Steve in a Speedo Interviews Coach Liz: A Blogger Exclusive!

The meds are kicking in again and I have more pep in my step. The weather was a beautiful cloudless, 69 degree day and I had a good one hour long run. The only thing that I did not like about the run was having to play chicken with the school buses on a street that had two lanes in each direction divided by an esplanade and no sidewalks. I had to dodge mail boxes, cactus gardens, and little brick walls as I jumped out of the way of oncoming buses that would not move over a lane when they were the only motor vehicle on the road. Whatever!!!

So, here is the exclusive interview that I know you are all (NOT) ready to pounce all over.

Steve in a Speedo presented me with some burning questions to really get to the core of who Coach Liz really is. I just referred to myself in the third person. That was weird. So without further ado...

Coach Liz

The slow but determined triathlete who would be worm free

Steve in a Speedo: So Coach Liz, what's your best and your worst race experience? Explain.

Coach Liz: I would have to say that I have two races that really come in as a tie for the best race experience. One would be Ironman Arizona. I trained well and put in a lot of hard work leading up to that race and everything all fell in place on race day. My good girlfriend and my Dad and Step-Mom and even one of the guys who takes my spin class were all there cheering me on. When my Coach told me on the second loop of the run that I was looking strong and that he was heading home because he knew I was going to finish well it made me feel like I had everything under control. Hell! I was a frickin' IRONMAN!!! The second race that ranks right up there as one of the best race experiences was going to Clearwater for the Ford Ironman 70.3 World Championship Race. I felt like I was totally crashing the party and that the slow girl had snuck into the race. I had a stellar bike leg and I never saw any of those draft groups around me that everyone seems to bitch about. I was able to pull out a PR for that race and break the 6 hour streak that I had been on for forever. It was a wonderful end to a spectacular season one year after knee surgery.

My worst race would have to be the 2008 Los Angeles Marathon. I was good through the 13.1 marker and then I had to hit a port-o-can. There was no TP anywhere and I really needed it. From that point on, my gut went from mildly irritated, to painful, to debilitating. I wanted to throw up so bad but there were too many spectators and if I threw up I knew that I would never see the finish. I had to walk a good portion of miles 14.5 through 22 because I was doubled over with sharp cramps. I was glad that I had my iPod to crank up and drown out the spectators who were telling me "You look good, keep going!" and that I had sunglasses to hide the tears that were streaming down my face from the pain. I could not DNF that race because I was in a strange city, my friend who was behind me in the race had no idea what was going on, and I had a flight to catch later that afternoon. To top it off, the race t-shirt was monkey-ass ugly and lame.

Coach Liz is a Pilates trainer with 10 years of experience of teaching Mat Pilates classes and working with clients on the Reformer, the Wunda Chair, the Step Barrel, the Cadillac and Tower.

SS: What was the race that got you "hooked"? Explain.

CL: I would have to say that the Tri-America Walt Disney World Olympic Triathlon was the race that hooked me. I had done two sprints leading up to my first Oly race and they were cool, but they were smaller races. The Walt Disney World race was a big one! I did this race with Team in Training and I did it withe the Palm Beach Chapter out of Florida since my local Chapter did not offer triathlons yet. I trained all on my own, did my fundraising, drove with the family out to Orlando through a tropical storm in Louisiana and then proved some coach from the North Texas Chapter wrong when he told me that I should do well to finish in 3 hours for my first Olympic distance race. I finished in 2:35. From there, the rest is history. I was not even mad when I found out that the hubby and the kid did not see any of the race but were in line for Space Mountain. I was on cloud 9.

One month after knee surgery, Coach Liz and her son, Buddy (pictured here in 2006) rode the 40 mile route of the Lance Armstrong Foundation LiveSTRONG Challenge.

SS: If you had to pick a current game show to be on, which one would you pick? Why?

CL: Well right now my favorite show is Top Chef (Go Carla!) and that would be an interesting game show to be on, but I would be told to pack my knives and leave in the first show. I can cook and I can cook good, but not like these people who just have all of these recipes in their heads and can create such beautiful plates of food. I am sure that I would do better on The Amazing Race. I would love to do all that wild travel and see all of those places. Who would I do the race with? I don't know, my husband has the smarts to do it but you also need someone who can run and be physical as well. His bum knee could hold him back.

