Great News!! My Wrist is Broken!!

So last week I mentioned that my wrist had continued to be extremely sore 3 weeks post bike wreck.  I had an MRI on Thursday and found out that I actually have a fracture of the 'hook of hamate', one of the eight small carpal bones of the wrist.  Of all wrist fractures only 1.7% are of this bone (yes I'm always special).  It's actually an injury that usually occurs in baseball players or golfers who have something in their hand and have some kind of blunt force like hitting the ground with their club.

The pain is felt along the pinky side of the wrist, in the pinky and index finger, and also impacts the ulnar nerve, which runs along the pinky side of the arm (ulnar side).  I have pain in all of these areas.  Only over the last few days have I been able to move my pinky without serious pain.

The small bone highlighted in red is the hamate

Now, most people might think that getting the news that your wrist is broken is a bad thing, but I was super happy.  I would much prefer a broken bone to ligament damage (and surgery).  The bone will heal much faster.

This is not my image, but you can see in this picture the "hook" which has fractured

However, I'm not completely out of the woods yet.  The hamate bone has a real "hook" that's why it's called the hook of the hamate.  The hook is generally what breaks.  50% of these fractures do not heal and require surgery to excise the bone fragment (the hook piece) - especially if the fracture was not diagnosed early.  The hook also has some ligaments attached to it.

So, for me, when I went to the ER they thought it "might" be broken and I was casted the first week as a precaution.  But week 2, I went to see a Sports Med Dr who told me there was no indication of a break on the X-Ray.  I was told it was a sprain and the best thing I could do was start "moving" it.  This is, of course is the exact opposite of what you do for a break.  So during week 2, I took my hand in and out of the splint several times a day attempting to move it, which was extremely painful. After 4 or 5 days of this, I decided on my own, I need to stabilize the wrist, because this was just causing too much pain.  However, I was sleeping without the splint for most of this period.  I would wrap my wrist, but that was all.

After my MRI, my Dr's advice was to wear the wrist splint 24/7 and I go back in a few weeks for a follow-up.  I'm hopeful that it will heal, but I'm thinking the chances may not be that great.  However, I did read that the surgery is a rather simple one and many people resume normal activity very quickly.  And I will say I've seen notable improvement over the last 3 or 4 days.

Lastly I will leave you with a quick word about a wrist MRI.  It IS THE WORST THING EVER!!!!  I have had a few MRI's before (unfortunately).  Usually the main concern is claustrophobia from being in such a confined space.  I am slightly claustrophobic and always get a bit nervous.  Claustrophobia was not a concern for this.  I wish I had a picture so you could visualize the position I had to get into for this MRI.  You basically lie on your stomach in "super-man" position.  You know the workout move for your core and back.  There is a little donut shaped hole that you put your wrist it.  Your shoulder is completely extended and elevated above your head, while you are laying on your stomach.  From the moment I got into this position it was uncomfortable, but I wasn't prepared for how painful it would become after just a few minutes.  My shoulder and shoulder blade hurt incredibly bad.  The MRI took about 35 minutes.  Within 10 minutes I was crying.  I was terribly embarrassed to by crying. I felt ridiculous.  But I was in so much pain and felt completely helpless. I have never cried during a medical procedure before EVER.  I didn't even cry when I had the wreck. 

If you have ever had an MRI then you know you can't move. If you move then they just have to redo the testing.  All I wanted was just to have it done and over with.  So I kept enduring it.  The technician kept trying to reassure me that she knew it was painful, but I needed to stop moving.  ARGH.  When I had finally had all I could take, and was about to tell them I had to come out of the MRI she told me to just be patient for 3 more minutes and we were done.  So I sucked it up and got through those last few minutes.  My shoulder hurt for 3 days after the procedure.  I tried to read up about this online and it is a common way to do a wrist MRI, and it indicates it can be very uncomfortable and even painful especially if you have a shoulder injury (which I do to this shoulder).  But, I also read that there are many things the technician can do to make you more comfortable and that I likely just had someone unfamiliar with how to prep me for a wrist MRI.  I warn you if you ever need one....call around and make sure they know what they are doing, or better yet use a different methodology all together.  They don't have to use this method, it just gives them better images.

