Peaks & Valleys

Got up a the crack this am to catch the usual Monday am flight to Denver. Got a call from my buddy, Tim, to do a trail run this evening at Green Mountain. Of course I went out, took it pretty easy, but after about a mile my left knee/IT band reared its ugly head and I only ended up getting in 3-4 miles. It was a perfect evening, clear, a ton of stars, temps in the low 50's....really quite nice.

Gotta really focus on IT band PT over the next few weeks. Grrrrrr!

Good News..........

After waiting for an hour and a half I was able to get in to see Dr. Stark. Took some photos of both knees and and no damage to my knees, in fact in pretty good condition for the miles that I have on them. I was thinking that my problem was either my LCL or IT band. It took the doc all of about 15 seconds to place his thumb in the exact location of the pain point and then said "does that hurt..?" yep, it sure did....which was the insertion point of the IT band at the knee. This was good news, in the scheme of things......I caught it early enough on that with a little PT I'll be back in running action in a couple of weeks. Till then...I will swim, ride and strengthen my hips, gluts, calfs and quads.

Yesterday I managed to get in a nice 38 mile ride in the afternoon. The temps were in the high 50's, but sunny and overall a great day for a ride. I did hill repeats at the half way point, seated, to begin preparing myself to tackle the hills (and the Beast) in St Croix. The island course has some nice climbs and switch backs that are a ton of fun, at least descending them is. My young bull buddy is thinking that he is going to take me on this course, however, I don't think that he stands a chance. I've ridden the course twice and ran it once so I've got the advantage of knowing the track. The most challenging part isn't the climbing but the 10 mile ride up the windy coast line, where we'll most likely be riding into 15-20MPH headwinds. Grinding thru headwinds seems like a walk in the park anymore, compared to being at mile 60 or 70 in an ultra run....perspective is important.

Got up at 4AM today to take the in laws to the airport...headed to Miami on a cruise. Love this time of day when nobody else is up...drinking coffee and sitting in front of the big stone fire place with cedar wood crackling and popping....ahhhh. There is no rest for the wicked or weary .....plan on getting in another 35-40 mile ride today with at least 30 minutes of hill respeats ....I'm gong young bull hunting in 60 days and must prepare...Cheers!!

Managed to get in a 1,000 meter swim and a 2 mile run along with a solid calf and core workout this am. Felt really good. At the Dr's office right now hoping to get some advice on how to prevent this injury in the future. X-rays were taken of my left knee and will find out shortly my situation.

More to follow..........

TGIF.........

Looking forward to my 3PM Dr's appt to get my knee checked out. I've taken the last 2 days off from any training, which is making me go out of my head. Hopefully I'll get some good advice from Doc Stark....Plan on being in the pool this weekend, back with the triathlon training group and a 35-40 mile bike ride on Saturday, wether is looking nice enough for a ride.

Jack's got his last hoops game and playoffs tomorrow, should be fun. Thinking about Sushi this evening and going to bed early so I'm ready to train hard on Saturday.

Lot's of chatter across the Internet regarding Leadville 100 training in June......hopefully I can be riding my new mtn bike that I haven't bought yet, at a minimum.

Spring break in a few weeks and looking forward bringing my bike to T&C to train in the heat, in preparation for IM 70.3 STX, that is if I can do the entire event. May be reduced to a relay...going to check out my fall back options today.

Lot's of work to get done today.......

Cheers!

Got up at 4:45am today to go to 24 hour fitness. Got on the treadmill for a 2 mile run at a 10 minute me pace. Left LCL or possibly the IT band giving me big time problems.

Post run I did a 1 hour spin class where we were out of the saddle an climbing for 50 minutes straight. Knee was not a problem. Busted my tail in that class this am.

Looking forward to see Dr Stark on Friday. Thinking I won't be running for a while.

Cheers!!

Travel Day.....

No work out today, but will hit the pool and bike in the am. Got a great massage this evening. Left IT band pretty beat up and sore still. Glad that I took last 2 weeks off from running. Like being back on the bike and in the pool to cross train. Going to bed...........counting sheep.

Cheers!

Got in a 35 mile bike ride yesterday. Rode the usual Arrington Vineyard route. Big head winds on the way out. It took me a solid hour to reach the turn around. Usually takes me about 55 minutes.

On the return it took me 50 minutes with a really nice tail wind for most of it. At certain times I was going 30MPH with no breeze - which meant there was a 30MPH tail wind .....nice!

Average HR was about 132 BPM. A beautiful sunny warm 70F day in middle tennessee.

Up and out the door today at 4:20am for a 5:40am flight to Denver. Gotta say how much I dislike getting up at 3:45am. Just isn't natural.

Busy with Mgt meetings today and will hit the treadmill tonight to test out the left knee. Got in 2 miles of speed walking last nite on the treadmill and felt ok - towards the end felt a little in the outer left knee - but may have been in my head.

Got a busy week in front of me with a bunch of travel. Pack light, run hard and fast.

Cheers!

