Recovery...

Oh look at that...I have a blog. One that I like to write in and yet have somehow managed not to write in for far too long. Now...where to start to play catch up??

Let's see...after the race I guess. I promise, I'll keep this as short as Susi'ly possible.

Right after the race I had debated racing Ironman Cozumel as planned. I'd done poorly in the heat in Penticton, so was wondering the sanity of racing in Mexico! Thankfully, I am a smart girl. Crazy, yes, but smart. I decided not to think about Cozumel the day after I've finished an Ironman! Instead, I'd give it some time to wash around in this noggin of mind then decide what to do.

After the rae I took a week to go and visit my family and friends who live away from me. A wee road trip you might say. First up was visiting my family in Princeton. My uncle had promised me MONTHS ago to cook me some delectible BC salmon after I finished Ironman. Poor guy didn't remember this, but I sure did! He makes the BEST bbq salmon ever.

I did actually give my aunt and uncle a shout a few weeks before to, er, remind them. Now here's the really funny part about this... It was nice and sunny when the Parental Unit and I arrived at Uncle Lornes and Auntie Joan's. They and my cousin, whom I affectionately call Lola Jane, were sitting in back.

The sun was beaming. It was hot. Almost too hot to sit in. Lo and behold there were some dark clouds up yonder. When the time came to cook up the two salmons my uncle had prepared the clouds had opened up and we had, what could most likely be called a monsoon, burst onto us.

Well, 'us', is a bit of an exaggeration. It opened up on my uncle who was crouched in the pouring rain checking the bbq that was under a shelter that did nothing to stop rain going sideways from soaking my uncle. He made sure to remind me at dinner that I should never question how much he loves me seeing as he almost drowned making me a bbq salmon that he had forgotten about.

I gotta say, it was the best dang salmon ever and I was most thankful for it and for the company of my family.

From there I headed out to my friends Jeff and Doreens who live in small town Southern BC. They retired there a few years ago and now have a couple of wee donkeys and a gorgeous little Labradoodle. I had a blast telling the tale of my race day and kicking back. We partook in a little bit of wine that I brought them from the interior of BC, where I had raced.

It was wonderful seeing them again and catching up on the latest news. To this point I hadn't done anything but drive and sit. My butt was starting to feel it too. In the sense that my hip/glute was acting up again.

I left them and headed off to Julie's, who'd also raced in Ironman Canada. It was time for serious down time...

First things first we had to hug then chat non stop about our races. Then it was time for some food, and wine for me, the more chit chat. Julie hit the hay and left me with the first episode of True Blood to watch. As I don't have cable I hadn't seen an episode, but heard about it.

I was hooked.

The next morning we ate, talked more, then set of for a little walk/hike to try and get our bodies to move. There was a cute path to follow in the Pass that takes you to a little waterfall. This was no serious hike folks, we were both wearing our flip flops.

As we walked along we chatted more. (Seriously, Julie and I could talk non stop for hours and never get bored. Same goes for Jenna.) At one point Julie said we were walking to fast. This girl raced IMC HARD and took an hour and a half off her time, so I was happy to slow down. Later on I'd learn even though I felt I could walk that pace, I shouldn't have been.

We saw the waterfall, then in our flipflops preceeded to go up this hill. The fun was in getting down the hill where there was nothing for the flops to grab onto! As we walked back along the path we started to meet up with people heading to the falls. All were clothed as if they were going to hike Lady MacDonald in Banff or something.

One little ol' dear had a walking stick with bear bell. She was adorable! She stopped and said 'Oh I'll let you girls go by - it gives me a chance to rest. How much farther to the falls?' It was a good thing Julie and I couldn't see each others faces. We are talking a 20 minute walk here...

I gave thanks at that moment that I have my health and a 20 minute walk felt easy to me. I also gave thanks that my folks would have found the walk easy too!

The last five minutes of the walk I felt my hips. Ow. Ow. Ow. Oh how I couldn't wait to go see the ortho massage gal on Tuesday! I realized Julie was right in slowing us down. Funny how it sneaks up on you.

My legs were shaking by the time we got to the cafe for a tea and treat! SHAKING. I was hanging on to the treats display glass in a rather long line thinking if I don't sit down soon I'm going to fall down. How sad is that?

The rest of my visit was spent sharing some yummy recipes I learned, convincing Julie that it wasn't just pale skinny people with hairy armpits that eat food from the health food store, and devouring episodes of True Blood. We ended up watching the ENTIRE first season in an evening and morning. I swear the best line ever in that show (considering our health store foray) was 'I am an organic vegan who has a minimal carbon footprint' from the girl who was all about draining this vampire of his 'v-juice'.

Since getting home I've been taking it easy. I had my appointment with my orthodpaedic massage therapist to get things worked out with my SI joint. The tales from the table will be shared another day in an effort to not make this a epic tale. Although I suspect it likely already is. Meh, that's my style!

I have been walking a bit to stay active, did some yoga and today went out for a bike ride for the first time. I kept it short and just did an hour and a half, but if felt good, other than some back pain. I was out with my 'nesan' Esther and we had a good giggle about how she kept tucking in behind me to draft. Um, I think I'm the one that deserves to draft here a wee bit sister!!

All in all I'm trying to heal my body from the race and from a long standing injury so I can be ready for (drum roll please...) Ironman Cozumel. Yup, I decided after some thought that I really do want to do this race and I will figure out the heat thing. I've already talked to some people about what might have gone wrong on the IMC course so that I can be better prepared for IMCoz.

My training for that race will commence next week as the race is November 29. Hopefully, with the help of the ortho RMT, I can get things back in alignment in time for the 'hard' training. Fingers and toes are now crossed!

Peace out my lovely friends!