back

yesterday - ran 4.6 miles - got a little speed in there but overall still not as fast as i would like.
 traveled back home so back to the pool today and it was a rough swim. not sure if it is from the time off or if i was tired or what but the swim times were terrible.

warmup
200 swim
2 x 200 (50swim, 100 pull, 50 swim) on 20 seconds rest

300, 200, 100 moderate on 20 second rest     5.44 ,3.48 ,1.48

200,100,50 negative split on 25 sec rest - i just swam the second half with a harder effort than the first half. i didn't take splits to see if i actually went negative.    3.42 ,1.47 ,53

200 fast 30 sec rest 3.41

100 fast 30 sec rest 1.39 - yeah i was actually trying to go fast on this one. i know the time doesn't reflect that

6 x 100 pull on 25 sec rest - didn't time - just focused on the form

100 cooldown



I gotta book a hotel room for the USAT age group national champtionships. Looks like i am going to be able to go and get the experience even if it won't be my best race of the season. who knows maybe my knee will be cleared up by then.

vacay update

yesterday - run 4 miles.

today - ride 28.5 hard

The knees a little sore but i'm hanging in. good to be here training flat but the headwinds kinda slow you down.

spent a lot of time in the ocean yesterday but none of it seriously swimming.

ill probably swim on friday when i get back home.

hanging in

The knee is hanging in there so far. I rode 25 miles hard this morning. all flat. about half of it was into a headwind so it was tiring but good. Did a little warmup first. Gonna run tomorrow and see how it continues to hold up to all of this but so far so good. It still get tight afterwards. Still icing but i am able to get through it so thats good news.

playing your song

saturday - 2ish hour bike ride. kept it flat .had to be over 20 miles. knee felt fine the whole time and was ok afterwards. still got stuff at night.

sunday - 3.25 - 3.5 mile run. did laps on a track.  the first 1/4 of a mile i can just hear the joing banging around. takes about a half mile for it to stop.  It got looser and felt like i was running faster as the run went on.

Still icing and stretching and waiting to see how this turns out.

headed to the beach for a few days. taking stefan with me. So it will be easy to find a flat running and riding place.

Californication

Swim – 500 drills to warmup. Then 45 minute swim really concentrating on my rotation and my catch the entire time. I felt better for the second half of the swim than I did for the first. I was feeling tired this morning. It’s a good thing that the Tdf is almost over because I have been staying up too late watching it! But it was a good form swim and I def felt better after it than I did before it.

CF Wod –
15 minute AMRAP

5 pullups (dead hang – no kipping)
10 GHD situps
15 Kettlebell swings – 35 lbs
20 Back Extensions

Got 5 and half rounds. Got through the ghds on the 6th round but didn’t get to the KB swings. I did all of it unbroken. I did as many of the pull-ups as dead hang as possible as kipping still hurts my knee. My pull-ups have been getting better as a result. Not able to really connect them yet  GHDs are always fun! KB swings and back extensions felt good. I was sweating up a storm during this wod and afterwards. Pretty hot at the gym today.

Ok so here’s the daily knee update. Last night it was pretty much irritated and letting me know it. This morning it was stiff but much better than last night. After swimming and then after the CF wod it is feeling better. Like it is ready to cycle tomorrow.  I’ve been reading up on patellofemoral pain syndrome and the Rx for it seems to be relative rest. So It sounds like I should be doing this easy buildup work riding and running.  I was considering taking some days off totally for it but I don’t think it would be enough time for it to really heal up anyway.

So far from your weapon

Tuesday

Amrap 20 minutes

10 wallballs shots with 10 lb ball between 9 and 10 ft target (no squat)

10 Toes through Rings

13 full rounds and 10 wallball shots in the 14^th.

2 blisters from the rings! My hands had been pretty good lately  but  that king swing kills me with all these reps.

Bike – 16.5 miles flat. Took over an hour. The knee felt fine the whole time. And it wasn’t too bad afterwards. This wasn’t a really hard effort though but that’s ok it is good just to be get some time on the bike.