A day of "Rest"

No work outs today. Just a good stretch this am before heading out to Jack's Bball game. Tomorrow it's suppose to be about 65F so I'm going to get in 35 miles on the bike. This past week I got in 3 spin classes and 1 outside ride. Also managed to get in 2 swims, nothing big , but back in the water.

My first week back was, overall, good. My endurance is certainly there but form is lacking and specific muscle group need work. I am going to try to hi the gym as well tomorrow to get in some strength training, stretching and a 3 mile run. I'm concerned about my left IT band/knee. I've got a doctors appt on Friday to get a few pics taken of my knee and foor to insure that I have no major issues. Fingers crosse :).

Loving my dogs tonight.........

Cheers!!

TGIF.........

This was a very long week. Work has been rather demanding, while I attempt to get back into training for STX 70.3. I managed to get in 25 miles on the FB2PRO today. Felt pretty good for the most part. When I take inventory of my overall health. I am feeling pretty strong on the bike. My left knee still feels a little aggravated and my right foot is all better...I think. I'm certainly concerned about over training and developing an injury. Lot's of minor aches and pains right now.

Since the RR100 I've been experiencing light headedness post work outs. Think I pushed maybe a little too hard in that race, albeit it sure didn't feel like it at the time. Have had several instances, but was able to get thru them. Also, slight memory loss as well...attribute it to being 43. Not certain if my little drop in BP episode is the reason for this. Frustrating at times.

Post bike ride today I felt very dizzy and just out of sorts. Granted it was my first ride, I felt good and pushed hard to catch up to some dude that was about 1/2 mile in front of me. It took me about 10 minutes or so but I did catch him and then hit it hard as I could as I passed him. I'm certainly not use to being in aero position. When I was in the pool this week when I got out I was pretty dizzy as well. It only lasted for about 30 seconds and this is a familiar feeling as I've always had an issue with my equilibrium when coming out of the water - just not usually after 20-30 minutes. But like I said - I haven't been on the bike or in the pool for months so I'm thinking that this is the reason why. We'll see.

More to follow tomorrow.

Guten Abend....

Glad to be back training...look out young bull!

Made it into the pool and onto the bike on Tuesday and Thursday of this week. On Wednesday just hit the bike. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I hadn't lost a ton after being off of the bike for a few months while I had focused on my run. My knee and IT band felt just fine. No running this week at all. I'm going to try to run a few miles on the treadmill on Sunday. In addition to hitting the pool and bike I started back on core exercises. Thinking that I need to research a few different core exercises to mix up my routine, along with squats and perhaps a yoga class or pilates once a week.

Being back in the pool was a bit of a challenge as I've lost my form and I've got to get back to focusing on form and efficiency in the water. It continues to be a weakness but over the next 60 days I'll have a 1.2 mile swim dialed in. An ocean swim with no wetsuit, mind you.

All of my trail running has given me a great base to build on as I enter triathlon training season. Still need to buy a mountain bike and plan out my late spring training on it.....still have plenty of time.

Tomorrow I plan on hitting the pool again along with a the bike for an hour spin or perhaps actually getting on my B2 Pro outside. Having ridden the STX course and run it as well, I definitely have the home field advantage over the young bull. I just have to hope that my IT band/knee heals up and i can get in enough run traning to have a 1:35 half marathon after smoking the bike in 2:35....we'll see.

Gotta get my sleep, so I can train, think, etc....

Cheers!

First day back at Training

Well, after taking a solid week off to lick my wounds form the RR100 I resumed my training schedule. My next event is the 70.3 IM STX on May 1, 2011. I've got a young bull to slay that day.......

Actually got back into the pool this morning at 5:00AM and followed it with an hour spin class. My left IT band/knee is still giving me some minor problems, but confident I can work thru this issue. I've got an appt with my Doc next Friday to xray it and make certain that nothing serious is wrong.....thinking not....but rather be safe than sorry.

So I'm excited about being able to train again and to have a simple focus, which is to have a great time in STX.

Going to get some sleep - a long day.

Cheers!

PT

RR 100 Results ...........

At the 6AM start the temperature was 18F. It was a bitter cold beginning to this race. When training for an event like this you always just hope and pray that the weather will cooperate, because running 100 miles in and of itself is difficult enough without the weather complicating matters. Well today the weather was a challenge in the morning, was really quite beautiful during the day and then the temps dropped like a rock once the Texas sun set. While I have to say the weather wasn't my issue on this day, injuries on the course ended my 2nd attempt at a 100 mile trail run.

Leading up to the race I trained well, got lots of rest and generally feeling pretty darn good about my chances. Having DNF'd in Leadville and taking on a much flatter course in TX I really thought that this was going to be my day. Every event you learn something new about the sport, yourself and equally important others around you. My experiences in triathlons, 50 mile endurance runs and an attempt at LT 100 gave me a solid informational base both physically and mentally in approaching this race. I knew that I was physically fit for the race. I also knew that i was mentally fit for the race....albeit probably debatable by the naysayers.

