Inaugural season summary

2014 ends like every other year, with an injury

In 2014 I finally became a triathlete.  An amateur at best triathlete, but I did finish three races, and considering where my journey started from I’d say it was successful.  3 years retired from all athletic endeavors after a particularly bad 2011, in the worst shape of my life, and generally pretty miserable (my wife will agree) to dropping 60lbs, making new friends, having a more positive life view, and generally just being happier and healthier.  Triathlon really did change my life for the better.  Then, like I have always done since the 9th grade, I got injured.  Trying to really step up my running speed, I started developing some hip, glute, and hamstring pain.  I withdrew from my next race and as I did not heal up, ended the season.  I decided it was time to take a break from the triathlon training and get back in the weight room.  I started working out with a ridiculously in-shape and crazy strong 25 year-old, and he pushed me every day to get bigger and stronger, and I did.  Unfortunately and also because I am made of glass, I got strong enough to start moving some serious weight, and things started hurting.  I dislocated my shoulder (the culprit behind ruining my football and wrestling careers), developed elbow tendonitis, and the grand-daddy of lifetime discomfort injuries, a lower-lumbar herniated disc (ironically I did this warming up).  This happened right around Christmas.  To summarize, I took a break from tri-training because my hip was hurting so I could get back into weights and get stronger, and now the rest of me was hurting from weights so I got back into tri-training.  I still had some issues running, so I thought it’d be great to focus on swimming and biking over the winter.  Unfortunately I just hurt too much and had to take a few months off….oh yeah, and get four different cortisone injections in my neck, back, and hip.