MightyMojoMentorGroup -- (Full House!) (Page 161)

MRI report excerpts:

"There is a complex degenerative tear involving anterior/superior aspect of the left labrum from 12 to 3 o'clock.  The rest of the labrum appears unremarkable with no definitive tear.........There is thinning of the acetabular cartilage superiorily with small focal full-thickness defect along the periphery of acetabular roof measuring approximately 10 x 5 mm.......Note is made of mild thickeneing of the common hamstring tendon adjacent, suggestive of tendinosis or partial tendon tear."

So.........

Surgery is a possibility, although (a) the waiting time is at least one year and might be closer to two year, and (b) recovery takes close to a year and would involve no running or cycling.  I am not looking at surgery right now.

It has been stable for quite some time, possibly as a result of the $400 Durolane injection I received last December.  The bad side of that is that it is not covered by our otherwise superb provincial health plan, but as my doc said -- think of it as the cost of a really expensive pair of running shoes! 

That is probably the route I will take, as the labrum can benefit from the lubricative aspects of the Durolane.  Cortisone won't do much other than manage pain if it gets gnarly, and it is not at all inflamed -- so maybe no more cortisone (haven't had a shot since last late August, anyhow).

As for the hamstring thing, I'm not surprised there is something there -- has been, periodically for close to ten years.  it is something I pay attention to when it acts up, but otherwise the two of us coexist just swell.

Back to the hip --- I now view it quite differently.  I now have a name and mental image of my problem, and if one can "respect" a body part, I have newfound respect for that hip.  I think it has carried me surprisingly well since it manifested itself in late '08, and there is a chance that it will continue to do so.  In fact (knock on wood), it is better now than it was a year ago, and I am cautiously optimistic that it will continue to do its best by me!

Onwards??????

CURT -

Well, yes and no.  In a sense, it reads worse than it actually manifests itself.  Completely out of context, it could be taken to suggest that I am hobbling/shambling/crawling most of the time, but that is far from reality.  (Thank god for small mercies!)

As a triathlete, it affects how far I can comfortably ride on a bike -- and that's about the extent of it as a limiter.  So, unless it resolves itself, i am likely unable to do a half-iron again, which is a shame because I love that distance and it is the one that is best suited to my skill set.  I can mostly accept that, rationalizing that (a) I have had my many days in the half-iron sun, (b) I no longer have tyo subject myself to Big Training Events, and (c) I seldom have to bother with much recovery time at all in the worlds of olys and sprints.  And, mostly, i am comfortable with my position......although i have had a fair bit of time to come around to accepting it!

That's the hip.  As for the hamstring, that's kind of news to me.  I twanged it pretty good in late '02 and had to bail on a big-goal marathon, and from time to time I can hear it talking to me, but I'm not sure I've lost more than 10 running days since late '02 because of it.  I guess it's a caution, but there's not much i can do.  (Well, maybe stretch it more than I do --- which is seldomseldomseldom.

Coming back to the hip, I should emphasize to the group-at-large that it is NOT necessarily an endurance-related injury.  My doc said that it could be left over from jumping lots form heights as a kid and repeatedly stressing it in the landings --- and, in fact, I was a "jumper" as a kid.  We had lots and lots of houses go up in our neighborhood, and my friends and I would frequently go up to the second floors (or eaves level) and jump down into sand piles.  I did that sort of thing all-too-often; it was grand fun for a 10- or 11-year old!

ANYHOW, I shall soldier on as best i can, thankful that I can function well and still -- at least as of last season -- have ready access to my top-end speed.  Might not be able to "go long" any longer, but the shorter stuff is a blast, so -  Yippee!

After swimming today I went over to a local running store (Peach City Runners) and I bought a small amount of Carbopro and some HEED to try plus I got a couple gels I'll take on my next ride to try out.

If you don't mind I'll take you up on your offer of some carbopro powder but I'd like to pay something for it as well. 

Yes, they minted the last penny in May and they're phasing out the pennies that are in circulation but it will likely take quite awhile.  I gather we'll still be able to use them but only in small amounts at a time.  So it is a good time to roll up any large collections of pennies and cash them in or donate them to a worthy cause.

Which gels did you find to be more palatable?  I was looking at a few in the store and some felt more watery and others felt more thick.  I think I'd be more comfortable with a less thick gel.  I also looked at some Honey Stinger Waffles and I understand they are pretty good taste wise and they were a good quality so I may try a few of these as well.