This is NOT Coach Liz' bike.

SS: On your drive to work, do you listen to alternative, classic rock, NPR, or the local pop station with the trashy and shameless morning show?

CL: Sadly, the trashy and shameless morning show on the pop station that I have been listening to since 1985 when I moved to Houston mid way through high school. My kid insists that we always change the station to the Classic Rock station. I guess mom embarrasses him as I sing Single Ladies, Just Dance, and Right Round by Flo-rida.

Coach Liz' Hero of the moment. Trust me, he would be your hero too if you had the worms.

SS: If you could replace one leg of a triathlon (swim, bike, run) with ANYTHING else (canoe, 1/4 mile of monkey bars, off-road baja car race, pull-up challenge, etc), what part would you replace? Why? What would the new leg be? Why?

CL: Well, the swim is my favorite part and I am solid on the bike. My run has been my weakest leg, but it was getting better. At this point in my training, it could be sorely lacking so let's say I will trade in the run leg for a Scavenger Hunt leg. EVERYONE is on a level playing field for that one. You do have to run from one place to another as you collect clues or items and all the clues you collect is a puzzle that needs to be put together like some phrase such as, "Hugh Jackman is AWESOME!" or "X-Men Origin Movie Tickets in Mike Riley's Pocket" Chrisie Wellington better hope she does not have a tire patch kit or 3 CO2 cartridges on her list to find.

So there you go folks. If you want to play along:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me!"
2. I will respond by giving you five questions. (I get to pick the questions.)
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Hope you enjoyed it. Later Gators!


Liz

Am I getting any better???

I'm not sure if I can give an affirmative answer to that question. I started my second round of the anti-parasitic meds this morning and I am still dragging. My adrenal glands are burnt out. I have a lot of the classic symptoms of adrenal fatigue and even though I started feeling better at the end of last week and got in some good workouts, when I was off the anti-parasitic meds for 5 days all the fatigue and other issues came back.

I made the decision to skip out on the Lone Star 1/2 Iron distance race in April and I am hoping that I will be able to get my workouts in for Buffalo Springs. The fatigue is very hard to deal with. I can sleep for 8 to 10 hours a night and still feel tired and want a nap later in the day. The fatigue causes me to miss workouts and then I feel lazy and it is frustrating. I get angry that the people who come to my classes and workouts can always just say, "Dang, I am running out of time and I won't be able to make it to the gym today if I want to get all my stuff done." I cannot use that excuse. They would be P.O. if I was not there to teach their noon Step aerobics class. And then they give me the guilt statement of, "You are the only reason that I come to this gym. Your classes are so good!" ARRRGHH!!!

I have the Disney Princess Half Marathon in less than two weeks and I know that I will be able to run it. I am not running it for a PR but just to have fun and do it for the pictures and stuff. I just hope it won't burn me out for the rest of our family trip. At least the run is on the 4th day of our 5 day vacation. I can hear the Lazy River at Typhoon Lagoon calling my name.

Just as a word of reflection, if you are an endurance junkie like me or you just keep a busy and hectic lifestyle, you need to take time off and DO NOTHING and be a slug. I live in a climate that there is really no off season. As soon as tri season is over, it is marathon season. I think the Europeans have it right with taking the entire month of August off. It took forever to find a doctor who could tell me what I was suffering with and now it almost seems like the symptoms are almost too bad to fix.

Ok, enough of my complaining. Off to go teach classes when I really want to go back to bed.

Later Gators,

Liz

Update

Ok, in the last 10 days I have lost 8 pounds and most of it was water that I was hauling around from inflammation. My ankles no longer look puffy and I can get my rings off my fingers again. I can see and feel the veins on my forearms again. It has been a while since my "Incredible Hulk" veins were visible.

Still no sugar which is hard, but I am hanging in there.

