There's so many books and articles nowadays stressing that Triathletes must not only concentrate on our swim, bike, and run, but also, the 4th element of Recovery. Which is apparently the mode I will be in from now until possibly the end of this season. The diagnosis is "calf strain", which doesn't sound so bad, but after reading pages upon pages of information and blogs, it would appear that being unable to walk the first 9 days after the strain puts me in the category of a "bad" strain which doesn't really have a timeline associated and instead is "TBD by MD".
I am finally able to walk without a limp today, for the first time, but I also haven't walked very far either (Sunday I woke up thinking my limp wasn't so bad so I attempted to walk a half mile... the limp came back with a vengeance). I am able to swim, but not far or fast without the pain coming back, even if I'm just pulling, for some reason the calf just tenses up... I have yet to attempt the bike, perhaps this weekend, but again, it won't be far or fast... like most triathletes, I seem to have this addiction to hard workouts and an aversion to "resting" or doing everything in recovery mode. I suppose I'll have to get over it. Seems like it's going to be this way for the foreseeable future... could always be worse though, right? Maybe I'll even actually get some schoolwork done in the meantime if I'm not training ~2 hours a day...
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Military Champs (aka Last Race of the Season) Race Report
To continue where I left off... I didn't end up going to Eagleman for the Aquavelo, and instead spent the day out on my friend Liz's boat with our other friend Colette. Turned out to be a pretty awesome day, the only real downside being the loss of the $200+ entry fee for the race. Unfortunately, my "A" race, the Armed Forces Triathlon, was coming up in 2 weeks and it looked like I might not be able to run. Since the pain didn't abate much over the next 2 weeks, I actually only did one short 1.25 mi easy run, just to make sure I could still run, a few days before the race and that was it.
So how did the race go?
Bottom line: I think my tri season is over. Here's the race report:
Swim - 2 loop course with a run around a bouy on the sand, water was ~60, face and feet were frozen. Drafted the 1st lap, but unfortunately chose someone a bit slower than me, tried to speed up a bit on the 2nd lap but wasn't able to find someone to draft and ended up coming out a bit further back than I'd hoped, but still with some of the faster girls, so overall swim wasn't too bad.
Bike - 4 loop course, flat and windy - The girl I was hoping to ride with got thru transition a bit quicker, and I had issues mounting my bike and got a bit behind, but managed to catch up with a small pack of 4. Unfortunately they were too slow so I felt the need to drop them. Rode by myself for a full lap, then on the next lap saw 2 girls behind me working together so I slowed a bit and worked with them. Lost 1 girl along the way, the other girl was Canadian and since this was only a practice race for them, she was kind enough to take longer pulls. Overall felt pretty good on the bike and did pretty well on that leg and was told I was 5th overall (not counting the Canadian - they raced with us but were scored separate) at the end of that leg.
Run - 2 loop course, mostly flat and windy. Tried to moderate my pace to keep my calf from tightening up. One girl passed me on the first mile, which put me in 6th, and I needed to be 6th to go to Switzerland for Worlds. During the 2nd loop I heard a girl behind me and was trying to hold her off. She passed me and I attempted to pick up the pace. At that point something snapped like a rubberband. My right calf cramped up as though I had a major charlie horse (oddly enough, it was the left one that was hurting me more prior to the race). Faced with the prospect that my season was most likely over the moment I heard something go "pop", I managed to force myself to finish, albeit at a pretty slow pace (it must have been pure adrenaline seeing as how I can't even walk right now)... on the bright side I think I still came out Top 10 overall, and the Air Force women's team won.
After the race a doctor examined me and said that my achilles wasn't fully torn but she thinks I tore some of the fibers. I iced my calf and went to the clinic and got crutches. Currently I can't walk (or drive, yikes, not sure what I'm going to do about that) and my calf hurts like crazy. Not sure how long I'll be out for, but at this point I'm thinking my season is over.... and I don't particularly trust military healthcare to do what is necessary for me to get well...
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
So, before almost every race I seem to have a minor meltdown. Last night it was when I realized I had to quickly learn how to change a cassette (Pete talked me through it over the phone, but that was difficult as well, especially since my stupid phone kept suddenly losing it's signal and cutting out) which ended up taking over an hour, precious time that I would have preferred to use sleeping or perhaps putting speed laces in my running shoes, which I forgot to do...
