2010!!

This year has gotten off to a crazy start.

Having signed up for an early season IRONMAN in St. George, Utah, I really had to kick it into gear early this year after taking a couple months off in the fall. Thanks again for warning me about the torture of 5+ hour trainer rides in prep for these early races Chad. ::shaking head::

Last season ended up on a disappointing note. After finishing my first IRONMAN in Lake Placid on July 26th in a disappointing 12:54, I began my focus towards the Finger Lakes Triathlon. First I had to endure physical therapy twice a week for my right IT band that flared up during the marathon of Placid.

The Finger Lakes Tri didn't go as hoped. I had plans of going in and winning the race, but due to my lack of run training (I had only run 9.3 miles in the 2 months leading up to the race due to my IT band,) and falling into an overall post ironman funk, I was only able to manage an 18th overall and a win in my age group. It was tough to gauge where the other athletes were due to the wave starts... so although i crossed the line 2nd, i was bumped down time after time as the athletes crossed.

I decided to take some time off and actually, the last time (before this week) that i was on my bike outside was on October 14th. Crazy. I continued to go to PT twice a week and only recently i was able to cut down to once a week and now it's down to once every other week.

Things started to really ramp up after the new year, really focusing on my running more than anything. I feel like my run fitness is at a point far above last year already, so i'm really looking forward to the late season races!

The long hours have taken their toll on me though.... after work every day it's hard to find the time and motivation to train 20 hours a week as well. Fortunately i've been lucky enough to have great friends like Matty Mo and Chad to torture me, whether it's at CrossFit / Boot Camp sessions or epic swim sets. I'm looking forward to later in the season when we put those long bike sessions on the docket.

One of the more memorable sessions we had was a Saturday morning 7am Top Gun Boot Camp and Club One. After an hour and a half of craziness (which was made harder by the fact i had been boozing the night before,) Matty decided that it was a great idea to do a set in the pool as well. It was the closest to feeling like death i've been this season.

Oh... and lets not forget a swim session with Matty Mo when we were supposed to do 100 yard repeats at an "easy" pace. The first 100 was done in 6:56... NOT an easy pace. With his massive 6' 4" frame i swear he has an easier time going faster than i do! We continued to descend for a few sets and then he decided "lets go sub 7 by just pulling."

These are the types of people I train with and who make me better every day.

So now we're coming down to just about a month until St. George. Hotel booked. Plane tickets purchased. Training in progress.

I'm feeling a little worn out and fatigued at the moment but hopefully all the hard work will pay of in the end. I feel like I need to really prove to myself what i'm capable of after last years weak performance at Placid.

No walking the marathon for me this year.

TheDam Tri Race Recap (a month later.)

So yeah... i've been rather slacking on posting here to say the least, and i know i've said "oh, i SWEAR i'll be better," but things just come up and training, sleep, and eating more often than not take priority.  Sorry :(

Anyways... here is the race recap from the first tri of the season that i did!  I originally wrote this in an email to my coach so i apologize if its a weird read.

"The knee felt pretty great DURING the race, but afterwards, hurt like crazy.  I iced all day sunday and yesterday, and today it's actually feeling alright.  I'm excited to train again tonight.

 

As for the race:

 

I couldnt get to sleep until around 2am, and then had my alarm set for 4:45 in order to get ready, load up, and drive the hour and a half to the race site.  On the way there, of course it started to rain... so THEN i was anxious about the bike because i planned on hammering the entire time, and with not being familiar with the course and the roads being wet, i was scared to wreck and damage my bike / chances at ironman.

 

Got there, had to check in and set up... and then had to wait a couple hours to actually start.  My wave started at 9:45, but it started late so it was more like 10 when we actually set off.

 

Warmed up a bit before the swim and felt really good and fast in the water.  I was able to get out in front at the swim and got clean water after about a minute.  I have to work on my sighting a bit because i definitely had to slow down and almost stop mid stroke to lift my head and see if i was on line.  Came out of the water 3rd or 4th in a time just around 6 minutes for .25 miles.  Towards the end i definitely felt stronger as is the case with my workouts too since it takes me about that long to get acclimated and properly warmed up at race speed.

 

The run from the beach to the T1 area was up a long hill and seemed like forever.  My T1 time was the fastest of the day and managed to get out on the bike first despite coming out of the water behind others.  Opted to go shirtless, already had my shoes on my bike, and got into them as i was coasting after mounting the bike.  Luckily the skies cleared and the roads dried up!

