One Week Post-Op

Monday, May 15 was the day I finally decided to do something about my knee. For years I have been running with right knee pain and I had enough. My run has been limited so much from this and with IRONMAN 70.3 Worlds coming up in September, I figured 4-6 weeks of recovery time and 3 months of solid run training was better than what I have been dealing with for too long.

Dr. Loeb at North Florida Sports Medicine performed a knee arthroscopy. This was part diagnosis and part treatment. He had anticipated some cartilage damage behind my knee cap and sure enough that is what he discovered. I go in next Thursday for my post-op to review the pictures and videos of what was removed and repaired during the procedure. Turns out I had a fair amount of floating debris and rough cartilage behind my knee cap that was cleaned and smoothed out.

I was nervous as this was my first time having surgery and going under with general anesthesia; however, I was in good hands as my anesthesiologist happened to be one of my friends. She gave me some quick working juice into my IV before I even headed back and the rest is history.

Looking back at some of my posts over the years, I am certain I made the right decision to have a knee scope done. This procedure will put me on the right path towards a healthier and stronger run.




Recovery

For three days following the procedure, I had to stay off my leg with it elevated above my heart as much as possible. As an athlete, not doing anything at all for three days was very tough. I was going stir crazy, by day three I was beyond ready to take off my bandages and take a shower.

However, bed rest did have its perks. I was able to watch some of Bill Nye's new Netflix show, Bill Nye Saves the World, catch up on sleep, have #tasty dinners made for me, and of course eat copious amounts of ice cream.

It has now been a full week and I am starting to walk around almost normal. My knee joint still has tightness and some swelling, which limits how much I can bend it; however, putting weight on it doesn't hurt at all. Fingers crossed next Thursday, I get the all clear to get back in the pool and bike.

The amount of help I received this past week was so amazing! I am so grateful to have so many wonderful people in my life who were willing to help out! Non-dog people picking up Mr. Hitches 💩💩💩, #breakfast, ibuprofen, ice, company.......the list goes on. Thank you!

Stay tuned for a post-op update.

 

IRONMAN 69.1 Gulf Coast Race Report

Friday night in Panama City Beach a front was moving through. With strong southwest winds, the Gulf was churning up some big waves and swift currents.

Waking up race morning and opening the patio you could hear the waves crashing. I checked the NWS website and the local office had issued a Rip Tide Current for the Gulf Beaches along the FL panhandle.

From the balcony of my hotel room I could see transition and hear the announcers. Not long after transition opened, you could hear a cheer from some athletes. IRONMAN had cancelled the swim because of the rough water and rip tide. My heart initially sank, I was sad and had a hard time motivating myself to continue to get ready. The swim is my strength and gives me a cushion to the faster runners coming after me late in the race.

The race turned into a 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run, 69.1 miles with strong winds and high temperatures turned out to be just as challenging as 70.3 miles with a swim.

Transition: 
It wasn't until I was in transition waiting for my number to be called to start the race that I finally started to get excited. I reminded myself that my bike has improved so much and I could still have a good day without my favorite sport.

56 Mile Bike: 2:36:39, 21.4 mph
CLICK HERE for Training Peaks File

The wind was blowing from the West-Southwest between 10-15 mph. With the layout of the course, this meant the first 5 miles were into a head wind, the next 23 miles to the turnaround were a tail/cross wind, then you would have a head/cross wind on the returning 23 miles before a tail wind to finish the route.

Starting the bike was very different. Not having swam my heart rate was lower than my effort felt. I knew this would be the case so I just tried to spin into the head wind without over doing it.
Avg HR 152 bpm, avg pace 19.9 mph

The next section was a straight shot north to the turn around. My goal was to maintain bottom to mid Zone 3 heart rate (154-157 bpm). I set my watch to only display Heart Rate, doing this allowed me to focus on the only thing that mattered, my effort. Also not displaying speed and distance helps my mental game when I race. I ended up riding a bit harder than where I wanted to, but I felt great and knew it was an effort I could sustain with the tail wind.
Avg HR 158 bpm, avg pace 22.9 mph

The return coming south into the head/cross wind wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. There were a few stretches when the wind was strong but for the most part it was much better than expected. My goal was to ride mid to upper Zone 3 on this stretch (157-160 bpm).
Avg HR 158 bpm, avg pace 20.4 mph

The final 5 miles were dicey. Coming in on Front Beach road around 9 am meant the traffic had picked up and you had to ride on high alert. Taking advantage of the tail wind was a challenge because of the traffic. I nearly got taken out by a pedestrian crossing the road. I screamed so load at her I am sure I scared the you know what out of her.
Avg HR 160 bpm, avg pace 21.0 mph

13.1 Mile Run: 1:59:58, 9:09/mi
CLICK HERE for Training Peaks File

Still having knee issues, I knew this run was going to be an aerobic run. Anytime I push into a tempo effort my knee locks up, so I just ran in Zone 2 and hoped my bike was strong enough to keep me towards the front.

