Triathlon Training? Really?

Even while my body fights me all the way, I've decided to finally take a shot at a triathlon. It'll be a sprint tri, so I can limit my run training out of necessity.

My current training plan has me swimming, running and cycling twice per week each. I haven't stuck to that plan very well so far this year, but I'm not far off. Thanks to a particularly hard winter so far, all training has been done indoors...which has been quite boring.

I re-joined the local YMCA, which is where I've been swimming and running (on the treadmill). I have my old road bike set up on my trainer at home, so that's where I "ride."

I'm not a fast swimmer, but my endurance is improving. My always troublesome left knee is a little quirky still, but the combination of my Hokas and the treadmill seem to be acceptable, so far. We'll see how it feels once I hit the roads (and/or run in other shoes).

The triathlon is on May 20th, so I have plenty of time to prepare (and to see if I can continue running). I already purchased my tri kit, and it's just a tad small. Bought it on sale (70% off!) and can't exchange it, so I have more motivation to lose a couple of inches around my waist.

The open water swim portion of the race seems intimidating to me, having never really done an open water swim. I hope to get a wetsuit long enough before the race so I can test-drive it in a local lake.

And, having only taken it out three times before the snow hit, I'm eager to put some outdoor miles on my new Cervelo R3!

Through the first 5 weeks of 2017, here are my modest training totals:

Swims: 6 @ 13,250 yds
Trainer rides: 12 @ 158 mi
Runs: 5 @ 17 mi

Not much, but I hope to ramp up as I improve.

Happy training, y'all!

Um...About That Last Post...

Crow Eaters Unite!

I guess I made my bed, now I'm eating crow in it. Or some such mixed metaphor.

Remember that "I'm retiring from running" post I put up back in July? Yeah, let's just forget about that. For now, anyway. Why? Well, I started "running" again about 3 1/2 weeks ago. I was curious to see how my surgically repaired hip was doing. I did a couple of run-walks with my dog. They felt pretty good. I moved up to complete runs (however short) and kept them pretty slow. The left knee started to hurt again, which has been an issue for a few years now. I saw my hip surgeon for a follow-up on the hip, and mentioned my knee to him. A different doctor had done an MRI on my knee a year ago, so he had to go look it up. He said there was no structural damage (cartilage and knee cap look fine), but there's some edema (fluid buildup). He gave me a cortisone shot, and said he could scope the knee before the end of the year if the shot doesn't help. I've since done two runs. Monday of this week, I ran 2.5 miles, and the knee felt a little better. Today, I ran 4 miles at 9:15 pace. I felt a dull ache in the knee as opposed to the sharp pain I usually felt. Although, my hip ached a bit after the run. Maybe I won't start increasing the distance nor the pace for a while.

But, I guess I'm "resurrecting" my running once again. I've lost count how many times this is.

One reason I'm trying to get back to some running is that I really want to do a triathlon next year, even if it's just a sprint. I finally bought a new bike this week — a 2016 Cervélo R3. It's a very nice bike, probably better than I deserve. This was to be my Christmas present last year, but plans changed after I tore my right bicep tendon, which required surgery (and paying a huge deductible).

But, the delayed gratification was worth it. Here's my new baby:

Let's hope this bike is crash-proof. Not sure the rider will be...

I also want to start swimming again soon. Haven't done that for about 5 years!

So, that's the story and I'm sticking to it. Until I do my Brett Favre impression and retire yet again ;-)

Onward, my friends!

Hip Update

Well, it has been confirmed that I do have a labral tear in my right hip. The cause is likely from the top of my femur having a very slight bump in it, and over the years it has pinched that cartilage and torn it.

I will need to have surgery, but after meeting with the specialist, I've decided to put it off for the time being. After my recent broken arm, I'm not exactly ready financially nor mentally to go through that process again. The recovery and PT involved just doesn't appeal to me right now. The doc said that I should be fine, as long as I don't put it off for too long. Otherwise, it'll lead to arthritis and, possibly, a full hip replacement. Tentatively, I'm thinking about getting it done this fall. In the meantime, I can get a cortisone injection if/when it bothers me too much. I'm hoping to train for a triathlon or two, so we'll see if that becomes necessary due to my training.

With that said, I'm planning on heading out for my first run since I broke my treadmill over a month ago. I can tell that my left knee is still an issue, so hopefully the pain won't be too bad.

Maybe I should get that cortisone shot in my left knee instead...?

ADDENDUM: I did have surgery on my right hip on August 18th, 2016...which is the one year anniversary of my first surgery, on my broken left arm. It was a sweet way to bookend my 3 surgeries.

