No Eagleman

Posted by on June 17, 2010 in Training

Well, despite all of the hype I put into competing at the Eagleman half-Ironman, I didn’t compete.  Eight days earlier, on June 5th, I had a sports injury that caused some rather severe muscular trauma to my right mid-back section.  I went to the ER to ensure that there were no broken bones or organ damage, to which an xray and cat scan were performed.  Neither revealed any damage, so I was left to simply heal while taking motrin.  Fortunately, I had leftover Vicodin from my knee surgery back in November 2009, so I took them instead which helped a lot.  I was in serious pain and could barely move.  Also fortunate for me was Roya’s co-habitation thanks to some homeless friends who are using her apartment until they find another flat.  “Homeless” sounds harsh:  they are between apartments and aren’t bums.  Well, that’s not exactly true either; the guy is a Brit and though he helped me put together my World Cup predictions, he’s still a bloody wanker.

Simply rising off the couch was initially torture.  Getting in and out of bed was a near-death experience.  Credit to Nurse Roya for all the incredible compassion and TLC she provided, but even her super-human strength couldn’t help alleviate use of my core muscles which are at the root of my discomfort.  Now, on day twelve following the injury, I can move fairly cleanly and without significant pain.  I had to work from home however last week as there was no chance I’d be able to handle a subway ride, let alone the walk to the subway station.  Naturally, I couldn’t compete at Eagleman.

I heard that race day featured terribly hot and humid conditions.  As anyone who knows me can attest, I fail big time in such weather.  It’s my kryptonite.  My buddy Fernando managed to complete the event, his first at that distance, in a VERY respectable time despite the terrible weather, and while I hated having to miss the race, I didn’t miss the suffering that he and so many others faced.  Pics on Facebook depict some pretty worn-out individual.

I managed to get onto a bike Monday evening for a little while to help out a triathlon/biathlon clinic.  It was painful to get out of the saddle, but riding in aero position was manageable.  I felt pretty strong surprisingly.  I tried swimming last night but managed only nine minutes in the water before bailing.  I probably could have continued on and grit my teeth through the pain, but it became increasingly worse and my form suffered.  Making the call to quit was a good one.

I did manage to get back on the bike this morning as part of my triathlon team’s Thursday early morning brick workout and while the first loop of Central Park felt pretty good, I realized that I couldn’t get out of the saddle to attack Harlem Hill, and that my endurance while training a high intensity wasn’t good anymore.  By the time I finished the biking session, I was a humbled man by how hard it was to ride hard.  I tried in vain to run for the 20 minutes or so that was allotted for it, but it hurt too much.   I instead walked for 1.5 miles at as brisk a pace I could manage without causing too much pain.  It was very discouraging to say the least, but I’m trying to keep a good attitude about it.

My next race is in 10 days:  The Philly Olympic Triathlon.  It’ll be my fifth time competing at this venue and I do like it quite a bit.  I had hopes of getting a P.R. thanks to an improved run this season, but at this point, I’m just hoping to compete.  It’s entirely possible and likely that I’ll be able to swim and run by this time next week, and with a fair amount of base fitness under me (a good early-season training regimen, and 10 years of multisport training under me), I’m sure I’ll do okay.  The “A” race continues to be the NYC Triathlon.  That’s three weeks after Philly.

It’s hard to say how well the body is going to respond to the intensity workouts that are in my future, but I’m committed to working hard and that’s really the most important part.  For now, I can only cycle without pain, so I intend to ride A LOT in the next week.  I never thought I’d say that I miss running but dammit, I do.  I loved the feeling of being in the water yesterday to swim, and although I was in pain, I knew that once it subsides, I’m really going to enjoy this new phase of training.  I’m super motivated.

That’s it for now.  I’ll update this weekend with how things went training-wise.  I’m going to give it a try at swimming and running on Sunday/Monday.

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