Enjoying a Job is an Uncommon Gift

Earning money is a necessary evil for responsible adults.  I imagine very few of us choose the ideal career path on our first try.  My jobs progressed from being a teenage housecleaner and Dairy Queen cashier through administration positions at a national bank, which led me to manage a multi-million dollar grant at a nationally certified cancer center.  I could have succeeded for years managing that grant and made a respectable salary, but thankfully I recognized something more important... success at a job and money paid for doing it do not necessarily lead to feelings of success and content.

I abandoned the career path I was on and headed to nursing school, which took me to where I was meant to be...an intensive care nurse.  My previous administrative experience proved an unusual benefit within the nursing world, and I was drawn into a management position much earlier than I ever anticipated.  I stayed in that position for several years, until I remembered why I changed careers years ago, which was to be a bedside nurse.  I courageously stepped away from management, where I had become comfortable, and went back to being a bedside nurse 100%. 

It has been one year since I made that change and have been able to focus on bedside nursing; I totally underestimated the peaceful feelings I have enjoyed since then.  Bedside nursing is hard work.  Thankfully the rewards are directly related to how much effort we are willing to put forth to provide exceptional care for our patients.  I am lucky to work in a field within which I can both give and receive.  I do not take that for granted and hope I never do.

Wiping off the Dust for a New Cycling Season

I finally dug my bike out of the basement and brought her upstairs, back into my life.  She had a nice long hibernation after our 206 mile adventure last October, when she and I made our way across my fifth Lotoja finish line.  She still had her Lotoja number zip-tied on and notes taped in strategic places.  It is time to see what rides we'll conquer in 2016.  Any suggestions?

 

Lotoja - I Won my Age Group

Lotoja is a 206 mile bike ride from Logan, Utah, through three mountain passes to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  I rode it with Brenda for the second time in September of 2012, after finishing it five years earlier in 2007.  I had added four full Ironman triathlons and many challenging bike rides, so I hoped those endurance events and improved baseline fitness would play a positive role during my second Lotoja ride. 

LOGAN TO PRESTON:  We stayed at my Aunt's house the night before with my parents, which worked out just fine.  It took us about 30 minutes to drive to the starting area, where we got ready, said goodbye to mom and dad and headed to the start.  Temperatures were in the low 50’s, so we were in shorts and layers that could be shed as the day warmed up.  The lowest temperature I saw was 43 degrees and that came within the first hour of our ride.

 

Our starting group was made up of only women which was a welcomed relief from our previous experience as the only women in a group of men.  We rode together at a very comfortable pace and actually talked with other riders.  We rode a smooth pace until the group behind us caught up and then our pace picked up as we merged with the faster riders.  I was happy to see Brenda stayed with me in the quicker pace line. 

We did not stop at the Preston aid station, located at 32 miles into the ride.  With cooler temperatures and only having been on our bikes for just over an hour, skipping this aid station is an obvious strategy when trying to get a fast time.  There isn’t much to replenish so early, except for maybe dropping a layer.  We had pre-arranged with our support team, who happened to be my parents, that they would drive straight to Montpelier, as we wouldn’t need anything in Preston.  This worked out fine.

PRESTON TO MONTPELIER:  We rode through Preston and headed towards Strawberry Pass.  I looked back and noticed that some distance had gotten between Brenda and I, so I slowed up to see if she would catch up, but she didn’t, so I waved to her and then kept riding.  Wow, we were separating at mile 32 of a 206 mile bike ride.  Brenda had anticipated it would be this way, but I thought we might be able to ride together towards Strawberry Pass.  Oh well, I went on my merry way.

I ate my banana, which was easy to eat so early in the ride, before it had time to ripen and get squashed in my pocket.  It wasn’t long before I took off my white vest and put it in my back pocket.  It was warming up much earlier than my last LoToJa experience. 

