State of My Back and Legs

The good news, is I don't have an actual hamstring injury. The bad news is I do have some bursitis, mostly on my left side.

I went to my chiropractor (that I haven't seen in 5 years) mostly because I figured I could use an adjustment and he's pretty good about these things, and then I don't have to go see some specialist and wait a long time.

I have been super conservative about not running for about 4 weeks (except for NothingMan, and I "barely" ran that). So I caught this thing early on. I also figured out I need a new mattress, and I have to get that ordered real soon, but meanwhile can cope by sleeping on the other side of my bed that isn't so worn out.

Yesterday was my first attempt at running since NothingMan. It felt like crap! Like I had no power at all! But I managed to actually run for about 10', do 10' of strides, 5' elliptical and 5' water running. Neither elliptical nor water running cause any issues, so I'm going to make much use of them in the next few weeks.

Today I did some running again. This time, I ran a mile straight (faster than yesterday, YES!!!), then did 10' strides, then went onto the treadmill to finish up. My left glute/hamstring complex wanted to tighten up on me, but I didn't go long enough for that to actually happen. It felt good to run! I iced my left side and then headed to chiropractor.

John did adjust my spine but commented that it's in really good shape. My orders are to stay conservative on the running (I will increase very slowly), ice after running or biking, stretch out that left hamstring gently 3x daily, and put a heel gel pad in my running shoes to temper the impact upon heel strike. I'm going back to seem him in 2 weeks and we will see how I'm progressing. I am also going to hit myself up with the NSAID's for 2 weeks. He explained my system needs to build it up in order for it to be effective, so I'm back on the pills. No worries! I never want to use that stuff for longer than 2 weeks at a time.

I get super committed to any recovery program, especially since this one is to get me back to 100% running, and this ties in nicely with The Hard Routine (see my previous post for my commitments). I did also jump rope for 5' today, and that felt good and has no impact on my bursa. I noticed that my arms have retained a nice shape from all the swimming, and I am adding in extra chinups and triceps dips, so here come my guns again! I just need to get my 6-pack all showing and I will be a happy camper looking good when I hit the beach at Ironman Florida in 6 weeks!

Right now I'm cautiously optimistic about getting my left hip all fixed up, but I think I caught it before it progressed to 4 weeks of no running at all, so we'll see how the next 2 weeks go. Also, I'll just be riding either my MTB or a stationary bike with a nice wide seat. John said that because I have so little fat on my backside (even though I still think I have a decent butt did I just say that?) that my bursa are going to be upset by a regular bicycle seat, but I had already known that and had planned on the cushier seating for the next several weeks.

This weekend, I begin my 2 back to back long runs/hikes, so I will be heading to the big hill at Greene Valley, weather permitting. I'm excited about this! This morning after I finished up on the treadmill, I saw a woman I know on another machine with a high incline holding onto the rails, and today I just decided I'd had enough of that and lectured her on not holding on. I also told her to go outside and go up some real hills. There were some other people on treadmills also hanging on, and they were listening to me intently. I really got into it, but why oh why would you hang on unless you can't stand up without support?

I'll keep everyone posted as to my running progress. I can't WAIT to be running a lot again!

Change Revisted

Other than the usual outdoor signs like shortening daylight hours, cooler weather and tree leaves turning colors, sure signs of fall in my house include:

• I have chosen my races for the next season and made my ATP
• I am no longer going commando
• I am wearing long pants, even flannel!
• I am wearing socks when not working out
• I put away most of my bike bottles, i.e., they are no longer on my kitchen counter or in the dishwasher
• My bike bag has been put away in a closet, since I probably won't be traveling anywhere to ride for many months
• I need to change the rear tire on LGL to get ready for trainer riding
• I am letting my hair grow a little
• I am going to start heading to Greene Valley to run up and down the big hill
• I am actually cleaning up my yard
• I can see bare surfaces on my kitchen table
• I turned on the heat in my house

Some people dislike the coming of fall because it means winter is on the way, and don't get me wrong--I'm not a big fan of winter--but for me, fall means I get to wind down my training somewhat which gives me time to do other things that I truly enjoy--spending quality time with my plants, cooking, maybe a little sewing, and most importantly, taking stock of where I am in my life and reflecting on the past year and looking forward to the next one.

In the Crackhead company, I'm the CEO, and my 2011 fiscal year has just recently begun. I have a prioritized to do list, set forth a budget for triathlon and non-triathlon expenditures, and I am already executing my business plan. The plan calls for some physical plant improvements (and of course, routine maintenance), upkeep of my four Covey quadrants, and improvements to my financial and triathlon performance. I continue to have high expectations for myself, but also understand that there will be things beyond my control that will cause me to make changes to my overall plan, but for the most part I feel I can move forward in a smooth fashion.

Last year (fiscal), I did pretty well on all fronts, despite feeling like the company was going to go under at one point! But we rallied, ended up with good numbers anyway, and learning from that we think we are positioned for an outstanding performance this year!