Wednesday –

Swim – 500 drills to warmup

3 x 7 minute TT on 2 minute rest

1 – 15 laps

2 – 15 full finished started 16^th

3 – 15 full finished started 16^th

250 swim with pull buoy to cool down

Knee was a little tight and sore in the morning but it go better as the day went on.

100 GHD situps for time – 4.41

This really got tough from 70 on. I went unbroken until about 80. Then I did 2 little breaks after 80 and 90 but not long.

Got my MRI back and had my ortho appt for my knee. The MRI is clean, nothing torn, dislocated, broken etc. The fluid that showed up on the x-ray is now gone. The ortho diagnosed it as a patellafemoral strain and basically said I can train through it to tolerance. He said these injuries take a long time to heal and that the stiffness is normal. So basically I can start running and riding and building that back up a bit and see how it goes. I still have to watch the weighted movements that provoke it. But overall it was a pretty good visit. He said at the end of the season if it is still an issue that some rest then should clear it up. I’m going to try to be good.

Thursday –

 3 mile run on a track. Didn’t time it because I didn’t want to know.  I just went at a comfortable pace. The first ½ mile the knee hurt. It loosened up after a mile and it was pretty good until about 2 and a half miles. It never got really bad but I didn’t want to run too much on it the first time out. I walked ¾ mile as a warmup and cooldown.  It doesn’t feel too bad afterwards. I am still icing and heating it.

Deadlifts

135x3

145x3

150x3

155x3

160x3

This were a little harder than they should be. The ortho said I have good strength in my legs but clearly ive lost some because while this isn’t testing my limits. It just feels heavier than that kind of weight normally feels for me.

Here is a link to a a vegan website and I’m listed on there as an athlete!

http://www.bestveganguide.com/vegan-athletes.html

Long Time Nothing New

yesterday was a rough day. It was the anniversary of my first triathlon and due to this injury I couldn't even go and revisit the race this year. It probably wouldn't has been as frustrating if i was actually really training right now and therefore I felt a least a little productive! Yesterday I did a 50 -55 minute easy ride on my bike. kept it as flat as possible. my knee was ok on the bike but it is stiff afterwards.
I can't wait to get my MRI results back. Hopefully later today and then see the ortho on wednesday. I don't even know what to do with this knee anymore. Im trying to do what I can training wise but at this point I know I am taking a huge hit. It's been really tough mentally. I gotta say I feel like I am struggling with it everyday.

Swim - 500 of drills to warmup. then 10 x 75 on 15 second rest. kept them between 1:10 and 1:15. Used the pull buoy for some of them. then 10x 50- on 20 seconds rest. swam them 44- 46 seconds. did an easy 250 cooldown with the pull buoy working on my left hand. I notice as i fatigues I tend to cross that over.


Push Press
45x3
50X3
55X3
60X3
65x3
70x3
75X3
80X3

shake your hips like battleships

My knee was hurting last night. More than usual. I woke up this morning and it still wasn't good. Maybe yesterday was too much for it or because i am not taking the pain medications any more i am actually noticing the pain. Either way I don't like it. Swam this morning.500 warmup of drills. then
1 - 400 - 7.08
4 - 100s -1.40 ,1.39 , 1.40 ,1.39
1 - 300 - 5.12
3 - 100s 1.35 ,1.38 ,1.36
1 - 200 - 3.28
2 - 100s 1. 43, 1.39
1 - 100s 1.36
2 - 50s 44,42

500 of drills to cooldown

my knee was tight and stiff after the swim. gonna try to calm it down the rest of today.

strains, sprains and knee pains

500 yards of drills to warmup, 2 x 50 to test the swim kick. Decided it was ok to go so then 2 x 10 minute TTs with 2 minutes rest

1 – 23 laps

2 – 21 laps or maybe 23 laps. Not sure my counting was bad on this one . I was tired!