Swimming today was a bit slower being the last session before September and we spent more time than usual asking questions.  My swimming for June totalled 29% further than May for approx. the same number of hours.  I'm meeting 3 fellows for an OWS on Monday at Okanagan Lake.  Looking forward to it.  I've been researching tips on putting on or taking off a wetsuit.  Somewhere I read it is a good idea to soak a wetsuit before you use it for the 1st time.

I hope the MRI was helpful.

GEORGE -

Heading to bed, and will be back tomorrow.  In the meantime, though, PM me your address and I'll try to send you some Carbo-Pro on Tuesday. 

If what you got today was the bottled, liquid C-P, beware, as it is highly concentrated and will blow your socks off if you mix it too strongly -- or try to drink it straight from the bottle, heaven help you!  I actually like the bottled stuff well enough, but if you have a good go-to thing, such as NUUN, C-P would be ideal to give you the carbs that NUUN is lacking.

More tomorrow!

Hey, got another 100k rally down, 3;11:00. A "recent PR", my lifetime PR is 2:56 back in the 90's

race report

STEVE - Sorry to hear about the hip and ham. Glad to hear they're not slowing you down!

Steve,

The good news is now you know what's going on. The bad news is you already had an idea of what was going on! Hope you can stay away from the surgery and keep it at bay with injections and everything else you are doing

Johanne

Great rally Jeff. It looks like your hiatus from competitive biking hasn't slowed you down much.

JEFF -

My, you're in a chipper mood today!  That was a glibly funny report, starting with the McD comment, then onto the slow rendition comment, and finally the assorted names you gave to people (best ones -- "make shift tri bike" and "red short high sock guy"!)  Mostly, though, I liked it because it is unlike anything I have done; fact is, I have never done a stand-alone bike event.

I also enjoyed the Dr. Pepper reference, abd whenever I think of that drink I think of the YEARS I knew of its existence, but bemoaned the fact that it took ages to make it to New W=England.  And then -- the wait was all worthwhile.  I revelled in seeing the old plant on Morningside (?) Drive, the one built in the 30s/40s and boasted fine Art Deco and Art Moderne lines.  Magnifique!

Finally, good time you posted, too.  It's been a while for you at thses things, so hopefully the "current/recent PR" will soon be eclipsed by what will then become you ALL-TIME PR.  Is it possible, do you think?

Thanks, this is my third season back and I am still getting dropped by those guys but I do feel faster

You probably mean the old Dr. pepper building on Mockingbird. It is gone, to make way for the DART light rail station and semi underground shopping, loft apartment, parking thing. I liked that building too.

I am happy with the time, it is actually shorter in time than my bike split at Kansas (3:16). I don't know about an all time PR but maybe, as a triathlete I might. Modern bikes are lighter and better than they were even 10 years ago so who knows? The Paris 100k rally is, I think, a little flatter maybe.

"Make shift tri bike guy" was talking to me about triathlons and asked about upcoming races, I mentioned the 4th of July 5k in McKinney and I got; "Dude! I'm doin that one too!"

JEFF -

Mockingbird, of course!!!  I knew Morningside didn't sound right, especially when I realized that it's one of the main roads east of Toronto.

I am very sorry that the original building is gone; is nothing sacred?!? Tthere must've been a big hue and cry about that, and I'm sure that various architectural preservation groups went to the wall to try and save it.  I'll maybe do a google search to see the sorry history of the last days of the Dr. pepper building.  Snif.

You're right about better bikes nowadays, and that ought to help your cause considerably.  I'm sure I've told you the following story, but if not....

In '01 I bought a Cervelo P2K, probably the first year Cervelo offered it. It was their mid-range model, and cervelo itself was new to tri bikes.  It was aluminum frame, and terrific for me.

In '08 the seat tube developed a crack towards the bottom, and I retired the P2K.  In its place i bought a P2C, the carbon-fiber "replacement" for the P2K.  And good-god-to-mighty, it was a total sea-change from the P2K, virtually impossible to believe the P2K was its design-parent, and only seven years its elder.  The P2C is just so much lighter and so much more responsive, and were i to go back to the P2K, it could seem like I was reiding a pennyfarthing!

