Experior's Group, Take Two -- CLOSED (Page 10)

Hey everyone.  Thanks for the well wishes.  I'm a little banged up, but basically fine.  I will definitely be racing!  I've been thinking about this race since January!

I spent the morning at the bike shop and they were super-helpful.  Everything appears to be in working order now.

We leave for the race (we're making it a family weekend as Charleston has lots to do) this afternoon.  Time to pack...

My race motto is the same as my race 'strategy':  sub-5 or bust!

Have a great weekend everyone.  I believe Mike (Stone Cutter) has his half marathon this weekend -- send him speedy thoughts!

Michael,

I, too, am glad that you are ok and pumped for this weekend's race.  I hope you meet your goal and don't meet any more idiots before (or after) your race.

Mike - Good luck to you too!

I'm looking forward to reading the race reports on Monday.

- Mark

I've bagged the half due to shin splints. I have run once in the past three weeks (that was last weekend's 5K).

Michael,

Whoa! Man, I've been away from the computer and just checked in and read about the accident. I'm glad you're alright. That sure was a close call. It still makes me a little nervous knowing I'm on the same road with 2000lb + vehicles with crazy drivers. Hope the goes great. I'm expecting another #1 finish!

Good news. Picked up my new bike. A Cannondale Synapse 5. I can't  wait to take it out for a ride. Funny story, my wife when with me to pick it up. Guess what? I came home with TWO bikes! Kinda blew my budget since I had two buy TWO of everything........shoes, helments, and everything else. Oh, and a bike rack for the car.

Phil

Glad all is well Michael...Hate to hear stories like that. My bigest fear right now is riding my bike with these idiots behind the wheel. Good luck tomorrow.

Good luck to all the racers this weekend.  Can't wait to hear the race reports. 

Long ride tomorrow 2.5 hours long. 

It was raining most of the day here in MS. I rode the trainer this morning but 86'ed it after only 30 minutes. I decided to get a little running outside. I did 8 miles at a comfortable 8 minutes per mile pace. As soon as I got home I got a message to met out at the lake for a little bit of open water swimming. We swam for less than a mile but it was a lot of fun.

I got talked into going to a triathlon tomorrow with a bunch of people. I am not registered and this will be my first race to attend where I am not competing. I will be taking a lot of photographs.

I think that I will have a good time!

I was able to take the new bike out today. It was a lot of fun. First time using clipless pedals. Wonderful invention! Now if I can only remember to unclip when I stop. lol Nasty case of road rash on my left knee after a couple of tumbles. I finally realized why cyclist shave there legs. Not looking forward to removing the bandaid. : O

Phil

BUST!    Finished in 5:12 and change.

I just couldn't run.  I got of the bike with more than 1:45 cushion for the run, which should be a walk in the park, but after less than 1/2 mile someone was stabbing knives into my hip.  That accident the other day must have been worse than I thought.

Next attempt will be next fall!

Race report here.

Mike, sorry to hear about the shin splints, but honestly you are smarter than I am.  I should have bagged it on the run.

Phil, glad to hear you like the new bike.  Yes, clipless pedals are a very wonderful thing, even if learning to use them does involve a few tumbles.  (I had my share as well, including one at a stoplight in 5:00 traffic.  I had a big audience for that one, and it definitely happened in slow motion!)

Hey Michael,

No doubt you are disappointed with your finish time, especially given the primary reason for it was the accident when you really were well prepared otherwise.  On the plus side, it sounds like you had an excellent swim, maybe even a breakthrough swim (and a pretty good bike ride).  Given how much you've worked on your swim, that's got to feel like a great accomplishment.  5 will come... it's all there.  Rest up and recover for now and we'll look forward to celebrating with you in the Fall.

-Stu 

Well, folks, things have taken a turn for the worse.  My hip is in serious pain this morning, as in, 'can I walk to the car?' pain.   I made it to the kitchen, and a cup of coffee didn't help it, so I'm headed to the doctor.   Wish me luck...

Thanks.  Yeah, breakthrough swim and unable to run is about what it takes to put my swim and run placings on a par! 

Which says as much about your typical run as about your weekend swim!  I would take you "unable to run" time in a tri anytime.  Hope all goes well at the doctor's and it is just a matter of rest.

Michael,

I know you wanted to break 5 hours, but your achievement under the circumstances (several lingering injuries, including a big one that only manifested during the race) is rather impressive.  It's clear that if you weren't hobbling through a half marathon on a bum hip you'd have gone well under 5 hours.  Kudos to you for your determination and effort.

We already have far too many people on the DL...we've got no room for you. Hope you recover quickly.

Phil, I'm glad you are enjoying your new bike - it looks like a really sweet ride.  You'll get used to the clipless pedals....there isn't a cyclist out there who hasn't fallen over on his/her first clipless ride.

Stu, what's on tap for you this week now that you're in the final push to next weekend's HIM? 

Hope you all have a nice start to the week.

Way to tough out a race! You will kill it in the fall!

