With the end of the second week of four of my first block of training this year i have nothing to say other than im feeling good, fitter and a bit lighter as well at least compared with 1 month ago. That wasnt hard of course…

I have 2 track sessions on my belt and lots of strength training in the gym. Swimming with the big group of athletes is very good and my swim times are better a few seconds than last winter. Theresalways the placebo effect claim but i feel that gym is doing good things to me.

Im also enjoying some mountain bike riding and actually did a 60km race last weekend that was going really well until i lost in the bushes while i was riding 3rd at around 30km, it was fun anyway…but i would enjoy it better if i havent lost, i wasnt the only one though ;)

im the blue guy in this group

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Swim with a brace and a buoy.
Bike easy on a trainer.
Learn a new sport.
Do something besides train (working is encouraged)

I’ve included proof of the new sport, since photos of the other items are boring (see previous posts). Here I am at Pure Austin.

Note: Don’t get in a bar-room brawl with me. I don’t really know how to punch. Coach Chann tries not to laugh outloud; Michael says Autumn punches better than I do. Hey, I grew up playing soccer. What do you expect? However, in my defense, it is much harder than it looks. I can barely do it for a minute at a time.

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As the emails from the team arrive I realize that April 4th is not that far away.  So this was going to be my 2nd significant run of the New Year.  The 1st was a 9 mile run pushing my 4 year old daughter in a low end stroller down a highway in Key Largo. While I am confident the Surgeon General would not have recommended this activity it was a great father daughter event.  Our finish line was a local dive biker bar.  Gigi, my daughter, brought in the NY with a grill cheese and I went with a slice of Key Lime Pie and a Bud Light.  No back to this mornings run.  It was 6:30am when three friends and I met.  It was 19 degrees and the game plan was 14 miles.  It went by fairly well.  The highlight was at mile 9 when I noticed something keep banging into my ear.  It took me a while to realize that the sweat in my hair had frozen and formed iced dread locks.  Classic!  Our water bottles were frozen like a rock and the GU packets were like Play Doh. But a great way to get fired up for Ironman 70.3 California Ocean Side.

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After a long time in The Boot, I should at least give it the respect of some specific tribute, ok, how about a list?

1. showers — Those showers at the gym with the bench are fabulous. I never thought to appreciate them before.

2. crashing — Don’t tell anyone, but I actually CRASHED on a spin bike. My knee was actually bleeding from where I punctured it with the water-bottle holder. Boots and spin bikes don’t mix!

3. soggy boot — I tried all kinds of ways to get from the pool to the locker room without getting The Boot wet. I finally gave up.

4. solo sock — I am not generally a sock wearer. I bought some ‘long’ cycling socks to wear under the boot (also pictured for reference). I tried to go foot-commando, but it was too, well, ick. I also wear the sock while swimming (so the brace won’t chafe). I don’t know if I’m attached to the solo sock or never want to see the culprit again. HOWEVER, in my non-boot state, I noticed that when I got to Autumn’s school yesterday, I was wearing one sock in ‘boot style’. But no Boot.

5. driving (not) — Michael (spouse) and Michelle (friend) driving me everywhere for weeks; finally driving, but having to take The Boot on and off.

6. cycling with The Boot – once I got the ok (after I was off the crutches at 6 weeks), I took up my usual spot as Autumn’s school escort. We bike to school. This was, by far, the most serious impact on my child. For 6 weeks, I left her to fend the ride with Michael. (OK, she was fine, but she used that one, and I think Michael was more than ready to give that up, especially the socializing with the (mostly) moms at pick-up time).

7. clothes – dressing for The Boot. I wore a matching dress for the holidays.

8. sleeping – I wore The Boot unless I was swimming for weeks. Right.

9. The Boot perfume – well, Ironman gave us perfume samples in Kona, so why not.

10. The Boot conversation – is over.

PS, Although I’ve posted this in “Injuries”, I am no longer injured. My bionic ankle is recovering.
:)

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When we moved into our house here in Austin, Texas, one of the first things I noticed was that I could set up my trainer ‘permanently’ even without a basement. (That Texas rock is hard!) In our office, we have a closet large enough to fit a trainer and bike. Although I reserved it for emergencies, as you can almost always ride outside in Austin, it has come in handy. And although I digress, I did spend some serious hours on it last spring when we got a freeze during a week with some particularly long rides… let’s just say that I watched all the Star Wars movies (what a geek) in 3 days.

So, imagine my fortune when I learned that I could ride my bike again (but only EASY on the TRAINER). I was already set up. With movies. And books. As another side note, I read all 4 of those Twilight-series books and watched Little Miss Sunshine (again) in less than 10 days. Maybe I’ll become a trainer junkie. My Canadian/northern-living friends, I’m joking. Alas, I can’t unclip until January 27, and I’m a bit nervous to hit the road. I ride to school with Autumn — until recently with a The Boot and a clog. As of this week, I’ve graduated to just tennies.

So, back to my saga, I was riding before I could even WALK without crutches (horray for sanity). So, I rode a little in the closet…. nothing over 100 watts, then 150 watts (ok, that’s not much for those without watt comparisons, but I was moving). PS, I don’t often ride aero in the closet, I’m just showing off for the photo.

Fast forward to today, day 4 without the boot. I can’t ride hard (YET) or run (YET), but I’m getting closer every day. It’s been over 2 months since my reconstruction, and my ligaments “feel tight” according to Dr. Smoot. I can swim with a brace and a buoy, ride on the trainer, and (as of today)do a bit of elliptical. I’ve done some strength training, trying to prevent the ‘miss olympia’ reaction, but it is still happening. 4 more months to “running” and “REALLY cycling”. I have perspective at the moment. I need a name for these next months.
I’m taking suggestions.

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