Training Log Archive: O Steve!

27th swim of the year...Decided today was the day for my 450 TT that I have done the last 25 years....my times indicated I had an excellent chance of going just under 7 minutes which would be an excellent result.....

decided to warm up with 6 x 100 on 2:30 like last year when I nailed a 6:55.8

1:34
:43 (google filled with water so I stopped at 50)

1:29
1:29
1:32
1:32

times looking good for a good TT

then xx 50

:43
:44
:44
:45


ready to go....plan on smooth entry, good push offs and using my new found kick....no peaking at the clock...

pushed off and felt pretty good....
mid swim I was a bit uncomfortable.....
the last 3 50's were very hard as I felt like I was holding on and gutting it out....very very hard swim...

touched in 7:06.07......didnt quite do it.....

not sure I learned anything on this one....I am not sure what went wrong but I am not sure I missed what I thought I could do......decent result, not bad. but thought I was capable of more...

hard to think about doing another 450 TT this year.....its a painful endeavor....

15 x 15
poles
marches
and one leg balance ball

new anti flam has really knocked down the knee pain in a big way.....did various :30 run test on the road and treadmill.....about 3 of them.....if I job slowly on the road the pain is a 4.5 with no guarantee it would not go higher as I run....treadmill was a 4 at start but rose to 6.....also did a 5% run at 13:30 mile thatt seem to minimize the pain.....my be a possibility in the future.....

these are all tests as I dont plan running a real work out for the next few months but I can keep my curiosity from testing it.....the antiflam I am using could be the thing that really takes care of this......and with my new unloader brace coming I have some hope this will all work to get me running at a decent pace next summer in triathlons....

Doctor/knee notes.....MRI showed that no meniscus pieces have torn off since surgery....my pain is OA that has been kicked up DUE to surgery.....and then my surgeon said what i suspected: "If I had to do it all over again I would not have done the surgery"......bummer.....

so now I have to try and get the inflammation caused by the OA down and work around this junk knee.....

the plan now...
-get an unloader brace and use it that will shift the weight of my knee to the "good side" of my knee and open a bit of a gap on the painful area.....
-get new prescription for antiflam.
-Give the Synvisc injection a chance to work....can sometimes take 6 months to fully see the results....

My knee now.....the Synvisc injection has really helped the knee pain for all normal activities.....when I take few strides to test for running I get pain and unstable feelings.....but its very early and it HAS improved the run pain...

I told my doctor, who has told me not to run again, that I have these goals:

1. Be able to nordic ski classic this winter. (Kari and I have a cool trip to Ottawa and Quebec city in Canada to nordic ski and see the sights)
2. Be able to run in 6 months....twice a week for 3-4 miles, for 7 months out of the year.....56 short runs a year.
3. Be able to run for 5 my years in the above pattern before having to give it up for good.
4. The above should get me to 300 lifetime triathlon (trisport) finishes in my lifetime. My major lifetime goal.

I would not bet against me on any of the above. I can say that when i am able to tolerate running I will be going to a very restricted thoughtful running program that will prep me for running 5K max as fast as I can to do sprint triathlons. That will be enough and I do believe that 8 miles a week of running will be enough to do everything I want.

Cedar Lake...no wet suit

16:11 S to E beach (wind with me)
17:55 E to S beach (against wind)

funny note: after getting bad news from my doctor it was nice to pop my head up after the first leg of my swim and 3 older people on the beach were applauding me.....talked to a guy named Harry for awhile who was curious about my swim and we talked for 10 minutes before I swam back...

Have not bike to let my knee heal but wanted to take the opportunity to bike with Kari (Syd is up north with G'ma).....

I have been looking forward to doing the 1 year old Lake Rebecca single track again (I had done it once before) with Kari who had never done it.....

AND....

see how my knee would do with some hard biking, especially since the Synvisc injection.....this would be a test on bike knee pain.

first and foremost: my knee did great!....no real pain and this was a good and hopeful sign.

Side note: Mid stroke my leather pedal strap broke with a loud pop and I was sent flying as the force caused me to twist the handle bars and spear me in the chest with the end of my bars as I tumbled into the dirt : This resulted in tearing my brand new bike jersey front zipper at the seam half way down the front. After I dusted myself off I tucked the broken leather strap into the pedal and finished the ride with a flapping open bike jersey.....lordy!

time includes 3 stops for crash and photos but even though I was trying to pace the 14 miles (that is a pretty good distance on Singletrack) I averaged 145 which is very firm for 14 miles and 1:41 of biking....

the classic 10 x 10 to see where my speed is at....this will tell me if I am ready to go for my 450 yd time trial this year....

warm uo with mild 6 x 50 on 1:30

:47
:49
:50
:49
:46
:46

1:43 R

classic 10 x 100 on 2:00

1:32
1:33
1:33
1:31
1:30
1:31
1:31
1:31
1:31
1:30

Tough swim and speedy times....averaged 1:31.3/100......all this swimming is working.....this is right at my avg time for this workout last year when I swam one of my best age graded swim times of my life....time for my 450 TT....as soon as I get the right rest and opportunity I am going for it...

Note: : 20 run test on the treadmill......knee pain at a 6.....felt like I might be able to run longer but not naturally....but this was an improvement......my knee has a tightness, unstable, slight pain feeling when walking around....but when I run it spikes up and I find my self with a defensive limping stride.....I will continue not to run...but test like this (:20-1:00) run every now and then to see how I am doing as far as running...

pull downs and
march and knee balance

Cedar Lake beach to beach swim

S to E 18:15 (wind blowing S)
E to S 16:34

direction of wind made a big difference in swim leg time