Short post for this week:
Physical therapy is going rather well. I feel like my glutes are getting stronger and I have gained about 5 pounds since January. I think the large majority of this weight gain is muscle. Normally I would freak out gaining that much weight but I've gotten a lot stronger on the bike and I know it's the muscle gain that's helping me. I have about 3 weeks more PT before I can start running again. Strangely, I don't miss it anymore.
I'm loving my new TT bike and the mental and physical change it has brought on. I feel like I attack my bike rides now and use more power. I also am spending more time in the aero position. Definitely looking forward to doing some racing in the next couple of weeks and testing out how I feel cycling 56 miles after swimming 1.2 miles. After the races, my running can start again and I'll be able to slowly put the pieces of the puzzle together and see if they work.
This has not been the path I ever imagined I would take doing an Ironman. It's very unconventional. Let's see where it takes me.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Week 24: Finally, an answer
This is going to be a long blog this week. It's the story of triathlons for me and how I ended up not being able to run for 5 months. I started training for triathlons in February of last year. I did not have extensive experience in any of the 3 sports but I knew how to do them.
I ramped up my training pretty quickly and found that I excelled at running more than the other two sports. In triathlon, they say to "train your weakness". I did not heed this advice but instead trained my strength of running. My first race was in late April and 2 months later, I was experiencing IT band pain. The IT band runs along the outside of your upper leg between your knee and hip. It can pull on both joints and cause pain that just never goes away. It makes you think you have a bum knee...but you really don't. Typically people suggest using a foam roller or getting graston work done. I imagine this might work for some people and they cure the problem. All it did for me was place a huge band-aid on it so that I could continue to train and race but never solve the problem.
I design homes for a living. So the best example I can give is that if the foundation of your house is caving in, and your entire house is cracking inside, that all the tubes of caulk in the world are not going to solve the problem. Sure, you can caulk the crown over and over but that doesn't stop it from cracking again.
This was the same thing I was doing. I went to a chiropracter, a massage therapist, an acupunturist, used a foam roller, a stick, ice, heat, epsom salt baths, a TENS machine, and just about everything else including vitamins and pain killers. My knee ached continuously. Then I ran 15 miles in Florida in early November and I had ankle and foot pain that made running unbearable. The swelling was so bad they thought I had a stress fracture. After xrays and a bone scan, it was determined I didn't. That doc told me to start running again.
So I ramped up my running until March 20 when I ran 7 miles. The next day all the pain and swelling was back. The wheels fell off the wagon for me at that point. Because I honestly thought I would never run again. That it was all over for me. And I fell into a very very deep depression. I tried to convince myself that cycling and swimming would be enough for me. But I knew they weren't. And I just could not understand why such a common problem was not being solved.
Rest didn't work. Training through it didn't work. The plyometric exercises were not working.
Finally two of my teammates suggested seeing an MD. A sports medicine doctor. Ok, you might think that was the obvious choice 8 months ago. But it just was not the path I took.
Within one hour, he had xrayed my ankle and knee. Determined nothing was wrong with my joints. But that biomechanically, I was a complete mess. My gluteus medius muscles and piriformis muscles were so weak, they did not support me at all while running and my hips, knees, and ankles collapse when I try to run. It's a miracle I ran as long as I did. And as fast.
I started physical therapy immediately and the knee pain I have had for 9 months is now completely gone. My ankle and hips are still sore yet I am sure this too will subside. I have about 6 weeks of PT and then I can start running again.
I kept looking to fix the symptoms, instead of solving the cause. I know better than to do this and I'm not sure why I choose the path I took. It's hard work doing exercises twice a day, PT twice a week, and continue to swim and bike my training schedule. Maybe I was looking for the easy way out. Letting someone else do the work...ie massage, graston, etc are all done by someone else. Not me.
The good I take away from this is that I have become a much better cyclist and swimmer. And I did not quit. And that I do know that no matter how low I may fall, I can pull myself out of it and come back. I am looking forward to rocking the run on my Ironman. I am looking forward to staying healthy and never ever letting it get that bad again. And helping anyone along the way who struggled the same way I did. Because in the end, I would not have made it if it weren't for the help of others.