 

The first part of the bike was all uphill.  I stayed in the saddle for all of the ride except one particularly steep section that i had to stand and pump for.  No body passed me on the bike and i stayed aero the entire time i was pedaling (minus the one uphill.)  My legs were feeling pretty tore up from the session on saturday and i knew my run wouldnt be as good as possible, so i just tried to get as big of a lead as i could on the bike and then hold it through the run.  My max speed was 47mph and my average i believe was around 21 which was good enough for one of the top 3 best times of the day... and i ended up coming into T2 first off the bike.

 

The organizers werent ready for me to come in, so i had to dodge pedestrians and cars on the way into transition which lost me a little time.  When i threw my bike on the rack and started out of T2, i forgot to put my bib belt on... so i had to turn around after i had left transition, put it on, and head out again... i lost at least 1:30 and a lot of energy here.

 

The run was mostly wooded and trail running... felt pretty good after a mile and i was running defensively.  I didnt know what it was like to be the hunted until then, so because my legs werent as strong as they have been in the past, i made it my goal not to let anyone get to close or pass me.  I ended up coming in with a 5k time just over 20 minutes, broke the tape, and beat the 2nd place winner by about 30 seconds... his 5k time was 17 minutes, so with my slow time and the mistake, i nearly lost the lead i built on the bike. 

 

It was amazing.  Breaking the tape, the applause, the announcer, the newspaper interviews... until they realized a wave started 5 minutes behind me.  When a racer from that wave finished 3 minutes later and complained that he won, my first place turned into a 2nd Overall. 

 

I guess i can't be too upset considering i've been dealing with a knee problem, i was pretty beat from the intervals on saturday, not rested at all, i made a big mistake and dogged the run.  I know that rested and healthy (and if i knew there was another wave after me,) i could have lopped off 3 minutes and taken the race in under an hour.  Next year!

 

So thats the race recap.  There are some pictures on my facebook page i posted, and on www.thedamtri.com along with the results if you're interested.

 

As for training this weekend, I'm heading back to new york on thursday and wont have access to a pool, BUT i WILL have access to a glorious lake and i plan on giving the wetsuit a whirl for the first time.  is there any way i could do constant swimming for an hour or so this weekend (if you have it planned) rather than specific yardage and drills since i wont be able to do those in a lake?

 

If i decide to go out and do a couple extra workouts since the area where my parents live is perfect for cycling, swimming, and running, can i just go out and do them (as long as im not too crazy?)"

It was a great experience, i met a lot of cool guys, and i can't wait to do it again next year!

Back After A Not So Brief Break.

So I'm back into training hard for the first time in a while. 

It took about a month of getting acclimated to the work schedule and getting my workouts in around my 10 hour work day, but I finally figured it out and am making it work.

To keep it brief, I'm swimming 5 times a week, 3,000 - 4,000 yards a session, cycling on my trainer, long rides on the weekends and at the gym when I can (they have have a race simulator... it's awesome,) and yesterday I ran for the first time since early December.  My knee felt great but like with my ankle injury, I'm a bit hesitant and my calf started hurting towards the end.

It made me realize that my fitness level dropped a lot in the time i took off... and it's tough not being able to do what i used to.  It's like starting over.  I HATE starting over.

Anyways... now that I'm back in the swing of things, i'll be updating more often!

The Good News Is...

... the MRI results came back negative showing i don't have a torn meniscus.  Although this is a relief in some respects, i kind of wish it would have come back positive so that at least we would have been able to tell what the hell is causing this pain!

Now... for the bad news.

Monday during my swim workout i tweaked my back somehow, and as a result, not only is my back very sore, but i also have a pinched nerve which is causing an immense pain from my right lower back all throughout my quad and down to just above my knee.  The only thing i can really liken it to is a sunburn.  That kind of ache / pain to the touch.  Went to the hospital this morning to get an xray on my lower back to make sure nothing is fractured or seriously out of place.  Hopefully i can get into the chiropractor tomorrow and she will straighten everything out and that will relieve the pain in my back AND right leg.

Now the REALLY bad news.

I have a left and right inguinal hernia... which is not only painful, but more likely than not requires surgery to fix.  Essentially for those who don't know, its when the layer of muscle gets torn or separates and the fatty tissue / digestive tract organs come through the gap.  Tomorrow, in addition to hopefully seeing the chiropractor, i have an appointment with the surgeon to weigh my options.  

