Woohoo! I'm Injured!

Shit happens. It happens when you don't want it to. But it's a cost of doing business, and I have to find a way through it, and I will, with my coach's help.

So what's the deal? I'm not fully diagnosed yet, but it presents as hamstring and/or gastroc tendinitis in my right leg (the one with the Morton's Neuroma). I believe it arose due to the following factors:

• Decreasing my bike volume significantly in September while simultaneously
• Increasing my run/walk volume significantly in September
• Doing a 50k that I thought I could legitimately train for near home. I was wrong. No way I could do enough hill work in 6 weeks to be ready for what I faced, nor do I have access nearby to the level of rocky trail I ran on. Still, I'm glad I did it, and I had a blast. It was a real mental exercise!
• Doing a 5k 8 days after the 50k.
• Doing a hilly 25k 2 weeks after a hilly 50k. That was just plain stupid.

Did I see this coming? Well yes and no. I had an intermittent niggle in my right calf/knee in September, but it was so intermittent I didn't think much about it. I felt tightness in my calf when I would sit in the yoga child pose that got progressively worse, but I could still sit that way and ease into it pretty easily.

Things got slightly less intermittent before the 50k, and I did have some concern that I might just DNF, but I wasn't really in pain so much as I felt really tight. So I just kept up stretching and I never felt the tightness or anything limiting me during the 50k. 

Then the plan was for me to not run for like 10-12 days, but then that Corn Maze 5k got rescheduled for 8 days after the 50k, and it was just for fun and I surely wasn't going to race it, so I went. My right calf was tight, but it still didn't feel painful, so I stretched right before the race, and I really didn't feel anything while I ran, albeit slowly. Still, I was super tight after it.

Then I started formal training with coach, and since I wasn't reporting in on any particular trouble, 2 days after the 5k I had a hill workout. That kinda sealed the deal. Now I recognized actual pain, but still not enough for me to consider modifying anything. I began a research, search and destroy mission to see if I could figure out what was going on and maybe fix it. I gave it my best shot, and I have a theory (which I will get to shortly), but I found myself needing medical help to figure it out.

So the day before Thanksgiving I got myself into an Immediate Care facility to get checked out. I said I was in level 9 out of 10 pain (really hurt going down stairs and sometimes just walking), but honestly I don't know. I have a very high pain tolerance for these sorts of things--I continued running for 3 years with pain from the Morton's Neuroma!

The doctor ordered an X-ray of my knee and an ultrasound. The X-ray showed I have very minor (negligible) arthritis. Yay!. The ultrasound was to check for a Baker's Cyst behind the knee--that was also negative. So the doctor gave me a prescription for 600mg Ibuprofen (not sure it helps but I'm taking it anyway), and we talked further. I asked her if she knows about Morton's Neuroma, and she said yes, so I laid my theory on her: For the 3 years I spent running on it, I had adjusted my leg's mechanics, notably the knee joint (and probably some in the hip, too), and since April of this year when I found a way to stop the pain and get my foot operating properly, my knee is rebelling and hence my issue. However, I believe that reducing biking played a factor in that biking puts my feet (and knees) into a rather locked, good ergonomic position, and that "protected" me from the ravages of running.

In fact, back in April, I had some trouble with my knee and resorted to a lot of water running for a few weeks, and I corrected it.

So the doctor buys my theory, and so now I get to see an ortho AND a podiatrist. I think my orthotics need to be rebuilt. I may actually have overstretched tendons, too, but I won't know that until Monday.

So in my customary fashion, I've been testing what I can do that DOESN'T HURT to substitute for running. Water running--CHECK. Elliptical (which I abhor but will do)--CHECK. So until I get a diagnosis on this, that's what I'll be doing. I don't want to try actual running for at least a week, but I can do more biking in the meantime, too.

So while I wanted to bawl my eyes out yesterday, I'm good with where things stand. And I'm actually happy that I scored a decent physician who understood that my foot may be the cause of all this.

So, Disney will be whatever it is--walking, running, standing around. Whatever I can do there is what I will do and be OK with it. If I don't have any actual muscle tears or severe tendinitis (which I don't think I do--nothing is swollen and I can use the muscles just fine they just feel super tight), I would guess I can get back to actual running in 3 weeks. But we shall see. 