Later Gators,

Liz

Totally Revolted

I have been on my anti-parasitic program and I have been hitting the Internet to find out more about these pesky things that are taking up residence in my GI track and all I can say after a week is that I am totally revolted! The fatigue has been bad. I have had to skip a lot of workouts in the last week due to having my eyes roll into the back of my head after lunch and having my head hit the pillow for 2-3 hour naps. I hope that when these parasites are gone, that I will have more energy. I have also had to make mad dashes to the bathroom since something that I am taking is acting as a laxative to keep things moving through the system. And I have been washing my hands like a mad woman. I hope that I do not develop an O/C disorder after this. Oh, and I am still itching and I will explain why.

Here are a few gems to keep you informed and grossed out:

• It is estimated that 85% of Americans will have intestinal parasites at some time in their life.

• Children are notorious carriers and spreaders of intestinal parasites. Just think of how many times a kid's fingers go in their mouth.

• You can get intestinal parasites from your dog licking your hands or face and by cleaning a cat's litter box.

• Organic fruits and veggies need to be washed carefully and should even get a dip in a mild water and bleach solution to kill parasites.

• Parasites can enter the body through your mouth, your nose, a cut or sore, even through your ears.

• The eggs of parasites can be air born and will survive on surfaces such as a door handle, a computer key board, or a phone for two weeks.

• Good hand washing also requires that you use a nail brush to scrub under your finger nails where parasites and their eggs can hide.

• Intestinal parasites can cause hives, skin rashes, and eczema from the release of waste products and toxins into the blood stream which in turn is carried to the skin as the body tries to clear it from the bloodstream.

• Intestinal parasites can leech important vitamins and minerals out of your bloodstream rendering you vitamin deficient and anemic.

• Sheets, towels, undergarments, and any other clothing that comes in contact with the body near the rectum such as running shorts with a liner, should be washed in hot water to reduce the spread of parasites. Sheets should be changed at least once a week and towels should not be shared with other family members or friends.

• Intestinal parasites can be hard to detect because they cause symptoms that are similar to other ailments such as fatigue, lack of concentration, gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, fungal infections such as athlete's foot or jock itch, skin rashes, bad breath, dandruff, yeast infections, anemia, nausea, headaches, asthma, food allergies, nasal congestion, muscle and joint pain, stunted growth in children, weight gain, weight loss, loss of appetite, night sweats, chills, and vitamin deficiencies. 

• Our western diets of processed and enriched foods with low levels of fiber help to make it easier for parasites to thrive in the intestines. 
  

On a happier note, my Team in Training tri group started their practices this weekend and I just got back from their first swim workout. How many of you are swimming in an outdoor pool at this time of year? We have our first bike ride this weekend and they get a lesson on how to change a flat tire. I must say that I have a pretty good lot of swimmers. There are only a small handful that are going to need extra work in the pool to get comfortable with putting their face in the water or with learning how to swim at all. I know that they can do it and I know that I an help them make it to the finish line!

Ok, off to bed so I can teach my early spin class in the morning. Later Gators!

Liz

Ugh!!! I am totally grossed out!!!

Over the past year I have struggled with the allergies, the food restrictions due to gluten and corn, the itching, the lack of energy, the gastro-intestinal problems, and the muscle and joint issues that a normal healthy person should not have to deal with. The family practice doctor could not figure it out, the allergist could not figure it out, so I decided that it was time to visit a registered dietitian and figure out what my food intolerances were and how to deal with them.

I found out that I have intestinal parasites.

WORMS!!!

It seems that the onset may have been as long ago as the spring of 2003 when I did a triathlon in Florida. I remember having horrible gastro intestinal problems after that race that lasted for almost a year and a half. When I was training for IMAZ, I went on the Paleo Diet and a lot of the issues disappeared because I was not consuming dairy products and grains. It seems that the straw that broke the camel's back was when I had knee surgery in the fall of 2006 because I have a sensitivity to anesthesia and it somehow triggered something in my body and the pesky parasites have been having a rave in my intestines ever since and wreaking havoc on my adrenal glands and my spleen. I thought that I was loosing my mind at times trying to explain to doctors and my family what I was going through and many times I felt like people thought I was nuts so I just tended to keep my mouth shut and just suffered through the gas, bloating, nausea, headaches, hives, fatigue, and craving for sugar.

