Got The Green Light!

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.

Athlete Race Recap From The Clark Lake Triathlon

Podium Training Systems athlete Kari Waddington was in attendance at the Clark Lake triathlon in Brooklyn, Michigan this past weekend.  She's getting her final shake-out races under her belt as she gears up for Steelhead 70.3 in August.  Kari was kind enough to write up a race report for us......


The 27th Annual Clark Lake Triathlon.  A very generous 1/2 mile swim, 13.5 mile bike, 4.25 mile run around Clark Lake.  Love, love, love this event!  It's has had many incarnations over the last, nearly 3 decades:  anywhere from a 19-26 mile bike, 4-6 mile run with various start and finish points and a couple of sponsor changes before arriving at the current distances and its affiliation with Elite Endeavors Event Production Company.  With about 400 tri/duathletes and multiple wave start, 2011's version was, as usual, an enjoyable race for both veterans and first timers.  Jim and Joyce Donaldson of Elite Endeavors always put on a great, well-organized, well-supported, efficient race.  And hey, I certainly can't blame them for the mid-July heat greeting us on race morning last Sunday.  Boy was it steamy.

Needless to say, with a string of days in the 80s and 90s, the swim was a "no wetsuit" affair.  Not something this inefficient kicker likes to hear!  But when you've been tri-ing for awhile, you learn to go with the flow.  A good strategy, because as it turned out, the 1/2 mile swim turned out to be a bit longer.  As I was slogging through the last 200 yards, I thought of my brother, an avowed "non-swimmer" doing his longest open-water swim to date.  Fortunately he, and everyone else, got out of the water unscathed and on to the fun, gently rolling bike loop.

From my perspective, the bike was my favorite part.  My wave of "older" women, 35+, was the 4th wave of the morning, with two waves of males and another of duathletes starting before us.  This made for a steady stream of bodies on the course and provided ample motivation to keep the big ring churning.  As the tri-gods have been kind to me over the years, I tried to make sure I had an encouraging word for my fellow athletes as I passed them on the bike (did I mention the bike was my favorite part?).  I believe in Karma, and if I hold true to form, more often than not, I will see a few of them again on the run….

This year, for a change, I made a vow NOT to crash and burn on the run.  Since I invested in a Garmin Forerunner in the off season, I thought wearing that for the run would keep me honest.  My awesome coach Dave Burgess (shameless plug!) thought I should be running 7:30s for a race like this, so I needed a little accountability out there to keep me on track.  It was pretty hot out there by run time, but a relatively flat course and the many wonderful Clark Lake summer residents out with their hoses made it tolerable.  I managed to run pretty even splits of 7:31 over the 4.25 mile course (well, okay, it took a mad sprint to the finish to make that happen, but still…).

My only small gripe about the whole event was that the results posted called it a 4 mile run, not 4.25 as advertised on the website or verified by my GPS.  Yes, it was the same for everybody, which is to say, everyone was equally disappointed at their slow run splits!  So here's a little shout out to the Donaldsons:  Could ya' please fix that one little detail to satisfy our fragile little egos?!

But I digress….  All in all, it was a great day!  I was happy to meet my goals and managed to take home the title of first women's master triathlete, and was second overall woman (by 15 seconds....wish I'd have known that a mile sooner).  

Thanks, Dave, for the vote of confidence, and training plan.  Hoping to keep building on my fitness level over the next month toward a peak in August….  Happy racing everyone!


Congrats, Kari.  That's the 6th triathlon in a row (by my count) that she's finished on the podium.  Nicely done.  Speedwork at the track is Thursday, right?

A Bike Obituary

(My recent foray into bike commuting has come to an end - after some idiot stole my rig.  I'm pretty sure, whomever it was, won't even know how to use the shifters.  I thought it only appropriate to give my late, great, commuter bike a proper farewell)

7 year old 'Tina' - an aluminum Trek frameset, customized commuter bike - "passed away" this past Tuesday the 12th of July 2011.  She was last seen at 740a that same morning, but disappeared soon after.  After much heart-wrenching thought and introspective discussions, she has been assumed "dead". 

Tina (with customized mustache handlebars, fenders, commuter pedals, and candy apple red bar tape) is survived by her "roommates" the Giant sisters Gina (with a "long I") and Trixie. 

"She was really a quiet person", states Gina, the Trinity TT bike, who shared the one room area where they spent most evenings.  "She worked hard, and no matter what the weather she got the job done.  We're going to miss her". 

Trinity's sister, Trixie, a TCR Composite, was seen weeping quietly in a corner shortly after it was determined that Tina wasn't coming back.  "I just can't believe she's gone!  This is so unfair".  With that, Trixie was found to be inconsolable and she soon after went out for a 45 mile ride as she needed to "clear her head"

Tina will be remembered fondly.  It is unknown when a new foster-commuter bike will be brought in.  Family members state that time will be required before any such decisions are made as they don't want the memory of Ms. Tina to be discounted.  "We'll have to see what bike frames can be located - really, the right one needs to come along" stated a family spokesperson.  "But right now we just need some time to process this loss."

