My Triathlon Adventure

Yes, race number 5.   What happened to 3 and 4?  Well, I was away on business for 3, and had a bum knee for 4.  My knee is still bothering me, but I wasn’t going to miss the last Wheelere YMCA triathlon for anything.  It was a full sprint race so I wanted to give it my all.

Pre-Race

The morning was pretty normal.  We got there pretty early and I wasn’t nervous at all until I got in the car.  My wife and sister-in-law were doing the race with me.   We walk around a bit saying hi to everyone and trying to shake the nerves.  I thought for sure that I was going to be fine in terms of nerves, but it still got to me even after all these races.

Anyway, after all these months it was great to compete with the same great people we started with.  We headed to the finish line and caught the end of the first and most competitive wave.  Those guys killed it and it was great to see them leaving it all on the course.  After a bit of high-fiving we headed to the pool to setup our transition area and get ready for our start.

Swim

During the last race I was too excited and took off quickly.  It wasn’t long before I burned out.  Leading up to this race I had practiced pacing myself.  I can now slow down when I get a bit tired to allow myself the opportunity to catch my breath.  As I stood in the pool waiting for the start I focused on the task at hand and repeated, “slow down” over and over in my head.  Before I knew it the race was on.  I took off at a quick pace but immediately slowed down.  I felt good, things were working out well.  It didn’t take long for me to get in the groove.  I had 18 laps and I figured it would be 20-22 minutes worth of swimming before I was done.  I made sure not to stop on either side of the pool to catch my breath.  I just wanted to keep going.  I did manage to stop twice during the swim though.  The both times were because I had lost track of what lap I was on and had to do a little mental checklist.  For most of the swim I just kept running the lap number through my head.  Once in a while I would think of something and have to recount.  In the end things worked out pretty well.  I’m happy to say that I did the entire 18 laps without losing form.  I got out of the pool before anyone in my wave, and I had plenty of energy left.  For the first time, I was incredibly happy with my swim.

T1

No issues this time.  My shoes and socks were ready to go and I was in and out of transition in a no time.

Cycling

Unlike last time, I ran into the spin room and setup my bike before getting on.  I spun like a demon and also unlike last time, I felt really really good. I knocked out the 13 miles before I even knew it. As I reached the end of the bike my knees felt fine. I was really nervous about the run. I have the knee trouble when I run with no other exercise. To try to run now after fatiguing my legs with the bike was an unknown.

T2

I spun down and jumped off the bike. My legs were dead so I started slow but by the time I got to the door I was running at a slow clip. Things felt good.

Run

I decided ahead of time that I wasn’t going to concern myself with the run. I would do what I had to do. I managed to run about a mile before things got weird in my leg in the slightest. Shortly after the mile mark I decided to walk. I walked down the first small hill and then started running again. I wasn’t winded at all and I really wanted to run. The last 600 yards or so before the turn around are downhill. By the time I got there my knee was saying hello. I made sure to walk the downhill. I turned around and run up the same hill and another 400 yards before encountering a long downhill slope. There was no way I was going to chance that run. I walked down that hill as the rest of the wave ran up it. I passed my wife, my sister-in-law and everyone else. I felt like a loser walking past them, but I knew it was the right thing to do for my long term health.

Once I got to the bottom of the hill I started running. I must have been running pretty well because I started to get winded. My knee was holding up pretty well actually, although it did still feel tight and a little sore. Instead of being slowed by my knee, I was actually getting winded from the run! I considered walking, just for a minute. Then I saw a guy come running out of his house. He was just starting his run.

I watched him just maybe a block or so ahead of me. I thought nothing of it, except…all of a sudden I realized that I was gaining on him. Those competitive juices started to flow. The thought that I had just swum 1/2 a mile, biked 13, and ran nearly 3 and I was still catching this guy on fresh legs made me run faster. He was oblivious to the fact that he was racing with me, but who cares.

I blasted past him and never looked back. I ran right to the finish without even feeling tired. I cross the line then jogged back to catch my wife. I ran her back to the finish and was happy that everything was done. My knee felt ok. I was thrilled! I had completed my first sprint triathlon and I didn’t feel half as tired as I did after the first short tri.