So, for you, 10+ years AND going from (presumably) a road bike to a designated time-trial style tri bike....well, in time there ought to be some sweet changes in the works!

JOHANNE -

Well, it's good to have a name for my condition, as well as being able to visualize what is going on.  I have been referring to it as an "impingement", just because of the nerve-y feeling when the discomfort starts to move around.  my injection doc was thinking early-onset arthritis, perhaps.....but he was also uncertain enough in that diagnosis to warrant putting in the request for the MRI.

I gotta admit that I didn't expect a "complex labrum tear", which certainly sounds ferocious; nothing benign in THAT!  I'm still working my way through that label, and as I wrote to Curt -- it gives me newfound respect for that hip!

Also, as I wrote to Curt, there's no idea how it got the way it is.  For some people, it can be cleats catching on turf.....and Pop! Pop!  But from a female perspective, here's a cautionary tale for you:

He has a patient who tore her labrum, and for her it happened on a long car trip when she absolutely had to pee.  So she stopped the car on the side of a road and walked into the brush, and in scooching up her dress she did a twisty movement from her crouched position and --- Pop! Pop!  Sooooo......let that be a warning to you next time you need to relieve yourself in the great outdoors!

It is mildly similar to when I tore my meniscus, which happened when I was on a treadmill at my gym, saw a friend, partially turned to call her name.....and caught my foot on the sidewall.  as I was running, but turning, the catching of the foot was enough to tear the meniscus.  I guess the similarity is doing something seemingly harmless, an dthen paying a heavy price for it.  there is also this -- for the woman, and for me, both of us would've done just about anything to rewind the tape and get those few moments back to do over again differently!

Mama said there'd be days like this........

PR's are always good!  Glad to hear it went well

DAVE -

Oooh, that was a tough day's work!   Remind me soon to tell you about "Icks", which is short-form for run-cycle bricks --- as in R-B-R-B-R-B-R-R, al in one session.  I will have to look about the parameters, as it's been a few years, but I think each B was 5-6 miles, each run 1 mile.......and all done ultra-fast, with blazing transitions between them.  Coach Erik used to prescribe them for me, and I loved managing to knock them off, but i haven't done an Icks since "going freelance".  maybe i ought to subject myself to one, just for old times' sake!

Cycling bib???  Time to jettisone that baby, except for maybe ride-only workouts.  When I started this stuff in '00 I was outfitted by the bike shop where I bought my bike.  They must've seen a newbie extraordinaire, because they sold me several items of apparel that were not really suitable for triathlon, but i guess they wanted to get them out of their stock.  Ack.

I really try hard to mostly always train in what I race in (ex: I never train anymore in standard running shorts, always opting for tri shorts), which is why I never use padded cycling shorts, and wouldn't use a bib if i still had one (I returned the one that bike shop sold me, unworn, and they were good enough to take it back).   Just something for you to think about!

Race pace is very hard to settle on when one has never done the specific distance.  Those calculations can give a rough range to shoot for, but don't enter into it expecting a perfect match.  As for the 7:15-7:45/mile for a 10km, that's a very strong pace -- even for a stand-alone 10km.  The 7:15 would get you to the finish line in around 44min, while for the 7:45 it would be close to 47 (I think; I'm guesstimating).  Remember too that functions such as McMillan are designed for pure runners, and not us saps who insist on trying to run blazing times off the bike.   For triathletes, there needs to be a whole other world of things to figure into the equations!

Have a joyful ten MILES tomorrow.  Wheee?

Just popping in for a quick minute to say hello from Lake Bemidji State Park in Minnesota.   We have free Wifi.     Seeing some beautiful scenery on the trip - had a REALLY long drive the first day - 800 km.  Made sure we got out of the car every hour for a stretch.  Stayed in Crystal Falls last night and got a really good 800 meter fast swim in this morning before we left. Today was a shorter drive.   Staying here two nights so we can get some training done tomorrow.   It isn't as easy as I thought it might be to train when doing long drives and then having to set up camp.

We were lucky - only 3 spots left.  

Hope everyone is doing well.   STEVE, I did a quick read on your MRI and glad to hear you have some answers.   Will talk to you about at when we get back.  

I haven't looked at infinit yet but I will.  I'm looking forward to trying the Carbopro and the HEED stuff I bought.  I want to try them out PDQ before next weekend.  I'll try your gel method to take a bit at a time and wash it down with water.

