Update, and...Inspired

It's been five days since my unplanned meeting with the road. I only used my crutch for a couple of hours before I got tired of it (and the swelling in my right knee diminished).

My knees both feel pretty good now, but my left wrist still hurts. I'm still wearing the wrist brace.

There's still a little swelling and some bruising on the wrist. I can pull with my left hand, but any pushing or leaning on the hand hurts quite a bit.

As you can see, my right knee is still slightly swollen and a little bruised:

My bike, thankfully, came away with very little damage. I picked it up from the shop on Sunday, having to pay only $28 for spoke straightening and wheel trueing.

I halfway thought about taking a short test spin today, but I was feeling a little under the weather and my wrist is still a little too sore. I may give it try on Wednesday.

On to my recent inspiration. I had an old Mill Creek Running & Multi-Sport Club friend, Dan, from the Seattle area stay with us over the weekend. He was competing in the Troika Half Ironman Triathlon. The race took place on Saturday in Medical Lake, WA. There were also some other friends racing (Garrett, Kenny and Sherry), so my cheering duties were plentiful.

Dan, finishing in 4:56, 13th overall, 3rd AG

Dan was first competitor out of the water, which was both surprising and NOT surprising. He's been an elite level swimmer for a long time (he may not agree with my assessment, but that's the truth), who's also a very strong runner and a very quickly improving cyclist. I used to train with him frequently (although at a slower pace) when I lived on the West side. It was his first time going sub-5 hours in a half ironman, and his first non-Ironman distance triathlon in 3 years.

Garrett, finishing in 5:02:45, 3rd in AG

 Garrett is another very talented friend from my old running & multi-sport club on the West side. He's quite a bit younger and a type-1 diabetic (which doesn't seem to slow him down at all). I ran the Ragnar Relay with him back in 2010 (we were in the same van) and enjoyed getting to know him a little. He had an incredible bike leg at Troika (2:29:48 for 56.7 miles)!

Kenny, finishing in 5:55 in his 2nd half ironman. A 49 minute PR!

Kenny is a fairly new friend who I met through our church, where he co-leads worship (and I play bass with him & the team). He's a super-positive guy with whom I've cycled a couple of times (with more rides to come) and have enjoyed seeing him improve rapidly as a multi-sport athlete. I have no doubt that he'll crush this year's time next year.

It's nearly impossible for me to attend an event like this and not be inspired. I've kicked around the idea of doing a triathlon for several years now, but have never really committed to it. Assuming I can get this knee taken care of and back into running shape, I'll probably set a triathlon in my sights so I'll have a goal. If I can run again, I doubt I'll ever be "just" a runner. I think my body has made it clear that I need to continue cross training in order to avoid overuse injuries. Unfortunately, triathlon is a very expensive sport, so that will come into play. But I at least need to take a shot at a sprint or Olympic distance tri, once I'm able to run again (assuming I will...and I'm very hopeful).

But until then, it's time to become a beast on the bike!

Dan and I enjoying a celebratory beverage