the time i literally almost ran myself to death![]() 1500M Canal Swim, 25 mile bike, 10K run In May, a hip specialist told me I should stop running and probably not do any more triathlons until my pain goes away. I figured it was the perfect time to switch from sprint to Olympic distances! Actually, I took two full months off from running and focused on swimming and biking, and my hip actually felt healed, which after hurting for about a year, was quite a relief! I had originally intended not to do any more races, as I had already missed the national championship in Grand Rapids, and I couldn't run. HOWEVER, I had bought a new bike. I had bought lots of new gear. I had trained, and trained, and trained. I was swimming in the lake almost daily, I was doing CrossFit, and my endurance was strong. In my mind, I convinced myself that if I did a longer race I wouldn't have to push as hard as I did in a sprint. Because I am dumb, I signed up for my first Olympic race and very nearly died.
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The hills are alive, with the sound of me cursing!![]()
400M cold and rough Lake Swim, 12.4 Mile Bike, 5k Run
For my second race in 3 weeks, Logan and I drove on up to Prairie Creek Reservoir near Muncie, IN to compete in the first open water race of the year. I had spent the previous week and a half working on my open water swimming skills and was feeling really comfortable, despite the 62-degree water temps. Luckily on race day it was probably closer to 68, which is way nicer than 62. I rock a sleeveless wetsuit due to my broad shoulders, so cold water still feels pretty cold. Race weight was around 229, so still too heavy, but still not running. Pre-race, my hip hurt, and It would get much, much worse quickly. I asked a guy how the run course was, as I hadn't scouted it out prior to the race (rookie mistake), and he told me "it's pretty flat, some slight rolling hills." I guess that guy must have lived in Boulder, because his definition of "it's pretty flat" does not line up with mine. history does not repeat itself!![]() 400m pool swim, 10 mile bike, 5k Run Heading into this year’s race, I was a little concerned; on the plus side, I had focused my offseason on swimming and biking, and upgraded to a new bike, this 2015 Felt B16. The thing that had me worried, as it always had, was the run. If you’ve been reading, you should know that my 2014 season ended with some injuries. When race day came, I hadn’t run in three months. I had done some light jogging here and there, and the occasional endurance WOD at the gym, but I just had this deep pain in my butt and on the point of my hip from last summer/fall that just never really went away. My pre-ankle surgery athletic career involved thousands (probably an exaggeration, but you get the idea) of miles of running, all without incident or injury. My post-ankle-surgery athletic career was still evolving, or devolving in this case. Due to my lack of running and also lack of diet discipline, I was about 10 pounds heavier this year than last at 230 (and up overall about 25lbs). I will defend myself a little bit because being in chronic and continuous pain is very taxing emotionally, and for me, the thing that pretty much always breaks down is my diet. My love for pizza and beer is strong. 3rd time's the charm!
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