I'm keeping a daily log of activities, stretching, and so on, so on Monday I can tell the doctor how things are progressing. I also traced this guy's rear right leg so I can show the specific points where I experience pain while doing certain things.  He lives on the door in my weight room.

I am nothing if not prepared when I walk into a physician's office!

So wish me luck that this is just stuff being readjusted, needing some time off from running (that I should have taken earlier LOL) and new orthotics.

Meanwhile, I'm thoroughly enjoying the swim workouts I'm doing, and even seeing flashes of getting faster. And I'm remembering what hard bike workouts are, and I'm progressing on my quest for handstand and pullups. So I really can't complain.

I'm just fortunate in that I live so close to my Y and can do the deep water running and whatever else I want to do there. Plus I'm really REALLY determined. But honestly, I can't wait to run pain-free again!

Running with the Devil

On 9/5 I began my formal training for the 50k in October and Dopey Challenge in January. This entails a lot of running. A lot of running is dangerous territory for me. I've done it before, but it's had consequences--maybe not while I was doing the training but months later.

My prior encounter with a lot of running was in 2009-2010 when I trained for and then did Ultraman Canada. I was in fantastic shape and just kept pushing my own envelope. It resulted in foot problems that nearly derailed Ultraman Canada, and that ultimately became what is a Morton's Neuroma in my right foot.

The neuroma isn't gone--it's just under control. So I never really know if it's going to rear its ugly head again. Yesterday I noticed slight tenderness in the ball of my right foot, but I expected some of that as I go through this training phase.

Speaking of it, I never really posted what the fuck the planned training looks like. So here it is (I left out the week of 9/5 that is already over):

I'm only showing you through the 50k because this is where the dangerous training is.

The point of this is to run my fucking head off, hopefully in a safe way. It is similar to the training I did for a 50-miler in 2009. I'm actually going a bit over what I need to do, but remember that after this, I will be doing Dopey Challenge which is 48.6 miles of running in 4 days.

When you look at the training hours, it doesn't look like much. But what you don't see in there is lots of walking to supplement the running. I just didn't bother setting up my training spreadsheet to account for planned walking, since I don't do that very often. I will be walking 1:45 to 2:30 after the double long runs on weekends (or wherever I placed them). Again, doesn't sound like much, but it's all TIME ON FUCKING FEET. This past week, I did a 1-hour run/1-hour walk on Wednesday, and on Thursday I did a 1:30 run/1 hour walk. Let me tell you how I felt on Friday. Trashed. When I walk, I walk in my running shoes. They aren't made for walking, but this simulates what might happen in the 50k. I'm not racing that thing--the point is to have a nice, long run in a beautiful place to celebrate my 60th birthday, and that will serve as one helluva training event in preparation for Dopey Challenge.

I used to think walking was boring, but when you do it in nice weather in a nice place, it's really enjoyable, and there isn't the pounding of running. I try and keep myself to 15mpm when I walk, and I usually do, just because there isn't any extreme terrain where I live.

What's funny is I live only .8 miles from my Y, so you'd think I walk there all the time. But I don't, because sometimes I am bringing stuff to both swim and run there, and other times because I am already getting plenty of exercise, and extra walking is noticeable to me. But when someone asks me why I don't walk there, I sometimes say, "I'm lazy." 

Now, only 6 months ago, I couldn't go for walks without some amount of foot pain, so I am very thrilled now that I can go for walks and I can be on my feet for extended amounts of time! It was making me depressed to always have some amount of pain, but it was something I was willing to live with. But now when I walk, I walk with impunity! Sometimes I'm sure other people walking think all I do is walk, and it makes me laugh. I get competitive about it, but just like when I'm running, I'm smiling! Sometimes I feel so sad for people who are out walking or doing other exercising, and they look like someone has a hot poker up their ass. If you hate it that much, DO SOMETHING ELSE FOR FUCK'S SAKE! There are unlimited forms of exercise--find one! Not to mention it's still summer and the weather has been glorious and there are all sorts of flowers still blooming and squirrels scampering and birds chirping and flitting about, so what's not to smile about? I will stop and pet anyone's dog (after asking if he/she is friendly), and I wave and say hi to all walkers, joggers and cyclists. I absolutely love it when a cyclist sees me running or walking and gives me the nod or the wave. I think they can tell I'm in pretty good shape, but nonetheless, I'm smiling!