I rode with a couple of girls from my starting group, one had a racing group number and the other was in the 35+ years old group.  I didn’t see anyone with a number within my age group.  We made our way across some rollers to a little climb that has a seriously steep descent at mile 36.  I flew down that hill, reaching a top speed of 47 mph.  I am a confident descender and passed some riders who should have been going faster than me down that hill.  One girl I caught weighed probably 50 pounds heavier than me; we descended together at the same speed.  What can I say, I like going fast.

At the bottom of that hill, the course takes a sharp right that sends us up and over Strawberry Pass.  I caught up to the women racers who had numbers in the 900's; they are usually good riders.  I thought I would ride with them, but all of a sudden they started shouting, “900’s” and shortly thereafter they all stopped for a bathroom break.  Bad luck for me.  I kept riding and found myself essentially alone, but I knew it wouldn't last for long. 

 

This section of the ride seemed long, as I was waiting to reach the aid station at a false summit, where I planned to stop and use the restroom.  I had already taken off my vest and put it in my back pocket and was battling the decision of leaving on or taking off my arm warmers.  I decided to leave them on, as I knew the descent would probably have some cold sections.  There were many good men cyclists who passed me and I noticed I wasn’t passing nearly as many riders as I thought I would be passing.  I figured it was because of a new starting order and because of starting with an only women group.  I realized that I might want to pay attention to bib numbers of any woman that passed me, just in case they were within my age group and I could keep them in sight.

I finally made it to the aid station at mile 58.8 and filled up both water bottles.  I just held them out for someone to pour water into from a big container, which was helpful.  Afterwards I laid my bike down and went into the port-a-potty.  It was a relief to be able to go and I knew I would be much more comfortable afterwards.  I grabbed a half banana and ate it as I continued to the real summit, one mile further.  I was stopped for 2 minutes 23 seconds at the aid station. 

I caught up to the two girls I had been riding with earlier and knew the large group of women racers were still behind me, available for me to grab on to if they passed me on the descent.  The summit came quickly and I started my descent, gaining speed like I usually do.  I caught up and passed a random cyclist and then pedaled around two girls because I didn’t like the speed they were descending.  I sensed them drafting off me, but didn’t care because I wanted to descend fast and thought I could maintain the speed I was going.  Not far into the descent, there was an obvious accident that we had to slow down to maneuver around.  EMS was on scene and I could tell it was a serious injury.  Cars were not allowed on this section of the road, so I can only assume that a cyclsist was going too fast to control a whatever situation came in front of them.  We always have to be prepared for changes, whether a rider, a rock, a bump, a shift of weight – who knows.  I slowed way down and let the group of riders behind me pass and decided to draft off them.  It would be smart to save some energy.

I looked behind me and noticed the group of women racers approaching.  I watched for an opening to grab onto their group.  I saw a woman with a 1200 series number pass me within this group and made note of that.  I got into the pace line and knew it would be key to stay in it because of the rolling hills ahead.  I heard an awful sound coming from my bike and remembered hearing the same thing during a few rides earlier in the year.  The sound only appeared when I was going fast and coasting. Riders near me would look at me because it was a very LOUD sound.  I figured I had better stop and see if there was something obviously wrong.  This was frustrating because I knew I would lose the pace line and we were riding at an awesome pace.  I stopped for less than 30 seconds and couldn’t see anything wrong.  For the remainder of the ride, I had to keep rotating my crank to avoid the sound returning.  I wondered if it had something to do with wind direction while descending at high speeds, although it only happened right after I had my bike serviced.  (As a note, I took my bike in afterwards and explained what was happening; they knew exactly what it was, something with the type of wheel I had.  They fixed it and I didn't hear the sound again.)

I was lucky to grab a group of four riders and we took turns pulling into Montpelier.  There was a girl dressed in pink from the 35+ year old group who was a very strong rider.  She left our paceline to catch another group as they passed; we ended up picking her back up because I she could not stay with the faster paceline.  It was annoying to ride the last few miles into Montpelier.  I actually got stopped at a stoplight for a LONG time.  By the time the light changed to green there were at least 70 other riders with me at the light.  It made it difficult, with so many riders, to maneuver to the correct side as we were made our way to the aid station. 