The good news is if I do need any follow-up images, since it's bone fracture, a CT scan is a better test than an MRI, and the tests are much quicker.

So there's where I am....I'm stilling hoping for a miracle to be able to do my first tri in a few weeks....but I'm facing reality that it is very doubtful.  I will be super happy if I can just do the second one I planned at the end of June....that's another full month away. 

Three Weeks Later....

It's been three weeks today that I had my bike wreck.

My road rash is mostly healed - just some fresh pink skin reveals what was once scratched and bleeding.

The three deep bruises on my left hip are barely visible....only the golf ball size hematoma under the skin of the worst one gives me away.

The scratches on my palms are healed.

My nail is starting to grow back.

The other smaller scrapes and bruises are gone.

But my wrist....oh my wrist, is still in a splint.  It still hurts to move.  While it has improved some, it is only slight improvement.  I go for an MRI tomorrow to see if I do indeed have a ligament tear.  I am still hopeful it is just badly sprained and that the recovery is just going to take time.  But I would have expected more improvement in three weeks.  Fingers crossed I hear good news.

I still can't bike (outside) or swim.....

In the meantime, I am still running and biking on my trainer.  Biking is still difficult, as I can't put any weight on my left wrist.  By the end of even a short 30 or 45 minute ride my right hand is killing me from putting all my weight on it the entire time.  My tri bike is still in the shop - I think it will be easier to bike on the aero bars than my road bike.  Hopefully I'll have it back soon.

But, I'm trying to stay in "tri" shape.  My first tri of the season is supposed to be in 3 weeks.  And then a second one 2 weeks later.  I registered for both months ago and hate nothing more than losing money on a race  I can't do.  It's not looking good, but I'm trying to stay hopeful, that maybe someway I can do them.

I am just thankful that I can still do road races at a minimum.

Ok, that's it...I need good news tomorrow and I need the wrist recovery to speed up!!  I need a miracle.

The RAVE Run Kansas City - In Pictures!

I did the Rave Run in Kansas City on Friday night.  I could write a detailed post, but this is one best shared with pictures.  If you follow me, then you know I live for this stuff :)

My outfit...Of course I HAD to go all out!!



My friends aren't nearly as in to this as me...clearly lol

These ladies were in the spirit

Turn off the lights and I (my nails) glow!

Raving Lunatic??? Maybe....

Running With The Cows!!!

You might remember a few weeks ago I was debating whether or not to run The Running with the Cows Half Marathon since it was only 7 days after the Indy half.


Me & a cow........

After my bike wreck, and realizing about all I can do right now is run, I decided to go for it.  Plus I talked my friend Michelle into doing it too!  Who can resist those cows???

We signed up at registration and were given women's cut technical tees...nice touch!!!  Registration was small, but the volunteers were great and for such a small race they had lots of logo products, like t-shirts, magnets, and even running shorts you could buy.

The volunteers were trying to warn us about last minute parking changes.  The race is literally out in the country.  We were supposed to park in some fields, but due to lots of rain over the past few days they had to make last minute changes.  Literally just two days before the race they arranged for buses to pick us up from multiple locations and bus us to and from the start.  It went off seamlessly...I was pretty shocked.

Me & Michelle with a very unhappy cow

Race morning arrived and it was 60 degrees with 5 mph winds...perfect...but the winds would pick up and be up to 30 mph before the end of the race.  It was crazy.  The course was an out and back so I was hoping maybe we'd get a nice tail wind for the return 6.5 miles.