Scolded...A Little

I just returned from my latest visit with my sports medicine doctor. I told him that I've been having a little soreness in my heel and Achilles; kind of a dull, burning ache, off and on the last few weeks (more on than off lately). I gave him my run/walk report: three per week, with the longest being 3 miles (only once...but there have been a couple of two-mile jaunts). He recommended that I back off to 1.5 mile jaunts and hold steady there until the pain diminishes. It's the old routine of "doctor, it hurts when I do this..." with a reply of "well, don't do that." He asked if it had bothered me like this before I started the run/walk sessions a few weeks ago. No, it didn't.

So, when I told him of my tentative plan to do a sprint triathlon late this summer, he was a bit skeptical of the idea, saying that my heel will be fatigued coming off the bike and into a 5k run. I also admitted that I have so far been unable to participate in a race "just for fun" (with exception of pacing my daughter) without pushing it. With that said, I'll be playing it by ear (heel) to see if I'm relatively pain-free and able to bust out a 5k (with maybe a couple of brick workouts in training) before I commit to any triathlons.

However, I'm good to go with cycling and swimming, so at least I can build my aerobic fitness and be more ready when I'm good to run more.

Thus, 2011 looks to be a rehab and recovery year, with 2012 hopefully being a rebuilding year, with a return to competition. I still hold out hope that I can race to some small degree later this year, but not at the expense of delaying progress or re-injuring myself.

To end on a positive note, my 6th grade daughter continues to improve her running. For those of you I'm not "friends" with on Facebook, she brought her mile time down from 9:06 last October to 7:49 yesterday at track practice. She said she wasn't even going all-out. She was excited about it (as was I), and this should continue to build her confidence. She has her first and only track meet next Friday (6th graders only get to compete in one meet). Should be a fun time!

Whisky Dick Triathlon Pics

Yours truly, applauding the first swimmers out of the water, waiting for Dave...who wasn't far behind the leaders.

Yes, I know I have a 1992 helmet. I'm a nerd.

Dave coming out of the water.

In T-1, getting ready to ride.

Over the timing mat, then on the bike and up the hill. And up. And up.

Coming into T-2.

I was very wobbly at this point. Both glutes had cramped and I had trouble running with the bike.

Arthur getting ready for the run leg.

I was in a bit of a daze here, so Arthur took off my timing chip himself and placed it on his leg before heading out for the run. And to further my nerdiness, I forgot to remove my rear light before the race (unnecessary added weight). Hey, you never know when a full-blown solar eclipse is going to hit.

Arthur with a strong finish.

Official Race Results Posted

The official results from yesterday's Whisky Dick Triathlon have been posted. Here's the scoop:

Total finishers: 107
Our finish: 2:58:14; 23rd overall; 2 of 5 in Men's Team division
Swim leg (Dave): 24:09; 13 of 107 overall; 2 of 5 in Men's Team div.
Bike leg (me): 1:52:25; 49 of 107 overall; 3 of 5 in Men's Team div.
Run leg (Arthur): 40:26; 8 of 107 overall; 2 of 5 in Men's Team div.
Our transitions: T1 - 44 sec; T2 - 29 sec.

Here were the fastest times for the solo athletes (reminder: 1 mi swim, 28 mi bike, 10k run):
Overall: Ryan Brown (m, 34): 2:27:45
Swim: Alysia Hill (f, 21): 20:59
Bike: Ryan Brown (m, 34): 1:23:13
Run: Nick Johnson (m, 23): 38:53

This morning, I got out for my first run of August. Just an easy 4.5 miler at an 8:41 pace. It felt good to run again. My hams/glutes are still really sore, so I think I just strained them while biking up the hill yesterday. Fortunately, they weren't an issue while running.

I just realized that the Spokane Half Marathon is only two months from tomorrow! I've got my work cut out for me. I'm really looking forward to both training for it and running it, though.

Race Results

When you have a triathlon that has become legendary for the difficulty of its bike course, with the first 12 of its 28 miles being unrelentingly uphill, with a persistent headwind nearly the entire course, and you have a total noob who has never raced on a bicycle in his life, who happens to be a runner, volunteering to do the bike leg as a part of a team, you have to wonder about the guy's sanity. How's that for a run-on sentence?

Earlier today (August 9th) my teammates and I (dubbed "Three Dads-a-Sweatin') raced the Whisky Dick Triathlon in Ellensburg, WA. It was my first triathlon and first time racing on a bike. I'll give the final results first, then break down the individual legs, along with some detail.
Distances were: 1 mile swim, 28 mile bike, 10k run. We finished in 2:58:14, placing 2nd of 5 in the Men's Team division, and 23rd overall, among both teams and individuals, out of 107 finishers. Our splits were:
Swim (David): 24:09 (13th overall)
Bike (yours truly): 1:52:25 (49th overall)
Run (Arthur): 40:28 (8th overall)
T1 was 44 seconds, T2 was about 29

David (my brother-in-law) was amazing! He was out of the water much quicker than I expected. Not being a swimmer myself, I don't really have a reference for his time as it relates to a 1-mile open-water swim...but I know it's fast. He was a freestyle sprinter in high school and was a bit concerned about pacing himself. Obviously there was nothing to be concerned about!