I am now taking stuff to get rid of my little friends who are no longer welcome to live in my intestines. I will be on two rounds of the parasite eradicator, 10 days on/ 5 days off. During that time I cannot have any sugar. That means no alcohol, no fruit, no dairy, no gels, no juice, no sports drinks, as well as no gluten. After my worms are gone, I will be able to reintroduce fruit back into the diet but it looks like dairy may be out for good because I have a high sensitivity to casein in dairy products which is what they are pushing in that Activa yogurt in the commercials.

Please keep me in your prayers that I don't kill someone as I detox and break my addiction to chocolate and that I will start feeling better as I purge the worms and parasites.

Oh, I came in 5th in my age group at the Rockets Run with an official time of 24:12. At least that is good news!

Later Gators,

Liz

5K and 1K Race Report or Running with Large Furry Animals

This morning, Buddy and I got up at 5 am and got our running gear on and headed out the door for downtown to go register for the Rockets Run. This year featured a new Kid's 1K and everyone who participated got tickets to see the Houston Rockets play either Golden State on Saturday night or the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday. Buddy had a ham sandwich and I had my banana and berry smoothie as we headed out the door. Since our start times were not until 7:30 and 8:00 am, I was sure that we would not have stomach issues.

Once downtown and parked in the Toyota Center parking garage, we headed out to the registration tables. Because we waited until the day of the event to register, we only had a choice between L and XL shirts. I found out later that there were plenty of kids shirts but somehow the gal at the table was still asleep on that one when we registered. Once we got our stuff, we headed back to the car to drop off clothing and it hit me like a freight train that I needed to find a bathroom,,,right then...right away! We were wandering (I had a funny walk going on) all around the outside of the Toyota Center and unfortunately, I did not find them in time. Oh well, shit happens and I had a spare pair of clean running shorts in the car, so all was good. At least I had cleared out the pipes before the run. I took a picture of Buddy by the Start Line and then we waited around. It was 51 but breezy so it felt colder. We found a doorway to wait in that was protected from the wind and all of a sudden we realized that we were about to be mauled by a bunch of animals...large, furry animals.
Lions, and Tigers, and Bears...and a whole lot of other critters.
Here is Buddy with Shasta, the University of Houston Cougar.
and here he is with Cha Cha the frog from The Rainforest Cafe.
No limbs were lost posing with Sharkey from the Downtown Aquarium.
Here is Buddy staying warm with Aero the Huskey from the Houston Aeros Hockey Team.
I had no idea that the University of Phoenix had a Phoenix mascot...who knew?
A kookie octopus from the Downtown Aquarium. Buddy thought that he was the perfect size to take over for this job is an opening came up.
And the star of the show, Clutch. Clutch was no slouch and he and all the other mascots ran or walked the entire 1K with the kids. Dang it must have been hot in those suites.
Here are all the kids at the start. And they are off!

I ran down towards the finish line for the Kid's 1K and waited for Buddy to come tearing down the street. There were some pretty fast kids out there finishing the 1K in just under 4 minutes. Some of the parents were not being team players and were trying to get under the rope and on the course to take pictures. That kind of peeved me off. So after a couple of groups of kids came flying over the finish line I saw the person I was looking for...
Buddy came across the finish line at 5:15. Not bad! That is right around my pace. This kid is going to give me a run for my money here soon.Here is Buddy with his finisher's medal.

After that it was time for Mom to run. I was cold and ready to get going. I was able to actually braid my hair this morning. In this growing out process I have been using the running hat to keep my hair from flying into my eyes. It is now long enough to stay in those French Braids. I had on my very loud and bright Newton running flats. The first time I ran in them last October, they jacked up my right calf so bad that I was sore for days. The last couple of runs after giving them a second go have been great. No pain and suffering have come along with the second try. I had not run a 5K in a while so I was kind of interested to see what my mile splits would be after a marathon two weeks ago and some time to rest with easy runs since then. There were 2000 people running the 5K and I got to the start area early as you can see in the photo...and I was able to be up near the front for the start. I lifted weights on Friday and had been doing some dumbbell chops and I had felt that I had popped a rib out of place in my back on the right side just under the shoulder blade. This is somewhat reoccuring issue when I have other issues going on and I knew that it would lead to a nasty side stitch just up and under my front right ribs. Because the rib is out of place the diaphram ends up working differently and the harder the intensity, the sooner the onset of that side stitch. I had this happen a lot last spring about this time of the year when I was doing speed work on the track. I just wondered when it was going to show up during the race. Once we took off, I felt like I was getting passed by every teenager and every person who was wearing their red cotton t-shirt they got in their race packet. I was working and feeling strong, but because everyone was passing me, I felt slow. I hate that feeling. I could hold my own with a few people and some speedsters that raced past me would end up walking around mile 2 to 2 and a half. The course had time clocks at each mile which was nice. Here are the splits as best I can remember them:

