C Different

[update: December 02, 2007]

I had the pleasure of meeting Charlie Plaskon in Kona this year, in my opinion he was one of the most admirable competitors out there. I wish he could see how beautiful his own eyes are! Way to go Charlie! I really enjoyed you on the Kona broadcast yesterday and am so impressed with your amazing attitude towards life and its obstacles.

Check out Charlie’s Kona race report at www.cdifferent.org. They are doing amazing things for people who are not born with the sight most of us take for granted.

Off Season

[update: November 28, 2007]

It has been a while since I have written here….there have been many things going on lately and I don’t find myself sitting around with free time very often! I have recovered well from the disappointing day I had in Kona. For a while I was really upset that I had spent all the hours training only to see it all go to waste because of one little bug that invaded my body. I have realized that there is nothing I can do now other than to move and regain the excited feeling back for next year, using my frustration to fuel the fire for next racing season. Yea!

As for a brief race recap of Kona this year, I really did try my best, tried to enjoy the week and raceday as much as I possibly could. Unfortunately I was diagnosed with strep throat the Saturday before the race and began a round of antibiotics. I spent the pre race week in and out of bed recovering and resting as much as possible. As race day rolled around I was feeling optimistic, hoping my fitness could pull through… as the swim began I knew it was going to be a rough day, I was nowhere near my full strength. I was happy to finish as I had the chance to observe many things I would ordinarily miss when racing with full concentration. Thank you to the many notes of encouragement I have received from all of you since that day. Your words have cheered me up immensely. Thank you also to all of my wonderful sponsors who worked so hard to get me as prepared as possible. I like to think that this past year will make next year only the more sweet :)

The days after Kona were spent with my family adventuring on the island. We took a hike out to the Green Sand Beach which now goes down as one of the most beautiful and interesting hikes I have ever been on. The wind was whipping at us so hard on the way out that the 2.5 mile walk took over an hour! The hike was worth it as the sand of the beach really was a deep olive green, the only one of its kind in the world. My mom, dad, brother and I spent an hour hopping waves (ok that might be a little ambitious) and enjoying the beach before the hike through dried mud dunes home. The beach was extremely raw and rare, emoting the feeling that you had just arrived on a different planet. Unfortunately the day was tainted by a break-in to our rental car, evidently a common occurrence in the parking lot of this beach. My mom and I spent a frustrating hour on the way home trying to cancel our credit cards in the midst of dodgy cell phone coverage. We reported the incident to the Captain Cook police and eased our pain with pizza across from the station as we waited for the report to be filed. I highly recommend both this hike (located on the most southern point of the Big Island but also to leave your precious belongings at home!

The following day I visited with the cross country team at the Kona Prep academy in Waimea. They had all worked a water station on the bike course. I talked for a while about my experience as a pro triathlete and some of my stories from my cross country running days. They opened up after a while and asked some great questions…the best being “What happens if you have to go to the bathroom? Do you just go?”. They were a great bunch of kids and what a super cool place to go to school!! The following day my brother and I had an adventurous swim out to the Captain Cook monument and back (actually I swam and he kicked across on a boogie board, carrying my snorkel- growing up he was always smarter). The snorkeling around the monument was subpar but still fun and just as we were about to turn back to swim the mile home, a fishing boat with a snorkel tour pulled up. “Are you guys about to swim across?”, the guides asked. “Uh…yes, why?”, we said. “Well I would stay very close to the shore there have been a lot of sharks seen out in the bay this year”. Yikes! Needless to say the trip home was faster than the way out.

The weekend after Kona I went home to see my mom in Potomac, MD where I grew up. With Richmond, VA being a close 2 hour drive I traveled out to watch friends race in the World Long Course Duathlon Champs…ouch! Just watching the race brought back memories of just how painful duathlon can be and how easy triathlon is in comparison :) It was great to catch up with some old friends and enjoy the sufferfest, I mean event from the side.

The following weekend was spent in New York City for an Asics signing during the New York City marathon expo and watching the men’s Olympic Trials race. The race was incredible to watch and totally inspiring for my trials race in April. The guys in the lead pack splintered the group in the first 5 miles and Ryan Hall took over at around mile 15, waisting the entire field in his second marathon ever. Wow. With the loop style format I could run across the middle of Central Park and catch the guys on both sides. It was very exciting to say the least. Sadly the death of Ryan Shay became a blanket of sadness over the entire finish celebration. I saw him go by at mile 4 and recognized him from the EAS ads, later at mile 10 I could see an ambulance coming by and thought it must have been for an older spectator. Sometimes life can be just so unfair.

I returned to Maryland and was amazed by the brilliant foliage colors I miss out on when I am in Austin this time of year. We just don’t have trees that shed like that here and I often miss the beauty and smells a true fall season brings. I spent some good time with my family and in particular my mom who is still undergoing chemotherapy for her colon and liver cancer. She has been handling the entire process like a trooper but the impact of the seriousness of the disease has really hit me. Being in the therapy room with her and observing the people in the room there is sobering. Cancer does not discriminate against sex, age or race and it requires a huge fight to beat it. I am so proud of my mom for handling the whole thing the way she does. She continues to keep a positive attitude and is getting to spend more time now with friends than she ever did before, which is one of the blessings that has come through all this. I am learning more and more that good health is precious and it is SO important to do all you can to stay fit and healthy. Through my mom’s struggle I have been inspired to start an all women’s “health” club, catered to those only interested in losing weight or learning how to live a healthier life. I am calling it “Desiree’s Daisies”. Stay tuned for more on that! In the meantime please keep Ma Ficker in your prayers.

I am back in Austin and working on my new house, running a lot, yoga-ing! and enjoying spending time with friends I don’t get to see when I am in training nerd mode or out of town.

Thank you for reading, sorry for the ramble but it had been a while. I am posting a new photo section labeled “Off-season” so check back for that as well. Enjoy this great time of year, there is much to be thankful for.

-Desiree

Tough Day at the Office

[update: October 14, 2007]

“Crossing the finish line here was still an amazing feeling and I was happy to be able to cheer on the other athletes out on the race course. Some days your body responds the way you want it to and other days it is all you can do just to finish. Congrats to Chrissie, Sam and Kate for their podium finishes and to all the other athletes who competed yesterday.”

Desiree finished up with a 10:40 and in about 40th position overall. Unfortunately Desiree had a sickness earlier in the week that she was hoping to have overcome but had zapped her strength on race day. She will be back!