Cooldown – 25 of dolphining – didn’t feel like I had much left in the tank to swim

Went back to the doctors where I ended up being sent for an MRI. To me that usually means bad news of some sort. I didn’t get the radiologists report back yet. My doc seems to think that it is a sprain and it will be better within the month. But he wanted the MRI to confirm his diagnosis since the 2 weeks of rest did help it but didn’t clear it up completely. The good news is he told me to stop taking the drugs. Im happy about  that as I always feel better once I am off of them. He added some heat therapy into the mix of my treatment. He offered to send me to physical therapy but I declined as I can do that myself.  He also seems to think than an Ortho will not drain the fluid out of my knee due to the amount and the location. I have an ortho appt scheduled for this upcoming week. Not sure if I will go to it or not.

Bike – 1 hour and 4 minute of riding mostly flat terrain. The knee did ok. I pushed the pace for the first 30 minutes but after that I slowed down. Didn’t have pain while riding except for going uphill to get home. The knee is stiff when I get done though. 

Row – 500 meters – 2:45 just to test it out. Went ok painwise but this is a position I can feel the restriction in my knee.

Deadlifts – every 2 minutes

5 x 95

5x105

5x115

5x125

5x135

5x145

5x155

5x145

5x135

5x125

5x115

5x105

5x95

No issue with the knee while Deadlifting. However this wasn’t near my maximal load. The being said it probably felt heavier to me than it normally would just because I haven’t been lifting I awhile. I went conservative with the weight. I’ll see how the knee is after this before decided about next time.

It doesn't hurt as it did before but it still has this feeling of just not being right. I am hoping it just needs some more time.

step from the road to the sea to the sky

bike workout - the knee was feeling good this morning so onto the trainer i went for a 12 minute warmup using both legs! then I had a 7 minute TT to do. I decided to do it with both legs instead of one as most of my cycling workouts lately have been. And also a 10 minute cooldown. I didn't have any problems with my knee while riding. It didn't feel too bad when i got off the bike either.

CF wod -
20 minute AMRAP of
5 Pushups
10 GHD situps
10 Back Extensions.

Completed 17 2/3 rounds. Didn't get thru the back extensions on the 18th round. I was happy with this. Did all sets unbroken. Just kept plowing through. You lose a little time getting in and out of the ghd machine as well as flipping over from the ghds to the back extensions. But overall I was pretty tired and have a nice glaze going when i was done with this one. I have a feeling i'll be feeling the 180+ Ghds I did between the workout and the warmup for a few days. Those were the hardest part for sure. I was flying through them for the first 10 rounds or so because they are one of my stronger movements but by 140 - 150 on it was just pure torture to keep going through them. My knee was a little stiff after this wod. Gotta stay on my icing for tonight and I;m sure it will be fine to swim tomorrow morning. I also go back to the doctor tomorrow and get his thoughts. I hate going to the doctor!

Did some feet exercises as well as my 1 leg hip lifts for 3 sets of 15 each leg. This is a rehab exercise they gave me from my knee. I really don't think it does much for the knee because I don't believe the injury was caused by a muscle imbalance and that exercise is just for strengthening your hamstring. But it can't hurt to do it so i'm doing them.

not quite yet

Swim – 1,000 of drills to warmup.  Did a 100 just to test out the knee to see if I was going to swim or use the pull buoy. I decided to swim as it was pretty good.

Did 26  - 25s on 15 seconds rest. Jeff was nice enough to do this with me so he was responsible for counting the reps and watching the times so I could just focus on swimming. It’s a good system for me.  Jeff said they were taking up 18 – 20 seconds to swim them. Swam 200 – 300 to cool down.

Cf wod – wanted to test my knee a bit so I did some step ups and walking lunges. It is greatly improved from where it was but not completely right yet as much I want it to be. It just isn’t quite there yet.

AMRAP – 9 minutes of

7 Wall balls at 10lbs

5 GHD situps

Got 10 rounds – 4 were done as proper wallballs going to the 10ft line, 6 were done as seated situp wallballs because I didn’t like the way the knee was feeling during the wallballs. I used a 10 Lb ball because I had a feeling I was going to end up doing them seated which I did. The ghds went well. Overall this was an easy wod because it was so short. Ididn’t get the point where I was totally wasted because it was over in 9 minutes.