The race went as well as could be expected, I was leading at the end of the bike, and surprisingly had enough of a lead that I made it out of transition first despite the fact that I had to put on socks and shoes and actually tie my laces (thanks to the stupid calf injury, I'm currently unable to run in my racing flats). I managed to hold the lead through the first mile, but as I began the second, my calf became tighter and tighter... I ended getting passed by not 1 but 2 women. But 3rd isn't so bad, that really isn't the worst part, the worst part is that I have my A race coming up in 2 weeks and I have no idea what state my stupid calves will be in by then. Although I did slow down, the competitor in me just wouldn't slow down to the point of no pain lest I lose my "Top 3" spot. So I plowed on, pleading with my calf to just make it to the end without completely locking up and forcing me to stop altogether. I did make it to the end, slightly limping, and held onto 3rd.
Which now brings me to my subject line, should I stay or should I go? I paid alot of money to do the Eagleman Aquavelo. Actually, almost a year ago, before I knew I would even have this issue, I paid for the entire event. Not wanting to completely cancel, I asked to switch to the Aquavelo, since the run was the only issue. But now that I really overdid it, it hurt just to push down the pedals for my easy half mile spin from transition back to my house... so do I drive 3.5 hours (7 RT) and attempt to race? Or do I blow it off to rest, hopefully recover, and maybe actually get some of my "To Do" list accomplished (who am I kidding, I'll spend most of the day on the boat tomorrow if I stay). Should I stay or should I go?
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Two Tri
I have not one, but two races coming up this weekend. First a local tri that literally runs right past my house (as in the run course is less than 50 ft from my backyard), and then Eagleman, which I was originally supposed to do as a 70.3, but now am just doing the aquavelo due to nagging calf injuries. I'm hoping to be able to do the 8k at the end of the race on Saturday... I was appearing to make some progress with my run, and even got up to 7 miles, but then I attempted to add in a little "race pace" work (I did at least manage to win the base 5k in the process) and appear to have set myself back. How far back, I'm not sure.
In the past I always had knee pain when I ran (well, at least ever since I had to get those stupid anthrax shots), and when I did IM Cozumel in 2010, I had not only knee but also IT band pain. I decided it was time to change my running style to one that would supposedly prevent injury. As I was a heel striker, I attempted to force myself to use a more efficient mid-foot strike with a higher cadence. Unfortunately, what I didn't know then, and have only recently found out about, is that a large number of folks who tried to change their stride are apparently suffering from similar injuries.
It's too late to go back to my old stride at this point, the new one is pretty ingrained, but to all you heel strikers, if you don't have any pain, my advice would be if it ain't broke, don't fix it... although I was having knee pain so it appears to be a trade off in my case. My hope for future heel-strike turned mid-foot runners is that someone will come up with a specific regimen which includes exercises for your calf and Achilles to allow folks to strengthen those areas first before attempting to change up their stride...
I have a few days to rest between now and Saturday, fingers crossed that I'm healed enough to make it through the run at a decent pace!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Intro
I've finally decided to boldly go where so many have already gone before me and create a blog, partially about me, well, ok, mostly about me, but while I can't promise to always be funny, witty, and informative, I do hope to make this a collection full of links to other funny witty and informative things...
So, about me, in a nutshell... since the main focus is multisport, we'll start there... it all began at age 4, when my parents put me on the Sea Hawks swim team... I was more of a mascot really, barely making it down the pool, but I still remember the raucous cheers as I would finally doggy paddle my way to the end. Fast forward to age 8, turns out I sucked at just about every sport my parents tried to put me in, gymnastics, ballet, soccer, softball, and, well, any sport with a ball really, I was just really ... not good at any of them. Being that I was hyperactive, they had to find something to keep me focused, or maybe entertained, or maybe just out of their hair, but whatever the reason, I began my swimming "career" at that point. Fast forward to age 12, I finally got my 1st AA time in swimming, and finally didn't suck at something! Fast forward to age 16, after hours and hours and hours in the pool, swimming 9 practices per week (that means sometimes twice a day) I was pretty burnt out. 16 is right about the age where you have to really start focusing if you want to make the team in college. Instead, my focus waned, but this is where the multisport comes in, I started running track and cross country. While I wasn't great, I was decent, and the 2nd fastest female distance runner at my high school.
In college I did manage to walk on to the swim team my freshman year, but the next year I got cut. So I quit swimming for the time being and ended up running most days since I was an ROTC cadet and it was part of our Physical Training (PT) regimen. Once again, I was the 2nd fastest female in the program. My senior year I did go to one meeting for the JMU triathlon club, but as I did not have a bike, I never did actually join or start training with them. Fast forward a few more years, somewhere around age 24, I had started swimming again and was still running and as a member of the Army National Guard, and I applied to be on the Army Reserve Pentathlon team. The Reserve pentathlon was a bit different than the one you see in the Olympics, no horses or fencing. The 5 events consisted of Rifle shooting, Pistol shooting, a Land Obstacle Course, Water Obstacle course, and Orienteering (running around in the woods with a map and compass looking for points). I made the team, headed to Ft. Sam and had an awesome time training for 3 weeks, and headed up to Vermont to compete against the Canadian team, but we didn't actually get to go to Greece for the World competition as there was a terrorist threat. Being that I wasn't the most awesome shooter when it came to pistol, I wouldn't have made the team that went to Greece anyway. The next year my evil Battalion Commander wouldn't let me go to the competition, and never did give me a reason other that "I just don't feel you should go", and thus ended my short stint in Military Pentathlon.