Being mentally fit means understanding the course, your limitations and being able to adapt and handle what the day throws at you. Sometimes its good and sometimes not so good. For the most part the race was a success, despite the fact that I didn't actually complete the event. So why was the day a success? I successfully completed 80 miles, the furthest distance to date. I got injured on the course which then resulted in another injury which compounded with fatigue and weather caused me to sit down at mile 80 and take an inventory of the situation. I knew that with 7.5 hours left in the race that it was going to be a huge challenge to finish in under the 30 hour cutoff, given the fact that it had just taken me 8 hours to complete the previous 20 mile lap. Not to mention, I knew that I was pretty beat up. I did think that with the sun rising in 2.5 hours that it might provide me with the energy needed to pick up my pace, however, the little rollers on the course had become almost insurmountable on the 4th lap as both left and right legs/feet were injured and trying to go up or descend was painful to say the very least.

My pacer, Tim Engel, was pushing hard for me to keep going at the mile 80 aid station. He was going to his car to get more clothes to wear for the last lap and final push, but before that I told him that it wasn't a good idea to go on and that it was time for me to call it quits. He told me to think about it while he went to the car. I knew that I was done, he knew that I was done. So with a cup of hot chocolate in my hands I was very very happy to be sitting down and at complete peace with my decision to stop. I was happy that I had completed 80 miles and didn't want to really hurt myself. I knew that I had beat up my IT band and wasn't quite sure weather I had fractured my right foot or not, only knew that I couldn't put too much pressure on it when walking. So as I sat there at 4:30AM sipping my hot chocolate, waiting for Tim to return and enjoying the fact that I was done, I began to feel a little light headed, my ears began to ring, then my face got hot and then a cold sweat. I knew that my blood pressure was dropping and that I was going to pass out. As I sat in the chair I calmly asked a volunteer at the aid station to get a medic because i was going to pass out. He didn't hear me the first time so I repeated it again. It was one of the last things i remembered before waking up as i was being tossed around in the back of my rental car as Tim was taking me to the local ER.

Not a fun way to end the race, but a reminder of the fact that running this distance is not normal or probably good for the body. As usual, a lot was learned during this race and many more experiences gained. It was a bunch of fun, a challenge to say the least and will keep me coming back to chase the elusive 100 mile goal.

For now, signing off.

Cheers!

18F!!! Thats a big WTF??!! Just pulled into the State Park. Dark and cold .....hmmmm why am I doing this again?

Looking forward to the sun rising.

It's a Chilly Night in Texas......

We made it to Houston this afternoon on time, surprisingly, despite snow and ice storms that have hit the south. I';m so tired of the cold weather. When I picked out this early season race, I was thinking about a warm, low altitude venue. Tomorrow morning the temperatures are suppose to be in the mid 20's, yep, that's right, the mid 20's...WTF?? So I do have plenty of gear and will be very well prepared.

The sun rises around 7PM and sets around 6PM....Tomorrow night the temps will get back down below freezing, which is when things will get a little tricky. Hopefully, I'll be able to shake the 72 mile DNF monkey off my back. I have a game plan for tomorrow, but it's a loose plan. That's the way I like it ...loose.

I've trained well for this race. Definitely have not over trained. I have no injuries or even minor tweaks entering this race. I have gotten plenty of rest, eaten well and mentally have prepared for a very tough 24 hours. My goal is simple, watch the super bowl on the big screen back at 9651 Masonwood Way. That's perspective.....

WIth that said, it's time to get my 7 hours of sleep. I'll be texting updates to my posse throughout the race....

Cheers!

PS - Go Big or Stay Home.

Tick Tock goes the Clock......the Countdown Begins...

I'm 57 hours out from the RR100....There has been a lot of time invested in training and planning for this event. A 100 mile race is a challenge by anyone's standards, so when asked if I'm ready, the short answer is...as much as I'll ever be. It't 9:25PM in Denver and I'm in bed chillin out after watching my Orangemen whip up on CT. I got in a 3.5 mile run on the Tmill this am. A busy day at the office and just finished up responding to a series of emails.

Post work got in an 80 minute massage at Massage Envy, which is better than not getting one, but just barely. They never ever listen to me when I say ... all i want is for you to work my hamstrings, quads, calfs, achilles and feet. They spend 75% of their time on back and neck before getting to my legs.....every damn time...oh well...like I said better than nothing.

I've got a busy day planned tomorrow and then getting to bed early. Going to get in an easy run on the Tmill again in the am. No injuries or tweaks. Feeling really good going into this race, other than I haven't had very many long runs other than the SF50 in early December.

Tired right now...signing off.

Cheers!

Sing me to Sleep...I'm Tired and I want to go to Bed...The Smiths

It's about 80 hours out from the race and I'm trapped in a winter freeze with temps in the negative teens in Denver. Not only not cool....actually damn cold. This morning the snow talked to me as if it were in the same amount of pain as I was, but only more. Nobody was happy today...tried to fix that with a massage and a nice dinner back at the hotel. Eating light this week, wanna drop a couple of pounds before the race. Man, it's going to be a tough 24 hours in Texas.

I'm tired. Going to get up in the am for an easy treadmill run and solid bfast, then off to the rock pile...assuming the jeep will start.

No worries.....

Cheers.

PT