Brenda descending into Montpelier

It took longer than I thought it would to find my parents.  The aid station area was packed with support, which made it hard to find them.  They finally saw me and made their way to the front.  I had my extra layers in my jersey pockets so all I had to do was take off my jersey and give it to my support crew.  I exchanged my water bottle and energy drink.  I drank one V8 and put a few items in my pocket – banana bread, mustard packets, gel packs, etc.  I wanted to keep my stops quick and I did really good with this one.  I was only stopped for 1 minute 13 seconds, yeah!

MONTPELIER OVER GENEVA TO SALT RIVER SUMMIT:  I ate my banana bread as I departed Montpelier, which worked out well.  My ride up and over Geneva summit was uneventful.  Geneva is an annoying summit that seems long because you can see to where you have to ride and it is exposed to the sun.  Temperatures were warming nicely and I was comfortable.  I didn’t really think of taking any electrolyte replacement at this point, but it would have been smart to start taking some.  It may have helped me later in the race, during the last 40 miles. 

There was a mild, consistent headwind for all the climbs.  Wind is never fun to ride in, so I did my best to keep the frustrating thoughts away.  I would tuck behind a bigger rider to limit the effects of the wind and stay there until I felt I needed to be riding faster.  I continue to learn to be a smart cyclist by recognizing when it is better to ride a little slower behind someone and conserve energy, rather than being in the wind, using energy and going just a little bit faster.  

I descended Geneva without any problems.  I may have eaten something solid during the first part of the descent.  I caught on with a group of strong men, a team in blue – maybe United Healthcare, and rode with them for quite a while.  I remember passing a pace line and noticing the other girl in my age group riding with them.  I wondered if she would consider joining our faster paceline.

I stayed with that group and enjoyed a slower heart rate for quite a while.  The riders were watching for another teammate to catch up with them; one of them would drop back for a while and then usually come back to the group alone.  It took a long time for their teammate to catch up, which was great for me because when he rejoined the group, they picked up the pace. 

When the pace increased, I was able to stay with two of the slower guys and eventually passed them as we began the climb over Salt River Pass.  That pass was long, especially because you can see the summit from quite a distance.  It was quite warm during that climb.  The aid station was at the summit, which was different than in 2007, and I liked it better at the top.  I summited and felt good.  I saw a volunteer handing out water bottles, so I emptied one of mine and took a full one from her as I passed.  I didn’t have to stop, which was nice.

SALT RIVER SUMMIT TO AFTON:  The descent down into Smoot was very fast.  I ate a bar towards the end of the descent and wished I was with other riders.  I rode in my aero position and plugged along, alone with a tailwind.  Before too long two other women caught me and stayed on my wheel.  We proceeded to take turns pulling all the way into Afton.  It was a nice, strong group of three.  Those two girls ended up taking 4^th and 5^th place in their age group.  We saw each other a few times during the ride.  I forget their names now, but we had introduced ourselves to each other during our ride into Afton.

I saw my parents pass me in the car a few miles outside of Afton and was relieved to know I would get my special "food" from them soon.  I was already looking forward to my mini can of Dr. Pepper.

I coasted into the feed zone with the girls and found my support crew right away.  My mom had my Dr. Pepper open and the ziplock bag waiting for me to take what I needed.  She said she had just made it from the parking place to our meeting place before I got there.  She said Brenda wasn’t doing well.  I told her to not worry about being at the next aid station for me in Alpine.  I could take all I needed from them right then and they could focus on Brenda.  I drank the Dr. Pepper and it tasted wonderful.  The small cans were a great idea we learned from my Ironman races having Coke at the aid stations.  I exchanged my Raspberry Hammer Gel container for the Orange Powergel one and did my best to make my stop quick, I think it was 3 minutes.  I saw the other girl in my age group still at the aid station as I rolled out.  I took note that I was ahead of her at that point.  I ate a mini Snickers bar on the way out of Afton and it tasted great.  I took note that I could probably eat an entire bar in future races.

