Bwick!

I've been a triathlete in training for several months now, but I've never actually submitted myself to doing a brick (bike + run) workout just yet. And, technically, I still haven't. But I'm getting closer.

Today I HAD to take advantage of the beautiful weather. It was a requirement that was written in the stars. I absolutely had to be outside today. Since I just ran on Saturday, the only option was biking. So I hit the bike for 10 miles. Not so much as a peep from my knee; there hasn't been much noise from it lately!

But that wasn't all on the agenda today. I also wanted to get in some water running before class so I headed to the pool with my chlorinated Mizuno's and got to work. So, lets call it a "bwick"!

Judging from the time and his pace, I'm pretty sure I was doing the water running while Bill was tackling the Newton Hills in Boston; I sent him some good thoughts. Once again, not so much as a peep from my knee even after 30 minutes of water running. Right on!

Clock check.

Fifty minutes til class. I'm not tired. I'm in the pool. Conclusion? It's swimming time.

I started swimming, then decided I was feeling good and did 8x50 on a one minute interval (for non swimmers: that means one minute to both swim the 50 and rest). The interval was 5 seconds faster than I did a couple weeks ago, so I'm seeing some improvement. Right on (again)!

All is good in my world for now, even with it being dead week. I get my Garmin back tomorrow. My next run is scheduled for Wednesday; planning 1.5 miles at an easy pace. Will push it to 2 miles this weekend if all goes well.

Pooped

No, Jess. I didn't join your team. (Yeah, I went there!)

But I am pooped after a tough night of workouts. Toughest in a while, but you all know thats how I really enjoy it.

Here's the play by play:

At 6:00 I got out to the YMCA we meet at to ride. The weather was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! Mid 70's. Not a cloud in the sky. A little windy, but nothing to outweigh the perfect weather. I rode 12 miles, practicing a lot with riding with one hand so I can eventually learn to drink while riding. It's a slow process, but I'm making progress! It took every bit of self control I had not to stay out there twice as long.

After that, TNT headed to the pool. Nothing too notable there, but I'm still a bit sore from that mile on Monday. That really kicked me in the butt! I ended up swimming half a mile and stopping because...

It was time to water run! I actually had company this time, which was nice. Another TNT'er, Susan, has a knee injury (skiing accident) and is water running to help build it back up. That lasted about 30 minutes before we called it a night.

All in all that was 2+ hours of working out and although I would have laughed at that a couple months ago, after these past several weeks thats just unheard of!

Hope everybody else is getting to enjoy some great weather! Good luck to Bill, Nitmos & Reid running Boston on Monday, you're gonna ROCK IT!

One Step Closer

Today was the test. The test to see if I'm okay to attempt a run.

It's something my coach is a big fan of: water running. But this time it was different than before. This time it was shallow (as opposed to deep) water running, so I was actually putting a limited amount of impact on my knees while doing it.

I ran back and forth in the shallow end (4 feet deep, I think) doing anything I could come up with. Running forwards, backwards, side stepping, cross stepping, electric slide, you name it! I even mixed in some high knees, butt kicks, and hot coals from when I used to run track. The idea was to work as many muscles as possible in order to strengthen up my legs and get them ready to run.

And... I passed the test. I went 30 minutes without so much as a peep from my knee.

Here's the short term game plan, assuming all goes well:

Wednesday - Bike 10 miles in sunny 70 degree weather
Thursday - Same as Wednesday + water running
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Run around the block S-L-O-W-L-Y
Sunday - Swim

Learning from Past Mistakes

I like to believe life is largely about learning. Every day you learn something new to apply in the future, whether you'll admit it or not. Although, sometimes even the smartest of us are thick skulled and refuse to learn the most basic things, no matter how long they hammer away at our heads.

Remember my hip injury? That hammered away at my head for three months "don't over do it!", "shoulda just taken a few days off!", "don't be afraid to take a short break, to avoid a long one!", "stop picking on your sister!", "don't forget to turn off the oven!"

Okay... maybe it didn't cause all of those, but the first few definitely got drilled into my head. And damnit, I'm going to listen. I do need to realize I'm not invincible. I should just take a few days off if something hurts. Short breaks won't cause the sky to cave in.

Now, you being the smart people that you are, have probably realized I'm talking about this for a reason. A good reason. An inflamed reason.

Stupid right knee.

After this weekend it's been feeling a little bit off, although I didn't want to call it injured until yesterday after my run. I haven't felt any stabbing pain, but something is wrong with it, without a doubt. Something in my knee is inflamed, and I'm not sure how else to describe it. I'm sure you know the feeling.

Rather than push it until it's serious, I'm going to be cautious about it. No running (that caused it), no biking (that irritates it), and no swimming (that, somehow, hurts it). I'm taking a few days off from everything except the activity that comes straight from the bowels of hell. The only activity I would rank as shittier than running on a treadmill. And you know how I feel about running on a treadmill.

Yes, thats right. Water running. It is, undoubtedly, the most boring thing I have ever done in my life. Right down there with watching paint dry. I despise it. I can't even listen to music to make the time go faster, or gauge how much work I'm doing to at least tell me it's worthwhile. It's almost impossible to get my heart rate up, too.

But I'm going to do it, because it's the only thing I CAN do. It does massage my knee. It maintains my range of motion. It doesn't do any damage. It will be worthwhile. I won't have to do it for long, so long as I'm not stupid about anything.

As with all injuries, there has to be a cause. With my hip, it was a matter of having an intensive speed workout followed by a long run two days later. In this case, I have it narrowed down to a few things. First, I got a blister on my right foot (same knee). I've just been running through it, BUT more than likely I've subconsciously changed how I land on my foot to avoid the blister which could cause my knee to move slightly differently.

Second, I ran faster than usual at the 5k this weekend which could easily cause a lot of damage.

Third, my right shoe has a "leak" in it. The sealed area that uses air for cushioning got popped, somehow. It squeaks when it gets wet and is blowing out the air, so I know my right foot doesn't have as much padding as it's used to.

So here's what I'm going to do about it. First, I'm taking a few days off and doing some water running. I'm also doing the RICE routine and trying to let this blister heal. When I start running again, nothing fast. Just low key running with my HR around 150 bpm. If none of that works, I'm going to go buy new shoes even though I'm not due for another 100 miles.

So there's the game plan. Nothing left to do now but execute it!

Oh. And I got into the PhD program today! :)