I ramped up my training pretty quickly and found that I excelled at running more than the other two sports. In triathlon, they say to "train your weakness". I did not heed this advice but instead trained my strength of running. My first race was in late April and 2 months later, I was experiencing IT band pain. The IT band runs along the outside of your upper leg between your knee and hip. It can pull on both joints and cause pain that just never goes away. It makes you think you have a bum knee...but you really don't. Typically people suggest using a foam roller or getting graston work done. I imagine this might work for some people and they cure the problem. All it did for me was place a huge band-aid on it so that I could continue to train and race but never solve the problem.
I design homes for a living. So the best example I can give is that if the foundation of your house is caving in, and your entire house is cracking inside, that all the tubes of caulk in the world are not going to solve the problem. Sure, you can caulk the crown over and over but that doesn't stop it from cracking again.
This was the same thing I was doing. I went to a chiropracter, a massage therapist, an acupunturist, used a foam roller, a stick, ice, heat, epsom salt baths, a TENS machine, and just about everything else including vitamins and pain killers. My knee ached continuously. Then I ran 15 miles in Florida in early November and I had ankle and foot pain that made running unbearable. The swelling was so bad they thought I had a stress fracture. After xrays and a bone scan, it was determined I didn't. That doc told me to start running again.
So I ramped up my running until March 20 when I ran 7 miles. The next day all the pain and swelling was back. The wheels fell off the wagon for me at that point. Because I honestly thought I would never run again. That it was all over for me. And I fell into a very very deep depression. I tried to convince myself that cycling and swimming would be enough for me. But I knew they weren't. And I just could not understand why such a common problem was not being solved.
Rest didn't work. Training through it didn't work. The plyometric exercises were not working.
Finally two of my teammates suggested seeing an MD. A sports medicine doctor. Ok, you might think that was the obvious choice 8 months ago. But it just was not the path I took.
Within one hour, he had xrayed my ankle and knee. Determined nothing was wrong with my joints. But that biomechanically, I was a complete mess. My gluteus medius muscles and piriformis muscles were so weak, they did not support me at all while running and my hips, knees, and ankles collapse when I try to run. It's a miracle I ran as long as I did. And as fast.
I started physical therapy immediately and the knee pain I have had for 9 months is now completely gone. My ankle and hips are still sore yet I am sure this too will subside. I have about 6 weeks of PT and then I can start running again.
I kept looking to fix the symptoms, instead of solving the cause. I know better than to do this and I'm not sure why I choose the path I took. It's hard work doing exercises twice a day, PT twice a week, and continue to swim and bike my training schedule. Maybe I was looking for the easy way out. Letting someone else do the work...ie massage, graston, etc are all done by someone else. Not me.
The good I take away from this is that I have become a much better cyclist and swimmer. And I did not quit. And that I do know that no matter how low I may fall, I can pull myself out of it and come back. I am looking forward to rocking the run on my Ironman. I am looking forward to staying healthy and never ever letting it get that bad again. And helping anyone along the way who struggled the same way I did. Because in the end, I would not have made it if it weren't for the help of others.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Week 23: Time to go back to basics
I missed the post for last week because I was in Florida "previewing" the Gulf Coast Course which is kind of a joke in the sense that I'm doing the swim part of a relay and didn't need to bike or run the rest of the course. But it is good previewing for IMFL. And the swim was quite the eye opener. I never imagined that there would be so much fog that I would be unable to sight. And we stopped so many times that I became seasick. So Gulf Coast really will teach me what IMFL will be like.
With that said, the buoyancy was out of this world. Between the wetsuit and the salt water (and the current), I don't think I was actually swimming. It was more like steering. I wasn't kicking hardly at all. I had to remind myself to kick. And each pull of my arm sent me skyrocketing forwards. It must be what its like to do Augusta 70.3. We were swimming parallel to the beach so if we had been swimming out to sea, it would have been different. I didn't do the 2nd swim but my friends told me that when they reversed direction, it was swimming as hard as they could just to "stand still".