Last April I set my half marathon PR of 2:23 and I seem to have gotten progressively slower since then.  This would be my 5th half of 2013, and the previous 4 had been between 2:35 and 2:39 (slowest one at Indy after my wreck).  They had pacers for this race so I decided I would go with the 2:30 pacers.  I wasn't sure if I could do 2:30, but I wanted to push myself a little and also thought the pacers would keep me from doing my typical run the first two miles the fastest routine. 

My goal was try as hard as I could to keep with them for 11 miles...if I had something left maybe I'd run ahead, if not, I'd slow down and finish the best I could.

The course is pretty deceptive.  You would think it's Kansas so it's flat...and there were no major hills.  But there were plenty of slow, gradual climbs, but you of course, also got slow, gradual declines, which is nice.  These are the types of hills I prefer.  We still managed over 1200 feet of elevation gain over the course of the half.

You can see it was pretty much up and down the whole time, with some bigger hills

I got in line with the 2:30 pace group, and I have to say they seemed to struggle a bit with getting those first few miles right.  Mile 1 (according to the pace chart) was supposed to be an 11:56, but was 11:15 and mile 3 was a 10:52 - we weren't supposed to do any 10 min miles.  So, I didn't warm up quite as slowly as I had hoped, but I didn't seem to be struggling at all.

Being with a pace group helped, but I loved those negative splits at the end

I've found with most races I struggle a bit with the first few miles, just getting warmed up and into a rhythm, then I hit those middle miles and feel like I can run for days - I always all of sudden think I can PR or something....I just feel fantastic, but somewhere between 8 and 10 I die...and it's a struggle to finish.  This was about the same.  I felt strong for the 1st 10, but I had to work for those last few miles.  I had hope maybe, just maybe to pull ahead of the 2:30 group at mile 11, but I knew I'd be lucky to just keep up with them.  They had slowed down some in those middle miles, and actually had to pick the pace up at the end to get in under 2:30.  I was able to keep with them though, which felt good.  And other than the random 10:52 at mile 3, I actually negative split this race which was a first in a long time!  It was hurting a lot more at the end, but I was able to keep my pace in spite of the nasty crosswind!  Luckily we did get some tailwind, but the course was a lot of turns, so we had a lot of crosswind on the way back...and then just as you turned into the finish you had the headwind!!  That part sucked, but you were so close to the finish line at that point you didn't care.

In the end I finished in 2:29:50 (officially).  It was my fastest half of 2013 and I was super happy!!  Maybe there is hope for me to work on my speed this year.

I crossed the finish line and found my friend Michelle.  We then got in line to eat.  You have NEVER, and I promise you NEVER seen food like this after a race.  The race is put on by Queen of the Holy Rosary School and they had the post food in their cafeteria.  There were tables upon tables of homemade foods - meatballs, enchiladas, cupcakes, cookies, etc, etc.....  The lines were long, but they also had people walking around passing out blueberry muffins, chocolate milk and Subway sandwiches.

Unfortunately for me (or maybe fortunately) while standing in line for food, I suddenly got very nauseous and had to run outside for some air and to find a porta potty.  I asked Michelle to grab me a burger, but even after I couldn't eat it.  I tried a few bites, but just couldn't eat much.  I'm not sure what my new stomach issues are from.  This happened after Rock the Parkway as well.  I just get nauseous and my stomach cramps for hours, but it doesn't start until 30 minutes or so after the race so it's not a HR thing.  It's frustrating.  I've been doing some reading online and sounds like it might be a salt or sugar issue, so I think I need to play around with my nutrition on my long runs again....I've been running 4 years, and not had these issues, it seems odd they've cropped up all of a sudden.

Anyway, the race was seriously FANTASTIC.  The volunteers were amazing!  The course is pretty boring, but it's made up for by the terrific race crew, shirt, medal, and food spread for sure!  You also got a nice cowbell (of course) when you crossed the finish line!

Shirt, cowbell and medal 



Against The Odds - Book Review

A few months ago I was contacted by John Pendergrass to read and review his book - Against The Odds:  The Adventures of a Man in His Sixties Competing in Six of the World’s Toughest Triathlons across Six Continents.  I love triathlon and inspiring stores so I figured why not.