As a consolation - if your tear is from jumping as a kid then it would mean your hip was asymptomatic for many years which could also then (hopefully once under control again) return to its former asymptomatic.  Only time will tell and I'm not at all familiar with durolane but based on what you've said you could get lucky.

I haven't tried the Carbopro yet but I got the impression from the bottle that they were suggesting you could drink a couple ounces out of the bottle then wash it down with water.  I'll give that a pass and opt to mix it in my water bottle - using careful proportioning.  I'm hoping to try it out either tomorrow or Tuesday.

Great RR.  Your description of the race and the back and forth jockeying makes for a good read.  Your time is impressive to me.

Dr. Pepper is one of my favourites.  I just don't get to have it very often.  Maybe I'll indulge after my next ride.

I registered for Redman Full at 12:01 am after registration re-opened. 12 weeks to my first full. My ankle is still a little marginal but improving. I can do some respectable cycling miles this month and August and do the best I can swimming.. I bought the TI book and working through to understand the drills. The author spends a large amount of time and pages  selling the method before he gets around to explaining it.

I have another 100k this month, a 5k 7/4 and will possibly ride home from that event (60 miles +/-). Also on the schedule was an X-50- and aquathon. Those remain in question for financial reasons.

Structuring the next 12 weeks is the new challenge. I feel like I should be flirting with the 100 mile distance this month when not otherwise competing. August will have two organized full centuries and I suppose I would do well to get 2 additional 100's on my own.

I will try to get my long runs back to 13 this month and work for a peak of 16 or 18 in Aug and September.

Temps are back to more seasonable/reasonable highs in the mid to upped 90's. Hopefully the 100's will hold off till August or so. Today will be about yard work, a swim and a trial run to see how I am feeling.

Go get 'em!!!!  Have so much respect for anyone that puts in the time to take on this challenge.

JEFF -

Well, yeah -- structuring between now and 9/22 will require some tinkering here, some adjusting there.....and maybe even a few weeks "leave" from work!  At least, that's what it'll seem like.  My first iron was Lake Placid, and that was on July 24 (25?) -- a full month since my summer vacation had begun.  But even with that month looming up ahead, along about late May i began to get edgy about what I felt needed to be done, and took a few days off to squeeze in some longer workouts.  Hindsight tells me that neither those workouts nor my anxiety was justified, but the ironmind ran rampant on me.

I always hope for the best of weather conditions for you, of course, but you will need them in spades as Redman approaches.  But you're also good at fitting in stuff at odd hours, and it might turn out that some of your long runs happen in the wee hours, as in between midnight and daybreak.  I have been that route myself, and there is actually a lot to be said for it.  It adds a whole new dimension to runninmg when there is no one on the face of one's local patch of Earth awake.....and you can hear things scurrying and thrashing about in the woods and brush next to the road.

FWIW, for each of my two irons I did two centuries, was all.  (Maybe a third for IMLP, but i really don't think so.)  The role of centuries in pre-iron training is hotly debated, and I fall into the camp of the 112 miles on the race -day bike as not being rocket science, and not being a time trial, and really just managing one's energies to be able to function for the the 26.2 miles off the bike.  You know you can do 112 miles (heck, how many times have you ridden 100+ miles in your life?!?), so doing too many pre-Redman probably won't help either your confidence or your overall power/speed.

As for TI, now is a pretty good time to play with it.  TI is not designed to make people fast, especially in the early many months of their programs, and for the 2.4 miles of Redman, speed will not be of the essence.  Rather, conserving your energies (is this sounding like a theme?) will be key, and if you can instill some decent TI-style mechanics into your swim bag of tricks in the next few months, that might help you emerge from the Redman waters feeling pretty loose and untaxed.

A peak at 16-18 on the run is probably smart.  That leaves you a few miles unaccounted for.....but at that point it's often simply about mind over matter anyhow, so the terra incognita aspect isn't so critical.  I was fortunate that I had done a bunch of stand-alone marathons before IMLP, with one of them being Boston just three months before it and another being the qualifier for Boston, so I think I kind of downplayed the run build-up to LP.  For you, well, you've played at bigger run mileages for a while now, so it might be more about dancing on the edge of running enough to feel strong and confident, as opposed to risking aggravating the ankle.

And that's it for now!