So I'm ready for rough waters, yes it was pretty rough, and FOG. I don't know if I'm ready for 1.2 miles of it but it's coming soon. I'm quite comfortable doing 1.2 miles in a pool or a lake. I'm just wondering what it will be like in the open sea.
Now on to the bike. We decided that riding a bike in aero position with lots of drunk and crazed teens around us was not a good idea. So we drove out to the tail end of the course and did 8.5 mile loops until we got dizzy and decided a 4 mile stretch of freeway would be ok to get to the next 8.5 mile loop of the course. The first one was Pine Log Road and it is NOT smooth sailing. It's ok...just not as perfect as the other road, Steel Mill, was. Steel Mill was like a dream. Florida is flat. It is not false flat like Silver Comet. It is FLAT.
There was a lot of wind but somehow it only bothered me for very short sections. The part on the highway was very fast both ways..kind of weird...how the heck did I go 20 mph both ways? And I was not riding aero. I ended up averaging 16.5 mph for 52 miles. It's the fastest I have ever gone for that distance. But the most interesting part to me is I didn't push. I kept my heart rate at 5-10 beats under LT. I was never breathing hard or really even sweating. Low gear and high cadence and low heart rate. The ride was my favorite part of the weekend.
So why did I name this "back to the basics"? The IMFL course is where I messed up my ankle. It was over 5 months ago. When I was down there and realized it had been 5 months, I knew I had to get my act together and get my ankle fixed. Although I have been to two "doctors", a massage therapist and an acupunturist, I have never been to a REAL doctor. An MD. Tomorrow I go back to the basics and see a Sports Medicine Doctor. I'm going to find out what is wrong. And together we will fix it. I'm not about to give up what I love most doing. There has to be a reason for the pain to continue this long.
With that said, the buoyancy was out of this world. Between the wetsuit and the salt water (and the current), I don't think I was actually swimming. It was more like steering. I wasn't kicking hardly at all. I had to remind myself to kick. And each pull of my arm sent me skyrocketing forwards. It must be what its like to do Augusta 70.3. We were swimming parallel to the beach so if we had been swimming out to sea, it would have been different. I didn't do the 2nd swim but my friends told me that when they reversed direction, it was swimming as hard as they could just to "stand still".
So I'm ready for rough waters, yes it was pretty rough, and FOG. I don't know if I'm ready for 1.2 miles of it but it's coming soon. I'm quite comfortable doing 1.2 miles in a pool or a lake. I'm just wondering what it will be like in the open sea.
Now on to the bike. We decided that riding a bike in aero position with lots of drunk and crazed teens around us was not a good idea. So we drove out to the tail end of the course and did 8.5 mile loops until we got dizzy and decided a 4 mile stretch of freeway would be ok to get to the next 8.5 mile loop of the course. The first one was Pine Log Road and it is NOT smooth sailing. It's ok...just not as perfect as the other road, Steel Mill, was. Steel Mill was like a dream. Florida is flat. It is not false flat like Silver Comet. It is FLAT.
There was a lot of wind but somehow it only bothered me for very short sections. The part on the highway was very fast both ways..kind of weird...how the heck did I go 20 mph both ways? And I was not riding aero. I ended up averaging 16.5 mph for 52 miles. It's the fastest I have ever gone for that distance. But the most interesting part to me is I didn't push. I kept my heart rate at 5-10 beats under LT. I was never breathing hard or really even sweating. Low gear and high cadence and low heart rate. The ride was my favorite part of the weekend.
So why did I name this "back to the basics"? The IMFL course is where I messed up my ankle. It was over 5 months ago. When I was down there and realized it had been 5 months, I knew I had to get my act together and get my ankle fixed. Although I have been to two "doctors", a massage therapist and an acupunturist, I have never been to a REAL doctor. An MD. Tomorrow I go back to the basics and see a Sports Medicine Doctor. I'm going to find out what is wrong. And together we will fix it. I'm not about to give up what I love most doing. There has to be a reason for the pain to continue this long.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Week 21: Pins and needles
I recently said to a friend I'd drink a potion of eye of newt if it made my legs heal. So when a fellow tri-friend suggested I try acupunture, I thought "why not?".
