HOW MUCH!?!

How much snot can you blow out of one nose??? I have been blowing straight for a week and it just keeps coming...sorry for the nasty visual...

29th ANNUAL T. JOHN CAREY MASTERS 1 MILE OCEAN SWIM

Ocean City, NJ -- July 26, 2008

19:58
65/311 - overall
1/13 - age group
16/121 - female

As if we didn't get enough beach time in Rehoboth, we headed up to Ocean City, New Jersey for some more beach time. This time we were there for the one mile ocean swim that a bunch of the Drexel swimmers were doing. We had not done a swimming event, that was just swimming alone, in two years.

We arrived, signed up and walk the mile down the beach to the start line. As we did we tested the water and realized it was unseasonably cold. It is JULY!!! Shawn and I stood in the water contemplating a warm-up for about 15 minutes. Finally, once the Drexel guys ran and dove in we worked our way in, swam out past the breaking waves and quickly back in. This water was COLD.

The swim had two waves and I was in the second. I watched the first wave go off and expected to be two minutes later, I am standing there wet and shivering uncontrollably at this point and find out the start of wave two is going to be ten minutes later. This was a long ten minutes.

Finally our wave went off, and I did not burst into the water like a normal ocean swim. Again I gingerly walked my way in, and walked out as far as I could. When I did dive in I just swam for it, all I could think about was getting back out of the water. By the time I reached the middle of the swim my feet were numb up to my ankles. The only other thought I had throughout that swim was ... how am I going to walk when I get out to the finish line when I can not feel my feet??? Somehow I did, but it took a while for them to come back. I lost a lot of time on the start, probably at least a minute, but I was too cold to care...

I was cold the rest of the night and got a hot chocolate, mid-july on the way home. Sitting at the awards, an older man was having a really bad time. He was shivering still and all wrapped up, I added my towel for him to keep his legs warm. Once we got out of there an ambulance, fire-truck and police car came screaming in, I hope it was not for him.

Rehoboth Beach Flat Ride

While we were on vacation for a few days at Rehoboth Beach we had a perfect morning to go out for a road ride. We were staying in Rehoboth and road south down Route 1A towards Bethany Beach. The road is perfect for a ride like this because of its wide shoulders. It was a 30 mile ride, out and back, with the bay on one side and the ocean on the other. There were some nice views along the way.

Shawn at the beginning of the ride.

Pit stop for pizza at Bethany Beach.

Our half-way point.

A very nice view from a bridge.

Almost back, at Silver Lake.


A good day for a ride...

Two Magic Words

Clobetasol propionate

With two applications my poison ivy has completely reversed and is disappearing. Absolutely amazing stuff! If you can get your hands on some, I highly recommend it after tramping through some poison ivy.

Poison Ivy

I have always been very sensitive to poison ivy, but have been pretty lucky over the past few years since I spend so much time outside. My luck shifted this morning when I saw the beginnings of the rash from my knee all the way down to my ankle on my right leg. I think I can safely trace this back to a trail that we accidentally rode yesterday at the very end, and I mean the last minute, of our three hour ride. I was following Otmani and Shawn all morning, but they were always just far enough ahead that I could not see where they were turning. For some reason Shawn took the route that we normally take only if we want to shoot out at the road. Fortmann and I followed the yells that came from them telling us to go that way, but we thought they turned left to go down the trail. I couldn't understand why they would be taking the road back - which is the way they went. Fortmann and I fought our way through an overgrown trail, and by the end we had to dismount to make it through the overgrowth. Only to find out they had gone on the road and we had chosen the wrong path.

The itching began last night and I woke up this morning to the rash. I immediately looked on the Internet to see if there was any kind of intervention that you could do early to get rid of the rash - I get it bad. I found this article that said to get to the dr. asap and if treated early with the steroids you could actually make the rash disappear. Here's to hoping ... I visited the 7-day clinic and saw a Dr. at 9 a.m. on a Sunday. I am going to pick up the prescription within the next hour...

Here is the article from the New York Times:

Health: Dermatology; With Poison Ivy, Timing Is Everything

By GINA KOLATA

Published: July 14, 1988

LEAD: Exposure to poison ivy, the summertime scourge of suburbia, should be considered more a dermatological emergency than a nuisance to be salved, according to experts in skin disorders.

Exposure to poison ivy, the summertime scourge of suburbia, should be considered more a dermatological emergency than a nuisance to be salved, according to experts in skin disorders.

In treating exposure to the plant toxin, timing is everything, specialists in poison ivy have discovered.

By beginning steroid therapy as soon as the first little red bumps appear on a patient's skin, doctors can stop a poison ivy rash in its tracks. But if they wait or if the patient puts off getting medical help, hoping that the incipent rash is not going to turn into the typical oozing and itching blisters, it may be too late.