I was pleased when I received the book to also find it personally signed by the author.

You can get a good idea of what the book is about by the title.  It’s kind of like reading a detailed blog post about each of John’s triathlon adventures – and they were all adventures to say the least!

If you are looking for a book that is about a world class elite athlete, who wins every race, then this is NOT the book for you.

If you are looking for a book that helps remind you that we are all capable of accomplishing great things if we set our minds to it, then this might just be the book for you.

John’s story resonated with me because he (like me) is a true back of the packer.  He’s not a super fast athlete.  He struggles on the swim, the bike, and the run.  He doesn’t have a coach.  Heck, he barely had a training plan, but yet, he competed in 6 different Ironmans – on 6 different continents!

As if an Ironman wasn’t difficult enough, John waited until he was in his 60s to start training for one and he also added in jet lag and language barriers just for fun!  The man went through it all from a lost bike at his first race, to food poisoning, and variety of other obstacles.

As he details each of his race day experiences I can feel some of his pain, as I remember my own 70.3 experience, but you can also relish in his joy as he crosses the finish line.

The book is also as much a book about travel as it is triathlon.  If you enjoy learning about different places, he goes to great lengths to share his experiences in each country with you.  He didn’t just show up and race, he spent several days at each location really experiencing their culture and all they had to offer.

The book is a quick read and is truly inspiring.  It’s available now on Amazon for roughly $11 for paperback or $8 on Kindle. 

NOTE:  I did receive the above book for free to review, but the thoughts and comments are my own.

 

Indy Mini Marathon - A Great Race! (and a wrist update)

Jim and I had been planning to do the Indianapolis Mini Marathon for months and were super excited to spend the weekend in Indy.  It is Nation's largest half marathon with just over 30,000 runners and has sold out 11 years in a row, but the race has been going on for 37 years.  It was going to be a great weekend!


Jim & I at the expo - there were several cars around

Little did I know that I would wreck my bike just 3 days beforehand.  When I woke up Thurs morning after my wreck, I felt like I actually had been hit by the truck.  I was sore and stiff, scraped and bruised, and my left arm was in a cast due to a possible broken wrist, but definite severe wrist sprain.  I honestly couldn't imagine racing.  We were leaving for Indy right after work on Thurs, and I wasn't even sure I was up for the car ride.  I half heartedly packed and threw in some race clothes "just in case" for Saturday....but had a strong feeling I wouldn't be racing.  I highly considered not even going, but thought I could at least enjoy a quick trip and hated to leave Jim on his own.

 

Messing Around the Expo

Pace Car (I think)

Jim met some adoring fans

Two crazy turkeys

Caution driver with one hand!

 

When I woke up Friday morning, I was feeling a little better and started thinking racing might be a possibility...hey my legs weren't injured right???  Jim and I headed to the expo Friday and messed around.  So yes, I guess if I could pose for cheesy pictures I had to be feeling better.  By the end of the day I had decided that I would at least plan to race in the morning.

Beautiful shot from Downtown

The weather was supposed to be rainy and cold, so I had packed long pants and a long sleeve shirt, but also brought capri pants and a t-shirt - or so I thought.  The forecast changed, and looked like temps would be in the low 60s with no rain so I knew the pants would be too hot, but somehow I managed to not get my capris in my bag......argh.  Luckily we were literally staying across the street from the expo and it was open until 9pm.  So at 8:30 we headed over and I'm pretty sure I found the last pair of black capri pants size medium in the place! 

Pre-race dance

So if racing in my condition wasn't bad enough, I was also going to break running rule #1 - Never race in anything you've never worn before.  Oh well...that's how it goes sometimes.

Police walking the Mini in full gear

Race morning came and I was feeling ok.  I knew I'd be disappointed if I didn't run.  I didn't know what to expect, and thought there was a possibility that I would need to stop, but I would at least make it to the start line.  I decided I should probably take it super easy so I set my Garmin for a 9 minute run/ 1 minute walk to keep me in check.