In the meantime, Triathlon was growing more and more popular and became an Olympic sport. I was interested, and wanted to try one, but there was still that issue of not having a bike. Why didn't I go out and buy one you ask? It's complicated, but mostly had to do with the fact that my ex-husband controlled the finances. Fortunately, he's now an ex. Ladies don't ever let this happen to you! So many years wasted...
Fast forward several years, to age 30. Divorced (i.e. free) and able to control my own destiny, I was in a masters swim program, that like many nowadays, had a fair number of triathletes. I marveled at those that had done an Ironman, a whole Ironman! While 2.4 miles of swimming isn't much of a challenge for someone who spent most of their life as a swimmer, but I couldn't imagine riding an entire 112 miles, and then running a marathon! I told them they were crazy and I'd never do one... never say never. One of the 2 Ironwomen I met had a bike she was looking to sell, so I bought it from her at the very next practice and started training. Fortunately, within that next year I ran into one of my old high school friends who just happened to manage a bike shop (which is also how I met my current husband http://peteridesbikes.blogspot.com/) and with a little help from him and the folks in the DC Tri Club I was on my way!
I can still recall how at my first sprint Tri, I watched the folks doing the Olympic distance and though, OMG, I can't believe they are going twice as far! They're crazy! Funny how your perception of "far" changes between that first sprint and your first ironman... since that first sprint, I can't even recall how many sprint and oly distance races I've done. With only 1 Ironman and 4 half IMs, I can count those on 1 hand. I suspect I will one day lose track of the 70.3 distance races as well, but I still haven't forgotten the pain of the Ironman, and that was 2 years ago! Not sure anyone ever loses track of the number of those...
I recall the first Sprint Tri I ever won, the Dewey Beach Tri, back in 2008. How I miss that race. Unfortunately, it always seems to fall on drill weekend. While I've improved since then, the number of speedy women seems to increase tenfold every year. To date, that is still my only overall win. I've won my age group many times, and I've come in Top 3 overall on a few occasions, but that remains the only Tri I could say I was first overall. I was a member of the DC Tri Club Elite Team in 2010 and a member of the Air Force (I switched branches of the military in 2004) Triathlon team in 2010 and 2011 (still waiting to hear back but I think I made it this year as well). I'm currently a member of the Bike Doctor cycling team as well, although much like my early swimming days, I seem to be more like a mascot, as the only woman currently racing on the team (although there is one other who may make her comeback this summer :).
So far so good this season, but it's still early. I got 2nd in my Category (ok, it's Cat 4 which is the lowest one) at the Dismal Dash 40K TT and went a personal best time. Then I got 1st Cat 4 in the 12mi Conquer the Canal TT, and 1st Cat 4 at the Langley Criterium. I've done one Tri so far, the Chasing Chickens Sprint Tri, and was the 3rd overall female. Oh, and I did a 5k run on base and got 1st, but seeing as how that was just a fun run and wasn't a chip timed event, I'm not sure that one counts :) Thanks to my coach Ken Lundgren http://www.eliteendurance.com/About.aspx for putting up with me so far this season, let's hope I've followed his plan closely enough to produce some more good results!
More to come....
So, about me, in a nutshell... since the main focus is multisport, we'll start there... it all began at age 4, when my parents put me on the Sea Hawks swim team... I was more of a mascot really, barely making it down the pool, but I still remember the raucous cheers as I would finally doggy paddle my way to the end. Fast forward to age 8, turns out I sucked at just about every sport my parents tried to put me in, gymnastics, ballet, soccer, softball, and, well, any sport with a ball really, I was just really ... not good at any of them. Being that I was hyperactive, they had to find something to keep me focused, or maybe entertained, or maybe just out of their hair, but whatever the reason, I began my swimming "career" at that point. Fast forward to age 12, I finally got my 1st AA time in swimming, and finally didn't suck at something! Fast forward to age 16, after hours and hours and hours in the pool, swimming 9 practices per week (that means sometimes twice a day) I was pretty burnt out. 16 is right about the age where you have to really start focusing if you want to make the team in college. Instead, my focus waned, but this is where the multisport comes in, I started running track and cross country. While I wasn't great, I was decent, and the 2nd fastest female distance runner at my high school.
