Next Steps

The end of the year is in site. And I couldn't be happier. My body is recovering from Belgium. It is still a slow process but once I get back in town I can resume my weekly doctor visits. I think I need to be aligned, in a bad way.

Ironman is just over three months away. From some perspectives that scares me. From others I know that I will be just fine. At this point, it is just too hard to figure out what my body will allow me to do. I have resumed working out. I rode 67 miles on Saturday on a hilly terrain. I was tired but I felt pretty good. I am looking forward to building my endurance more on the bike. I am looking forward to the five hour rides and the 120 miles on the weekend. I am looking forward to seeing what my legs will really do.

The big question still surrounds my knee. My running is still a mystery. I ran twice in the past week. One hurt and one didn't. I was able to run an hour at a VERY slow pace without agitating the knee. I made it through 90 minutes in Belgium so that provides a slight glimmer of hope. But I did that prior to cycling. The issue still remains that if cycling irritates the knee at all, then I find myself incapable of running off the bike.

So I don't know what to think about Ironman Florida at this point. I really don't want to train if I don't stand a chance of racing anywhere near my ability. I also don't want to race for 6.5 hours only to walk the entire marathon. That doesn't sound fun.

I am going to give the knee two weeks. If I don't feel that I am improving then I think the best thing to do is call off Ironman. It will enable me to shut down the season early, maybe race a few sprints and start the recovery process.

Plus, I am already looking forward to 2009! I am excited about the goals I am setting for myself.

ITU LC Duathlon World Championships

Race day could not arrive soon enough. I had promised myself that by midnight on Friday, I would start focusing on the race and put the shenanigans to the side. I also started taking some medication that day to help with the ITBS inflammation. The side effects were substantial. I made it to bed in due time but sleep was as distant as the far east. The steriod was causing major anxiety. I could actually feel an elevated heartrate. The elevated heartrate led to an increase in bloodflow and my core temperature to rise. All this as I was trying to get to bed.

I spent most of Saturday waffling around with fellow teammates. I had to register and prep that bike. It was a slow process. The afternoon was full of team events. We had our team photo around 3 pm and then were shuffled down to the pre-race briefing. Following that was the Parade of Nations. It was totally cheesy but entertaining. Then it was time for dinner. I selected a bland cheese pizza as to not upset the GI gods. Then off to bed!

It was an anomoly but my race wasn't until 1:30 in the afternoon. This will mess with you in a number of ways. First, who really wants to race in the middle of the day. Second, it leaves hours of axiety. What in the world do I do with all my nervous energy. Finally, it throws off the eating schedule. I have spent hours perfecting my pre-race meal. This throws a huge wrench in the plan. Nevermind that I am in a foreign country and the foot is drastically different.

I woke up around 6:30 that morning. My plan was to eat around 7:00 am. I wanted to focus of fruits, breads and a bit of protein. I then finished prepping the bike. The morning was really cool and rainy. Of course, I didn't bring any cold gear to the race. And really didn't want to worry about riding over the wet cobblestones that encased the middle of town. I kept most of my nervous energy at bay by pacing and watching the morning race.

Around noon, I made the trek to transition. It was time to go into race mode. I slipped on the ipod, found some loud techno and began to enter the zone. I went off by myself for a few minutes and began to stretch out. Given the volatility of my knee, I wasn't sure if I wanted to do a jogging warm up but I took in a few strides. Shortly after 1:00, I made my way to the corral and offered encouraging words to my fellow teammates.

At 1:22 pm, the gun went off. The course was four 4.5k laps through town that included a circle around the square and a long out and back section. It was a good course to see exactly where you were in the field. Little did I know how mind numbing and mentally taxing this would become.

As mentioned in my previous blog, my goals were simply. Keep it easy and pray that the knee holds up. The key was to say in zone 2 for the first run and try to not get demolished. Z2 would put me at about 75-80% of half marathon pace or 8:15-8:30 miles. Could I really even do this after only running 12.5 miles the whole month of July????

I have the propensity to go out a bit hard in the beginning of the race but I am usually able to dial it back within the first half mile or so. Well the herd took off ahead of me and I did my best to try to keep up. Occasional glances at my watch indicated that I was running faster than anticipated.

I finished mile 1 at 7:04. Oops. I haven't run that fast in months. And to make matters worse, I was fifth from last. That means of the entire field, only five people didn't go sub-7 in the first mile. Uh-oh. I think I am in over my head. There is no way I can compete with that. At mile 1.5 the professional women caught me and came soaring past me. At the out and back I could see where I was in the field. Duh...in the back. Surely they are going to slow down a bit. Mile 2: 7:50 and I am losing ground. What is worse is that I am losing the battle with my heartrate.

What is tough to stomach is getting your ass handed to you in a race. To think that I qualified for this race and I am not the least bit competitive. Not in the least bit. And by mile 2. I can blame the injury all I want but I was not really mentally prepared for this.