So, with a devil on my shoulder, I shall proceed with this training. I just hope there's an angel on the other shoulder!

Nutrition Redux

I've written about nutrition in the past, and when I remember, I'll dredge up some old blog posts and copy them into this new blog, but today is a new reality for me in terms of nutrition.

First, some biological facts about me:

• Female (yes, despite my short hair and somewhat muscular build)
• Age 59 (60 in a couple of months), aka near geezer
• Height: 5' 2" or for you metric types 157.48cm. I'm a shrimp.
• Weight: 111-114 lbs. depending on hydration status and some other things, or 50.35-51.72 kg
• Important health factoids:
• Post-menopausal (hit that milestone at age 52)
• Hypothryoid. Yes I take Synthroid daily, 125mcg
• Bradycardic: My resting pulse is typically 48 and my maximum heart rate is about 160.
• Decent cholesterol profile. At last test, total 228, HDL 63, Triglycerides 81 (they've been lower I should work on that), LDL149. Cholesterol to HDL Ratio 3.6. It's all been better, but I'll see where it's at in about 6 months.
• Osteoporosis: When I was first diagnosed (because I requested a bone density test), I freaked out. But, I know that this is fairly common in petite women, and my doctor praised me for my continued strength training. I do take Raloxifene HCL (generic form of Evista), and have not experienced any decrease in bone density in 4 years. I also take extra Vitamin D for this. I did get a TUE for the Raloxifene, as it was required.
• VO2Max: Need to get retested, but last time I checked it was 58. Not too shabby!
• Allergies and asthma: I have always had allergies that weren't extremely limiting, but they seem to have worsened over time. I am basically allergic to almost anything except foods, like dust, pollen, cats, dogs. I am not allowed to have cats anymore, even though I dearly love them. The asthma thing is new, after I had an asthma attack 2 years ago. I didn't land in the hospital, but my breathing was very compromised. I use Nasonex daily, albuterol before workouts (and sometimes other times of day depending on airborne allergens), and sometimes Advair. 
• No ACL in left knee since 1982. At the time it was torn, doctors did not repair them. I have a brace, but only need to use it if I want to do side-cutting activities, which I generally avoid! But I did wear it back when I played volleyball and softball. I could have it repaired, but that would mean probably 6 months of no running, and as long as I do mainly linear sports, it's not an issue. However, the lack of ACL creates muscular imbalances that I am constantly compensating for. The missing ACL is on my left side.

Up until I hit menopause and for maybe 2 years after, I had my nutrition all dialed in, and I could calculate how many calories I needed daily based on my exercise output, and it was a snap to maintain a particular weight/bodyfat. But menopause did a number on me, and then the hypothyroidism didn't help. Turns out I've been hypothyroid for years--it was just a matter of being tested and catching results when I was experiencing symptoms. Which when you keep becoming depressed for no good reason is how we figured it out.

Anyway, both menopause and hypothyroidism fuck with your carbohydrate metabolism, which creates a logistical nightmare for an athlete such as me. I need carbohydrates to function and fuel my training, but I can't take in too much or my body will start laying down fat, which I don't want. I didn't cop to this until last year, after I'd put on maybe 8 lbs. which made me feel like a fucking blimp. I knew I had to change my diet, I researched, and just like any other fat person, knew I had to cut my carb intake. It's not like last year I was pigging out on starch. I wasn't. I wasn't eating candy. I was eating starchy carbs in moderation. But the amount I was eating didn't work for my activity level at the time. So I switched my dinners to feature just lean protein and a huge salad, and I dropped 8 lbs. over 3 months. That is how I was eating until this spring, when I "fixed" my Morton's Neuroma. But then I started training in earnest again. 

