run right? Trish 2007 would have quit right there, but Trish 2008 was going to give it all she had.

So I started off on the run, trying to meet my goal of running all 3 miles. About 1/4 mile into the run, I looked down to check my leg and I saw blood everywhere! Crap! I tried to calm myself down and focus on the goal, but about 1 minute later I saw my teammates running with Tiffany and I lost it! They all smiled and waved when they saw me, and I responded by screaming at the top of my lungs, "I'M BLEEDING!!" Tiff could sense I was freaking out, so she sent Jessi over to save me while Steve and Rog finished strong with Tiff. Thank you Tiff for sending Jessi when I needed her!

Jessi was an angel and she calmed me down right away. She is my coach and good friend, and knew just what to say to convince me to finish the race. Jessi and I ran all the way past the turnaround and along came the Excursion with Roger, Steve and Tiff. They offered me first aid, but I knew there was not way I would make my time goal if I took aid now. So I sucked it up to finish strong. Tiff jumped out and ran with me and Jessi til the end. I can not express what it meant to me to have teammates pull me through such a tough time. Trish 2007 was a total quitter, but Trish 2008 is trying to get over that. Jessi said, "You will NEVER regret finishing this race," and I believed her. Jessi and Tiffany were my saving grace, and I could not have finished without them! These girls are AMAZING! I am getting a little teary eyed just thinking about it! We crossed the finish line at 1:38:52, beating my time goal by 6 minutes! Whoo hoo!

After finishing the race, I immediately received first aid from Roger and Steve. These two guys took top-notch care of me and I will be forever grateful to them! Plus, having two hot guys tending to my every need is TOTALLY every female triathlete's dream! Thanks so much guys! According to Roger, you probably saved my life :) And a BIG shout out to Jen and her dad (pictured below) who came out to cheer us all on and take pictures! I love you friend!

After I was all bandaged up and ready to go, we went to the awards ceremony. Let's just say that Spokane cleaned up! Roger won overall, Jessi won for females, Steve placed 5th overall, and Tiff was 4th in age group and I was 6th in age group! My teammates had amazing races and I would like to give them props for their killer times! Each person worked hard to meet their goals and I could not be more proud of how they performed! I am constantly amazed at the athletic talent of my friends!

The trip home was just as fun as the trip over and we enjoyed EVERY minute of our time together! I feel so blessed to have been a part of such a memorable trip :) After arriving in the Thompson's driveway, Roger informed me that he and I were now on our way to the ER to get my leg stitched up! I was totally shocked and said, "But you said I was fine!" And Roger said, "Jessi said to lie to you until we got home so you wouldn't freak out!" I tell you...Jessi knows me SO well! So off Roger and I went to the ER and 2 1/2 hours and 11 stitches later, I was good to go!

All in all, I think we all followed Roger's favorite rule from Wedding crashers!

Thanks for a fantastic weekend friends! I can't WAIT to do it again! (Minus the whole stitches part of course!)