Dry Land Swim Cable Pulls

3 sets of 15 reps each arm

1 Leg Hip Lifts – 4 sets of 15 each leg– Rehab exercise for the knee – basically a hamstring strengthener

I’ve also been doing my foot/ lower leg exercises to strength up my feet and loosen up my lower legs. Hopefully when I get back to running this will make a difference.

maybe soon

The knee was pretty good this morning. Decided to use it a bit on my bike trainer wod to see how it responded. Did a 10 minute warmup easy gear with both legs. Then 12 minutes of 45 seconds on 15 seconds off with my right leg only. Followed by a 10 minute cooldown easy gear again both legs. My knee felt fine through all of this. But it was more like a rehab kinda of effort than real training but at this point just being able to use it I’ll take. I go back to the regular doctors on Thusday. Not sure if I still need an MRI. It doesn’t still hurt to kneel on it but overall it is much better. My Ortho  appt isn’t untilthe 20^th.  I’ll wait to see how the knee is before I decide If I should go to these appointments. I am still icing and using the Nsaids.

Crossfit wod – 21- 15- 9 of

 Pullups

Pushups

Time 5:30

I warmed up doing regular pull-ups 15 or so with a extra small purple band but I could tell that was going to take me a really long time to use for the wod. So I used the small blue band for the wod. No problems with the pushups.

My biggest compliant of the day is my hands and feet have a ton of little cuts on them from the rocks in the lake yesterday.  I few bruises too. For such small cuts they really hurt. I am hoping they heal fast.

weekend work

weekend work  - yesterday -  swim - 500 of drills to warmup. then did a 100 kicking to test out the knee. it did ok but decided to swim m TT using the pull buoy anyway since it isn't completely perfect no need to aggravate it. 35 minute TT - at least 74 laps. I got confused counting laps. Did 6 laps as a cooldown with kicking again.

Took my new R3 out for a little joy ride yesterday. Mostly to test out the knee. for the first 20 - 25 minutes i felt nothing in the knee. I picked out the flatest course I could. The following 20 minutes there was a sensation in the knee not really pain more of an awareness. had to climb a hill to get back to my place and the knee doesn't like the climbing. Overall it survived and did ok but it isn't quite ready yet. i think there is still fluid in it. Still using the ice and resting when possible. I got back to my regular doctor on thursday. But my ortho appt isn't until the 20th. Not sure what Im going to do besides rest it.

today - Open Water - Lake Swim this morning. - 2+miles. Felt like this was most consistent swim at that distance pace wise. I was able to keep people in sight and not really have to stop to sight as much.


Ab workout - 1 minute plank 50 situps 50 crunches 1 minute plank

coming back

arms are still sore today! Althought not as bad. I think they should be good for swimming tomorrow. had a short bike to start the day did 5 minute easy to warmup with 1 leg on the trainer then did a 9 minute TT (right leg only). followed with a 2 minute cooldown. I can't wait to really ride my bike for real!

Cf wod -
AMRAP - 10 minutes
8 Kettlebell Swings @ 35 lbs
4 V-Ups with 10 Lb Medicine Ball
Completed 12 rounds.

I picked this wod because my arms were still to shot to be doing pullups etc. I went light on the Kettlebell swing weight because it was my first time doing them with the knee and they went well so that is nothing but happiness for me! They actually felt easy the whole way. Not so much with the Weighted V-ups! V-ups are when you take a medicine ball with your hand and feet together at the top and touch the ball overhead to the ground while lowering your legs to the ground then you bring the ball up while bringing your legs back up to the center and you pass the ball to in between your feet and you lower them to the ground again before bringing them back up to the center and pass the ball to your hands to complete. Having the weight between my feet I felt it in my knee a bit. It wasn't a pain probably just because i was stabilizing it. by the end of the wod those were tough. But I am really happy with the way my knee held up so far today. maybe things are getting better. even if i can't run or ride for a bit if i can get more crossfit moves in i will be happy. I have been doing air squats as a warmup without any problems also. But I am not doing a lot of volume or going for speed on them as I would if they were in a wod.

