Asphalt Junkies Spring 2013 - Closed (Page 93)

mambos - 2013-04-01 1:37 PM

jenbmosley - 2013-04-01 9:37 AMI think I speak for both Karl and I on this one - getting in OWS practices is pretty tough, the whole cottonmouth/water moccasin and alligator issue creates a risk that we don't really want to take. Which also creates one more thing for us to freak out about!

i would think this would motivate you to swim faster

Umm.... have you seen a snake in the water? Or that tv show - Swamp People?

Matt, if it is on the side it could be IT issues.  Tell us exactly where it hurts.  If it is IT, take some time off, Ice it, roll it if you have a foam roller down the side of your thigh, not on your knee, the back of your thigh and front and even the inside so really all four sides.  The foam roller hurts like all get out but stop it on the "hot spots" for about 20 seconds and gently roll down to the next one.  Stretch, stretch stretch and strengthen your.  Walking lunges, get on all fours and pretend you are a male dog peeing on a fire hydrant, do side leg raises and my favorite of all favorites.  stand with your feet 4 inches from a wall and about 6 inches apart, squat down so your knees go out about a 45 degree angle, while keeping your feet flat on the floor.  You'll only go down maybe 3 - 4 inches but do 50 reps 3 X day.

my favorite stretch is to go to a table about waist high, put hurt leg on the table so that your shin is parallel to the floor your right leg will be about a 90 degree angle with your foot point  to your left if that makes sense, then lean into it and hold for 30 seconds, do this several times per day.

Jen and I have just gone thru this, it takes a long time to heal.

Hope all had a great weekend.

Will - congrats on being home with the addition.  Focus on the right things for a while.  Training should take a back seat to what really matters.

Jeff - How was the foot during all that training?  I know you seem to have a great handle on working through "pain" versus "injury" but you maladies concern me.  Sorry to be the mom.

Karl and Jen - Congrats on gutting through those races.  Both of you showed some serious determination.  Jen, I'm glad the bike issue was something simple.  The fit also is worth looking at for sure.  Karl, don't get so down on your swimming.  I don't know how to attack the inability to get into open water for practice as there's no doubt snakes in water is a bad thing!

Matt, I agree that it sounds like it could be ITB issues.  Does it hurt going down stairs?  That's usually a confirmation.  Rolling, massaging, ART are good remedies.  There's very little structural on the outside of the knee so hopefully this is what you've got.  It can feel like a knife cutting into your knee at times.

I'd recommend seeing someone who understands runners and their injuries.  My ART guy is a great resource, so hopefully you have someone like that.  If it is an ITB issue, it's important to try and find the true culprit as the IT pain is usually just a side effect of the real problem.

Jeff - I will do this.. probably later tihs week, but I will absolutely post a few pics. Feedback would be awesome!

A little blog post for me to remember my race day forever.

Red Hills Race Recap: How to make a 16 mile bike loop much, much harder - http://wp.me/p32uES-6U

jenbmosley - 2013-04-01 1:43 PM

mambos - 2013-04-01 1:37 PM

jenbmosley - 2013-04-01 9:37 AMI think I speak for both Karl and I on this one - getting in OWS practices is pretty tough, the whole cottonmouth/water moccasin and alligator issue creates a risk that we don't really want to take. Which also creates one more thing for us to freak out about!

i would think this would motivate you to swim faster

Umm.... have you seen a snake in the water? Or that tv show - Swamp People?

Jen I can't say I blame you and Karl for not getting in the water and having to worry about that. I would say I am very fortunate not to have to deal with that when swimming in the lake that I swim in. While we do have a few different types of snakes here on LI none of them are posionous. There are a few water snakes out here and they might be out at the lake but I haven't seen them nor do I want to.

The 'outside of the knee' is kind of vague.  You could mean the right edge of your kneecap, the direct outside center (it band) or just behind where one of the hamstring tendons attaches.

Can you draw an 'x' on the spot with a pen and shoot us a photo of the spot the sharp pain was felt?

My achilles attachments felt a little iffy when we started, probably because I hadn't run on Saturday.  We started very slow because Jordan was full from her Easter dinner!...  Which helped.  A few miles in, my heels began to feel pretty darn good and were never an issue during the run.

Not only that, but this morning I woke up to them feeling far better than expected.

Thanks for asking!

ITB is a tough one to stretch effectively.  I've had great success with the roller.  Painful, but good.  Check this site for lots of self diagnosis and treatment info.  This is Leigh's site, the PT who got me involved in the sport.  She answers questions on the facebook page or via email if you have specific questions.

Just checking in, I've been a little absent from the group for a couple of weeks. Thanks to everyone who has dropped in to check on me or say hello. I'm sure you are not used to me being quiet for this long .

I was hit with a few new aches and pains all at once, more snow, and this busy time of year celebrating both of my kids bdays with both sides of our family and Easter all at the same time.

Anyway, my enthusiasm for triathlon has completely faded. I can't really explain it, I'm just all of the sudden wore out of caring about if I am in any condition to race anything. I just want to be able to be active everyday and not hurt. It's my back or my feet or my knee or whatever. I'm just tired so I'm taking a breather. I'm still maintaining my training log and I still love to swim, bike and run. But to race well I feel like I need to train harder than my body will allow. When I increase intensity or distance something always flares up and I'm just tired of putting energy into it at this time.

