I had my final follow-up visit to my sports medicine / orthopedist this past Friday. I didn't know it was going to be the final visit until I got there, really. He asked about physical therapy, and how my cycling / swimming / running was going. More importantly, he dug into the details of how long I'm able to run and at what intensity. The good news is, I got the green light from my doc to "go do whatever the hell you want". Well, not exactly. He did say to make sure I listen to my ankle, but he said I could race.
Here's where our conversation became a little comedic thanks to my Type-A kicking in:
Doc: So, go do a triathlon. You have one scheduled?
Me: I do, actually. Paid for it about 6 months ago before I broke my ankle. It's on the 20th of August. Was going to race the Aquabike category, though.
Doc: Really? Just the swim and the bike? Why not do the run?
Me: Well.....(pause)
Doc: Wait, you're not doing the run because you know it won't be as fast as you want and you won't be competitive?
Me: Well.....(another pause).....Yeah.
Doc: (Laughing)....You sound like my wife. If she gets a flat in an Olympic distance or shorter triathlon, she's done. Won't even bother with it. You're telling me you're the same way.
Me: Well.....
Doc: (Shaking head and laughing, still) Okay, okay. Do the Aqua Bike thing. Then just go run 5K. It'll be good for you. Then find a race, a sprint or something, down the road.
Me: Right on.
With that, I was told that I was done with physical therapy as well. I'm Mr. Happy Guy.
Now, truth be told, I've never done an Aquabike race. Yeah, yeah, not being as competitive as I'd like to be is a lame reason to not do the run. Part of me doesn't want to have a slow run split. The other part of me wants to make sure that I'm smart, take things slowly, and not aggravate my ankle. Anyway, I was signed up for the Olympic distance tri at the Park City Mossman triathlon. But as I know the race director, he was kind enough to move me to the other category (with all the folks with bad knees and ankles that can't run!)
So, while my running still won't be up to the intensity that I would want for a sprint race, I'm eyeballing a sprint tri in early October. One of the last of the season here in the NYC area. I'm psyched. In my excitement, I did a 35 mile ride this morning with a 5K brick run tacked onto the end. Averaged 7:40 min/mile pace on the run. Felt pretty good.
It's exciting to actually have an event or two on the horizon. It's been a long 6 months. Even though I won't be up to full fitness it'll still be nice to go race.
Here's where our conversation became a little comedic thanks to my Type-A kicking in:
Doc: So, go do a triathlon. You have one scheduled?
Me: I do, actually. Paid for it about 6 months ago before I broke my ankle. It's on the 20th of August. Was going to race the Aquabike category, though.
Doc: Really? Just the swim and the bike? Why not do the run?
Me: Well.....(pause)
Doc: Wait, you're not doing the run because you know it won't be as fast as you want and you won't be competitive?
Me: Well.....(another pause).....Yeah.
Doc: (Laughing)....You sound like my wife. If she gets a flat in an Olympic distance or shorter triathlon, she's done. Won't even bother with it. You're telling me you're the same way.
Me: Well.....
Doc: (Shaking head and laughing, still) Okay, okay. Do the Aqua Bike thing. Then just go run 5K. It'll be good for you. Then find a race, a sprint or something, down the road.
Me: Right on.
With that, I was told that I was done with physical therapy as well. I'm Mr. Happy Guy.
Now, truth be told, I've never done an Aquabike race. Yeah, yeah, not being as competitive as I'd like to be is a lame reason to not do the run. Part of me doesn't want to have a slow run split. The other part of me wants to make sure that I'm smart, take things slowly, and not aggravate my ankle. Anyway, I was signed up for the Olympic distance tri at the Park City Mossman triathlon. But as I know the race director, he was kind enough to move me to the other category (with all the folks with bad knees and ankles that can't run!)
So, while my running still won't be up to the intensity that I would want for a sprint race, I'm eyeballing a sprint tri in early October. One of the last of the season here in the NYC area. I'm psyched. In my excitement, I did a 35 mile ride this morning with a 5K brick run tacked onto the end. Averaged 7:40 min/mile pace on the run. Felt pretty good.
It's exciting to actually have an event or two on the horizon. It's been a long 6 months. Even though I won't be up to full fitness it'll still be nice to go race.