Crowds lining the street going into the Speedway

There were thousands of people everywhere, but it was so well organized.  It was easy to get in and out of corrals and they had tons of bathrooms.  For a 30,000+ race I was able to get in and out of the porta potty line in 5 minutes.  It was pretty impressive.  While waiting in my corral I heard the best quote of the day.  Two guys behind me (I think father and son) were trying to stretch and warm-up.  The younger guy was showing the older one a stretch and said "This is how we did it in Marching Band", and they started doing a calf stretch while touching their shoes together.  I don't know why but it totally cracked me up.  No offense to those of you who might have been in marching band, but I just don't think it's the "gold standard" for running stretches.

Running around the Speedway track...this is at mile 7 and look at all the people. Just shows how big the race was

The race started at 7:30, but I was in Corral P, so I started about 12 minutes later.  I finally crossed the timing mat and started running.  I had worried about whether my wrist would hurt, but immediately I realized it wouldn't be the issue.  I had a huge, deep purple bruise on my left hip about the size of a grapefruit.  Every time my left foot hit the ground it shot a shock wave of pain through me.  I immediately thought, "Man I don't think I can do this".   It hurt, but I kept telling myself it would eventually go away, and it did about MILE FREAKING 7!  All through the race I was very protective of my arm, just trying to avoid getting bumped because I had the wrist injury, but also some nasty road rash on that arm.

Press Box at the Speedway

I seemed to manage ok, and took it pretty slow and easy.  I ended up finishing in 2:39 which is my slowest half in well over a year, but at least I was still able to finish.  It was disappointing because the course is flat as a pancake and the weather was perfect.  It was the perfect set-up for a PR, but oh well maybe another day.  I was just proud of myself for getting out there and getting it done.

Jim somehow managed to find me after the race in the crazy post race festival.  He had done great and set a new PR!  We hung out for a short time at the post race and then headed back to the hotel for showers and some lunch!  We had a great weekend in Indy and experienced a great race.  I would highly recommend this race to anyone.  I didn't give a lot of race detail but below are some of the highlights:

Great location.  Downtown Indy is clean and vibrant.  There is plenty of shopping and a host of restaurants and hotels.  Getting around is easy and most hotels were in close proximity to the race.

Super flat course

Excellent crowd support and volunteer support. 

Bands all along the course every mile or so.

Water stops were every 1 - 1.5 miles. 

Great long sleeve tech shirt, hat and medal

Large Expo with Race Cars (if you are in to that kind of thing)

You get to run on the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Awesome post race festival and plenty of food

A huge race that is so well organized it feels like a small race

Excellent traffic control and security

Shirt, hat and medal

 In other news, I just got back from the Dr about my wrist.  I got some good news, and some inconclusive news.

My wrist is not broken, that's good.

What I still don't know is whether I have a sprain or ligament damage.  The only way to tell if it's ligament damage for sure is through and MRI, but my Dr wanted to wait it out a bit longer.  So, in the meantime she is treating it as a bad sprain with bone bruising.  I am to ice it and keep taking anti-inflammatories and wearing a wrist splint.  I go back in 3 weeks.  If it's much better then we'll know it's a sprain.  If not, than it will be an MRI and possibly surgery....but I'm not going there yet.  I am having happy positive thoughts that it's just a sprain and I'll be good as new in a few weeks!  In the meantime, no biking or swimming :(     .....but at least I can run!

Melt It Off Monday & Bike Wreck Update

First, thanks so much for all the nice comments and suggestions after my bike wreck post.

Many of you asked about the bike.  Honestly it looks fine, not a scratch.  One aero bar is twisted and I lost one of the sensors on my Garmin speed/cadence center, but that seems to be all.  I will have to take it in for a thorough check up though.  My bike helmet got the most damage.  Honestly, I had no idea that I hit my head, but the helmet tells the story.  I also had a bruise in the same place - on the left temple and along the hairline.  REMEMBER TO ALWAYS WEAR YOUR HELMET!

