Pre-race decision: The Camelbak

I have decided to use my 50oz Camelbak on the bike during IMFL 70.3.

Before all of the purists out there open up the gates of hell and shove me in headfirst, let me explain:

1.  I always use a Camelbak in training; so I would be following the whole 'do what you do in training' concept.

2.  Taking in 25oz of fluid an hour is not an option for me, it is mandatory.  My sweat rate is insane!

3.  And the main reason why I will be CBaking it in 3 weeks... I have a cyst in the nether regions and I'm having a very difficult time sitting up on my tri saddle while using only my left hand to control the bike (right hand would be used to grab an aid station bottle).  This position pretty much makes me place more weight on the left hand side of my body, so that I can slide off the left hand side of the saddle and not sit directly on the cyst.  This shift in balance makes for a very squirrelly bike.  If I accidently hit the cyst when I sit up, the pain is so intense that I could indeed cause an accident.  So, for the safety of myself and those who might be behind me, a CBak is actually the safest option.

Cystic history (for lack of a better phrase)
So let's talk crotch (those of you who aren't into TMI posts, please move on to another blog at this point).

I think it was in October/November of 2008, a mere 9 months or so after I started riding a bike in order to train for triathlon, that I began to feel mucho saddle discomfort.  At this same time, my mileage was slowly increasing.  I pretty much equated the saddle discomfort to being a newbie, but as time passed the discomfort got worse and I realized that being new to the sport no longer applied.

In February of 2009 I attended tri camp and did more mileage in a weekend than I would normally do in 2 weeks.  The left side of my crotch HURT!  I thought that maybe my sit bones were bruised and that time (and possibly a different saddle) would make things better.  Hence, 2009 became my year of 'test out every saddle under the sun' in hopes of finding something that my crotch would be pleased with.

I spent the summer of 2009 preparing for a September half ironman and hence, put in a lot of saddle time.  The accompanying pain was horrendous and combined with the sweltering Florida summer heat & humidity, I came to dread the bike.  I did not want to ride because I knew that the slightest adjustment would cause stabbing pains that would nearly jettison me from my bike.  Even sitting up for a red light created fear.  I would have rather done a 4 hour RUN than a mere 1 hour bike.  Yes, it was that bad.

After every torturous ride I would examine 'down there' with a mirror.  I kept seeing a patch of puffy raw skin and could detect a 'knot' below the surface.  Again, I kept believing that it was just my saddle and that eventually I would find one that worked.  I went through 4 different saddles last summer and endless chamois creme options.  Some were better than others but none cured that spot.

By the time Winter arrived, I was nursing an ITB injury and had basically had enough of triathlon and my saddle issues.  I pretty much took the last half of December and the first part of January off from everything.  My ITB healed, my crotch healed, my vigor for triathlon was restored and I was ready to go.

Back on the saddle.  The first few rides were OK and I thought to myself, "Thank God, I am cured!!!"  The next few rides proved that this was not the case as the area slowly became inflamed again.  Eventually the raw, painful knot was back.

To make a long story short (and the reason for the Cbak)...
I have a cyst.  A cyst that has been neglected for nearly a year and a half and now needs to be surgically removed.  Cysts do not cure themselves; they go up and down in regards to severity of inflammation, but once there, it's there for good until a doc cuts it out or the bravest of souls performs self surgery. It is located on the flat surface where my left leg meets my body, directly to the anatomical left of my hoo-ha.   Ladies, if you can imagine where the seam of your undewear lies, that's the place.  It probably started off with an inflamed hair follicle and because I did nothing about it, my body responded by saying, "Ok, we're just going to case this thing off from the rest of you now.  Deal with the pain."  When inflamed, it is the size of a grape.  When it's not inflamed, I have to press on the skin to feel it, but it's always under there... hidden beneath the surface, just waiting to make me cry.

As long as I find my sweet spot in the aero position on my Adamo, I am in very minimal pain.  If I sit up (i.e, to grab a water bottle off of my hydrotail or from a person at an aid station) without adjusting myself waaay over to the left so that I'm completely off of the cyst, I experience excruciating pain.  I need two hands on the handlebars to perform this adjustment and once adjusted, I need two hands to control the bike because my balance is now completely out of whack.  Hence, there isn't really a safe way for me to raise my right hand to receive a bottle at the aid station.  If I do raise my right hand, I end up drifting sharply to the left (since that is where all of my weight is now) and could easily cause a major disaster if another rider is behind or beside me.

As I see it, I have two choices:  use a road bike which places my 'real' sit bones in contact with the saddle and keeps the cyst out of the way OR wear a Camelbak and stay aero.  Since I have a tri bike sitting out in the garage that could pay my mortgage for 4 months, I'm choosing option #2.  So, I'll be the one out there on the course on the uber-aero P3 machine with the very non-aero Camelbak attached to my back. Be sure to wave 'hi' if you pass me as I'm doing this for your safety. ;-)