From my blog:

Back home after a long morning schlepping from one Dr's office to another, finally resulting in an X-ray followed by a CT scan.

The good news:  I probably didn't make it much worse by racing.  As one doctor put it, though, I sure could have -- actually I think he was implying 'should have', that I was being reckless by racing, etc., but that would be poor bedside manners, no?  Instead, when I told him what I had done, he just said "You did WHAT??"  So I guess racing was the wrong call.  But honestly, although it hurt, it didn't hurt that badly (until this morning).

The bad news:  I have a fracture in my pelvis.  Specifically the 'illiac wing' (the part that sort of looks like a wing) has a small crack.  I'm now restricted to my bed except when nature calls, and no weight on it for at least a few days.

Dr. says no surgery required (whew!) and that it should heal quickly.  He says a lot of blood flows to that part of the pelvis.  I should be able to try an easy swim or pool running next week, and then we take it from there.

Oh my!!!  Given the pain you had in the race while running I guess we shouldn't be to surprised; however to not have it while biking and swimming seems odd.  Take care of yourself Michael and heal up properly and don't come back too fast.

I don't want to perpetuate the thought we should all do what you did or even recommend it, but the determination and dedication to finish the race with that going on inside your body (eventhough you didn't know it at the time because I am sure if you did know you wouldn't have raced) is real inspiring.

Take Care Micheal and keep us updated on how you are feeling.

Thanks.  Yeah, it was only the impact that hurt.  Over the weekend, it took an actual running stride to feel it, but now any sort of impact (even from just walking) is pretty painful.

The doctor was optimistic, and I'm pretty much an incurable optimist, so put those two things together and I'm looking forward to a quick recovery.  I'm already scheming a way to do stretch-cord 'swimming' in bed!

On a different topic, I'm curious:  how many of us have spouses or SOs who took up some form of exercise as well?  I ask because my wife just recently started running after, like me, a pretty inactive adult life.  She is already addicted to it after a few weeks, and I am so proud of her that I could just burst.  (I think I started this thread so that I could say that 'out loud'.)  I never once suggested that she should give it a try (because that would have guaranteed that it never happened!), which has made it all the sweeter that she has taken it up on her own.

OK!
Michael- I'm really sorry to hear about your accident. I'm more sorry to hear about the fracture. Rest and heal fully.
Last summer I had a truck driver pulling a well digger intentionally push me off the road. He yelled out the window at me that the next time he saw me, he'd be sure to crush me.

5:12 with a fractured pelvic bone is damn impressive!

I'm still in recovery mode. Progressing toward running very slowly. I'm now taking a fast pace walk every morning with the dog. And, the other day I hit 25 minutes on the elliptical.

In reference to the pool running questions and comments: don't like pool running- but it's better than nothing.

Good job for your wife!

My husband is a casual runner. He rarely enters a 5k. He did 2 tri's with me, but he hates the swim, so I don't think he'll do any more.

Yay for your wife!  And I've got to go along with the rest of the crew on here that 5:12 with a fracture is heroic, if a little crazy :-)  So glad to hear you'll be back at it again in no time.

I think I mentioned about my first 5K being followed by the ambulance... well, that wasn't quite accurate, actually my wife and I were being followed by the ambulance.  That was pretty much the extent of her racing career.  But she does do the elliptical from time to time and she's trying to get me to go to her yoga class on Weds (which I will do... I think it will be very beneficial).  However, I think my daughter is going to give a 5K a shot later this month... which I'm bursting with joy about... we'll have 3 generations out there for that one - my father-in-law, me, and my daughter.  That will be pretty cool.

So, I'm now 4+ days out from my HIM.  Yes, there is a bit of a pit in my stomach when I say that.  Last week was not a stellar training week, but I snuck a few workouts in when I wasn't teaching, having stomach issues, or driving to New Jersey and back.  Also gained some weight thanks to poor eating.  So, I'm going to try to get good, but not crazy, workouts in M-W/R and then relax... maybe go camp at the race site... not sure yet.  My only goal is to have an official finish (under 8 hours, under 5 hours swim and bike).  I'm figuring a good race for me would be 40 min for the swim, 10 for the transitions, 3.5 for the bike, and 2.5 for the run which will put me in under 7 hours.  I can imagine scenarios where I pull off 6.5.  I can also imagine scenarios where I'm lucky to get 7.5.  I really have no clue.

One question for the group... I've pretty much decided to hold off on going clipless until after the race, heeding the old adage not to introduce anything new for a race (shoes, equipment, etc.).  What do you all think?

-Stu

Michael, sorry about your injury.  It makes me think that after any crash, maybe I'll go into the doctor and get checked out.  (Of course without enough pain, they wouldn't probably push any xrays, and I'd be in the same boat).

Great job for the injury you had.

Hmm, now you're stuck in bed with nothing to do but answer our questions...

Michael,

My wife exercises.  Lots of "fitness classes" and enough swim/bike/run to just get her through a sprint tri (and darn it if she isn't faster than me swimming).  It was from one of her fitness classes she did her first Tri, which I decided to do also, and here I am.