You can see the small dents along the side of the helmet.  Better here than my head.

For the most part I am healing well and feeling better.  My wrist is definitely the lingering problem.  I go see a Sport Med Dr tomorrow and will hopefully know more about whether I have a sprain or break.  I will update you when I know more.

As for Melt It Off Monday....well let's just say Jim and I were in Indy this weekend and decided to  have a few cheat days after our race since we'd been doing so well with out diet.  Let's just say the food and how I feel was totally not worth it and makes me want to get back to eating healthy.  I'm not even going to weigh in today...it will just make me more mad.

I did end up doing the half marathon Sat, not sure if that is considered gutsy or stupid, but race recap coming soon.

My First Bike Wreck - CAUTION bloody photos

Since I started riding 3 years ago I have often heard people say it's not a matter of if you will wreck, but when.  For 3 years I have been accident free...yes I fell while standing still a few times, when getting used to my clipless pedals, but that was not a wreck.

Yesterday changed that.

You might remember  a month ago or so I posted about getting my new tri bike.  I was a little intimidated about riding it because it is quite different than a road bike.  The weather in Kansas City has been pretty crappy so far this Spring and I hadn't gotten a chance to ride outside.  On Monday, I finally took the bike out to an empty parking lot and rode it for about 15 minutes to get comfortable.

Yesterday, I was working from home, and it was beautiful.  Sunny and 70s.  It was perfect, so I thought I would go for a short ride around my neighborhood.  It would give me another chance to get comfortable on the bike with minimal traffic. 

I had been riding about 15 minutes and was feel pretty good. I was moving in and out of the aerobars, changing gears and riding really smoothly.  I was loving it.  I rounded a corner and was on a short straight stretch when I saw a truck.  I immediately got off the aerobars, put my hands near the brakes and started slowing down. I was watching him, just being cautious and then he suddenly turned left into a neighborhood right in front of me.  I slammed on my brakes, and my front tire came to an immediate stop causing the back tire to flip completely over my head.  I'm sure I stopped to abruptly, but think I did what anyone would do.  My instincts kicked in ans said...get the bike stopped!

I got up, shaken, but feeling ok.  He immediately got out of his car and ran over to me.  "Oh my gosh, are you ok?  I didn't even see you I am so sorry!"  He was freaking out, and kept saying your bleeding are you ok?  I told him I thought I was ok, just scratched up, and I only lived about a half mile away.  It's weird how you react in a situation like that.  I was shaking all over, but got up and rode home.  I even paused my Garmin after the accident!!!  I honestly didn't think I was hurt too bad, just scraped up some.

Anyway, after I got home I decided to shower and get the blood washed off, it was then I realized just how bad my left wrist was hurting.  It didn't seem to be swelling, but it was very painful.  I had road rash on my left shoulder from shoulder to elbow.  Both hands are scraped pretty bad, I'm missing part of a fingernail, and I have 3 huge bruises on my left thigh, but my wrist HURTS!

So, I made a trip to the Urgent Care clinic for good measure.  They took x-rays and I "might" have a broken wrist...WTH??  How can they not tell.  He said one x-ray showed a thin line across the top of the wrist bone which could indicate a break, but was inconclusive.  He said he was treating it as a break and soft casting it.  I am to follow-up in a week with a Sports Med Dr.  If it's feeling better it's probably just a bad sprain, if not, I may need to have a follow-up x-ray or MRI to determine if it's broken.....

This sucks.  I'm just hopeful it's a sprain. 

Just another reminder to please, please, please watch out for bikers.  This could have been much worse.

Road Rash on my shoulder

One of my scraped palms, the other one looks just the same

Ouch...this hurt.

My hopefully temporary cast.