I suppose in a way I think of my happiness as a sort of indirect result of my company performance. If I am covered financially and physically, and feel like I have a pretty good plan and ability to execute it, I am pretty satisfied. Yet I always feel like I could do better. Always be tweaking the plan and be prepared to adapt to change. Once again, I think back to a point when I had thought why did I go ahead and commit to something even harder than Ironman when I hadn't even finished closing my Dad's estate and still experiencing the lingering stress from that? And then why did I decide even while I was stressing about UMC that I was going to change positions at work (real work) once I was done with that? Because change is one of the things that drives me. You don't get better by doing the same old same old. You get better by injecting change into your life. I need change.

Each major life event that happens to me makes me stronger. I don't always like challenges arriving from negative events, but I have learned that even when faced with those, there are opportunities for me to learn something about myself, life or both, and I received that lesson once again in navigating myself towards a UMC finish, and I have knowingly subjected myself to a bit of stress by changing positions. But, can a new job be any worse than what I have been through the last 4 years? No. Especially when it's in an area that I absolutely love--pure technology. It's funny to me that I am thinking that UMH training will be a piece of cake this time around! It won't really be that way--it will get fucking hard at some point (check back in late April next year!), and I will no doubt question myself in putting myself into that position, but I used what I learned last year to hopefully make what I'm doing seem more routine rather than a complete surprise to my body.

Speaking of my body, I have verified that my bed has been causing much of my referred pain in my glutes and hamstrings. I may still have a slight strain in my left hamstring, but I'm going to the chiropractor tomorrow (first visit in 5 years!) to get checked out, ask for some ultrasound treatment, and I will proceed conservatively with my running, which I am going to test out this morning.

I had some major DOMS yesterday, and it felt great! Being sore because you did something is awesome to me. I rode my MTB, Clipless Fuck, and enjoyed the hell out of it! I hadn't ridden her since April, and boy did I notice the difference in weight as compared to my other bikes! It made me realize something about my body maintenance, too. During my 2008-2009 training season, I rode CF a lot to and from the outdoor pool. That had 2 impacts: first, adding to my overall cycling volume, which is never a bad thing; and second, it gave my backside a break from the more aggressive position of LGL and Bitch. This past season, I didn't have time to ride to the outdoor pool (although depending on how it goes, I may get there next summer), and so I didn't get that cross training effect, and I think that is something I need.

So for me, no it's not enough to just swim, bike and run--I need to ride 3 or 4 different bike positions, spend a few months not running on roads at all, strength train year round and stretch daily. I still find it interesting that many triathlon training plans and/or coaches say that strength training isn't necessary. It isn't necessary or required to get faster at S/B/R, that's a fact. But I do find it necessary to enable me to do my non-tri life (at least the way I live it) in good health and not sustain injury from day to day activities, and it helps keep all of my muscles at the ready.

I don't need 4 (really I have 5 but am trying to sell one) bikes, but have come to enjoy the different positioning of each one and how it lets me use my muscles in different ways. Same thing with spending a few months of the year running on a soft treadmill, and incorporating trail running wherever I can.

I just really like to mix things up! On that note, I am going to head to the Y to try a short run and then swim. Enjoy your day!

Planning, Recovery, Catching Up and The Hard Routine

I am 100% finished with my ATP!!! It just gives me this sense of well-being, plus I don't feel like I have to work on it in the wee hours of the morning. It really looks good and feels right. I learned so much from last year, for example:

• Trying to run, even for 30 minutes, on Friday afternoon when I swam for 2.5-3 hours in the morning (after running long on Wednesday morning and then doing about 2.5 hours of swimming biking on Thursday), is probably not going to happen. I need to rest after those long swims, "rest" being a relative term, to be ready to do 3.5-5 hours of training on Saturday and 5-6 on Sunday.
• I didn't need to do any brick workouts. Whenever possible, I ran before I biked. It made the quality of my runs much better, but didn't really impact my biking. But I will be doing some brick workouts, since I am doing an Ironman next year, and I believe in doing transition runs just to remember about running right after biking.
• On Mondays, when I rode 90+ miles on Sunday, I might not feel like running (but will probably be able to get in a swim).
• I will just feel better about myself if I put in frequent 100+ mile rides, and so I have set things up to enable me to do that on 14 Sundays (except for the one time I'll go up to ride the IMWI course for a race rehearsal on a Saturday). If I can pull this off, my cycling will be in excellent shape come UMH!
  
• I NEED recovery weeks, and I have scheduled 9 of them. I used to be paranoid that if I dropped my hours way down that I wouldn't feel like bringing them back up, but I proved myself wrong. Not to mention that I just need the extra personal time to catch up on whatever I can!
• I need to keep up at least the core part of my strength routine right up through race day (see discussion below about the state of my back and core). I just can't afford to slack in that department, since it is critical to keeping me healthy.

So I built all these reality checks into the ATP and now all I have to do is EXECUTE it, which is my favorite part anyway.