I saw the participants list for the national championship today and i found it funny that when you register you have to put on what you expect your finish time to be. I went conservative on my time and I have one of the slowest listed! lol! I really hope my knee heals up and I get to do this race. They are taking the top 18 in each age group to world championship with a rolldown after that to 25 if people decline. I have a feeling its going to be a really competitive and fun race. And we're swimming in lake champlain!

arms dead abs right behind

woke up to really sore arms this morning and it was a swim day on top of that.
1,000 of drills to warmup then 8 x 100s on 20 seconds rest
1 - 1.35
2 - 1.37
3 - 1.37
4 - 1.40
5 - 1.40
6 - 1.41
7 - 1.41
8 - 1.41
still using the pull buoy.

Was supposed to do a pushups pullup wod today but my arms were way to sore. I could barely pull my hair back into a ponytail without whimpering. so i came up with bikini barbara
5 rounds for time of
20 kickups
30 jacknives (in and outs)
40 hollow rocks ( everytime the foot hits its a rep)
50 leg lifts
rest 3 minutes

1 - 5.33
2 - 4.22
3 - 4.23
4 - 4.24
5 - 4.24
i think my abs were still sore from the 10 minute plank hold wod from the other day and it took me that first round of suffering to get them moving a bit. all of the rounds were tough. by the last one it just felt really ugly and i bet it sounded the same.

the knee felt great this morning when i got up. i think the jacknives may have irritated it a little because it is weird again. every morning when i wake up and it is good I get excited but by the end of the day it never stays good.

i needed to read this one...

bike - right leg only on trainer - 30 minutes of 1 min on 1 min off. the knee was feeling good this morning and i was really wanting to test it out on the bike but i was a good girl and didn't and that was tough. At this point I don't want to do anything that is going to set this process back. My knee is feeling better than it did but it is not ready to go yet and i know it. basically but it is not completely symptom free all of the time yet. But the good news is that there are times when it is so that is much better than where it was at when it basically hurt to breathe.

cf wod - AMRAP 20 minutes of
10 Overhead Press @ 35
10 leg lifts
got 18 rounds.

I warmed up using 45 lb but i know that wasn't going to be able to keep that moving for the whole 20 minutes i ended up doing less weight and it was a good decision. the first 5 minutes i was flying through the wod and i was pumped because i wanted to get 20 rounds. I was doing pretty well through 10 minutes. after 10 minutes the rounds started taking me longer to complete and the last 3 or 4 minutes was really rough on the shoulders. but 2 really good wods 2 days in a row to be happy about.


the following is from terenzo bozzone's blog and it really hit home with me so i am reposting it to my blog. Basically because I have been beating myself up about this injury. I hate being stuck home with ice on my knee while it is gorgeous weather and the actual racing season is here. i have been missing races I would have done had I not being injured and I am also not even going out and doing fun training on my bike or running. overall it is not a good deal. but it is what it is and i don't have to like it.


In injury strikes, there is no quick fix, or short cut to recovery. Simple as that. Each injury needs to be seen by a professional and treated appropriately. Doing so will result in the best way to recovery.
There now I have got that off my chest, time to talk about what I want to talk about.
Knowing the above is important. Being told to rest when rest is needed is tough for those where exercise and pushing our body to the limits is as much a part of us as the blood flowing through our veins. This drive in the sporting arena is what is needed to be the best, but it is also what causes us to make poor choices when an injury is involved.
If you are reading this blog, then the message I am trying to get across to you is to beware of that tunnel vision drive towards your goal.
How many times do you see athletes overtraining, running despite being told not to, pushing beyond professional advice. We have all done, I have done it. Do we think we are smarter than the sports doctor/physio telling us we can’t run for 2 weeks, no, but it’s our drive that leads us to ignore the advice and ask too much of our body.
You may have gotten away with doing so once, maybe twice, but your are walking a fine line, are you seriously willing to risk your dreams over a poor choice when it came to listening to advice from a professional.
We all wish we were bullet proof, at times we think we are, but we are not. Realising this can be tough, but once we accept that to achieve our goals we need to look after our body (physically and mentally!)
Yes it’s a setback having to take a month or more off running, maybe miss your next race. But in the long scheme of things I would rather do that, get my injury fully recovered so I can push to the limits again and reach my goal. The other option is, train through the injury, do things that you have been advised not to. Why not race the race despite the pain. Firstly you will never achieve what you want to achieve this way, and at some point the injury will catch up with you, and by this time you have turned a 1 month recovery process into a yearlong process or even ruined your chance for good.
I know what you are thinking, I have heard this all before. You should have, but I’m telling you again. We are a mentally tough and driven breed us sporting athletes so to think clearly when it comes to injury we need to have this idea drilled into our brain, so when that decision comes to know when to stop and listen to the advice, we take it!

