Mike's group closed (Page 9)

Hi guys!  Sorry I've been out.  First I was under with a Nyquil induced coma (damn flu!) for a couple of weeks then my job went haywire!  Been extremelly busy trying to catch up.

Good news is I got go to Southern California last week (Dana Point) to train with my Ironman buddy.  Wow!  Talk about beautiful place!  It was sunny and 80 degrees.  We went jogging at the beach (yes coach, I actually did some running!) and went swimming at the gym.  Of course, the 24 Hour Fitness there had an outdoor pool heated to 80 degrees. 

I also got to go to the ESA Award party (endurance sport something) and met Chrissie Wellington.  For the ones who don't know, Chrissie won the Kona Ironman last year, first time racer, totally unknown.  Then this year she had a flat and screwed up on the CO2 carthridge and was behind by 10 minutes, caught up with everyone else and won the race.  Talk about an inspiration!  The party was lots of fun and there were lots of famous people (I would have been so impressed had I known who the hell they were).

Sorry to gloat but I had to.     I'll be updating my training log this weekend.  Hope everyone is doing well.  I missed you guys!!!

Welcome back Sandra!  Chrissie who?    Hope you got pictures!

Welcome back!  Sounds like you had it rough in Cali.

Chrissie is way cool.  I met her in New Hampshire, of course she won that too.  She signed my race number.  Man is she fast!

Feb. is here and spring time is a few weeks away.  OK, maybe more than a few, but it's hopeful thinking.  My training plan will be starting in a month and a half.  It is wise to look ahead at your plans and see what kind of times/distances you'll be starting at.  Look at your training schedule now and plan out what will happen between now and up to day one of your official training plan based on your goals.  For example:  I want my workout times in all three events to be the same as the workout times in my 20 week plan starting day one. I don't want to start a 20 week plan feeling burnt already.  So for the 4 weeks leading up to  the beginning of my plan I will be adjusting and trimming times and getting mentally prepared. Over the winter is the time to put in the base miles, work on speed, or a specific sport.  Training time is race specific.  If your following a specific plan it often times gets roughest near the end when your times are at their max.  Your brain is frazzled, your body aches, and you miss your social life and eating lots of bad/yummy food.  your anxious about the starting line, your heart races, you question yourself and that's when you'll be thankful you planned ahead.

Hope there's something decent to watch on television.  Nothing worse than being home sick and having to watch Soaps while you sip your soup.

I hope everyone is doing well.

Still catching up on logging my workouts but I've been doing them.  Took my new bike out today.  Finally!  It took them 3 weeks to get it back to me for a new handle bar.  Anyhoo, did 20 miles on it, screaming on the last 5.  Awesome!  I'll try to get some pics so you guys can check it out.  Looks nice!

On the swimming front, I've been working on learning to breath bilateraly.  Really hard and I'm just about drowning.  lol  But I see the value in doing so because it just balances out your strokes.  I'm also working on not raising my head up like a turtle.  I can see how much faster you can glide with all of these components in place.  It's hard to have to learn the basics all over again but worth the effort. 

I'll get my training log updated soon.  Mike, you're still sick?  Being sick bites!  Hope you're feeling better sweetie.  Hit the chicken soup hard! 

Hope everyone is doing well and training is coming along!

Mike - glad to hear you're feeling better.  I feel like this winter is worse than most as everyone I know keeps getting sick.  Good luck with moving - always stressful, but it's all worth it when you finally unpack!

I had a great spin class on Saturday and before the class they announced that the gym is starting a tri-club - can't wait to join.  They start next Sunday with a 90 minute endurance ride which will be tough I'm sure, but looking forward to the challenge.  They also announced an indoor triathlon at the gym on Sunday April 26th - a 10 minute swim, a 20 minute bike and a 30 minute run.  Who ever goes the furthest wins (not sure what you win) but you can go at your own pace.  I think it will be a great barometer for where my training will be for the NJ Triathlon I'm doing in July.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Pete

That's cool Pete!  The YMCA I belong to had an indoor tri the last three years.  It looked like a lot of fun. 