I had been 8 years ago so I went back to the same doctor. He is Chinese and speaks almost no English. His daughter translates for him. I was explaining my woes shen she pulled out a big plastic doll for me to point to. Now I'm thinking...I could just point to the parts of my body where it hurts, but if he wants me to point to the plastic doll, ok.
I have flight or fight sydrome around needles and I will black out if I see one headed my way. So I just laid back and closed my eyes while he put needles in my feet, knees, quads, and hands. Lots of needles. Maybe about 20? Then he wheeled a cart in the room and hooked up electrodes to the needles. At that point I was ok looking down at my body and seeing everything. It looked like a horror movie from my childhood. You know the one where the guy has all of the needles sticking out of his head???
The electricity in my quads had my muscles jumping. It felt ok...no biggie. But when he cranked up the juice to my ankle, I was happy he did understand "NO!". There isn't much meat on your ankles, and that hurt way too much. Turn it down! So he did.
I think I laid there for about 45 minutes. It was quite peaceful. After they took everything off, I touched my ankle and pushed on it. It was no longer painful to the touch but it still hurt when I walked.
Fast forward to today....my it band pain is gone. My hips feel about 75% better. My ankle is not really a whole lot better. BUT I got some things out of it I did not expect. I have been sleeping like a baby since I got it. My brain seems very clear and alert and I can concentrate better. And when I finished my bike ride on Sunday, my muscles hurt. FINALLY, I have MUSCLE pain again instead of joint pain after a ride. Subsequently, my workouts have been better so far this week...I have had a noticable amount more energy.
So I did schedule another visit for this Saturday. Oh yeah...the eye of next? He gave me some weird pills to take and I read the side of the box. I'm pretty sure that was in there. ;)
I had been 8 years ago so I went back to the same doctor. He is Chinese and speaks almost no English. His daughter translates for him. I was explaining my woes shen she pulled out a big plastic doll for me to point to. Now I'm thinking...I could just point to the parts of my body where it hurts, but if he wants me to point to the plastic doll, ok.
I have flight or fight sydrome around needles and I will black out if I see one headed my way. So I just laid back and closed my eyes while he put needles in my feet, knees, quads, and hands. Lots of needles. Maybe about 20? Then he wheeled a cart in the room and hooked up electrodes to the needles. At that point I was ok looking down at my body and seeing everything. It looked like a horror movie from my childhood. You know the one where the guy has all of the needles sticking out of his head???
The electricity in my quads had my muscles jumping. It felt ok...no biggie. But when he cranked up the juice to my ankle, I was happy he did understand "NO!". There isn't much meat on your ankles, and that hurt way too much. Turn it down! So he did.
I think I laid there for about 45 minutes. It was quite peaceful. After they took everything off, I touched my ankle and pushed on it. It was no longer painful to the touch but it still hurt when I walked.
Fast forward to today....my it band pain is gone. My hips feel about 75% better. My ankle is not really a whole lot better. BUT I got some things out of it I did not expect. I have been sleeping like a baby since I got it. My brain seems very clear and alert and I can concentrate better. And when I finished my bike ride on Sunday, my muscles hurt. FINALLY, I have MUSCLE pain again instead of joint pain after a ride. Subsequently, my workouts have been better so far this week...I have had a noticable amount more energy.
So I did schedule another visit for this Saturday. Oh yeah...the eye of next? He gave me some weird pills to take and I read the side of the box. I'm pretty sure that was in there. ;)
Friday, March 25, 2011
Week 20: Back to square one
I can say that pretty much without a doubt week 20 was the lowest week for me so far of the 20. Things seemed to be moving along well...I was running again without pain. Building cycling miles, cycling speed, and loving the swim. Then BOOM, the ankle pain returned again after a very slow 7 mile run on Sunday. No pain at all during the run. It was one of the best runs I have had in such a long time. I was insanely happy as I ran the last 7 miles of one of my best friends in the entire world's marathon. It was so much fun to support him in that way and to celebrate with him and my other friends aftewards.