I feel like I’m almost telling you off whilst writing this blog if you are someone that can relate to this scenario, and I believe almost all of us can. I don’t wish to do so, but I am passionate about this topic and its importance, and I hate to dreams lost, goals never reached, bodies broken down to a fragment of what they could have been all due a poor decision with regards to injuries.

Yes it is easier said than done. On a personal note, I myself have an Achilles injury, and many of us no how serious these can be. I have just had a month off no running, and it has been hard to deal with. But I am aware of the importance in proper recovery, and at the same time am aware that proper treatment will mean I can reach my goal of becoming the Ironman World Champion in the future. There is still a longer road to recovery for my Achilles, but I will get though it and have it back to 100% in no time. I am also lucky to still be able to swim and bike so ill be working hard in those areas.

Good luck, train smart, recover when needed, and make smart choices.

the dark thoughts cometh

swim workout - 500 of drills to warmup then

100,200,300, 400, 500 on 20 seconds rest. i had more of a 30 second rest on my the 500 because i had to fi my watch.
then 500 of drills to cooldown.
still using a pull buoy.

100 - 1.35
200 - 3.28
300 - 5.11
400 - 6.51
500 - 8.38 (the watch said 8.19 but i think it was wrong i must have bumped it)

CF Wod
10 rounds of
10 pushups
2 standing ab rollouts
1 minute plank hold
time 18:28
By round 5 the 1 minute plank hold was just torture! There was some medieval sounds escaping my body. But i made it through it. tougher wod that I thought going into it.

starting to have the bad thoughts today about riding my bike or running. it's been hard to be down waiting for this knee to heal up. i know it isn't ready for it yet and i will probably make it hurt but anytime it starts to feel better i just want to test it out! trying to control myself but it is rough.

started reading macca's book.

weekend workouts

saturdays workouts
warmup: 500 Drills - 35 minutes TT -  cooldown 500 drills - Counted 76 laps during the TT. I felt like i was in a good rhythm. It could have been more i am not the best at counting laps when it is that many.

20 minute 1 leg on bike trainer

100 leg lifts. i read the leg lifts are good for my knee problem so i am throwing them in when i can.

sunday - 2+ miles of open water swimming.  it was raining while we were in the water and we had to cut the swim a bit short because it was lightening. not by much though. i was really tired when i got up this morning. just didn't sleep well last night between fireworks and then thnuderstorms. i never felt like i really got it going in the water today. I went the distance but it didn't feel like one of my better swims.

my knee still hurts i am trying to ice and elevate it when possible.

swimming and more swimming.

swim #1 - 500 of drills to warmup then 1,000 as 50 hard 50 easy. I love this workout! I was crushing the hard 50s. I was trying to be good and take it easy on the easy 50s. For the most part I think I did because I was really able to sprint the hard ones. did 500 of drills to cool down. my knee was feeling really good this morning so i wanted to test it out in the pool by using it to kick. Did a 25. Didn't feel great so I did my workout and then tried to kick for a 50. It doesn't hurt but it still has the weird blocked feeling so I decided to just let it rest.

Swim #2 - 1,000 of drills then 500 TT - 8.19 somewhat happy with the time. I was using a pull buoy but i am not flip turning and i only push off the wall with my good leg. did 200 of drills to cooldown.

the shoulders are just tight and tired. I am stretching and icing them. I do love to swim!

Got my rays of the knee back. There is nothing broken, fractured or chipped which is a good thing but there is a effusion of the joint. which means i have water on my knee. probably why my joint feel so restricted and hard to move most of the time. Told me to continue the conservative care as the treatment is pretty much what i have already been doing unless it doesn't resolve itself in a few weeks.