Gear Review - Tommie Copper Compression Sleeves

As a contributer to TriCrowd.com, I was fortunate enough to be approached to test out, and write a review for, some new compression gear.   The excellent folks over at Tricrowd.com dropped me a line and I said that I'd be more than happy to help them out. 

For the record: I was provided the product free of charge in return for writing a fair and unbiased review.  A favorable review is not / was not guaranteed due to the receipt of the free product.  Furthermore, I did not receive any monetary gift or donation to review this product.  The only compensation is the use of said product.

Now, truth be told, I'm not a big compression gear user.  At the suggestion of my physical therapist, I do have a pair of compression socks that I bought and used when I broke my ankle, to keep the swelling down when I was back on my feet and went back to work.  I have to admit, by the end of the day, while wearing them, my injured leg actually felt pretty good and the swelling in my ankle was held at bay.  Still, even as I've been able to ramp up my cycling mileage - and looking back to years past - I've never used compression gear as part of my recovery process.  I've seen lots of people walking into the transition area before a race wearing all sorts of various compression gear.  I guess it served them well or they wouldn't be using the products.  But it didn't resonate as something I needed to do.

So, I received my pair of Tommie Copper calf compression sleeves.  "Why not?", I thought.  I'll see if there's anything that this compression stuff can help with recovery. 

So, what's the verdict?  What's my impression?  To put it simply: I'm intrigued. 

I brought the gear along on our annual trek up to northern Connecticut where I'd be getting some good cycling mileage with some significant climbing and elevation gains.  I rode a couple days hard and used the sleeves for an hour or two afterward.  I then rode a couple days and didn't use them.  I have to admit, after wearing the compression sleeves my calves felt pretty good, and they seemed to help keep the "pump" that is the calf muscle working as it helps to flush out fluids from the lower leg.  This is something I've become quite familiar with after breaking my ankle.  I still get a bit of swelling after working out or physical therapy.  The compression socks I mentioned above helped flush out the fluid build-up in my ankle and I saw the same effect with the Tommie Cooper sleeves.  Even after an easier ride (still had some intensity, I'll admit) I didn't wear them and my ankle stayed a little swollen.  Hmmmm.

What I thought was also interesting was that when I first put them on I thought that I'd ordered a size too large.  I followed the sizing chart on the website and ordered size medium as the chart instructed.  I didn't feel a lot of snugness and wondered if I needed to go down a size. Just to be sure I washed them up and threw them in the dryer (they're advertised as dryer safe).  Seemed to help a little (even if it was maybe a little bit of a 'mental' improvement).  Calves felt good, ankle wasn't puffy, and I forgot that I had them on.

The best part about these compression sleeves (Well, okay, maybe not the best part, but for sure a very good reason to give them a once over)?  The price.  Other brands sell calf sleeves for anywhere from $40 - $55+.  These run $20.  For the price, you can't not give them a shot.

I've been putting these on after every ride - and will after every run as soon as I'm able to get back out and do that - and have to say that I like the way my legs feel. 

Training Camp Week Wraps Up

The week in Connecticut - in the foothills of the Berkshires - is coming to an end.  The bikes got a lot of mileage put on them, and the open water swimming was great.  We couldn't have asked for better weather either.  Every day was clear, sunny, and temperatures for the morning rides were in the high 60's (ending in the high 70's). 

Five days of good mileage on the bikes (again, with a couple of good open water swims thrown in for good measure) along with lots of climbing.  Each ride had about an average of 1,200 to 1,500 feet of elevation gain.  Not a lot when compared to the Tour de France - which is being viewed every morning after workouts are wrapped up - but these were still some good leg burning climbs that got the heart rate up near 170 on occasion. 

Personally, on a bright note, I was able to get a couple of running workouts in.  I'm still building up strength in my ankle and while certainly not up to distance and intensity standards that I'd like to be doing, I was able to get a couple of "brick" workouts in.  I pulled off 3 X 4 minutes jogging / 2 minutes walking after wrapping up the morning training ride on a couple of days.  Certainly not where I'd like to be, but I was just happy to be able to jog/run at a reasonable pace and not have my ankle act up on me. 

We're headed back home later today, and I'll most likely head off to the pool first thing tomorrow morning to keep some of the momentum going through the weekend.  It's really nice to be able to sleep in a little bit, and by that I mean sleeping until 5:30-6:00 am, go ride or swim and return back and not be rushed to get to work.  We're able to sit, stretch, relax, and recover through the rest of the day.  Well, and consume a few glasses of wine or beers in the afternoon by the lake!