Are you going to do that tri Pete?  That looks like an interesting format.

Lets see that bike Sandra.  I'll show you mine if you show me yours.

Hey everyone...

Yea I got the mri back.  There seems to be a fracture in the hip.  I have no clue how I fractured it.  All I can think of is a fall I had back in the summer when I was ice skating.  Anyway I don't know a whole lot of details.   I have my next appointment with the ortho on friday so I'll give you guys an update then.  He also said it appeared to have some possible ligament damage and has already onset with some arthritus.  Let ya know more when I find out...

Hope everyone is going hard...

Wow Heath, I'm sorry to hear the problem is so severe.  No wonder you had so much pain.

I've been recovering from a stress fracture in my hip (illium) since last October.  The healing process has been long, slow, and frustrating. 

I'm guessing that if you have a full fracture you're going to have to have surgery? Which bone is fractured? 

Please do keep us updated on your diagnosis.

Hi guys!  Still behind on logging my training.  Work has been so frenzied and I've been trying to get things lined up so they run themselves while I'm in Puerto Rico for a dive trip for a couple of weeks.  I was considering doing some ocen swim for my training but the 'shark thing on top of the water' kind of freaks me out. 

Took my bike for a first run Sunday (finally!) and it was sooo cool!!!  I used to struggle to do 13 miles on my mountain bike.  Now I do 20 quite comfortably.  I also got a new bike case so I can travel with my bike, courtesy of someone very sweet.  Love it!  I'll get some pics posted when I get back from PR.

How's everyone's training coming along?  Which training plans are you guys using?  I still don't have a specific one I'm following but need to get my stuff together and put some structure to my training.  I also need to pick my A race.  I might do the July Pacific Coast Triathlon in Newport, CA.  Heard that was a good one.

Hey Heath, I've heard that you can fracture your hip if you run too hard and too fast too soon.  Maybe that could be it?  I'm sorry it's not looking good but you'll be okay.  I'm having good thought for you okay? 

Wish we were physically close.  It would be cool to get together and chat about our training and races.  Hope everyone is doing great!  I'll check in when I get back.  

That's how I got mine.  Quickly ramped up my mileage and started doing 5 minute/mile repeats.  At the time, I realized that I could hurt myself by increasing so quickly, but I was thinking worst case scenario was I'd pull a muscle, strain a tendon, etc.  Never realized that I could actually break a bone in my hip! 

I now have a lot more respect for the run and the stress/strain it puts on the skeleton in addition to the soft tissue.  Unfortunately, this is how I learn almost everything - the hard way.

Hey Rob, who would have thunk that you could fracture bones by running too hard, huh?  Weird how this works. 

Mike, have a good move.  It'll feel so much better once it's all done and you're settled in.  Here are my good vibes for you.

Packing tonight, we'll see you guys when I get back.  Hope you are all kicking a$$ in your training.  Have a great week!            

Good luck with the move Mike, hope you guys have someone(s) to help.

And have fun in Puerto Rico Sandra!  I'll think of you while I'm shoveling my walk.

Heath,  I'm so sorry to hear the bad news.  When I first hurt my hip I thought I might have had a femoral neck fracture and read about the associated complications like AVN of the joint head.  Based on everything I've read, AVN is one of the more serious injuries one can incur, and you will have some big decisions to make regarding treatment options, etc.

I don't know what your long term options will be regarding bike/run, but you should at least be able to get back to swimming.

I hope you'll keep posting to the group to let us know how you're doing and how your treatment progresses.

Heath - I'm sorry to hear you're having so many difficulties with the hip.  I hope things get better soon and that you get the treatment options worked out.  Just take care of yourself however you can - your health is most important.

We're here for moral support and encouragament!

Pete

I'm back.  We are moved in but far from done.  Mostly living out of boxes and constantly looking for my stuff.  I did manage to get a swim in.

Heath, I am really sorry to hear about your situation. I'm not sure that I could say anything that would make you feel better about it, but do realize that this will be behind you someday.  that doesn't fix you now, but keep your head held high, stay as positive as you can, and you'll get through this.  I am all ears if ever you need to put it out there.