 

AFTON TO ALPINE:  I picked up a paceline right out of Afton and ended up sticking with them all the way into Alpine.  The group tried to break up a few times as we would come upon and pass another line and they would try to merge with us.  I found a wheel I was comfortable with and didn’t let go until he had to fall away at some point.  There was some older guy that wanted to cut into the line in front of me and I refused.  I motioned for him to get behind me.  What some nerve, to think I’d let him in front when I’d been with the group since Afton.  He went behind me and then ended up catching a faster guy and moving his way up the pace line.  We absolutely flew into Alpine because we had a nice tailwind for most of the way.  When we occasionally turned so it became a headwind, I would push hard to stay with the group because I knew it would pay off to spend the effort to hold on. 

It took a while to actually get to Alpine.  Towards the end the road starts to climb a bit, which was annoying so far into the ride.  At this point our pace line was breaking apart.  When we made the slight turn to the right which led us into Alpine, I let the person I was drafting off go ahead and relaxed a bit as I rode across the bridge and made the right turn up the canyon to get to the Alpine feed zone.  I knew that I’d be alone at this stop so I slowed to a stop and I was surprised to have a volunteer come to me and ask what I needed.  I asked him to top off my water bottles and grab me a banana.  I didn’t have to leave my bike.  I headed off after 1.5 minutes, another fast stop by Ironman Andi.  I was following my plan, but knew the big challenges still lay ahead.

ALPINE TO HOBACK JUNCTION:  I ate the banana as I headed up the Snake River Canyon and caught up to two men who were working together.  The three of us worked together for a while, until I had been in front and thought I was going a good speed, and slowed down to have one of them come ahead but no one was behind me.  They had both dropped off and left me alone.  This wasn’t good.  I rode from each rolling hill to the next, making small goals.  I had one plain water bottle and one with grape electrolyte tablets in it.  I ate a Roctane gel and my stomach started to cramp a bit.  Oh no, I needed to greatly decrease my sugar intake, which was bad because one of my water bottles was too sweet to really drink.  It had been a warm day and I wanted water, just plain water.  I knew I needed to get to the Hoback aid station where I could fill up with water.  I remember eating a boiled potato, but it was hard to open the tinfoil and hold it while riding.  It tasted OK, but I was beyond eating anything that was difficult to unwrap or get to my mouth.  This would prove to be a real problem for me. 

I came upon a single female relay rider who I tried to ride behind for a while.  She even slowed down so I could catch on, but I couldn’t stay with her and had to let her go.  I later caught a pace line for a bit that ended up catching her and I think she grabbed on.  I had small bursts of energy, but they would quickly go away.  I was worried about cramping so I was being sure to take electrolyte capsules, but because of my focus on electrolytes, I ended up overlooking my need to take in calories.  Oops!

I tried to catch a pace line that included the  two girls I had ridden with into Afton, but I couldn't stay with them.  I was struggling and needed to ride a pace that would allow me to get to the finish line.

 

Brenda feeling better within the last 20 miles

I struggled to make it into Hoback Junction, but finally turned a corner to see it right ahead.  I knew I needed water and a volunteer was standing close to the side, holding out a water bottle which meant I would not have to stop.  I gulped down the last of my water bottle, tossed it aside and grabbed a new water bottle from the volunteer.  My decision to not stop contributed towards my goal of having minimal stoppage time.  I now wonder if it would have been better to stop and empty my sweet water bottle and fill it with water, so I would have two water bottles.  I would essentially run out of water with about 20 miles to go and become focused on my desire for cold water.

HOBACK JUNCTION TO FINISH:  I headed out of Hoback alone, but another pace line, with the two girls I had ridden into Afton with, passed me shortly afterwards.  I knew they were too fast for me and I let them go.  I didn’t remember the amount of climbing between Hoback and Jackson proper, but I won’t forget now.  I remembered one “big” hill, which hadn't been a problem the last time, so I figured it would be the same this time. 