As I picked up my training, I found myself bonking on 2.5-3 hour workouts on the weekend. So I decided I was eligible to introduce more starches on Friday and Saturday nights. That worked great, but then around late April-early May, I kicked the training up a notch. And I found I needed to increase my carb intake again.

Now, sometimes people laugh or sneer at me like "tough problem to have" that I need to garbage up on carbs. It is NOT fun. I am small, and my stomach is small, so I can only put so much in there at a time, and I do strive for an overall good diet. But I also ascribe to some basic tenets of sports nutrition, and the Monique Ryan book I have from years ago tells me that when I am needing over 2500 calories a day (YES!) that it's OK to eat things like candy, so I'm doing that again.

Another problem I have is that hypothyroidism fucks with sodium metabolism. As you can imagine, managing my electrolytes is very important, and I am not yet at the point where I have that exactly right again. I used to have that all figured out, but things have changed. If I ingest too much, I will retain water for 3-4 days (to the tune of 5 pounds!). If I ingest too little, my workout suffers. If I'm working out in extreme heat, it seems I can go high on the sodium intake without the water retention, but I haven't figured out what is appropriate for other temperature variants. Generally speaking, I'm good with just Gatorade unless I'm working out 4+ hours then I switch to Infinit, and I have several custom mixtures with varying amounts of electrolytes that I am trying. It's time for me to keep track of what I'm ingesting again so that I can get this right for any training/racing conditions. Water retention isn't really that big of a deal, except that I feel like Puff Daddy, and most of it is in my belly and it makes me feel like not eating which is not a good situation.

Anyway, according to the FDA, here is how I am supposed to eat:

At the moment, it's actually more like this:

I am back to eating at night until I am actually quite full, almost uncomfortably full. I know I'm doing it right when I sleep well and have plenty of pep for my workouts the next day.

Yesterday I swam 3500 yards, ran 6.5 miles (easy pace) and lifted for 30 minutes. I did not eat any candy (sadly I am OUT!). Here is what I did eat:

• Breakfast was a hard boiled egg on a toasted Blueberry whole grain English muffin, with about 1 tsp. seedless blackberry jam
• Drank about 16 oz. Gatorade during the swim
• 1 banana prior to swim (at 6:55AM), and 1 immediately after.
• Post-swim (I was starving), had 3 eggs fried in butter (I was craving fat, and when I do that's what I eat) with 2 slices of whole grain toast slathered with butter. Then I took a nap.
• 1/2 can of Coke just before I ran
• 12 oz. Gatorade while running
• 1/2 serving Endurox R4 right after I finished running
• About 10 Pringles topped with my homemade muffuletta for a snack prior to lifting (I was hungry post-run)
• Dinner was about 5 oz. spaghetti with chicken liver/mushroom sauce, including some Romano sprinkled liberally on top
• 2 beers. One was Tyranena Bitter Woman, and the other was Magic Hat Electric Peel

When I woke up this morning, I felt hungry but not starving. I weighed myself and the scale read 116, and I was like WHAT THE FUCK??? But I see that I took in a boatload of sodium (in the muffuletta and Pringles), and my belly feels distended, so too much sodium makes Crackhead appear fat. The pasta sauce also has bacon in it, so there you go.

As you can see, I pay close attention to what I'm eating, with the objectives of:

• Maintaining my lean body mass. I do not want to become emaciated. I'm carrying more muscle than I used to when I was training this much, and I would like to keep it that way, thank you very much!
• Fueling my workouts and recovering from them. DUH.
• Enjoying a variety of foods. Life is too fucking short to be a fucking perfect eater.
• Taking in sufficient micronutrients. I do take a daily multivitamin plus additional magnesium just in case. The Endurox R4 also has a good hit of vitamins.
• Not getting fat. On my frame, 2 lbs. are very noticeable. While I'm not actively going for a particular weight, I do know that I race well at 109-113 lbs.