So I'm going to go a head and give myself a pass for a while. I'm still reading and following along with the group and wish everyone the very best!

I really understand how you feel and hope this clears up quickly for you!

I understand.  Yes, you have been missed.   Take a break but please keep checking in, you've got to hold us accountable and make fun of us.

Samantha and Dina,

I can relate to you both so well.  I know that sense of despair that comes from having your goals derailed by a 'frail' body.  Frail, at least, when compared to your desire.

Samantha, you are right.  If you have a history of injury with that hamstring then do not put yourself out of commission by throwing caution to the wind.  I'm really sorry about the HM being at risk, but I know that the whole season could be at risk if you pull that hammy seriously.

Dina, take your break.  If your heart isn't in it then that is the one true sign you need a break.  And I know exactly what you mean about continuing to train and taking a break at the same time...do the amount you like in the way you like and just enjoy it.

Matt, that's definitely your IT band.  Now here is the deal...the ITB is a fascia.  Meaning it's like a tendon but it runs from bone to bone with no muscle attached.  It's ok to gently stretch a fascia a little bit to help keep it supple and flexible but we don't really want to stretch them out because they act like a gussett and need to be tight.

What I have recently learned about ITB problems is that it's usually the result of one of the glute muscles becoming inflammed and pushing out against the ITB that is taking out the slack...or making it tighter.

So ice the sore spot and stretch and massage (or roll or have ART done) on the hip/glute area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliotibial_band_syndrome

I personally think that if you keep up with the pattern of running until it begins to hurt, then stopping, that you won't do any harm and will help to hold on to your running fitness much better than doing zero running until it's better.

You will probably see the problem subside as you notice the glute problem subside.

I second Jeff's statement and Karl's statement earlier. My IT band issue developed in December and I reached my breaking point in mid-February... I had run 4 HM's from December through mid-February all in preparation to run a March 2 HM as my "A" race. I had to withdraw from my "A" race and my quest for a sub 2 hour time. I have a feeling you will do what I did and push through your HM in pain.

I feel like I have gotten over my IT band issue. How did I do this? I took Karl's advice on a funny frog-like stretch against a wall/door and did it several times a day. I also did several other stretches, but that one worked the best. I also started doing squats whenever possible to get some strength back. I had to stop kicking in the pool and use a pull buoy for a week or so. I kept running and actuially started running more frequently, but really had to scale back to shorter distances.

This much I know - you can push through the HM and not incur a greater injury if it is the IT band. You may not set a new PR. On my last HM (2.16), my IT band flared up at mile 4 and I pushed through 9 torturous miles. I could barely walk afterward but was functioning pretty decently 24 hours later. I've since built back up to some 8 mile runs.

Dina-

Please don't be too quiet! Feel free to keep me in check and offer advice to this freshman.

Definitely take the time you need and do whatever you enjoy.  This is a fun hobby, not an occupation!

I adhere to the theory that we have to enjoy the actual doing of the training, rather than just the outcome or race results, if we really want to make it a lifelong habit.  If you want to run slow, or short, or fast, or trails, or whatever, just do it!  And feel free to come on and keep us up to date on your adventures.

MORE swim ???'s

Yesterday in the pool, I swam 100 yards and was exhausted, stopped for about 20 - 30 seconds and went again and swam another 100, did it again and FINALLY started feeling good, at that point I swam I think 1,000 non-stop, then a guy stopped me so he could share a lane and i swam a few hundred more and got out...well except for touching the pool and starting over, just relaxed and not fast.  I swam 45 minutes almost nonstop

My wetsuit makes me float and gives me confidence that I won't drown but dang it wears my shoulders out.  How much harder is it to swim in a sleeved wetsuit vs a sleeveless?  OR is it the openwater that I'm tensing up and panicking and wearing myself out?

I know ya'll can't answer this, just thinking outloud....

(cough) (cough) aahheemmm... well now, since I am an expert I will go ahead and answer this one.... LOL..

Seriously though..... I'm hoping you get some good feedback on this question Karl. What I can say it that I wore a surf wetsuit while bodyboarding/surfing when I grew up. When a wetsuit did not fit right and was too small, it would wear my shoulders, arms and neck out, even if I was just sitting in the water for an hour. My dad was with me and he has worn surfing wetsuits longer than I have been alive, so I am grateful for his expertise.

Last Saturday was the first time I wore a full-sleeve tri-wetsuit and it felt very different from a surfing wetsuit. I did try on six different wetsuits before I bout the Zoot Women's Z-Force 4.0 Suit -http://www.swimoutlet.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=32457&Click=310393&gclid=CNS7-5HJrLYCFQbqnAodkwIAzQ

I did not feel any pulling in the shoulders and had an excellent swim. I actually kind of enjoyed watching the sleeve pattern as I was taking strokes... as you can see I was lolly-gagging along on my back enjoying the pretty blue morning sky. Hey - at least I stayed in control of my mind this time.

I think the panicking during the race swim cannot be overlooked in this case. But, I do wonder about the fit of your wetsuit.