On my second lap, I have officially been lapped by the pro men. 30 minutes into the race, I am mentally defeated. I am trying to save face but I really don't know how. I have slowed to my race pace of about 8:15 but I am still running way out of zone. This is going to be ugly.

The back is a really lonely place. Another teammate and I are pacing off one another. Our heads are up only enough to look forward. It is silent and deserted in the back. To make matters worse, the last place guy, who is about half a mile back, has a cyclist following him to indicate the end of the race. On the long out and back, I actually see this. I am that close to being last.

I am trying to make the best of it as I pass through town and face other teammates cheering us along. I really debate if I should just pull out of the race and not deal with the lengthy recovery that will be required. But I have come too damn far.

On lap three, my knee is slowly starting to agitate me. But more important my iliopsoas is not happy. I have dealt with this before. I alter my gait and keep slugging through. The final 2 miles were pretty brutal. In the past 90 minutes I ran almost as far as I did in the past 30 days.

I made it to my bike. Well I had no problem finding my bike...there were only a few in there. I took my time in transition and was off on the bike. 4 laps of 18.5k.

Finally. Now to my strength. It was time to hammer, catch people and salvage my pride and dignity. Or so I thought.

I came hammering through town and the initial rural areas. My legs were fried. 90 minutes in zone 4 running will do that to you. I just needed to find some reserves and make it happen. I pushed my small chain ring for most of the first lap. My focus was high cadence, lowering my heartrate and putting nutrition in my body. Well I was 1 for 3.

My heartrate wasn't budging. Not sure why but it was being pissy. I put nutrition back. A little too much. I rode with a bottle of Infinit in my aerobottle. Mistake (damnit Dan!). I managed to take in about 300 calories in 30 minutes. That was supposed to take me at least an hour. I was suddenly really bloated.

I had ridden the course a few times so I was prepared for the technical turns and when to make a move. But I wasn't prepare for the fierce headwind. 20-25+ mph along the highway. And it was at an angle where it didn't benefit you much on the return. I finished the first lap slightly slower than I wanted.

I launched a small attack on the second lap. My HR was still through the roof and getting passed was killing me. I wasn't catching anyone. Where were the slow cyclists. When I made my first pass, I was sooper excited. It was one more person to beat.

Lap 3 was probably my best. I was still mentally engaged and I wanted to pick up the pace. I pushed and pushed. On the out and back sections I could see that I was gaining on a number of my teammates. By lap 4, I was exhausted. My HR had now spent 3.5 hours in zone 4 and sometimes higher. My legs were full of lactic acid. I was beat. I was still gaining on a few but everything hurt.

I hit transition moments behind my teammate Tim and we ran out together. The minute I got off the bike, my knee was screaming. I knew I wasn't going to be able to put together much of a run. I was just hoping that I put enough distance between me and a few others that I won't be dead last.

The first mile was tough but I made it through. At some point during mile 2, I allowed myself to walk and it went downhill from there. I was spent. My HR plummeted because I was behind on nutrition. I put together a walk-run process trying to get to the finish line. The first lap came and went. With each and every step, I knew I was closer and closer to the finish line.

Being back of the pack is rough. I have never had to experience this before. It is a ghost town out there. Aid stations are just stocked. Sometimes there are no volunteers. The crowd is all at the finish line. Competitors are far and few between. It is silence. Just you and your thoughts.

I hobbled through the final lap at a slow and casual pace. I was going to finish. I made it to the finish line ramp and can't even recall if I jogged up. I know I slowly walked back down. It was finally over.

I came, I saw, I got my ass kicked.

Run 1: 11.4 miles 1:33:38 (8:13 pace)
T1: 1:03
Bike: 46.1 miles 2:13:50 (20.7 mph)
T2: 0:58
Run 2: 5.6 miles 56:19 (10:04 pace)
Total time: 4:45:48

Belgium Race Plan

Being injured really sucks. I can't express how much I am NOT looking forward to this race. As much as 36 hours before I departed, I am sitting in a doctors office (yet again) wondering if I am going to race. I am onto cortisone shot number two. This time he is pinpointing the IT band. This needle reminds me of the Empire State Building. Is he really going to penetrate my knee with that thing?

He tells me this is going to hurt more than last time. His plan of attach is to lift the tissue off the femur to get the cortisone underneath. Thanks. I can literally feel him lift the tissue...wow...this is like surgery sans anesthesia. I can't recall a pinpointed pain like that.

So there we go. At this juncture I don't even know if I will be able to race. My race goals have been minimized from lofty times to simple terms.

