Clearwater Pics

So there were definitely some wonderful things about my trip to Clearwater, Florida. So I only got to race about 53.2 miles of the race- what are you going to do??! One of the reasons I love racing is because I love to travel to cool places and I am truly blessed to meet amazing people who make my life so much more interesting than it would be otherwise. I can honestly say meeting people who have become friends (most of which I will retain for life I feel quite sure) has been more satisfying than reaching any personal goal or achievement. So, here are some pictures of the rest of my trip and some of the people who made it fun despite a few minor setbacks!Of course, you've seen him many times, Jim B. He just sent me this picture a few days ago and it is a keeper. Everyone is always making fun of me for having my mouth open in pictures. This one is no exception!

White sand beneath my feet...even with a broken collarbone it felt pretty good!!

The Days Inn Clearwater Beach was a wonderful place to stay and my two newest friends Janet and Ray, the Manager, could not have been sweeter to a girl who had just been through a bit of turmoil. They took great care of me with free continental breakfast, great directions, and just some general company when I needed it! I really appreciated their generosity and I would definitely recommend this hotel as a great place to stay (short walk to the beach and very clean) if you end up racing Clearwater next year. As I mentioned, I won't be back but if I ever end up there again for another reason other than racing...I will definitely stay there!

Ray and I

The pristine beach with little cabanas

I raced with Powergels as usual, and I had my Powerbar Towel on the beach to represent! Thanks for a great two years of sponsorship!!

Just to prove I WAS there, I had someone snap a quick picture on the beach (no, I took off my sling because, well, imagine the tan lines-kidding)

If nothing else, the scenery was very pretty and I'm going to bottle it up and take it with me for the long winter of snow and ice ahead. If I would have realized how bad my collarbone was at the time, maybe I wouldn't have stayed. I certainly did enjoy my three days of relaxation after the race even if I was in some pain. It was a fun trip for the most part, and I'm finally coming to terms with the fact that I did get hurt but that's part of the game. I can now say that without getting emotional!!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving..so much to be thankful for all over. We sure are lucky.

Ready, Set, Surgery!!

Well, I guess Joanna Zeiger and I have more in common than previously thought.

After both braking our collarbones in the Half Ironman World Champs on Nov. 14th, we both had surgery within the same week to insert a titanium plate and screws. I had no idea when I arrived at Doctor Bradley's office on Thursday that he would be serving up some surgery just in time for Thanksgiving.

Somewhere along the way I'd convinced myself that I might be able to just "heal" on my own and my collarbone would magically come back together. Dr. Bradley, who has operated on over 100 Steelers and countless athletes over the years, begged to differ. In all the ER doctors wisdom, she forgot to mention that I was so smashed up inside that I had fragments of bone actually floating between my broken collarbone. After gasping as my Mother and I viewed the x-ray, we both realized things were very very wrong inside and the lump I could see sticking out of my skin in that area was a sharp edged part of my collarbone sticking almost directly vertical.

After a brief discussion that went like this between Doc Bradley and I:

Kim: So how bad are we talking here, any chance I can just "heal"?

Doc: Well, let me see, do you want to ever do a triathlon again and have any range of motion while you are swimming?

Kim: Ummmm that's a resounding YES

Doc: Then you'll be having surgery

Kim: When? Couple weeks?

Doc: Nope, I'll get you on the schedule tomorrow (aka Friday - Nov 20th)

Kim: Seriously, tomorrow?! Then how long to recover??

Doc: 6-8 weeks, no working for a week, no driving the whole time, no working out for at least two - three then we will evaluate if you can ride a recumbent bike or do the elipitcal

Kim: I feel faint

Doc: About what?

Kim: All of it..

So, that was that. I had my first surgery (besides my wisdom teeth) and everything went very well. I was thankful he was able to get me in so quickly because the sooner surgery, the sooner recovery begins.

How am I doing with the no activity part?? Well, under my bathroom and kitchen sinks are completely cleaned and organized, my house is clean, I've organized all of my triathlon stuff for the next year, my car has been cleaned out from the wrappers, bottles and other tri carnage from the year and I've done it all with one hand. I can type, but slowly and mostly with my left hand and even then it starts to bother me after a little bit.

I'm not sure what this means for the blog, but you may be getting a lot of pictures over the next month with very little words.

This is my most favorite card ever. You guys make me feel like this.. thank you!!

In the mean time, I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. Your comments have made me laugh, smile and even brought a tear to my eye. What a great sport we are able to do that brings us all a little closer together from hundreds of miles apart.

Good Luck to those in IM Cozumel & Arizona.. Thinking of you!!