Overall, I think I'm doing a pretty good job. Sure I could be more puritanical, but as long as the above criteria are being met, I think I'm doing just fine! Is managing these things difficult? Not really--it's become habitual for me. If I want to train at the level that I do, I absolutely must pay attention to my nutrition. I don't use training a lot of hours as an excuse to eat like crap, either. Yes, I occasionally will visit McDonald's after I work out 4+ hours, and I do like my 1 (sometimes 2) daily beer. I find it entertaining that every time I ramp up my training that I am always surprised at how hungry I can get, and how it feels like I am stuffing my pie hole 24x7. But then when I notice sleep disturbances and bonking, I realize I have to work harder at getting enough carbs. It's always a fun process!

Since I'm going to turn 60 this year, I thought I'd mention some birthday gift suggestions, just in case you are wondering what to get me:

• A Loki action figure. These are hard to come by and/or expensive when taller than 6". I prefer this one, since it looks like Tom Hiddleston.
• A Pinarello Graal 
  
  
• Sidi Drako MTB Shoes, Size 38.5 

  

  
  
  
  

She's Baaaaaaaaaaack!

Welcome to my new blog! For reasons I can't discuss here, I have archived my old blog. This blog is a fresh start. My entire life is a fresh start!

WARNING: If you did not read my previous blog, sit down and maybe put earplugs in your ears. I write exactly like I talk, and that includes fucking cuss words much of the time. I don't always swear, but get me riled up (e.g., cut me the fuck off while I'm biking, be oblivious to normal lane mechanics in the pool or just be stupid or an asshole), and I will let loose. But you will also see that there is another side of me that is very much into nature, self-growth, math, art, music, cooking and trying to be a good human being. So if you can put up with the swearing, you just might find something here. But it's your choice--you don't like it--DON'T FUCKING READ IT!

I left my full time job on January 29, 2016. It was a voluntary exit. Why did I leave? Because the job interfered with my main hobby--TRIATHLON! I was stressed out, working far too many hours, and becoming depressed. So I said FUCK THAT after I figured out that I had saved enough money to pull the plug on that shit. I was also beginning to figure out how to resolve the Morton's Neuroma that I've had in my right foot since 2010. Since that time, I've tried countless insoles, metatarsal pads, new orthotics, different shoes and just fucking praying for the thing to go away. It caused the ball of my right foot to hurt while running. Not all the time--just once I was like 40 minutes in. That fucking sucked! Well anyway, the solution for me was:

• Wider shoes. I measured my feet accurately and turns out I need to wear wide (D width) running shoes and some casual/dress shoes.
• An ingenious fucking device--a toe ring! I bought a pack of 10 of these things only because my tri baby Brad convinced me to race (after a 13-month layoff!), and I wanted something better than what I had been using that might even stay on my foot while swimming. I had been using a cut off piece from a toe manicure toe separator.

Check it out! I wear this while running and biking, and sometimes with regular footwear. I don't need to wear it while wearing flip-flops or barefoot. Since I began this protocol, I have experienced ZERO pain in the foot! 

So, with my foot figured out and ALL THE FUCKING TIME IN THE WORLD TO TRAIN, I started training in earnest again in April. There's another event here that I can't talk about (which is the reason behind archiving the old blog) that coincided with all this, but guess what happened? I train for 2 months, start racing and start WINNING again! Needless to say, I start having fun (I love training, but I love racing and I LOVE WINNING!), and start thinking about where I want to go with all this.

About a month or so ago, I started thinking maybe a Double Ironman was in order. After all, I've done an Ultraman, and so a Double would really be no big deal (well not big for ME). The best fucking thing about being retired is that I can train like a fucking madwoman, recover from it, have time for a social life, and still enjoy my other hobbies like cooking, sewing, gardening, and well--have time to spend on home maintenance projects!

So I'm thinking about what I want to do with my triathlon chops, since my endurance never really went away. Check out my training hour history:

As you can see, despite my former job sucking the life out of me during 2014 and 2015, I still managed to put in a decent amount of training--although swimming was the one thing I dropped whenever I wasn't "feeling it," which is why my swimming currently sucks. BUT, I managed to not be pathetic in terms of biking. If I don't put in at least 5,000 miles in a year, I consider that pathetic. But the 2 prior years I was sneaking a bit of biking here and there, way too much fucking time on the trainer, and not really doing anything intense. Same for running--since I have a treadmill in my house, and I was working at home, I could always go downstairs and get a couple miles in.