Mile 1-- 7:24 (HFS!!! That is smoking fast for me. And I was feeling good.)

Mile 2--15:16 or 7:54 (Now I could feel the work. I noticed that my breathing was a bit heavy.)

Around the 2 1/2 mile mark the side stitch hit and it was super duper painful. I was getting warm and pulled the gloves off. Each breath was like a knife to my ribs and I just needed to hold on. I could really feel myself slowing down. I pulled to the side to let the faster people pass as we ran around the back of the Toyota Center and I saw plenty of people that I had passed earlier pass me up. UGH!!! I wanted to walk so bad because of the pain but I forced myself on since I knew I was almost done. We went into the parking garage and down the ramps that the delivery trucks take into the stadium. Running downhill was a little easier, but it still hurt. I saw the 3 mile time clock...

Mile 3--23:45 or 8:29 (DANG IT!!!)

As we ran onto the center court I saw Clutch and the time clock for my finish

Finish Time (Un Official)--24:15 WHOO HOO!!! a PR!!! I just wonder what my time would have been without that lovely side stitch?

I found my TNT buddy Ulises who was in the Marathon group that I coached last year and soon after that we found Erich and Jarntip from last year's TNT tri team. We all seemed to have good races and after grabbing some water and a seat in the stands to recover, we decided to head out to the finisher's party and find my kid at the section where they had all the inflatable obstacle courses and the basketball toss. When I get a look at the official finishing times I want to take a look at where I finished in my age group. It seemed that I was not that far off from the 3rd place finisher's time in my age group and I would be curious to see how I really did. All of us got ticket to the Tuesday night Rockets game against the Chicago Bulls. We are all going to coordinate meeting up so that we can pick up our tickets at Will Call at the same time so we can all sit together. Stay tuned for pictures from the game.

Here is one last parting shot of Buddy with the Texas Southern University Tiger. He had been too tired to run. I guess someone had him by his tail.
Sorry for any typos, but the spell checker is not working.

Later Gators,

Liz

You're hot and you're cold...

Houston weather is so strange in the winter. One day it is warm and sunny and in the mid 70's and then the next day it is in the 40's or 50's. It seems that for the past few weeks it has been warm during the week and cold on the weekends. This week was no different. On Thursday I was ready to go out and run again after taking a few days off after running 26.32 miles on Sunday. I went out on a warm afternoon and got in a good hour long run. I stayed as hydrated as I could but at the end of my run I was still covered in salt since the humidity was low. Friday was 76 and my day to lift weights. I could tell that I had not lifted the Friday before the marathon and my legs were in a slightly jell-o stage when I finished but if felt great.

After weights, I was on a mission. I had to figure out what to get El Esposo as a useful and practical gift for our 16th wedding anniversary.Here we are 16 years ago...here we are just a few weeks ago. El Esposo can be a very hard person to get a gift for and somehow I seem to hit the nail on the head most of the time while feeling like I am flying by the seat of my pants. Of course there has been the pair of Sperry Top Siders that he did not tell me were too big until after he had thrown the box away and tried to wear them in Key west with a pair of socks. And then there was the great pair of pants and shirt I got him for his birthday last year and he has yet to wear them even after I went back to the store and got the correct pant size. I have learned to not get him any clothes and to double check shoe sizes. So this time I had the light bulb moment as I was getting off the 610-Loop near the Galleria. I had mentioned to El Esposo that his running/bumming shoes were almost 2 years old and needed to be replaced. Since El Esposo does not run in his running shoes, he does not go through running shoes like I do. (more on that later in the post) However, getting to part with his Pearl Izumi shoes was proving to be as hard as separating Linus from his blanket. I dodged into the New Balance store and had the store manager help me get a good pair of supportive shoes. They were more expensive than any of my running shoes so they better last him another 2 years. I ran into Barnes and Noble and picked up a book on the iPhone since El Esposo liked the one he got me for Christmas so much that he got himself one last week. Both gifts were a hit and I got a great surprise as well...
This is the most awesome thing. A fruit arrangement! I have been snacking on it all weekend and I used some of the fruit to make a smoothie. After swim practice, we went to a neighborhood Italian restaurant for a family diner.