This was a three loop run course, which I like. It helps to break up the run into manageable chunks. 13.1 miles seems so far when you think of it as a whole, breaking it up into 3 x 3.4 mile mile sections helps to mentally grasp the distance.

Loop 1: Avg HR 160 bpm, avg pace 8:57/mi
Loop 2: Avg HR 160 bpm, avg pace 9:20/mi
Loop 3: Avg HR 161 bpm, avg pace 9:13/mi

My effort maintained throughout the race and I was able to keep my knee from locking up. I am looking forward to the day I can push tempo effort in the half marathon.

I kept myself cool on course by putting ice in my tri top at every aid station and I would dump cold water over my head. This allowed me to keep my core temp down and help maintain a steady heart rate.

Bike and Run Heart Rate Comparisons

As you can see from the images below, I squeaked about every once of energy I could on the bike, whereas the run, I have lots of room from growth!

Bike Heart Rate

Run Heart Rate

Finish: 4:37:48, 3/57 F30-34 and 291/1551 Overall

This was the first time I have stood on top of the podium in an IRONMAN event since I was competing in the 18-24 age group. I couldn't have been more proud and excited to be up there, especially given I didn't have the swim to help and my knee injury holding back my run. My bike has become my strength, I look forward to building on that and getting to a point when I can race the run.

IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships is just under 4 months away. I am so excited to be heading there with two of my favorite training partners and friends! Congrats to Stephanie Liles-Weyant and T.j. DeVlieger for your awesome performances at Gulf Coast!

You can’t make this shit up

Since my last blog post, I have completed two triathlons (IRONMAN 70.3 Florida & Beach Blast Olympic Triathlon) and two road races (Springtime 10K & Palace Saloon 5K). Season is now in full swing!!

Now for the shit you can’t make up

Standing in waist deep water during a practice swim at IRONMAN 70.3 FL, I happened to be at the precise spot at the exact moment for a slippery surprise! With my back to the course, facing a crowd of fellow Tallahassee triathletes, simultaneously I heard shouts, laughter and felt a big thud hit my head. I turn and see Robby Turner laughing hysterically and everyone is busting out laughing. I was thinking to myself, “Robby, that jokester, he threw something at me and nailed me in the head”. Turns out, the top of my head was the escape of a flopping mullet running from all of the triathletes invading on his territory.

Now for a short race recap from Haines City and Beach Blast

IRONMAN 70.3 FL – Race Recap

1.2 Mile Swim (32:47, 1:41/100m): I was prepared for and expecting a slower swim time because of my wave start. I was in wave #9 at 7:30 am, 35 minutes after the first wave start. With the design of the course and that many athletes ahead of me, it can be tough to navigate through the crowds. However, much to my surprise, I had a relatively smooth swim with minor blocking and zigzagging going on.

56 Mile Bike (2:38:55, 21.14 mph): I had one goal, break 2:40! The weather couldn’t have been any better. It was a cool morning with not too terrible of winds. I have always trained and raced by heart rate, so my goal was to start at 155 bpm for the first half and pick up the effort to 160 bpm on the back half. I may have started a bit too hot but I didn’t overdo it and I maintained my effort, despite the wind and hills on the second half.

First half: Avg HR 157 bpm, 21.9 mph
Second half: Avg HR 157 bpm, 20.5 mph

13.1 Mile Run (1:58:32, 9:02/mi): Again, I had one goal, run the entire race. I have been dealing with knee pain on the run for a while now. I knew going into this race, I shouldn't push the run and risk injury. All I wanted to do was run steady and not have to walk or worst case quit. I started easy and felt better and better as the miles ticked by. By the end of the half, I was running my fastest mile splits, Final 2 miles were 8:48 and 8:33 respectively.

First half: Avg HR 157 bpm, 9:11/mi, 87 rpm
Second half: Avg HR 159 bpm, 8:59/mi, 87 rpm

For the first half of the year, I am very happy with the outcome. I have four months to get my knee healthy and peak for IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in Chattanooga, TN.

Beach Blast Olympic Triathlon – Race Recap

This race, even with its quirks, is ALWAYS a BLAST!