I have 3 huge bruises on my hips and thighs that look worse than these, but I'll spare you those parts of my anatomy.  I also later found a small bruise along my hairline on the left side as well.  I didn't realize I had hit my head.  Definitely a good thing I was wearing my helmet as I always do.  The helmet I'm sure is what caused the bruise.

Now I'm just ticked!  I had finally had a really good injury free period and was really making some gains in my training, weight loss, and strength training.  Now much of that is gone.  Even if it's just a sprain I'm sure I won't be able to swim or bike for several weeks.

Jim and I have a half marathon on Sat too....still not sure about that one.  We shall see.

Man typing one handed is hard!

A Typical Triathlon Training Week

Sometimes I don’t blog for weeks and sometimes my blogs are all over the place.  I post about races and what’s going on in my life, but sometimes I forget to actually post about training. 

I do train – A LOT.  I workout many more hours than most of my friends who are all faster than me.  Sometimes, it’s hard, because I feel like I’m one of the most dedicated people I know when it comes to training, but it doesn’t always translate into results.  I typically train 8 to 10 hours per week.  I know I need to focus on more quality workouts vs quantity, but I often find this difficult, especially with triathlon training.  This is where I really wish I was wealthy and could afford a coach (yes my husband offers to coach me all the time and yes, I turn him down every time – we can’t be married and him be my coach plus what does he know about triathlon lol).  I can plan an interval or speed workout, but many mornings I’m just to tired or sore from the previous days workout(s) to make that happen.  I end up putting in plenty of miles, but not necessarily plenty of miles at the best effort.

Pic of me coming out of the water at the Racine 70.3

My typical/ideal training week looks like this:

Mon am – Strength Train

Mon pm – Bike (approx. 1 hour)

Tues am – Run (3 to 4 miles)

Tues pm – Swim (1 – 1.5 miles)

Wed am – Strength Train

Wed pm Bike (1 hour)

Thurs am – Run (3 – 4 miles)

Thurs pm – Swim (1 – 1.5 miles)

Fri – OFF

Sat – Long Run (8 to 12 miles)

Sun – Long Bike & Long Swim (Bike 2 hours + and swim 1.5 miles +)

With triathlon it’s recommended that you get in 3 workouts of each discipline each week.  I have added strength training, which I would love to do 3 times a week to get stronger and reduce injury.  I would love to do yoga once or twice a week, but just don’t know how to fit that in.  My general rule of thumb is to have one “easy” workout in each discipline each week, one endurance focused workout, and one speed or tempo type workout.  Many times though, the speed or tempo workouts turn in to “easy” workouts because I just don’t have the energy for much more. It’s a difficult balance, I have truly yet to figure out after 3 years. 

This summer, I am adding in Track Workouts to the mix.  My tri group offers free track workouts on Wed night (so that schedule above will need to change).  I went to my first one last Wed.  It was extremely intimidating because the majority of people there were former college runner and they are all freaking FAST!  I was embarrassingly slow.  We did several 400s (1 time around the track) and the majority of them were done before I rounded the first corner.  There were a few slower runners, but no one even close to me.  Out of a group of about 15 people, I was by far and away the slowest. It is really hard to stick something like that out.  It’s hard to be the slowest.  And not just a little slower, but super slow – like clap for you as you finish each lap slow.  I appreciate them being encouraging, but it was actually kind of demeaning although I know that wasn’t the intention. Anyway, I’ve decided to stick with it.  It’s free coaching!  It pushes me outside of my comfort zone, and hopefully will genuinely help me get faster, and maybe someday I won’t be the slowest person out there.  I am also incorporating Masters Swims back into my swim training….trying for at least once a week.

I just wish I was fast or at least average at one sport – just one.  It’s difficult to know where to focus – (which sport to focus on) when you are back of the pack in all three.  I know running will probably benefit me the most.  If I can get faster at running, than it would probably improve my triathlon times overall.  So for now, I’m going to try to figure out how to get in all 3 disciplines, but focus on the run.  The track workouts are a start.

Anyone have any great training ideas or tips to share?