On Saturday morning I was up at 5:30 am and when I stepped outside it was still warm and in the 60's but it was windy. Normally the wind does not pick up until after the sun comes up so I knew that a cold front was coming through. I put on a pair of capri tights and threw my Sugoi cycling jacked that I bought at the Clearwater 70.3 race last year. It was only the second time to wear it since it has been warm here and I found out to my delight that it was warm and wind proof! Sugoi gear is the BOMB!!! I love every piece of clothing that I have from this awesome company.

When I got to the park to ride the temperature had fallen ten degrees and the wind picked up. So after some chilly miles on the bike and a short run, Coach Luke fired up the grill and we tossed some burgers on the grill. Those were yummy. After a TNT recruiting meeting, I headed home to hit the shower and clean up. El Esposo, Buddy, and I went out to dinner with Greyhound, Mrs. Greyhound, and Superpounce. I could not help myself and dug into the bowl of chips and queso and I paid for it later. I hate my food allergies. I ended the evening at a birthday party for my TNT buddies Mari and Terry. I ended up leaving sooner than I wanted to, but my stomach was going south.

I spent most of the day in my sweats on the couch as my stomach settled out and the headache took over. Note to self...STOP EATING STUFF THAT YOU KNOW IS GOING TO MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE HORSE DUNG!!! I felt a little better in the afternoon and I went through my closet and pulled out moving box full of race t-shirts and other shirts, a huge box of worn running shoes and other shoes that I no longer wear because they are too small and uncomfortable (my feet just keep getting wider!),
and a bag of nice skirts, pants, dresses, and tops that I have not worn in over a year. El Esposo will take these to work to give to one of his co-workers who goes down to Mexico to visit relatives and takes donated clothing, home goods, and furniture for people in the town where his family lives. I was getting hungry and not feeling like cooking so we went out yet again and went to a new pizza place by us on a tip that they had gluten free crusts. They did have the gluten free crusts! Whoo Hoo! We had a tasty pizza and even a gluten free brownie for dessert.

Tomorrow it is a new day. Back to training. Back to no gluten and no corn. It is really hard but I am tired of having my arms, shoulders, and neck covered in hives and scaly patches of itchy skin. I have even been getting this itchy scaly patches on my scalp on my eyelids of late and that is awful. The congestion is bad. The upset stomach and indigestion is not fun. The headaches suck. The swollen puffy ankles are not attractive. If you want to know how tough it is to eat gluten and corn free, imagine only being able to shop for stuff at the grocery store along the walls. Nothing from the bakery, Only fresh fruits and vegetables. Nothing from the deli counter, and only fresh meats and fish. Pass on by most of the dairy other than milk and certain solid blocks of certain typed of cheese. Stay away from the grated cheese because corn starch is used in the processing to keep the cheese from clumping together. Don't dare put anything in your basket from any of the aisles. Unless the condiments or salad dressings are from the gluten free section where the health food is, it will contain high fructose corn syrup and malt. I am constantly reading labels and going organic. The only thing you can pick up in the frozen food section is frozen fruit and veggies. If you have been looking at your labels over the past week to see if your bars and snacks contain peanut butter and peanut paste due to the salmonella scare, then you have an idea of what the gluten free diet is like. Gluten is in everything and if it is not in the product, the product may be processed in a plant where wheat, rye, barley, oats, and malt is also processed and there could be cross contamination.

Alright, enough of my complaining. At least the temps will be in the high 60's and low 70's for the next few days.

Later Gators,

Liz