at least I didn't shoot myself with a nail gun...

I haven't talked about my crotch in a while because that would be weird I didn't do any 6 hour rides after training camp until the actual Ironman, so it had over a month to recover before the race. I will give an update though, in case anyone is curious.

I have what I will refer to as: Ironman crotch.

Without going into a lot of details (because even I have a limit to the gross things I will share with the general public) it involves a lot of chafing. Ouch.


Anyways.....

I am bored. I don't know what to do with myself when I am not training. I sit around, I eat, I watch movies.. it blows. Seriously it's only been 5 days and I can't take many more like this!

I am sooo ready to get going on my Syracuse 70.3 training, however I know that I cannot start just yet. I know my body needs to recover from the Ironman and that it's going to take more than a week. My legs are finally feeling almost back to normal. I just really want to have a good race in Syracuse (ugh.. yes I am already eyeballing a PR of under 5:16.. seriously I just cannot help myself) and I need to be out training in order for that to happen!

BUT recovery first, train later.

I have to go to a family reunion at my parents' house this weekend. This will entail explaining what an Ironman is over and over again to my relatives. I've already been instructed to bring home various Ironman trinkets such as my finisher's medal, race gear, photos, etc. I know my parents are proud but it's going to be difficult to explain to a bunch of family members what exactly an Ironman is, and more importantly, WHY someone would do such a thing! I love my family, but they are definitely kind of crazy - I have an uncle who brings a different date to the family reunion every year and a cousin who shot himself in the leg with a nail gun.

Nail gun victim or not, it would be even harder to explain to a non-triathlete why I would ever have to utter the following sentence without having some sort of medical condition: "Mary! I didn't shit my pants!" Because I did say that to my coach - with friends and my parents standing there - immediately after finishing the Ironman.

I doubt anyone in the Harding family would understand what could possibly motivate someone to continue running with GI-related issues.

I just really hope that my dad didn't capture that particular conversation on video camera...