Swim (always an unknown distance): I lined up on the left with superstar swimmer, Allison Born, and my fierce fast friend, Jillian Heddaeus. Just like Red Hills, after the initial dive in and few strokes, I look up and see Allison already a few body lengths ahead! That girl can swim! The water was rather ‘swelly’ which made it challenging but fun. Sighting all comes down to timing and feeling the swells. If timed incorrectly, you look up to see a wall of water. When you feel your body rise, just before the drop, lift you head to take a peak. These conditions make the swim a bit more fatiguing than normal and the stroke must change in order to sight and avoid sloshing waves. Bigger arms and more exaggerated breaths. My goal was to swim hard but I couldn’t find a rhythm in the water and just went with it without over working. Exiting the swim, I heard someone say good job ladies, I didn’t even have to look to know who it was. My race plan changed from then on.

25 mile Bike (21.3 mph): I knew Jillian was close but I didn’t know she was right behind me. Leaving T1 you have to ride into oncoming traffic in a coned shoulder (very sketchy and dangerous). I road on my hoods and kept my eyes wide for cars, this stretch was the worst part. Turning onto the main out and back road, Jillian accelerates out of the saddle and passes me within the first ¼ mile. As like Red Hills, I knew I couldn’t let her get ahead of me as she is a stronger runner than I and if I had any chance at a win I had to push beyond where I planned. My goal was to ride around 165 bpm (which is bottom of Zone 4 for me). I sat back for about a ½ mile contemplating my plan. Do I wait and let her do the work, maybe let her ride too hard for a bit knowing I was behind her? It didn’t take me long to decide, I needed to go! I needed to put in as much space between us as I could and if I waited my gap wouldn’t be as large.

From that point on, I road harder than planned. My threshold heart rate on the bike is 172 bpm, so I tried to maintain just below that at 168-170 bpm for the rest of the ride. A couple time I noticed my HR dropping and I pictured Jillian on the run, gunning for me and that made me find the extra push to keep going.

So much of racing is having a mental strength and willingness to hurt. I have found this one the bike and am very comfortable hurting so much; however, I still have yet to discover this on the run.

I came out of T2 with nearly a 3 minute lead on Jillian. I didn’t know that at the time but I knew I had a fairly large gap as I never saw her before I turned left on the run course.



6.2 Mile Run (turned out to be a bit short ~ 6 miles) (Avg HR 169 bpm, 8:33/mi): Frustrating, that is all. I felt great but my knee was really stiff. Mentally, I had given up by mile 1. And with the change in venue I didn’t know the new course. Note to self, review maps and know the course, especially in local small races. At the sprint turnaround, I wasn’t sure where to go so I turned left when I should have gone straight. I get about 10 meters up the road and the volunteer yells, “you are supposed to turn around here”. I respond saying, I am in the Olympic and then they say, “you are supposed to go straight”. I am confused and ask, straight here?!? Lol, it was quite comical. So I realize I wasn’t supposed to turn and head back and set back out onto the run course. However, I am running and don’t see any other competitors, signs or any indication I am going the right direction. I start to get concerned and am asking the cyclist going by if they have seen athletes ahead of me, I asked a dog walker if they saw anyone else. As I kept running I saw a water stop about a ½ mile up the road and then started to relax and find my pace again. But by this point I was done, I had no drive to push hard because of my knee, I knew Jillian would be catching me very soon and mentally I gave up. Jillian caught me around mile 2.8, right before the turn around. I gave her my congrats and told her to get it! I watched her get further and further away and had a little pity party with myself for a brief stretch. Then I saw the #3 female and she looked strong. So I pulled it together and ran steady and as fast as I could without aggravating my knee too much. I had calculated the pace I needed to hold in order to hold her off. That was assuming she was running a 7:30/mi, based off a glance as she passed. The next three miles I ran steady never looking back. And there was the turn to the finish, I took one glance back and didn’t see another female. The rush of happiness and feeling of accomplishment hit me hard. I was so happy to come away with another 2nd place finish, especially with my issues on the run.

First half: Avg HR 168 bpm, 8:41/mi
Second half: Avg HR 169 bpm, 8:26/mi

Race Results: http://www.eventtiming.com/races/blast1716.htm

Superstar Swimmer Allison Born. Thanks Nick for the AWESOME pictures! 

I have another half IRONMAN in Panama City in just under two weeks. That race will be very similar to Haines City, swim and bike to my fullest and run to stay healthy. I am on a mission to fix my knee and train my ass off for IRONMAN 70.3 World in September!

Stay tuned!