Yanti and Lynn, Mentors of the Manatee Melee: FULL (Page 16)

OMG! Grace! I had to look this up to learn about it.  So, what did he say in terms of development?  Did this take a while to develop or is it recent?  I hope the specialist helps you heal quickly.  It sounds from wikipedia that avoiding water is #1.  But maybe as you begint to feel better you can switch to dualthon so you won't feel you can't participate anymore.

?

I couldn't agree more! I was walking in the mall with my grandma who had it and she pointed to a guy and whispered in my ear, "I know something about that man right there." and I looked at the guy and then asked her, "Oh yeah? What do you know about him grandma?" and she said, with a totally straight face and very matter of factly, "He's got a penis, that's for sure; and he could get me pregnant."

I just didn't even know what to say. I still giggle about it sometimes...

Bad news Grace - sorry to hear and I'll keep you in my thoughts while you go talk to the specialist.  I have seen reports that this is a one-time occurance in some individuals (not repetative thing once you get fully over an attack), so you could be able to race again.  Might just need to heal-up.

Keep us posted.

PS - Dr. told me in my 20s that I had degenerating disks in my spine and would not be able to do twisting sports.  That was before I became ranked both in the state and naiton for racquetball.  In my 30s I had torn meniscus in both knees (MRI confirmed) and needed to be scoped to be able to walk/run pain free.  Never did and I;m pain free now.  Finally, Dr said torn ACL last winter (40's) - turned out OK and I'm still skiing.  Take the info the Dr. gives you, but make sure you ask what you can do to improve the condition. 

Oh Grace, how scary this must all be for you.  Hang in there and let us know how your next visit goes.  You'll be in my thoughts.  

lmscozz - 2011-05-11 8:05 AM

mackjenn - 2011-05-10 11:09 AM

GraceVanOwen - 2011-05-10 7:22 AM

SOOOOOO

Major Issue.  After a tough swim practice last week, struggling in the swim in the race on Saturday, and another swim practice problem, I went to the Dr. yesterday.  I just figured my bronchitis from two months ago wasn't gone and I was getting frustrated.  Turns out I may have SIPE.  Swimming Induced Pulmonary Edema.  Basically sounds like no more tri's for me.  I see a specialist tomorrow.  I'm freaking out.  And really sad.  Mind is swirling.  Will update when I know more.

Bad news Grace - sorry to hear and I'll keep you in my thoughts while you go talk to the specialist.  I have seen reports that this is a one-time occurance in some individuals (not repetative thing once you get fully over an attack), so you could be able to race again.  Might just need to heal-up.

Keep us posted.

PS - Dr. told me in my 20s that I had degenerating disks in my spine and would not be able to do twisting sports.  That was before I became ranked both in the state and naiton for racquetball.  In my 30s I had torn meniscus in both knees (MRI confirmed) and needed to be scoped to be able to walk/run pain free.  Never did and I;m pain free now.  Finally, Dr said torn ACL last winter (40's) - turned out OK and I'm still skiing.  Take the info the Dr. gives you, but make sure you ask what you can do to improve the condition. 

John's given some great advice/examples. Yes, be cautious Grace, but it doesn't necessarily mean the end of tris for you. A friend had that happen and while it scared the bejeezus out of her, she got it diagnosed, treated and recovered and has now been to nationals for sprint competition tris and qualified for Worlds.

I, too have some disk issues and my dr. told me last fall with this that "26.2 miles is a long way." It was my 3rd marathon and I decided to do it and ended up running fine. It was just the lack of training because of the injury that had me toughing it out in the last 4 miles. We all have to make our own decisions based on what we feel about our body and its limits or perceived ones -- that's the hard part, discerning which are true and which are the mind just holding us back.

See who's a responsive mentor Thank you so much Lynn and all the Manatees for staying on the ball!

Grace, this is tough news indeed and I am sorry to hear it.

At the same time, I third John and Lynn's comments. In fact, I think there was a Manatee who had SIPE and also someone I coached in Los Angeles (and many others on this site). Sure, everyone will have a different experience and recovery with it, but--like J and L said, it's probably not the end of your tri life. I, too, have heard the "you will never / probably never do XYZ again" ... and I always have.