The specialists say that even many dermatologists, let alone general practictioners and members of the public, do not realize the importance of early treatment. Few Seek Help Early

But patients rarely seek help early, said Dr. William L. Epstein, a dermatologist at the University of California in San Francisco. ''Usually they wait a day or two,'' he said. Or they ''go to the drugstore and spend money on things that don't work.''

Although steroid hormones may still give patients some relief after the rash has broken out, doctors find that the only way to completely stop a poison ivy rash is to give high doses of the hormones early.

Poison ivy researchers are coming to appreciate the extraordinary potency of the oil, urushiol, that comes from the plant and can cause an allergic rash in about 50 percent of the nation's population. The same oil that is found in poison ivy east of the Rocky Mountains is also found in poison oak west of the Rockies and in poison sumac, which grows in wetlands and standing water all along the East Coast. Urushiol, pronounced you-ROO-she-all, is inactivated by water, but it can persist for months or years on shoes or clothing that have not been washed.

Almost no other natural substance is as potent as urushiol, experts say. Sensitive people will get a rash if they put on a patch with a one-thousandth of 1 percent solution of urushiol on it, researchers have found. In contrast, it takes a solution of 2 percent to 2.5 percent of nickel to produce a skin rash in sensitive people. Myths and Misinformation

Poison ivy researchers say myths and misinformation about poison ivy are rife, but they concede that not even the experts completely understand many aspects of the allergy.

Many people, for example, think that poison ivy rashes are contagious and that they can spread on a person's body if they are scratched. However, scratching and contact with the rash and pus have nothing to do with how the rash spreads.

The rash is a reaction to the oil; thus, it is not contagious by itself. And by the time a person has an itchy rash, the urushiol is long gone from the skin surface.

Dr. Jere D. Guin, a dermatologist at the University of Arkansas Medical Center in Little Rock, said people spread the urushiol on themselves when they first touch it. A rash could appear everywhere they touch. But the rashes come out at different times, depending on how much oil came into contact with the skin and where the contact occurred. Face Is Particularly Sensitive

The skin that first contacts the urushiol and that has the highest dose of the oil will usually break out first, but some areas are far more sensitive than others, dermatologists have found. The face is particularly sensitive, while the palms of the hands, where the skin is thick, almost never develop rashes.

The only way to stop a severe poison ivy rash is to suppress the entire cell-mediated immunity portion of the immune system. That portion fights infection using white blood cells, while another portion uses antibodies. The urushiol is converted in the body to a reactive chemical, quinone, which binds to white blood cells and starts an immune reaction leading to a rash.

Oddly enough, people who have allergies that involve antibodies, such as asthma and hay fever, are only half as likely as the rest of the population to be allergic to poison ivy. Researchers speculate that immune systems that are overly active in producing antibodies have less active white blood cells. Steroids Prevent a Rash

In experiments, Dr. Epstein has completely prevented a rash from developing by giving people steroid hormones such as cortisol to suppress their cell-mediated immunity after they are exposed to urushiol but before they have broken out.

''Some people have asked if they couldn't just take steroids prophylactically, such as when they are going on a hunting trip,'' Dr. Epstein said. ''Theoretically, it would work like a charm, but practically you just can't do it.'' He said the benefits of potentially preventing a rash were not worth the risk of suppressing the immune system, which include an increased susceptiblity to infections.

Dr. Epstein emphasized, however, that if patients started taking steroid hormones within six hours of developing a rash, the rash would go away completely. The longer people wait to take steroids the less likely they are to benefit from them.

One of the great mysteries of poison ivy rashes is their propensity to appear in places that have never been touched by urushiol. Dermatologists can always say that perhaps the patient accidentally brushed that area of skin, or that the oil was on the patient's clothes and the clothes brushed the skin. Rashes in Other Areas

Such a hypothesis is difficult to rule out because it takes so little oil to cause a rash. Dr. Epstein has found that a person who is insensitive to poison ivy can touch urushiol with a finger and then blot his finger on his own skin a thousand times, but there will still be enough urushiol on his finger to produce a rash if he touches the skin of a sensitive person.

But experiments indicate that rashes can occur in areas that were not exposed to the oil. Dermatologists have put a patch containing urushiol on a volunteer's skin and found that a rash not only appears under the patch but also crops up elsewhere on the body. In particular, it seems likely to appear at the site of an old poison ivy rash or in an area where there is pressure or minor irritation, such as the shoulder blades.

One possible explanation for rashes in areas that have not been touched by urushiol is that minute amounts of quinone that the body makes from urushiol are carried through the body by immune system cells. When these cells circulate in an area that is slightly irritated they might provoke a reaction.

