Why waste it...

Having to drop out of Ironman China is still bugging me. I trained so hard and didn't achieve my goal. In fact, it was even less than achieving my goal, I didn't even finish.

In my heart of hearts I know I quit for medical reasons, it wasn't that I wasn't strong enough mentally or physically. I couldn't have been more prepared on either front. My problem is that I have a "short" memory and forget it was medical. Only when I play the memory of my kidney's feeling like they were hit with a baseball bat do I remember.

By chance, I went to the doctor today. I've had a bump in the lower groin area and was worried about it. It's been there for sometime and when I googled about it today, my symptoms were that of an abscess and it said I should see a doctor right away for antibiotics. It can be fairly serious.

Luckily I was able to book an appointment with my regular doctor an hour after I called. He looked at it and said it was not an abscess, but a cyst, and it wasn't a big deal. While I was there we talked about Ironman China and I filled him in on all the details. He told me I "unquestionably" made the right decision and explained why. He also couldn't believe I did as much as I did, and that was before he even knew we raced in 40 C heat.

According to him, based on the amount of times I threw up and had bowel movements, he estimated that I lost 10 litres of fluid. Each litre is approximately 1 kg / 1.1 lbs of body weight. Which is about 10 kg / 15 lbs. My primary problem started with dehydration from the purging. I also didn't help my cause by taking electrolyte pills and salt tablets before the race.

He detailed that the dehydration effects the body's blood supply and my body was trying to retain as much fluid as possible to protect my kidneys.

When I went to the washroom on the run and peed a dark yellow, which I'd never seen before, he was very familiar with the symptom. It was because my body was trying to retain as much water as possible, as a defense mechanism. I was primarily peeing out the waste, which included Creatine Kinase caused from muscle breakdown during the race. My kidneys were working overtime.

The kidney pain I experienced, like getting hit in the kidneys with a baseball bat was textbook normal. Had I continued and became more dehydrated, my kidneys most definitely would have shut down and if I tried to continue to push through it, I would have needed to be hospitalized for a least a few days and it's not uncommon that the treatment would have included dialysis.

I found it comforting hearing it directly from a doctor that I have a lot of respect for and who supports and encourages my endurance activities. It gave me peace of mind knowing that what I felt was in fact "medical" and not "mental". I intuitively knew I was in trouble at the time and it was comforting to know I averted disaster. It could have been MUCH worse and I most definitely did the right thing. The average person wouldn't question it, but us Ironman do. We tend to be wired to work through pain and suffering.

With all that said, Lake Placid can't come soon enough. Heck, the doctor went over my blood work that was taken just before I left to China and said it is perfect. Even better than perfect, other than my GGT, which is moving in the right direction. He said my Triglycerides (bad cholesterol) are so good at .61 (normal is 2.30 or less), it's scary. There's no chance I'd have a heart attack.

Now, when I say, Lake Placid can't come soon enough, I don't mean I "can hardly wait". I mean "I can't wait that long". My body is in peak shape right now, why waste it? Plus mentally, I can't wait 4 months, it would be too difficult. So without any consultation from friends or family, other than my coach Mark Allen, I made an "executive decision".

I'm doing Ironman St. George in Utah on May 1st.

Mark gave me the same advice I was giving myself, "Why waste the fitness". So I registered and paid. It felt good hitting that "pay now" button. The second after I did it, my spirits lifted. I found the rubber bracelet I got from Ironman China and put it on my wrist, as motivation to train hard and not repeat the same mistakes.

Frankly, the day after the race, I started looking and talking with Simon about doing another Ironman, somewhere, as soon as possible. I was looking at Ironman South Africa and others. I dreamt of finding one, not telling anyone I registered and just doing it and let people know afterwards. No fanfare. Simon said if I slipped into South Africa he might even do it with me.

Sticking to my criteria, I decided against an overseas trip. As I was surfing Irondistance.com and Ironman.com, I saw Ironman St. George had community slots available for just $1100 U.S and the best part is it's only 42 days away. I know the money goes to a good cause, but "GULP", that's a lot of money. But in the end, I'd probably spend that extra $700, or more, on beers over the next 4-months to drown my sorrows until Ironman Lake Placid. So in a way, registering is actually saving me money. Brilliant. I've got to use that one on Alice.

For those that are wondering about John Barclay and his status, it's not good. He died earlier this morning and as per John's wishes his funeral will be held at the KFC on the corner of Dundas and Walkers line. Just kidding!!! It's going to be at the Fairview and Appleby line location.

Actually, John seems to be back to normal. I saw him today and he looks good, well, as good as John can look. In the video, you may have seen him during his sickness say, "I'm as strong as a kitten", he's now healthy, and is back being "as strong as a 2nd grade school girl".

I went for a run today and still don't feel well. I had no energy and couldn't take a full breath. Jamie and Barb came by for beers and cigars tonight and said I didn't look good. She also added that she enjoys reading my blog, she said, "I write just like I talk". When she reads it she can envision me telling the same story the same way in person.

I had to apologize for the messy house, Alice is away with the kids in Palm Springs this week and in only one day, dishes are piling up. My apology wasn't genuine, I could care less, but because Barb was there, it was out of politeness. I'm told women notice a messy house. Alice, if your reading this, don't worry, I have it cleaned about 15 minutes before you walk in the door. Oh, and don't worry, I'm eating okay. Tonight I had "Chez McDonalds".

It's a little weird being a bachelor. I don't know very much about "domestic engineering". It took me a while to figure out how to use the washer and dryer and I'm still not sure if I did it right. At some point, I'm going to have to search the house to see where Alice keeps the vacuum. That should be an adventure.

Talking about dirty, I found a piece of raw meat in my bike box. Not big, about a mouthful, but just enough to gross me out and wonder, "How the hell did that get in there". It was in a place that someone would have had to empty the entire contents of the box. It was under a duffel bag.

It was my final memory of China, hopefully. Maybe not. I've been so itchy all over my body. I think it's from the oil from my Shanghai "surprise" massage. It's the gift that keeps on giving. They don't have a lot of environment controls in China, it wouldn't surprise me if there was asbestos in that oil.

I've also included my last video from China, it's of my visit to Shanghai. In the video you'll see a black screen at some point and hear me negotiating with a Chinese woman. I left the camera on my mistake, it was in my pocket and recorded the sound.

The background of the conversation, was that I was approached my a guy on the street that said he had some "black market"stuff to sell. Follow him. Which took about 20 minutes. We ended up in an out of the way side street and they took me upstairs in a dark hallway. A scene right out of a Quentin Tarantino movie. But it was worth it, I toughly negotiated a Ferrari watch for Reid and 5 minutes after I left, it stopped working. Man am I good.

One last important thing. For all those that sent comments and well wishes to me while I was in China, thanks. They were motivating and John and I enjoyed them. Unfortunately I couldn't comment back without blogger access, but I want to give everyone a global thanks, I read them all. It meant a lot that you'd take the time to send them to me.

Recovery Run - 31.32 / 6.23 km / 5:04 pace / 131 avg hr

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