Nothing Goes To Plan

    I can honestly say that nothing has gone according to planned this year. Starting with losing my job as of January 1st. Granted, that was a blessing in disguise, and I enjoyed being able to take a step back, look at my life, and decide what is truly important.
    But this is a fitness blog, so let's keep focused. I thought the time off would give me extra training time. And it did, to a degree. Then, in early spring I found out that the Epic 250K, my "A Race" was cancelled. Suddenly I was without a goal race. I floundered. I decided to make it The Summer to Race With My Friends, and started lining up events throughout the summer. Seemed like a good idea at the time. It would be a run heavy schedule, but fun, and with variety. A persistent, nagging cough that was exacerbated by breathing the humid, chlorine laden air at the pool kept me from logging as much time in the water as I had hoped, but my running and cycling were still on track.
    I approached running carefully and cautiously, opting for shorter, focused running versus long, pavement pounding, joint crushing runs. I ran every third day, trying to keep injury free. I kept my runs to 3-1/2 miles or so, which seemed to be the magic number to avoid IT band issues, or patella pain. I avoided pavement, sticking to trails and tracks. I flirted with Runner's Knee, but managed to keep it at arm's length. Until the Mount Hood Scramble. Other than the Freedom 5K I have been unable to run since the Scramble. My knee made me miss a 10K I was registered for, and have had several highlighted races come and go without being able to participate. I don't know if I will be able to run another race this season.
    I was cycling heavily from early on, since that is the best approach to long course triathlon. Especially for someone with running difficulties. "Swim Smart, Bike Strong, Run Tough." I was cycling nearly every day, until the Scramble. I have only just in the last few days been able to spin for 30-35 minutes without pain. Now to build up slowly, and carefully.
    With most of my normal cardio, and leg work out of the schedule for a while, it has allowed me to switch focus a bit. I am back in the pool regularly again, swimming 1-1/2 miles or so, often doing the tougher individual medley set (2 laps breast stroke, back stroke, freestyle, repeat for 1+ mile). I have increased my upper body strength training and core work so I am getting a bit of the She-Hulk definition in my shoulders and back. All with an eye to increasing my swim strength, and improving my core stability which helps improve all aspects of triathlon. I have been focusing my leg work on hip and glute strength and flexibility, both of which will help prevent future injuries (I hope), as well as increase running and cycling strength and endurance.
    So, training has taken a 180 from where I was last year. All racing events are in a holding pattern while my knee decides to stop being so angry. I will say, I'm glad I hadn't paid the entry fee for the half-Iron I want to do in September, my consolation race, since I can't do the event I really want. My weight has stayed steady, I am on track with my nutrition, even if I do eat dark chocolate almost every evening (if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to maintain my weight). I am definitely not  where I thought I would be at this point in the season, but I am in a good place because I am making it be so. And I am at a good point for base building for next year.