1. Make it to the bike (finish run 1)
2. Have fun on the bike and catch up
3. Finish the race

Never have I been faced with taking a DNF in a race. Will I make it one lap on the run? Will I make it to the bike? Will I be able to run afterwards? Who knows. Too many variables right now. My leg feel completely bruised. I hope to be able to compete. And I hope to not make a complete ass of myself too.

Get on the Damn Plane

It is amazing how quick this race arrived. I knew it was close but life kept creeping in and diverted my focus. The onset of my injury only complicated matters even more. Life + injury developed a negative mindset about it all. I didn't want to go on the trip. My focus quickly shifted from racing in a World Championship race to that of figuring out some of life's greatest mysteries.

I have never been one to shy away from controversy or taking on too much. I tend to perform best under a bit of pressure. However, pre-Belgium I hit my max. A few weeks ago, I seriously thought I was on the brink of a breakdown. Once those clouds began to part, the true stress of life set in. I was overextended.

I had a grande plan a few months ago. It was about to play out but there were and endless number of complications and problems. The biggest problem--I was running out of town. Out of the blue, work became extremely busy at a time when I needed flexibility. My lease was up on my apartment and my plan to purchase a home fell through. I couldn't come to terms with signing a lease. Plus, I HAD to move by the time I left. Additionally, I was trying to end a relationship with a woman that chose to use a vulnerable time to go psycho on me. Great. A vacation is what I need....but not to Europe to race.

I forced Coach Dan to come over before I left. I was freaking out about the race. I couldn't perform simple functions like packing and planning strategy or nutrition. I was paralyzed. The great thing about hiring a coach is that you pay someone to think for you. This has been a learning process as I haven't wanted to let go of the decision making. But that's his job. He got me set for the race...prepping me mentally and physically. I just needed to get everything done and get on the damn plane. That was my mission...just get on the damn plane.

The days leading up to the departure were pure hell. I had logistical nightmares left and right. My storage unit reservation was canceled without my knowledge. Imagine dealing with that 3 hours before your movers show up. I called an attorney friend because I thought for sure I would be arrested for going ape shit on the manager.

Moving took much longer than I ever anticipated. Despite hiring movers the crap never ended. I went to bed at 3 am the night before I departed and woke at 5:30 the morning working for 6 straight hours.

My boss called a 4 pm staff meeting the day before I departed. I needed that afternoon to finish all the little stuff.

Poor Dan had to deal with me at 11 pm the night before help me breakdown my bike and pack it. Flying with your bike is a scary process. Thousands of dollars carefully stuffed into an oversized piece of luggage. And you know how they handle luggage.

How bad was my anxiety the day I was leaving? How about I had to buy new running shoes on the way to the airport. My other pair put a blister on my foot the day before I left. I put the shoes on and walked out of the store with them one because I was packed to the max.

Then I had a meltdown at the airport. I had to put one thing into my bike box. I couldn't get it open. Seriously. I couldn't get it open. I managed to wedge it open enough to slide what was needed. Then I couldn't close the final clasps. Wow. I really can't believe Homeland Security didn't arrest me on the spot. I was loosing it. I couldn't get the box all the way closed. Thousands of dollars worth of carbon fiber had wiggle room. Not good. It was less than two hours until my flight and I had to let it go. I was spent. If I could have just sat in the parking lot and produced tears I would have flooded Atlanta.

Fuck it. I was done physically and mentally. I made it to through security without causing a scene. I made it to my gate in one piece. And I got on the damn plane. Time to go to Belgium

Off to Europe

Again, my apologies for not blogging more. That past week has been hell. I had to be out of my apartment before leaving AND had to put together a presentation for my boss. No pressure, huh?

Here are the links to the race. I may or may not be able to blog from Belgium. It is my intent to try.

http://195.207.44.206/wkduathlon2008/index2.php?taal=en&pagina=home

http://live.3athlon.be/

July Training Results

As expected, July was a really lousy month. I spent more time at the doctor than I did training. My run total was abysmal. I didn't even run a half marathon. My bike total was surprisingly higher than I anticipated but it is really fueled by 4 different rides. My swim total shows were I concentrated this month. Ironically, I easily skipped 20-30% of my swim workouts this month and shorted a number of them.

My 2008 totals still look good. In August both my bike and swimming totals will surpass my 2007 totals and are on good pace to meet my annual goals. I am slightly concerned about my run totals. Only about 60 miles in the past two months has dropped me behind where I want to be. Not to mention that I am not certain if the run will come back around in the next few months.

July's totals:
Bike:	16h 47m 48s - 309.78 Mi
Run:	1h 54m 10s - 12.55 Mi
Swim:	9h 23m 41s - 28750 Yd
Yoga:	20m

2008 totals
Bike:	120h 46m 12s - 2134.17 Mi
Run:	67h 57m 47s - 474.51 Mi
Swim:	55h 45m 16s - 162666.3 Yd
Strength:	7h 10m
Yoga:	7h 40m