If i do have the procedure, it is a quick 45 minute thing, walk out the same day after they fix the tear, and i can return to "normal" daily activities almost immediately.  Unfortunately, the definition of "normal" for me includes cycling, swimming, lifting, and running (when my body will let me.)  This is NOT the definition for a doctor.  Essentially, i'll be out of serious training commission for up to 6 weeks... which in the grand scheme of things isn't too bad since i was planning on taking off from running until the mid - end of march anyways.

So this is the biggest setback thus far.  I could deal with not being able to run for a bit, but to not be able to train AT ALL... it's going to be nothing short of torture.  If i can't work out for a couple days as it is, i go into a funk and feel like garbage.  I can't even imagine what this is going to be like.

Ah, Life.

When there are interesting things going on and my training ramps up I promise that my posts will come more often... but until then, once in a while will have to suffice.

So I'm still relatively laid up from the Philadelphia Marathon, although my knee feels exponentially better than it did prior to the cortisone shot.  This could be from taking nearly two months off from running... but I like to attribute it to the drugs.  Mmmm, drugs.

I went to my orthopedic surgeon on Tuesday to get my knee checked out again.  It just aches and my "calf pull" hasn't gotten better.  After 2 months, usually tissue and muscular damage begins to heal, so he has an inkling that its something more serious.  His guess at the moment is that I have a torn or partially torn meniscus, but pending an MRI (which will hopefully be done tomorrow) lets not jump to any conclusions.

However, if that is the case, I would have to go in for out patient surgery.  3 small incisions, get the knee scoped and cleaned out, crutches for 3-4 days, then PT for up to 6 weeks.  Seeing as I was planning on taking it easy and not running until March again anyways... this is absolutely perfect as far as timing is concerned.

So other than that, I've started taking spinning classes which I have yet to get the hang of.  The workouts we do and the duration is too easy for me.  I'm not sure that I appropriately put the right "weight" on the wheel seeing as I'm not that knackered after an hour... whereas the majority of the group is on the verge of passing out.  On off days (or when all the bikes are taken up at the gym, as they were on Monday) I cycle here at home with a movie in front of me.  Not too bad of a deal.

Masters swimming continues to be the highlight of my training at the moment.  Every day I look forward to hanging out with the team for that hour or two.  It's always a great work out, but to actually have people to train with means a lot more to me.  Which leads me into my next bit of news...

I'm going to be sad to leave them next weekend.  I finally move down to Pittsburgh where I got a job as an assistant buyer and American Eagle Corporate.  The job starts February 9th, but I can move into my flat on the 1st.  Good thing is, the masters program down there is top notch, they have great coaches, the Pitt cycling team go on rides on nearly a daily basis when the weather breaks, and there's never a shortage of people who run.  Not to mention, if I get injured (which unfortunately more likely than not,) UPMC has great facilities that can help me out.

On top of it all, I committed to a few new races:

1.  February 15, 2009 - Canandaigua Masters Swim Meet

- not unlike the past meets.  swimming the 50 free, 100 free, 50 breast, and most likely the 200 free and medley relays.

2.  July 11, 2009 - USMS 2 Mile Open Water National Championship

- here in Canandaigua Lake, I figured I've cycled 100 miles at a clip, I've run marathons, now it's time to swim 2 miles non-stop to get ready for Ironman (which is 2 weeks after.)

3.  July 18, 2009 - Mini Musselman Triathlon

- in Geneva, New York, this event and the half Iron that takes place the following day draws a huge amateur and professional crowd.  i decided that i would go in and not push myself too much and use it as a tune up for the Ironman which is the following weekend.

4.  September 12, 2009 - 100k Dances with Dirt in Hell Relay

- in Hell, Michigan, it's a relay with 3-4 other people.  i'm not sure the numbers yet, but it should be the most interesting race i will have participated in.  no roads.  through rivers, up hills... crazy.

5.  September 20, 2009 - Finger Lakes Triathlon

- love this race.  this year i'm in it to win my age group if not overall.

So thats all for now.  We'll see what materializes from the MRI.

Milestone.

Finally went over 1,000 miles cycling.

Trainer and Race Results.

Hopped on the trainer for a while again tonight while watching the 1992 Ironman World Championships.  I gotta say... my knee is feeling a lot better after being loosened up by cycling.

Now don't worry, I'm still going to stick to the "no running until March" plan just to make sure I don't do any serious damage... but this is a turn for the better, finally!

Also, I finally updated my results page with my Philadelphia Marathon time and my times for the past two swim meets.