Saturday, August 22, 2015

Challenge Poconos Race Report

Guess what guess what guess what: I got to wash my hair today. What does that have to do with Challenge Poconos? More than you'd think. The reason why I was so excited to wash my hair today is because it's the first time I've been able to do so in over two weeks. Because I had, according to the Ear-Nose-Throat doctor, "not the worst ear infection I've ever seen, but close." And that's why this race report is so short (and timely, for a change).

Ear protection for the shower

In case you're planning on also coming down with a nasty case of swimmer's ear (or, even better, wish to avoid it), here's how it went down: combine a lot of swimming with ignoring early symptoms due to being out of town for work, add a dash of pre-existing waxy ears and small ear canals, and then visit urgent care, where the doctor doesn't have the proper equipment to diagnose you and actually makes things worse by trying to flush chemicals into your ear. Let's just say that prescription-strength pain relievers are a wonderful thing. 

So what about Poconos? The awesome folks at Challenge USA let me defer to next year, so I hope to write a real race report in 2016. I also delayed the end of my tri season, adding Giant Acorn in September and USAT Aquathlon Nationals in October. Good thing I'll be cleared to swim again later this week!

As always, thanks to Rose Physical Therapy for making the *rest* of me feel good, and to LUNA bars for keeping me nourished even when chewing is difficult.

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