Gonna' try a Tri

Ok- it's been a while since I've updated my status, but it's hard to keep up with posting on Daily Mile, Beginner Triathalon and Ontri every day.  Here's the update.
I've had my new bicycle for over a month and have a few hundred miles of saddle time in.  Nice bike- it will do.  Not sure I enjoy cycling as much as running- unless the roads are smooth and without traffic.  Anyway, I seem to be able to run twice a week without my hip hurting too much.  Add a bit of running to my swimming and cycling, and a triathlon is a natural.  So, I signed up for the Sahuarita Lake Tri (1000m, 25Km, 5Km) which is two weeks from today.

Follow-up- Didn't run LA

Well, here's what happened.  I did do that 22 miler.  It hurt from the 1st step to the last, but it was a good run and I finished strong without hitting the wall.  I was hurting, I knew I overtrained, but felt confident that I'd feel better and be strong 3 weeks from now.  I thought that taking a week off would leave me fresh, so I enjoyed Telluride with the family and 4 solid days of skiing without any real problems.  Then on Monday, March 1st, I took an easy 7 mi jog.  Hip hurt in an insidious way.  Next morning I was in Dr. Rich Gerhauser's office.  X-ray didn't show anything (that's good), but the MRI the following week said "Superior Full-thickness acetabular labral tear with secondayr perilabral cyst left hip"  Dreams of running LA began to fade. 

It felt a bit better after a week (i.e. I could walk without a limp), so I didn't cancel my reservations just yet, but was coming to terms with not running.  Tried jogging every couple days, but I couldn't get more than 10 steps before the sharp pain set in.  The LA Marathon went by this weekend without me in it, and that's pretty sad.  However, I had a terrific time training, learned a lot, and if I ever get over this injury I'll try again.  At this point it's looking like I will need surgery... or a bicycle.  Been shopping for a bike.

I can now run about 100 steps.  Cartlidge tears don't heal, but perhaps I'll just get used to it?

Overtraining

I've been fairly religious about keeping with my training plan that I got from NikeRunning.  Despite the various injuries along the way, I've been able to do 97% of the mileage.  I thought by just being able to complete all the runs (and many at a good pace), the plan would get me to where I needed to be.  But, here I am, 32 days away from the marathon and I can tell I've overtrained.  I haven't gotten any faster, and the long runs just get harder and harder.  There's a dull pain in both legs down to the bone and everything hurts just a little.

It's a hard decision, but I've gotta' toss the training plan out the window for a while and rest.  Ditching the 10miler today and instead I'll go for a good swim.  It's a gorgeous day.  Perhaps a few days of rest and I'll be able to do my final 22er this weekend before the trip to Telluride, which will be another week without running.

22 in the rain

Rule #1.  don't have huevos rancheros for breakfast before a run.

Did a cross town run from Shirley's unveiling at the cemetary, hit the river at Oracle and took it to Craycroft, then all the way home.  It rained on and off through the run.  Hit the wall at about 18mi and the last 3 I wanted to stop every step.  Kept most of the pace together and finished 22, but it wasn't easy.

January = 165 Miles

The ramp-up is steady and it looks as if the October injury didn't really change the slope of the curve.  January at 165 miles is my most ever, by a long shot.  Time to flatten it out. that's enough miles/mo.

Exercise Machines

OK.  I was a good boy and let my achilles rest today.  Instead used this beast, the Precor AMT ($8,000).  It's a very cool machine that allows you to vary between an elliptical trainer and a stair master, and anywhere in between.  Is this much metal, electronics and technology, really necessary to just to allow us to move our bodies?  In perfect alignment and complete safety of course.

I'm impressed with the engineering, but am having a difficult time philosophically with this contraption's mere existance in this world.  Perhaps that's what I enjoy about running.  It's raw, basic and natural.  Just you and the path ahead.

Achilles Tendon is my Achilles Heal

Felt great on Sunday during my 20 miler.  Then hurt on Monday.  Mostly better on Tuesday, so I thought I'd do a nice, slow, easy 4 mi recovery run.  "Active" recover is the new mantra.  By the end of the run it was killing me!  Felt better on Wednesday morning after I put on the RockTape so I ventured out for my interval training run.  The first 4 or 5 miles it didn't hurt and I thought RockTape was a miracle, but after the 2nd 10min interval and 5 miles, I hobbled back to CR.  Damn.  Can't it just get used to the fact that I need it to toughen up?

Wearing RockTape right now, and it seems like it actually may be helping a little, but it's hard to tell.