[Random, but what's interesting is that some people with breathing conditions--asthma and others--actually DO do better taking more strokes per breath, to a certain point. It is a limiter in terms of speed, but can also be overcome/worked around].

Doctors also aren't generally used to patients who are willing to make the changes and effort required to overcome difficult health problems. But triathletes are all about change and effort and actually triumphing in difficulty ...

I wish you all the best. Be informed, be proactive, work with your doctor, and chances are very good you'll come back from this.

Grace:  So sorry to hear about this. Working with the doctors and adapting your lifestyle is key.  Hopefully it is a temporary set back for you but most importantly, you need to take care of yourself.

On another note, I have to give myself a pat on the back.  Yesterday while at the gym, I was going through my strength training circuit (squats, lunges, plank, inch-worms) and a personal trainer approached me telling me that I had perfect form and she was really impressed.  NICE!  What a great compliment to get from a random person!

WOOHOO! Form is everything in that regard. And way to show the popping grunters (ones who just pop up and down with horrible form, usually grunting, heh) up.

Good luck!  Can't wait to hear how it goes.  Just remember if the swim isn't as fast as you want for this weekend, that you will have extra motivation for escape as you will want to swim faster to avoid being eaten by a shark.  

Teddie - FYI:  The Groupon for Colorado Springs today is a Pikes Peak morning bike tour.  Includes breakfast and lunch from chalenge unlimited (~$115 regular price per person, offered for $55).

Holly:  You coming down for the Littlefoot Tri in Lakewood?  Might still be able to get in, or at least come down to see what's going on.  Afterparty is at the Tri-Yoga in Golden (not sure if I'll go to afterparty - I have to be back in Pueblo for my daughter's dance recital at 3).

Hope everyone is having a great week and super weekend planned!

Good luck!!!

So the dr doesn't think I have sipe but excercise induced asthma.  I'm not sure.  The more I read about sipe the more it seem to fit.  I'm not sure asthma does since I can run and ride no problem.  But the dr said sipe was so rare and asthma wasn't so "don't look for zebras when you hear hooves"  and I said "yeah, but when you see stripes maybe you start to think zebras."  They gave me an oral med and an inhaler and said I could do the tri this weekend, so that's my plan.  Since I started the meds I've done one each, a run, bike and swim.  No probs on run or bike.  No major problems on the swim but I was coughing a lot more and yacking white stuff up (again with the TMI).  Of course, I didn't get up to race pace and that's the only time I have a problem.....  Geesh, I've never had anxiety about the swim (despite that being one of the doctor's thoughts) but if I keep having problems I'm going to create anxiety about the swim.

I"ll report on the race tomorrow.  It's another B race for me.  A sprint.  I'm using the race to test variables.  Using my cruddy old bike so see how much difference it makes in my time from last week on a good bike.  Also going back to last year's tri suit (that is 20 pounds too small- pray I don't have a wardrobe malfunction).  And trying to eat a PBJ about 3 hours before (last years race morning plan).

Not sure how well run it's going to be- trifind lists the bike at 10 miles, the race website says 12 and the registration says 11.5.  Not a good sign of organization.

That is good news / bad news situation.  Happy on the diagnosis and some treatment (BTW - I was told same thing few years ago, but believe it was because I was just out of shape).  Inhaler helped me too even if not needed (helped recovery and eliminated "phlem" build up aftre hard efforts).

Something to consider - I read that the wetsuit can cause the condition if it is too tight in the chest (compresses the chest similar to water).  So if it is sipe, might be the new suit (and once the suit caused the issue, you would then have recurring issues until completely gone - ie caused during Tri and occurs again during regular swim within the week following tri). 

Regardless - HAVE FUN THIS WEEKEND AND DON"T WORRY ABOUT IT!!!!

So I see a few of us are racing this weekend, what does everyone else have planned?

I'm planning to drag my husband out with me on Sunday to ride the bike portion of my up coming race and to attempt my first OWS (since I chickened out last weekend!).  I'm also planning to test out my tri shorts, since I've never worn them before.  And the last thing on my to-do-list is to figure out how to put my Yankz in my shoes.  Wish me luck!