Some experts have also suggested that minute amounts of urushiol fragments might remain at the site of old poison ivy rashes, and these fragments might cause an old rash to flare up when the immune system cells come by bearing quinones from urushiol. But these theories have never been tested. ''It's all just supposition,'' Dr. Epstein said. An Assault on the Body Soon after brushing against poison ivy, a person can spread its potent oil elsewhere by touch. But the rash can appear in puzzling patterns. Even when directly exposed, the palm, 1, never breaks out. If oil has been rubbed on the face, 2, the rash can appear within hours or days. Effects also appear relatively quickly on the delicate skin of the inner arm, 3. Thicker skin, as on the outer arm, 4, is slower to react and may not erupt for a week or more. As derivatives of the toxic oil pass through the bloodstream, rashes can also appear in places not directly exposed, as on the leg, 5, perhaps because the skin had been sensitized by a previous attack. Secretions from the rash itself do not contain the toxin and cannot cause eruptions.

EX2 Xterra - July 13, 2008

We headed out to Rocky Gap State Park in Maryland on Saturday morning. It is not a long drive so we were able to take our time and head out mid-morning. Otmani picked Shawn and I up and we managed to not forget anything. We successfully made it to packet pick-up even after some adventures finding lunch and a grocery stop on the way. After getting our race numbers we drove down the road and set up tent. Rocky Gap is beautiful and has wonderful campgrounds. We had plenty of room and our tents were right along the bike and run route. We thought about setting the cooler up so we could grab some cold drinks as we came through!

Otmani and Shawn tried to help me fix up my bike which had started shifting poorly the week before the race, although it is new I have put hundreds of miles on it already this year. We could not remedy the problem and seemed to make it a bit harder to shift. I was frustrated, but thankful it was still rideable, though not very smooth.

Race morning arrived quickly and as we were eating we looked at our watches and realized we had to get over to the race site. Luckily we were camping so close that we were one of the first to arrive. As we walked in, Otmani suggested I visit the Bike Lane tent and see if they could adjust my derailer. Yes - this race is actually big enough that they had two bike tents providing pre-race maintenance. The dude was ultra quick and made a bunch of adjustments, and even took the cable off entirely, but he came up with the same results we did, though he made it much smoother, smoother even than a week before when the problem started. He said I needed to replace the cable housing and there wasn't time for that. But i felt lucky, it was smooth and I had gotten there in time for him to do that much. A girl came over, while he was working on my bike, and said she had forgotten her bike ... yes her entire bike. He had one she could borrow, but she already looked pretty upset so I was thankful I had my own bike in working condition!

After that I even had time to set up transition and take my bike for a spin, again glad I did this because he had it in a very high gear which would have been a complete surprise when I mounted it after the swim. I also had time to swim a warm-up. All went well and the race was off with the first wave, all men 45 and under. I fell into the second wave, and decided to start far right closest to the bouys. I don't normally do this and usually take the outside route, but something just told me to go the direct route this time; I had been all the way to the left and had to weave through the girls at the start line with my last minute decision. I took off and one girl, who was part of a relay stayed with me. I swam very easy, but no one came up on us. Immediately we swam through the men, this girl went way outside and I just stayed straight somehow swimming through the masses without anybody getting in my way. I feel like the crowd just divided as we came through them, I think they were scared! I swam into the finish of the first lap right behind this girl and stayed on her tail, but again she took the outside route on the second lap and I decided to go with the straight option. I think I swam the straightest, shortest possible route and did it as slow as I could - my time was still a minute faster than last year. I came out first female, the girl never caught back up after her scenic route through the far end of the course. Into transition and I see Shawn and Otmani, I am not out of breath much, a good sign.

I decide to take the bike easy, I just want to make sure to finish this course. It is pretty technical and in years past we have not had good luck as a group (even resulting in broken bones.) I rode through the first rocky section with ease, though there were too many men around me ready to pass. At one point I decided to pull off and let about ten or fifteen guys go by, as I did this I cheered each of them on and that presented the atmosphere I carried for the rest of the race. I went back to the basics and just had fun. I rode smoothly and as each person passed I made sure to tell them great job. It is amazing the responses you get back and how much more fun it makes the ride. My first mistake came at Evitt's revenge where I decided to ride. I rode up and up past a bunch of guys who were walking - about half way up I had to dismount and walk. At that point I had winded myself and could barely push the bike up, then the hill keeps going up for a while, it is rideable at this point, but since I was winded it was harder than it should have been.

After that big hill there is a steep rocky descent, very dangerous and I went slowly down it, though I rode it without hesitation. People did pass me and flew by going down, but as I exited I came upon a race worker and exclaimed how happy I was to make it through. From that hill out it is easy going to the end of the lap. The second lap went just as well, easy going, didn't push it too much but a lot of fun. Talked with each competitor who passed and enjoyed the race.

