is of course what we all wish for the team, and in particular me :D

Have a great 2009 everyone

Hello,

Since I have been racing for many years I have grown very good at injury management and staying relatively fit while injured. 

This summer, a few weeks after IM LP and 3 weeks before IM Louisville I got hit by a motorcycle at the half way point of my weekend long ride.  I had a good pace going, as my IM recovery and subsequent build up for Louisville was going better than I could have hoped.  I was about to turn left for a nuture’s break when a motorcycle was passing me and BOOM we collided.  I went down hard and he went flying as well.

I rode the 85kms home after having the ambulance attendant check me out and refusing to spend the rest of my Saturday in the hospital (getting checked out further).  I wanted to finsih my training and just be home.  I did make it home, but not quite the pace I was maintaining heading out.  No transition run on this day.

Miraculously was able to run the following day, although the first 30min was a walk/ jog.  I could barely breathe!  However, once I got "used" to the pain I eventually did not have to walk and ran for another 1.5hrs. 

Fast forward to the next day when I could barely get out of bed and my 8km commute to work was anything but normal.  Because the pain was almost unbearable,  I went across the street to the Ottawa University medical clinic to get my back and side checked out.  The doctor told me to take it ez (respect the pain) for 3-4 weeks and x-rayed my chest, ribs and back.  I proceeded to get an additional 3 opinions, as I just wanted to know if I could take the pain, could I continue to train without further incidence or complications?  Luckily, this was the 2 week span of the summer Olympics and I proceeded to watch swimming and track for the much of my days. 

I was still hopeful that my back or ribs would be healed in time for IM Louisville in just over 2 weeks.  However, on the Thursday (5 days after the accident) the university doctor called me and told me my x-ray results showed 2 broken ribs- #5 and #7.  He said there was NO way that I would be able to race an ironman in the next 2 weeks+.  After 1-2 weeks I could ride easy and I decided to go to Louisville for support, as Marie was racing and Timex would be there as well, in some capacity.  Timex, Trek and Tristan were all amazing as I had another 9.9 frame before the end of the week and able to ride it on the weekend.  Incredible!!  

Luckily, I did not bring my race wheels and uniform, as I may have towed the line, because watching an event may be harder than racing.  I was able to ride majority of the course in the days prior to the event 130-160k on consecutive days and ran 2-3hrs while watching the race on race day after biking around to the optimal view points.  The bike course is actually similar to WI and guaranteed hot race conditions, which I like.  I gave splits to Marie and Surgio Marques who were both "running through their fields".  Motivating!

I did race IMFL on Nov 01, but my lack of swimming and bad positioning caught up with me and I had the worst swim of my career in 58min, but more importantly 8mins behind the contenders I wanted to be starting the bike with.  The good news is that I met my goal bike time of (4:30′s) 4:35 and was on sub-3hr run split until the last 4-5miles.  My goal run was sub 3:05 and I finished in 3:08. My overall goal time was 8:30′s and I finished in 8:47 and was 7-8mins slower than expected in the swim.  Not all bad considering the issues I had in the weeks preceding the event (lots of traveling for work= hard to train consistently).  

I found out that one can begin "regular" training or race 5-6 weeks after suffering broken ribs.  This is information that would have been good for me to know, but respecting the pain is the best advise I can recommend.  Broken bones will heal, they just take there due time. 

On another note, I had a collision with the biggest and fastest swimmer in my age-group swim club and his shoulder hit the front of my chest at the same level as my previously broken ribs.  I got diagonosed as costochondritis (inflammation if the cartliage that holds the ribs to the sternum), by the same university doctor.  It can happen from a single blow or repetitive stress.   I am better now after 3 weeks of not getting my HR up… hard for me.  Patience, confidence and staying positive were very important to keeping some basic level on conditioning.

Happy holidays to all,

Dave

This weeks interviewee is Matt Reed aka Matty aka Boom Boom. Born a Kiwi…not literally…like, a New Zealander, Matt raced for the USA at the 2008 Olympic Games. In 2008 Matt also won the Haul to the Great Wall series, St. Anthonys, Boulder Peak, Miami International, the Escape to Bermuda, and was 5th at the ITU World Championships.

LT: Being a Boulder resident, I have to start the interview with the obligatory first question…it is kind of like having a celeb throw out the first pitch at a baseball game, you know, getting things started properly. So anyway, have you ever run over a prairie dog while riding in Boulder?
MR: Yes. I think I broke its back and it rolled into the middle of the
road and got squashed by a truck.

LT: What is at the top of your Christmas wish list?
MR: A leaf blower. I don’t care for presents anymore as long as my son has a smile. That will be at the top of my list.

LT: If you were to train, taper and shave your legs specifically for a beer mile, what do you think you could run?
MR: 5.45, I am just guessing as I am not sure how fast the beer can go down.

LT: As a father of two, what is the biggest life lesson you hope to teach your kids?
MR: Put your entire heart into it and you will achieve your dreams,anything less and you have only made excuses. Also pick a job with a big pay check, and choose at a early age and give it everything.

LT: Living in Boulder, have you ever considered growing your hair to your butt and wearing it in dreads?
MR: I would have an afro so it would go straight up, and no.

LT: Have you ever been arrested? Feel free to elaborate.
MR: Never arrested… Should have been but they never caught me, hehe. I did get caught when I was 12 for stealing candies from the super market.
They had to call the police. I think it was $1.20 worth.

LT: I hear you are running the Carlsbad half marathon in January, so is Joanna Zeiger, does that worry you at all?
MR: The only thing that worries me is having a bad stomach like I did last year… then if I sat in the john for 10 min, Joanna might beat me.

The 2 best ways to get faster cycling….
1. Work on the engine (you)
2. Get a professional bike fit

Here is my spouse getting a good fit at Mellow Johnny’s bike shop on his speedy Trek from Kevin Livingston and Adam. They have a good mix of using tools and measurements combined with practical experience.
I am real technical….