Focus on breathing, go easy into the swim but build fast, and only after ~50 or so, then hit race pace. Doing so will take very little off your time, may prevent a meltdown, and IF bad symptoms kick in, the closer to shore, the better.

Do not hesitate to bail if things get bad, or even threaten to get bad. It's one race whose details you're not going to remember five years from now (heck, looks like the organizers can't even remember the details right now, ha ha).

It's not the same course, is it? Is it similar to last week's course? Otherwise the bike comparison may not be useful, and also, you're on slightly tired legs anyway. If it were me, I'd rather race on a bike that I will continue racing on in order to further tweak anything that might need tweaking with it before my A race. Let me put it this way: if it turns out you are slower on the cruddy bike--well, you knew that anyway, OR it could be that it's a different course, your legs are tired, the weather was different, etc. If it turns out you AREN'T slower on the cruddy bike, would you continue racing on your cruddy bike then?

In other words, if you're going to be racing in conditions not similar to your A race, or if you are trying to test things out, figure out what kind of information you will get from any changes or tests and how useful it will be to you for your A race in order to make further changes.

I also don't see how wearing a tri suit that's too small for you will give you useful info.

Nutrition, on the other hand, that's wise and critical. You will see what X does for or against you, in the current shape you're in and the effort level you put out, and whether X is something you'll want to repeat (or refine) for your A race.

And remember, you'll have plenty of hard sessions left before your A race to work issues out, as well.

As always, above all: HAVE FUN and GOOD LUCK.

GOOD LUCK, JOHN!!!!!

Your training has been stellar. You might surprise yourself.

Heck you might even surprise me. I doubt it, but you never know.

Maybe wearing the too small tri suit will tell me to stop eating chocolate????  Acutally, it is what I wore last year, albeit 20 pounds ago.  Last week's race I did in a swim suit adding bike shorts at t1. Didn't like that combo.  Don't have a new tri suit to go to so I'm going to the fall back of the too small tri suit (not a standard looking tri suit but a more modified version from Nike a few years ago- almost looks like a 2 piece tank bathing suit).  Ordering something online this weekend since there isn't anything local in an XL.  Should have done it after the race last week but never got extra time to hunt on line for stuff. 

Speaking of which, I'm at the bottom end of Athena.  I can't squeeze myself into and XL tri suit.  What brands do the more average Athena's wear?  I thinking of doing a more relaxed fit tri singlet in an XL (which will nicely cover non racer back bra straps) and the mini tri shorts by De Soto, since I hate stuff on my legs when I run.  Thoughts????

As to the crappy bike issue... I rented last weekend.  Can't afford to rent this weekend and then again in three weeks.  Struggling with the decision of what/when to buy.  Want to get something before my A race of the season in 3 weeks but think I'm out of time at this point.  And my breathing scare didn't help- pushed everything back this week since I didn't want to keep upgrading stuff if I was out for the season or worse.  Will probably just rent the bike from last week for the A race, even though I didn't love it, at least I know it.

But the Sidi shoes I bought off ebay arrived right in the middle of my breathing issues... oh the irony!  Took them too the bike shop- they can't find any bottoms to match any pedals.  What gives?  I really wanted to have at least 5 to 6 good rides in the new shoes before the big race in three weeks- again, running out of time.  May have to just bite the bullet on more expensive shoes to at least get the issue over.

Hoping the race this weekend will at least be fun with no major drama.

ha ha ha oh Grace, you are a hoot ... and a wise and thrifty woman. All the reasons above are perfectly good to wear an old but small tri suit (LUBE. All joints and contact points. Lots.) and use a crappy bike. etc. etc.

I think you are going to do great anyways, and if you go into it for fun and experience, you cannot lose.

Couple of recommendations for an 'average' Athena: Danskin makes good, comfortable, quality, won't-blow-the-bank tri gear in a variety of sizes and they fit pretty true to size.

Another option is to go with De Soto men's (like the style in my avatar, except it's an M), in L or XL (depending on boob size) and then the short De Soto shorts (gotta love the no-leg-grippers style).

The SIDI shoes--they can't find cleats to match the pedals??? What make/model of SIDI are they?

Just out of curiosity, how crappy is the bike? Is it a comfort issue, fit issue, saddle issue, the thing has no gears but does have streamers on the handlebars issue ...