The course was a bit different this year, in that we didn’t have to ride through Jackson Hole proper, instead we turned off through some side roads which had NO traffic lights – YEAH!  I remembered being stopped at one last time for what seemed like forever.  The new route was nice and scenic, through the west side of Jackson.  There was a fire just off the road before we turned onto the new section; it was a nice distraction, but the cars were really backed up at that point.  Being on the right shoulder and needing to turn left required us to maneuver through the slow traffic to make the turn.  Thankfully there was someone controlling traffic and helping us make that turn.

After we turned there was a nice descent.  We had just climbed the “last” hill I could remember, which made the downhill feel good.  I came upon a female racer and passed her.  She asked if she could latch on, as I was going a good speed at that point, and I shook my head yes.  I thought she was behind me for a while, but when I slowed to let her take a turn pulling there was no one there.  Oh well, it would have been nice to have some help, but not my luck.

Struggling around mile 190

The area at this point was new and beautiful.  It reminded me of riding during an earlier vacation in Jackson Hole, nice country settings on both sides with shade from the trees.  It was beautiful, but I was starting to really feel the effects of not taking in enough calories and being short on water.  I still had many miles to go and did not have enough water.  This is a picture of me at this point which accurately shows some suffering.  My face reflects my exhaustion and that I was ready to be off my bike.  I tried to eat a potato at this point, and think I got it down, but it was too late to make much of a difference.  I knew there was a bike trail ahead that would lead us under the main road.  I was happy to see the turnoff and thrilled to see a small tent with what I hoped would be some water.  It was a miracle for me.  I stopped and handed the volunteer my water bottle to fill up.  He handed it back to me and I drank right out of the opening and then handed it back to him to fill again.  It tasted wonderful and I figured it should help.  I could feel my stomach questioning my decision to fill it so quickly and recognized I had to be careful about drinking too much.  I realized I had under 15 miles to ride and figured I could push through any discomfort now that I had taken in some cold water.

I definitely felt better after drinking; I had been in a bad place and would have really struggled without that little water tent waiting for me.  Whew!  I rode under the main road and then made my way onto the main road.  I remembered this part vividly from the last time I rode LoToJa.  I was actually worse off this time than the previous one, go figure.  I happily made that last right turn onto the road in Wilson because it meant I was closer to the end, finally.  I knew I was riding a good time and should be able to meet my goal to finish in under eleven hours.

 
Those last ten miles will always be long and I don’t remember looking up at the Tetons once for distraction.  That is how depleted I was.  I watched my miles-per-hour and tried to keep it at 18, which was a challenge in itself.  It was a relief to finally see Teton Village come into sight because I knew I was almost done.  The sun was still up and I noticed the minimal spectators when compared to my Ironman events.  That was interesting, but not a surprise.  I saw the finish banner and looked behind me to make sure I was alone.  I took my hands off the handlebars and felt a surge of relief as I crossed that line once again.  I had not seen my parents since Afton and was pretty sure they weren’t at the finish yet.  I stopped, let someone take my timing chip off and made my way down the dirt path where everyone else was going.  I had finished Lotoja a second time, YEAH!!!
 

I was in dire need of water and was so disappointed that there wasn’t any at the finish area – NOTHING!!!  That was horrible!  I was alone and knew I wasn’t doing very well.  I needed to sit somewhere in the shade and rehydrate, but my support team was with Brenda and I had to figure out what to do.  I wriggled between the railings of a wooden fence and tried to sit there for a while, and a volunteer asked if I was OK.  I told him I needed some water and he left to look for some.  I had my bike propped up on the fence next to me and knew that sitting there wasn’t going to do me any good.  I left my bike for a moment and walked down to get my finisher’s medal.  The volunteer came back and suggested I go to the first aid area to see if they had water.  He said it was at the end of the dirt road in the parking lot.  I struggled to make my way there.  I needed water badly. 