Coming into transition I was with a guy, I exclaimed we made it! He was just as excited to make it through the bike section. I had to pee though and still had another hour to go in this race, I decided to take the time in transition and take care of that :) Out onto the run my legs felt like dead weight, and my stomach was cramping. We were not even started, my goal was to come in at 3 hours and I was on pace, but would have to repeat my phenomenal run from last year. It wasn't going to happen. My stomach was really on edge and I had to preserve my energy for the climbs. I could not run in places where I made it through last year, and had to actually stop on the rocky uphill hike section to gather myself and gain my breath back. I knew at that point I would not make the three hour cut off that I had set for myself, but just kept running as I could. I allowed the boy to splash me at the water stopped, he was chucking the water into your face as hard as he could and it was pretty funny. He was having fun. I could barely run down the smooth road at the end of the race, but did my best to keep going. Many, many, many people passed me at this point in the race, but I still made sure to have fun. I was so happy that I never saw Otmani or Shawn, meaning that they successfully made it through without technical problems that have plagued them in the past at this specific race.

I finished as one guy passed me 100 yards to the finish line, some guy warned me he was coming, but it was all I could do to keep moving forward! I got through the finish and Shawn and Otmani were waiting. I collapsed in exhaustion at their bike rack, that had collapsed itself somewhere during the race. We all made it back into the lake and relaxed in the cool water. I guess it was pretty hot that day, but by now I am pretty used to this summer heat.

The results were just posted and it looks like I not only took my wave, but had the fastest swim time overall ... I did not expect that at all, I felt as though I held back sooo much! I need some good rest, I think my body is overall just depleted from all this racing. My legs are not firing at the end of these races, but overall this was the most fun I have had all year at a race.

Results:
3rd in age-group out of 12
126 overall including men and relays out of 261

3   125 Alicia Markey           29 Newark DE                                                          3:07:35
Swim: 20:16 (1)          
Bike lap 1: 50:32 (4)
Swim + Bike lap 1: 1:10:48 (2)
Bike lap 2:  50:13 (3)      
Swim + Bike: 2:01:01 (3)
Run: 1:06:34 (5)
Total: 3:07:35 (3)  
   

The camping was fantastic, the night entailed a few more bike rides, a visit to the camp store, a petition for more ice that will be filed in Annapolis, many critters, tree climbing, dirt bike riding, crashes (more blood than at the race), a long-lived camp fire with exploding cans, burnt bean patties with week old buns and two thirty packs. Again, a weekend we will long remember.

Firecracker 5k

July 4, 2008 Rockford Park, Wilmington , DE 00:24:03 07:46 77th overall 14th female 8th age-group

100% humidity on the fourth of July this year, we drove to the race in the rain, and it rained while we warmed-up, but it stopped for the start of the 5k. The start went well and I was feeling great, but about five minutes into the race my mouth was dry, completely dry. All of the sudden I could not get air and I had to stop, bent over coughing I thought that I was going to have to walk back and as I couldn't get air my eyes darted around to find the closest volunteer. I waved Shawn and Otmani pass as they came by me, I did not want them to worry or stop during their race. Soon after I was able to get my breathing under control and decided I would continue on.

I made it past the mile marker under 7:45, with the stop, so I must have been flying for the first mile. I could still see Shawn and Otmani, they were running together so I ran towards them and made it to them at the turnaround. Coming back was tough in the humidity and a short incline upwards. Otmani slowly crept ahead and I did all I could to continue, but the last 400 meters were really painful and I had to pee so bad! I got to the finish and fell onto the grass, 5k's are so painful, just like a 200 free ... a long sprint. We all had pretty good times for the conditions, enjoyed a short warm-down swim and a full day of bbq and drinking.

Rocks to Remember

Someone posted these images of the trail at Xterra Trimax and it better explains what I was trying to ellaborate on ... so many rocks ...

This is a good picture of the Mountain Laurel that was embedded all over the trail, at times you had to squeeze through it or it grabbed you, but it was beautiful.

Official Trimax Results and Photos

38th overall; 3RD F25-29
Swim: 0:10:29
T1: 0:01:41
Bike: 1:28:54
T2: 0:00:59
Run: 0:42:13
Total: 2:24:16

Transition set-up prerace

Darlise, our photographer and supporter

Vince - prerace before his first Xterra

COLD pond

Ready to swim

Me on the swim

Shawn exiting the swim

Vince exiting the swim

Vince on the bike

Vince on the run

Me on the bike

Me going out on the run

Vince on the finish

Shawn on the finish

Me on the finish

WE ALL FINISHED!!