I feel pretty out of sorts since I barely did any training last week. I just don't feel right not exercising, but I know I need the rest. But I need to get back to strength training, and I have a million zillion other things I am trying to get accomplished. Here are a few of them:

• Roof work
• Major tree pruning
• Concrete work
• Keep pestering the city about the foreclosed dump of a house so it gets torn down
• Test out the treadmill that I want to buy. I wanted to do that this last weekend, but other crap came up.
• Figure out where I'm going to put said treadmill.
• Get my car washed and detailed. I haven't had this done in 2 years!
• Buy a new mattress set for my bed. I finally figured out why I haven't been sleeping well--the fucking mattress is not supporting my back properly! I came to this amazing conclusion around 2AM today, and now I just have to go try out a few and make my final decision
  

I am going to see a chiropractor on Thursday, after running into my former one at the Farmer's Market on Saturday. The objective is to figure out whether I have bursitis (ischial tuberosity), just some stuff out of whack in my back, a strained hamstring or what. My guess is that I may have slight bursitis that I can fix (can you say water running/elliptical?), need that new mattress, and need my spine looked at after the abuse I put myself through this last year. It has become difficult for me to tell what's going on here since there is always so much changing. I know that my bed is toast--I spent more time in it last year than every before--and I know that I should have replaced the mattress a few years ago, so now it's just become urgent. My body has become more picky, probably somewhat just from age, but also I feel like a highly tuned machine that needs certain things just right. I have been experiencing referred pain in my glutes and hamstrings, and it seems to move around, which is indicative of nerve irritation--at least that's what I hope is going on. It has been noticeable while biking on the road-ish bikes, but not in the more upright position of a spin bike, and I will test my MTB tomorrow. Again, this would seem to point at nerve irritation. So I'm off running until I get this figured out. But if I can water run and/or elliptical, no worries--I'm just fine with that.

Swimming is coming along. I can really sense my rotation integrating with my kick and my stroke, and I can tell how much I was doing wrong, and that I have a ways to go, but it appears my brain finally understands the motion of swimming from a neuro pathway perspective, if that's the right term. I mean, I can feel what I need to do and what the effect is of doing it differently without thinking about it--I just feel it. I began rereading my Maglischo book, Swimming Fastest, and it makes sense to me now, and I can actually try something in there and feel what it's doing. All this has come about because I swam more than ever last year, but I also worked really hard on my body roll, or more specifically, connecting my head to my hips--I don't lift my head to breathe at all--it goes with the rest of the rotation. I also worked a lot on the high elbow during the catch (I already had it above water). So now finally, I've locked my head to the rest of my body and can make myself rotate more and my head doesn't have to think about it! And I can rotate and keep my elbows high and I don't have to think about that! So now I am trying to think about my hand position on entry and during the catch, and I am feeling how it should be done! Today, I "thought" about how I was swimming during my warmup, and then I just swam intervals, and while they weren't super fast, I felt pretty smooth and didn't swim too slowly considering I haven't even tried to swim fast in weeks! So I am encouraged that I am going to see some huge improvements to my swim this year.

I have restarted my strength training. I was such a slacker and did almost NONE for about 10 weeks up to and post UMC. Which is why I think my back is jacked up. So today I lifted for just 45 minutes, and I am such a pussy fucking wussy girl! Weight that used to be easy for me felt hard, but I know it will just be a few weeks before I'm headed back in the right direction. At my age, I have to keep this up to hold my muscle mass and sustain the S/B/R training load I am throwing at myself. I want to head into fall and winter strong for raking leaves, shoveling snow, and maybe I will pull out the cross country skis this winter!

In a few days, I am going to start in on my own Hard Routine. Ok, so it's not like what I am doing isn't already hard--it's fucking hard (go ahead and try and do my training and report back to me)--but I can always do better. So I need to go all public and say what stuff I am going to do better between 10/1 and 12/2/2010. First, let's start off with what I am doing well:

• Executing boatloads of training
• Generating some pretty respectable racing results
• Staying relatively healthy and injury free
• Staying employed
• Eating pretty healthily
• Stretching nearly daily
• Helping others out in the sport to achieve their goals
• Attending to my personal wealth plan
• Keeping in reasonable touch with friends
• Watch very little TV
  

So where can I improve? Plenty of places, but here are the ones I am going to shoot for:

• Jump rope for at least 5 minutes at least once a week.
• Do at least 20 pushups per day.
• Drink only 1 beer per day (yeah yeah this will be tough)
• Stretch my back over the stability ball or by hanging off the bed daily
• Take my calcium supplements daily (I hate taking pills)
• Do extra pullups at least twice weekly before I swim
• Put my legs up against wall for relaxation for at least 5 minutes on Saturdays and Sundays after I am done working out

How much "extra" time does this take? Really not much. Mostly it takes cutting myself off from spending time on the computer away from work hours. Maybe my hard routine doesn't look that hard, but hey, I'm a total slacker and I had to pick something! And I never know where these small things will lead.

So there. Go and make up your own Hard Routine. Just do it. Oh--you're already perfect? I think not.