I finally found the first aid area after waddling down a dirt path in my bike shoes.  I asked if they had any water and they looked at me like I was crazy.  I asked if I could just sit in their area under the canopy and they hesitantly allowed me to.  There was a guy lying on the table/bed they had set up and his wife saw me ask for water and offered to go to their car to get some.  I told her that would be wonderful.  She brought me back some, which tasted so good.  Another person in the area offered me some grapes, which I knew would help because of the sugar content.  The water and grapes helped me come to my senses a bit, but I was really not doing good and wished I had my finisher’s bag with me.

I asked an EMTs if I could use their phone and I called Brenda’s cell phone, hoping that someone would answer, but no luck; I had to leave a message.  I figured that was the only way to find each other.  I wasn’t worried, just ready to be with my family. 

I remembered I had some nutrition in my jersey pockets and pulled out some banana bread.  I was able to eat that with a second bottle of water that I snagged from the stash that the nice lady brought back to leave at the aid station.  The first aid people were keeping their eye on me, but I told them I just needed to sit in the shade for a bit.  I saw some 4x4 gauze sitting on the table and knew I had salt crusted all over my face.  I took a couple of sections, which happened to be wet, and was able to wipe my face off.  Little by little I was starting to be able to care for myself and could tell I was feeling better. 

I waited for around an hour in that first aid area, long enough to see a few athletes cared for – most with low blood pressure and a racing heart rate.  I eventually needed to use the bathroom, which was a HUGE relief because I hadn’t gone since Strawberry Summit, many hours earlier.  I wobbled over to the outhouses and took care of business.  I was starting to get cold, as the sun lowered and temperatures cooled.  My finish bag was with my support crew who were taking care of my teammate, Brenda.

I walked back to the first aid team and asked to borrow the phone again and, to my relief and surprise, my dad's voice appeared on the other end.  They were at the finish area and Brenda was probably just about to finish.  I thanked the EMT for letting me borrow his phone and made my way back up the dirt path leading to the finish area.  As I got within range of hearing the announcer, I heard him announce Brenda’s name.  What an unplanned surprise for me to hear her finish announced.  I made my way along the path, knowing that mom would be trying to find me as bad as I wanted to find her.  Within seconds, there she was, with my finish bag in tow!  To her side was Brenda.  I gave Brenda and mom a big hug and told mom I needed my warm clothes out of the finish bag.  Dad came up alongside me and gave me a big hug.  I put on my warm clothes and enjoyed the fact that we were all back together again!

 

Brenda finishing Lotoja for the second time

Brenda asked how I had done and I had no idea.  I was just happy we had both finished.  Brenda wanted to know my time and so we found a guy who looked like he was in charge of something and he pointed us to where the times were posted, just down the path a bit.  Since I had finished more than an hour ago, he said my time would be there. 

We walked to a group of people and, sure enough, they were looking at results.  I found my age group and was shocked to see my name at the top of the list.  I was the first to cross the finish line within my age group.  I showed Brenda where to look and she was really excited.  My mom and dad were standing just down the trail a bit, so I walked down to them and told them they probably wanted to see the results for themselves.  I watched them from afar, as Brenda showed them my winning result; it was fun to see their reaction of being surprised and proud.  It is a moment I’ll remember forever.

We all made our way down the trail, dragging our bikes alongside us.  I thanked the first aid people as we passed the tent where I had been waiting.  It turns out the car was parked only three cars away from the first aid area.  I would not have been able to get in the car, if I had known it was there, so it was probably best I didn’t notice it while waiting.

I ended up winning my division by seven minutes over the second place gal.  The difference was most likely the fact that I had only eight minutes of stoppage time over the entire 206 miles.  That is amazing!  It is what Ironman training and participation did for me!

 

We made our way to the awards ceremony the next morning and I got some prizes for placing first in my age group.  One of the prizes was free entry into next year's Lotoja ride; I don't know if that is a prize or a curse?