After getting the timing chip from Dave and onto my ankle, I took off on the bike and tried to pace myself the first few miles. For some reason, I had trouble regulating my breathing. A little of it was probably adrenaline, a little was just the toughness of the hill (the first 12 miles are uphill).
At about mile 5.5, the grade became so steep that I had to drop into my bottom chain ring...which I NEVER used in my training rides. That was one flaw in my training. Since the hills I was training on during my repeats were relatively short, I could stay in the low gear of my middle chain ring and be fine. I did that as long as possible today, but if I hadn't dropped down, I knew I would have bonked big-time. So I shifted. The chain didn't budge. It just made a grinding noise as it rattled against the derailleur. I tried to force the issue and off came the chain. That smooth move cost me about 2-3 minutes. Had to hop off and get it back on the low ring THREE times before it finally stayed. Once that was done, my legs rebounded just a bit and my breathing came more under control, but the hill just kicked my butt. There were long sections where I could only average 9-10 mph. And once I finally crested the hill, the headwind kicked my butt some more. My rough goal was to crest the 12-mile hill in 60 minutes. It took me 63, for an ugly 11.4 mph average. I did manage an average of 19.6 mph the last 16 miles...but even then I was passed several times. For the last 10 miles or so, I fought an ever-tightening left glute muscle. I could tell I was losing some power on my left side as a result. Maybe it was caused by the hill climb, maybe from not ingesting enough electrolytes and sodium. Whatever the cause, I was truly humbled out there.

When I pulled into the transition and got off to run, I was incredibly wobbly. That's when BOTH glutes cramped up. Arthur took the timing chip off of me himself and got out of the transition quickly, while I racked my bike and fought my locked-up glutes. I went to high-school with Arthur and ran track and x-country with him. The last few years, he's gotten heavily into ultra-running, placing 7th in last year's Cascade Crest 100 mile trail race (which he'll be running in again later this month). A 10k is short for him, so to knock out a 40 minute split was impressive & my hat's off to him.

And with that said, I'll say this - our placing was really a credit to our swimmer and runner. I had a pretty rough go of it out on the bike. Yes, I can use the excuse that I've never raced on a bike, I'm really a runner, there was the hill, the wind, yadda yadda, but I know I could have trained more effectively. I got lured away from the bike back in June to train for and run a little 5k race...which I honestly enjoyed, but I know it set me back on the bike.

I almost feel a little guilty for saying this, but I'm glad to officially be "off the bike" and getting into my half marathon training. I've REALLY missed running the last few weeks.

Bike Training is Complete

Did an "easy" 20 mile ride today. "Easy" is in quotes because I can tell I'm right on the edge of overtraining and really need a break. Hopefully I didn't overstep so much that I'll still have dead legs by Sunday. I've got 3 days to rest up before the race. I totaled up my cycling mileage so far this year and here it is: 719 miles on the road, plus the equivalent of 366 on the trainer. Not that much by cycling standards, but a good bit of that was pretty hard training (and...hey...I'm a runner!). Now it's time to sit and wait...then leave it all out on the course on Sunday morning.

Last Hard Ride

This morning I did my final hard bike ride before the Whisky Dick triathlon next Sunday. 26.4 miles, including 16.5 miles of hard hill repeats (12 total). This is the third time I've done this ride in as many weeks, and I wish I could say it felt easier. Today, for some reason, it felt pretty frickin' hard! My legs might be a little spent after Friday's run/hike in the mountains and Saturday's hard interval ride...both of which felt great. I'm actually looking forward to an easy 20-miler (or so) on Wednesday, then nothing until the race. Right now, a taper sounds great, but I know I'll be getting antsy a couple of days before the race and second-guessing my preparation & fitness level. Don't most of us do that? Having never raced on a bike before, I have no real time goal. I can't really go by my training times, since this course starts off with a 12-mile uphill section. I guess my goal would be to survive the hill and race the rest. My teammates (David Dick and Arthur Martineau) will be well prepared, so unless I suck the gas pipe, we may have a shot at placing well in the team category. Should be fun.

Oh, one other bit of trivia - I finally hit 40 mph on my bike on this particular training route (downhill, of course). I always try to hit that every time on one particular hill, but before today I could only reach 39.5. So that was kind of cool.

Anyway, after the race, I'll (happily) transition back to running. I'll be training for a September 10k and an October half-marathon. I'm really itching to run again! It'll probably take a week or two to get my running legs back.