But by Monday morning I knew something was wrong...and 5 days later, I'm starting to wonder if it's broken. In some ways this pain is more than it was the first time around. So with my first 70.3 only 51 days away, I spent this week in a very low place.
OK-yes I admit I did ALL kinds of things wrong last year. But I honestly thought I had corrected them and have been so happy lately that the IT band pain is almost 100% gone. My hip pain is almost gone...my core is so strong and my general fitness improved. My quads have grown probably an inch bigger around from all the cycling and although that isn't what I intended, at least they are providing me strength on the bike and the run.
But a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. And the tendons along the inside of my left ankle weren't ready. And now they are very angry. And I have no idea how to heal them or what to do except let them rest for awhile which means I will DNF my REV3. I still want to swim and bike it. I just won't run and walking isn't an option because it's too far and will probably irritate my leg.
I did spend the greater part of 4 days feeling very sorry for myself. But I got it together last night and headed to the pool. It's exactly what I needed to do. To drown my sorrows in chlorinated pool water instead of alcohol. :)
And to develop, once again, a new plan of action for my future. My friend, Zach, said his father in law goes to an acupunturist. It's actually something I believe in..and believe it helps. So I made an appointment for tomorrow to see if it can help me too. I'll continue to work on my swim and my bike. I MIGHT, and yes I said MIGHT, sign up for an aquabike"thon".
I love running. It just does not LOVE me back right now. One day it will again. I can wait.
But by Monday morning I knew something was wrong...and 5 days later, I'm starting to wonder if it's broken. In some ways this pain is more than it was the first time around. So with my first 70.3 only 51 days away, I spent this week in a very low place.
OK-yes I admit I did ALL kinds of things wrong last year. But I honestly thought I had corrected them and have been so happy lately that the IT band pain is almost 100% gone. My hip pain is almost gone...my core is so strong and my general fitness improved. My quads have grown probably an inch bigger around from all the cycling and although that isn't what I intended, at least they are providing me strength on the bike and the run.
But a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. And the tendons along the inside of my left ankle weren't ready. And now they are very angry. And I have no idea how to heal them or what to do except let them rest for awhile which means I will DNF my REV3. I still want to swim and bike it. I just won't run and walking isn't an option because it's too far and will probably irritate my leg.
I did spend the greater part of 4 days feeling very sorry for myself. But I got it together last night and headed to the pool. It's exactly what I needed to do. To drown my sorrows in chlorinated pool water instead of alcohol. :)
And to develop, once again, a new plan of action for my future. My friend, Zach, said his father in law goes to an acupunturist. It's actually something I believe in..and believe it helps. So I made an appointment for tomorrow to see if it can help me too. I'll continue to work on my swim and my bike. I MIGHT, and yes I said MIGHT, sign up for an aquabike"thon".
I love running. It just does not LOVE me back right now. One day it will again. I can wait.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Week 19: 60 days until my first 70.3
So a big number hit me today. My first half ironman distance race is 60 days away. Until now, I've felt no pressure, no nerves, nothing. And today is different. I'm starting to feel it in the pit of my stomach.
Strangely enough I'm ready for what I thought I wouldn't be, and I'm not ready for what my strength was. I'm sure I can comfortably swim 1.2 miles now. I've done it several times without a break and it feels really good. I'm also good with 56 miles on the bike. I'm not going to say GREAT, just good. I can do it. I can do it if it's 40 degrees out and windy to the point of me screaming and cussing on the bike. I can do it if it's hilly with cars flying by me or if it's super hot with broken up pavement. Speaking of that, I haven't changed a flat yet so maybe I should practice that, right?
I'm only up to 5 miles now running and using the 10% rule, I'll be to about 11 miles by May 15. Since I have run the 13.1 distance many times, I'm ok with coming up a little short in training.