In college I did manage to walk on to the swim team my freshman year, but the next year I got cut. So I quit swimming for the time being and ended up running most days since I was an ROTC cadet and it was part of our Physical Training (PT) regimen. Once again, I was the 2nd fastest female in the program. My senior year I did go to one meeting for the JMU triathlon club, but as I did not have a bike, I never did actually join or start training with them. Fast forward a few more years, somewhere around age 24, I had started swimming again and was still running and as a member of the Army National Guard, and I applied to be on the Army Reserve Pentathlon team. The Reserve pentathlon was a bit different than the one you see in the Olympics, no horses or fencing. The 5 events consisted of Rifle shooting, Pistol shooting, a Land Obstacle Course, Water Obstacle course, and Orienteering (running around in the woods with a map and compass looking for points). I made the team, headed to Ft. Sam and had an awesome time training for 3 weeks, and headed up to Vermont to compete against the Canadian team, but we didn't actually get to go to Greece for the World competition as there was a terrorist threat. Being that I wasn't the most awesome shooter when it came to pistol, I wouldn't have made the team that went to Greece anyway. The next year my evil Battalion Commander wouldn't let me go to the competition, and never did give me a reason other that "I just don't feel you should go", and thus ended my short stint in Military Pentathlon.
In the meantime, Triathlon was growing more and more popular and became an Olympic sport. I was interested, and wanted to try one, but there was still that issue of not having a bike. Why didn't I go out and buy one you ask? It's complicated, but mostly had to do with the fact that my ex-husband controlled the finances. Fortunately, he's now an ex. Ladies don't ever let this happen to you! So many years wasted...
Fast forward several years, to age 30. Divorced (i.e. free) and able to control my own destiny, I was in a masters swim program, that like many nowadays, had a fair number of triathletes. I marveled at those that had done an Ironman, a whole Ironman! While 2.4 miles of swimming isn't much of a challenge for someone who spent most of their life as a swimmer, but I couldn't imagine riding an entire 112 miles, and then running a marathon! I told them they were crazy and I'd never do one... never say never. One of the 2 Ironwomen I met had a bike she was looking to sell, so I bought it from her at the very next practice and started training. Fortunately, within that next year I ran into one of my old high school friends who just happened to manage a bike shop (which is also how I met my current husband http://peteridesbikes.blogspot.com/) and with a little help from him and the folks in the DC Tri Club I was on my way!
I can still recall how at my first sprint Tri, I watched the folks doing the Olympic distance and though, OMG, I can't believe they are going twice as far! They're crazy! Funny how your perception of "far" changes between that first sprint and your first ironman... since that first sprint, I can't even recall how many sprint and oly distance races I've done. With only 1 Ironman and 4 half IMs, I can count those on 1 hand. I suspect I will one day lose track of the 70.3 distance races as well, but I still haven't forgotten the pain of the Ironman, and that was 2 years ago! Not sure anyone ever loses track of the number of those...
I recall the first Sprint Tri I ever won, the Dewey Beach Tri, back in 2008. How I miss that race. Unfortunately, it always seems to fall on drill weekend. While I've improved since then, the number of speedy women seems to increase tenfold every year. To date, that is still my only overall win. I've won my age group many times, and I've come in Top 3 overall on a few occasions, but that remains the only Tri I could say I was first overall. I was a member of the DC Tri Club Elite Team in 2010 and a member of the Air Force (I switched branches of the military in 2004) Triathlon team in 2010 and 2011 (still waiting to hear back but I think I made it this year as well). I'm currently a member of the Bike Doctor cycling team as well, although much like my early swimming days, I seem to be more like a mascot, as the only woman currently racing on the team (although there is one other who may make her comeback this summer :).
So far so good this season, but it's still early. I got 2nd in my Category (ok, it's Cat 4 which is the lowest one) at the Dismal Dash 40K TT and went a personal best time. Then I got 1st Cat 4 in the 12mi Conquer the Canal TT, and 1st Cat 4 at the Langley Criterium. I've done one Tri so far, the Chasing Chickens Sprint Tri, and was the 3rd overall female. Oh, and I did a 5k run on base and got 1st, but seeing as how that was just a fun run and wasn't a chip timed event, I'm not sure that one counts :) Thanks to my coach Ken Lundgren http://www.eliteendurance.com/About.aspx for putting up with me so far this season, let's hope I've followed his plan closely enough to produce some more good results!
More to come....
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