Well fast forward to this summer, and much to my delight, I figure out that I can do as much as I want ALL THE TIME! Of course, I still need to be careful I don't go overboard, as I love this stuff so much that I will drill myself into the ground! So I started biking a lot more, and I rejoined my local bike club, and that got me motivated to start improving my biking so I could get back the speed I used to have and maybe even surpass it. 

If you had talked to me in April, you would have heard me say that I didn't think I ever wanted to ride another century or do another Ironman. But then a friend got me into Tour de Cure ride, and said the team I'd be on needed 100-mile riders. I figured I still remember how to ride 100 miles, and it would be a good opportunity to figure out if I wanted to go that direction again. But I didn't want that to be my first century, so I did one the week prior--the Udder Century on June 5. I would say that 20 miles into that ride, I was grinning ear to ear and thinking I FUCKING LOVE THIS!!! I was so happy, and I only had one low spot during that ride, but I pushed through. Udder Century was my first 100 since Ironman Cozumel in December, 2013! I rode by myself and averaged just shy of 17mph. Not bad for a century comeback, eh?

Towards the end of Udder Century, I met the membership coordinator for the Downers Grove Bike Club--Tim. I saw 2 guys wearing Downers Grove jerseys, and rode up to them and we talked, and I said I'd think about rejoining, and let's meet up after the ride. So I finish the ride and Tim and Bob come and sit down to lunch with me. The first thing Tim says to me is, "Do you ever ride with women?" I said, "If they are fast enough!" And thus began a new friendship and I rejoined the club, and Tim asked me if I'd considered a sub-5 century. Well, um...no. Keep reading.

A few weeks ago, my 2nd BFF, Lori (Susan is my 1st BFF and you will hear a lot about her, even though she doesn't do triathlons) and I are talking, and she tells me I can basically cherry-pick a Kona qualifier now. I have the time to train properly and travel whenever I want. That got me thinking.

Then just last week I had a revelation--I've never gone for the BQ (Boston marathon qualification), and I should see what my BQ time is. Well, it's 4:25, and I'm pretty confident I can knock that out. And in October I'm going to Vegas to spend time with Susan, run a 50k, then celebrate the fucking shit out of me turning 60. Then in January, I'm going back to Disney to do Dopey Challenge--I've done Goofy (1/2 and full marathon on consecutive days) 3 times, and it's about fucking time I collect the other medals (Dopey is 5k/10k/half marathon/marathon). So I'll be a running machine, and I should be able to collect the BQ sometime in the spring.

Then I remember Tim telling me I should go for sub-5 century, and you know what happens next--I publicly proclaim I want the BQ, the sub-5 and the KQ (Kona Qualification). And also to be able to do a handstand, which should be achievable quickly. So here I am! I have hired a coach, Nick (one of my tri babies--we met at Ironman Lake Placid some years ago), who I am going to entrust with helping me achieve my goals. First things first--he believes I can do all this. He knows how I like to train, he's done Ultraman and we've talked training and coaching in the past.

So now I get to embark on this new adventure of shooting for the moon! Curiously enough, there's a full moon, and so here we go!

I have one more multisport race for the year--a duathlon on 9/18--where I intend to win my AG. Although I want to do a 1/2 NothingMan (for those of you new to me and my terminology, a NothingMan is a self-supported triathlon) over Thanksgiving weekend, coach-permitting. Starting 9/5, I begin concerted run training for the 50k and Dopey.

It's going to be weird for me to be coached again, but I know that I need to rely on forces outside myself to help me with my ambitious goals. And I know I will also get a lot of love and support from my immediate friends as well as my extended Facebook network. Of course, I do have some anxiety about all of this--who wouldn't? Seriously, nearly every day now, I pinch myself because my life is so wonderful! Here my financial planner had been encouraging me to quit my job for several years, and since I didn't grow up with much money, I had been reluctant to quit, and was prepared to work to the age of 62. But as fate would have it, it appears all my stars have aligned and I am free to revel in all my Crackheaded glory!

Thanks for reading and I am so looking forward to regular blogging again!