What I'm NOT ready for is putting these 3 together. Not yet ready I should say because I damn well will be on May 15. I don't know HOW I'm going to get there...but I will be ready. And there may be a little bit of "suck it up buttercup" in 60 days. But I wouldn't have it any other way. ;)
Strangely enough I'm ready for what I thought I wouldn't be, and I'm not ready for what my strength was. I'm sure I can comfortably swim 1.2 miles now. I've done it several times without a break and it feels really good. I'm also good with 56 miles on the bike. I'm not going to say GREAT, just good. I can do it. I can do it if it's 40 degrees out and windy to the point of me screaming and cussing on the bike. I can do it if it's hilly with cars flying by me or if it's super hot with broken up pavement. Speaking of that, I haven't changed a flat yet so maybe I should practice that, right?
I'm only up to 5 miles now running and using the 10% rule, I'll be to about 11 miles by May 15. Since I have run the 13.1 distance many times, I'm ok with coming up a little short in training.
What I'm NOT ready for is putting these 3 together. Not yet ready I should say because I damn well will be on May 15. I don't know HOW I'm going to get there...but I will be ready. And there may be a little bit of "suck it up buttercup" in 60 days. But I wouldn't have it any other way. ;)
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Week 18: I love to swim
Swimming with an Olympian:
Last Saturday I had the honor to meet and be coached by Sheila Taormina who won a Gold Medal in the 1996 Olympics in the 200 Freestyle Relay. Sometimes an elite athlete is an incredible athlete but not a good coach. Sheila is both. I wasn’t looking for an easy fix. I was looking for someone to tell me what I was doing wrong and what Olympic swimmers do right. Ok, you might think, Patti…there is a HUGE gap between you and an Olympic swimmer. And of course I agree. But they know something I don’t know that I want to know.
I went to the clinic having read Sheila’s book: Call the Suit. It’s a reference to a card game where you get to call the suit or let your opponent do it for you. Sheila said she always calls the suit. Never let your opponent do that for you. In card games, in swimming, and in life. It’s a valuable lesson that I’m ready to apply in my life.
I also went there knowing that my head position, my foot position, my breathing etc etc had little to do with why I wasn’t swimming well. I knew that it was my pull but I just didn’t know how to fix it. Or what it should look like. OR more importantly, what it should FEEL like. Because you can’t really look at yourself while you are swimming. But if you discover what it “feels” like to be swimming with power, with force, with a feel for the water, then you know when you are off or when you are on.
I spent last year in misery when I swam. I hated every single Monday night practice. I even wrote to a sports psychologist when I found myself CRYING on the pool deck after each practice. I wanted to quit. Triathlons were only slightly better because I was anonymous during the swim and people didn’t know me and there was always someone slower than me….and I knew if I could just hold out for the run, I’d be happy.
Then enters INJURY. IT band issues, ankle issues, shin issues. And by the end of last year, I wasn’t allowed to bike or run so I had to swim. And so I began to let go of my frustration with swimming but I wasn’t any better at it. Until that is, Maria Thrash of Dynamo videotaped me and gave me advice on what to do. That was the beginning of me understanding what I was doing wrong.
Sheila’s instruction took it to a whole new level. I have only swam twice since her course on Saturday but I was smiling the entire time I was swimming. Seriously SMILING. Last night when I swam alone, I was humming and singing to myself while swimming I was so happy. There were parts that felt like I had a tailwind like you have on a bike and instead of me pulling through the water, I was being pushed.
You can ask my friend Jeannine, who I told last year that I was ready to quit triathlon, just how miserable I was. I was going to do duathlons. And I’m so happy I held on. I can now feel better that I had to stop running. So I could be a better swimmer. And find something that I love to do so much.
Am I a ton faster? No, I’m slightly faster. But as Sheila says, and as I know in my heart, life happens in very small steps. It’s happens when every single day you work towards a goal. You don’t get to sit back, do nothing, and then take a huge leap. And I’m excited that between now and November 5, I’ll get to take a lot of small steps. In the end, they’ll add up to 2.4 miles of swimming. And you can be certain, I’ll be smiling at the fish in the Gulf of Mexico while I’m taking them.
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