The Zen of Swimming

    I am struggling through the frustration and depression of being unable to cycle and run. My knee continues to give me grief, even after 5 weeks of taking it easy. I have been going through KT Tape like a teenage boy goes through a gallon of milk. I'm keeping it taped, and often adding a compression wrap. I'm careful to wear supportive shoes, and mindful of how I walk, step, and kneel. And still it reminds me of my frailties with a random, hot, stabbing pain. Not a dull ache, mind you. This is one of those pains that really lets me know that there is something wrong. Something wrong enough that it is making me be sensible, and cautious, and shit like that. Not to mention pissed off.
    At least I have really upped the intensity of my upper body, core, and dryland training. Before too long I will have the shoulders of She-Hulk, which is kinda awesome. I have been doing leg work, but it focuses on hips, glutes, and calves, while avoiding load bearing the knee. Yeah, that is not all that easy, and my quads are going to suffer from it. Sunday morning I got on the bike, to do a little easy spinning while watching NCIS. My knee told me to stop at 23 minutes. 23 MINUTES! Fuck. I'm used to going for at least an hour or two, or more, with hard gearing and sprints. So, cycling is still out for now. So it was off the bike and into the no-knee leg work.
    I was forced to take a week off from swimming while they drained and cleaned the pool. It needed it. But it meant a whole week of no swimming. Last night I was back in the water, and it felt good. But even there, my knee reminded me of the damage done. I like to do my Individual Medly workout for overall swim strength and stamina: 2 laps each breast stroke, back stroke, freestyle X 6 = 1 Mile. My knee was not happy with the scissor kick of the breast stroke, so I had to modify the set, and be very mindful of my kick. Nonetheless, it felt fantastic to get back in the water. I swam a mile and a half, and felt strong and comfortable.
    Swimming is a form of meditation for me. The steady, repetitive movement. Stroke mechanics. Controlled breathing. The need to be always mindful of what my body is doing. The only sounds are the bubbles of my own breath rumbling past my ears, and the quiet swish of my arms entering the water. Sometimes I hold my breath and swim as silently as possible. Smooth and silent. Last night, letting my brain fall into the Zen of Swimming allowed me to get past the angst of not being able to bike and run. I had the image of me becoming a distance swimmer. A distance swimmer. Why not? Why not train for longer distance while my legs are forced into standby mode? I have already swam a 5K (granted, it was at the beginning of a 250K Tri), so why not aim for longer? It gives me a training goal, which I don't have right now. Something to push for. I need that. I need solid goals to each for, even if it only ever happens on my own time, in my own way. This is the beauty of the Zen of Swimming, it helps me push past obstacles and see the path ahead.

Knee. Borked Again.

    I am beginning to come to the sad conclusion that running is never going to be my body's sport of choice. I have been plagued with injuries this year, even more so than in past years. For months I have been flirting with a case of Runner's Knee. The Mount Hood Scramble took it from mere flirtation to a full-blown relationship about 4 miles into a 6 mile trail run. I knew right away that I should stop, but what do you do when you are still 2 miles out? You just keep going. There was no option, really. On the plus side, I did place second in my age group. On the negative side, here it is, nearly 3 weeks later, and I am still relying heavily on KT Tape. I didn't even get into my crash near the end that split open my elbow.
    I know I made several critical mistakes on The Scramble: First, I didn't wear my Merrell Trail Glove shoes, since I had not done any training runs in them. Instead, I wore my worn out Saucony running shoes that are my pavement pounders. Second, I did not tape my knee beforehand, even though I knew I was close to a bummer knee. Third, I was not as careful on the descents as I should have been. Downhill, especially as steep as in this race, is much harder on the knees than the ascents. This was a brutal race: steep hills of sand, ash, and rock; boulder fields; a long slog on the soft, dry sand of the river bank that had just enough softball sized rocks in it to make it treacherous; multiple river crossings; and did I mention steep hills? Very. Steep. Hills.
    Last Saturday was the Freedom 5K. A simple run on a relatively flat course, following the parade route for the Buckaroo. Hottest g'damned race I have ever run. I figured my knee would be okay, since I had not been able to run, and could barely cycle on the 2 weeks between it and the Scramble. I had my knee taped within an inch of its life, and felt pretty decent about my chances. I knew I would take it slow and easy. My knee griped a bit the first half mile or so, then settled down just fine, but I was being so careful, and trying to run as gently as possible. And hot. It was so, so very hot. A friend, who ran a great time, had heat exhaustion that had her loopy for a few hours afterwards. Despite the knee, and the heat, I did place first in my age group, to my great surprise. My knee felt fine, until about 2 hours after the race and I had that now all too familiar burning pain under my patella. KT Tape has been my constant companion of late.
    I have another race in 8 days. I had signed up for an easy 10K. Last night I contacted the race coordinator to ask if I could be switched over to the 5K, and even that is very likely pushing my luck.
    What does this all tell me? Do I give up running, which means giving up on triathlon? Oh, hell no. I won't give up on triathlon, and especially the Ironman plan. Maybe back off on the mileage? Yes. I will go back to the drawing board, back to basics, back to building foundation strength. There are a lot of exercises I can and will incorporate into my training in order to improve my muscle balance. I can increase strength, flexibility, and muscle stamina without the knee pounding. Hopefully, anyway. I feel like I am taking a giant leap backwards in my training though. But if I can't run, at least I can try to recover. 8 days until my next race, 3 weeks until my next adventure run. If I'm careful, maybe I won't break myself.