Times

Swim: 20:03 (1/2 mile)

T1: 5:36 (I think this was miscounted which explains why my bike time was best overall)

Bike: 23:34 (13 miles (I think at least 4 minutes from T1 should be in here)

T2: 0:15

Run: 34:02 (3.1 Miles)

Total: 1:22:30

Place:  24/41  (up 7 places from last race)

I have a race this weekend. It is a full sprint. It is the last YMCA indoor triathlon. The swim will be in the pool, the biking will be on a spin bike, and the running will be outside. I’m looking forward to it, and the good news is that I am bound to PR it since it is my first sprint. Yay!!

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I went to an orthopedic doctor yesterday.  He was very thorough and really seemed to know what he was doing. He also feels that my injury isn’t serious. He said I needed to strengthen my ankles and glutes, and who knows what else. He has me off of running for about a month while I get some therapy to correct what’s wrong. He does say it is ok to compete in the tri this weekend as long as I don’t push it on the run.

He wants me to cross train in the meantime with a focus on biking swimming and even rowing.

Last night I went for a swim, the first in weeks. I did 4×250 at a medium pace with one minute rests. I managed to swim them in 20:42 including several stops to fix my goggles which kept leaking. I was pretty happy with it. During the last set I got so into the groove that I think I could have gone forever. I’m pretty happy with that performance considering how long I’ve been out of the pool. I plan on getting another swim in before the tri and maybe a bike or two on the trainer.

I’m not expecting much this Sunday, but I am going to enjoy the race since it is the last one for at least a couple of months. I’m a little sad about having to cut back on races and training, but I am trying to keep the long term in perspective. I will have plenty of time to race, and it’s much more important to get healthy right now before I really mess something up.

I read this article today, in the New York Times about an ultramarathoner.  He runs massive races of 100 miles or more.  He’s been doing it for 15 years.  The feat is amazing just for those facts alone.  With my current injury the only thing I could think of was, wow, how is he not injured?  I need to do what he’s doing.

I’m not sure I’m ready to be a vegan, but I doubt that’s what’s keeping his knees from giving up.

I tried running again tonight and there was no joy.  The tape that the physical therapist applied to my knee kind of stretched or slipped or something during the day so it just wasn’t holding me in place.  I tried to tape it on my own, but the tape I used wasn’t flexible so it came apart really quickly.   Needless to say it didn’t take long before my knee tightened up and I was walking home.  I was so frustrated I was nearly in tears.  I can’t believe that this is happening to me right now.  I was doing so well, running 6 miles plus without so much as a sore muscle,  and now I can’t even run a mile without tightness and pain.

I really feel like maybe my tri adventure is coming to an end.  It’s been a month and I am not even making progress.  I don’t even know what to do now.  I’m broken.

Last Thursday, and last night’s runs ended more or less the same.  My knee tightened about a mile into the run, and last night, for the first time in weeks, I actually felt some pain in my knee.

I went to physical therapy this morning and it looks like I might have to go to an orthopedic doctor to have it looked at.  The therapist gave me a couple of more exercises and she also taped my knee cap over a bit.  I’ll try running again tonight and see if the taping helps.  I’m really discouraged.  I want to be back to where I was and it just seems like I’m making no progress.

I had my first run in a long time last night.  I wanted to test out my knee.  I ran 1.75 miles and I ran it pretty hard, at least for me,  maybe I shouldn’t have, and I made it about a block from home before I started feeling tightness in my knee.

I ran at a sub 9:00/mile pace.   When I run with my heart rate monitor I average about 11:30’s or so if I stay in zone 2.  So I was running pretty hard.  I ran the entire way, and I still had a lot left in the tank.  That really surprised me because I did a walk jog thing the other day on the same path, and I was winded really quickly.  I thought that I had lost a ton of fitness, but I guess I must have just had an off day.

This run, although better than I have done in weeks, was discouraging.  I don’t understand what is happening with my knee.  This morning it looks a little puffy, but other than that it feels ok.  Sometimes it feels like I am never going to be able to run again.  I contemplated giving it up this morning.  It’s really discouraging.  I want to be back where I was before I was hurt.  I was so excited to be running, now it just sucks that I can’t.