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

Hello, I have recently been plagued with a number of foot injuries the last 2-3 seasons and it has been very frustrating. However, after starting out the winter of 08 just getting rid of my plantar fascia injuries I went straight into an achilles tendon problem. I decided to take 3 months in the winter to let everything “settle” down.  This did not clear it up, but on the advise of a few sports doctors I was told to start running and it would go away.    Fast-forward 6 months to now (sorry Julie- your line).  I have been able to run regularly without much discomfort, but plenty of stretching and ART-Active Release Techniques.  I am getting very excited to get into some races and check out my fitness, especially on the run. Running is the one sport the really makes one feel light and get the adrenaline going when done regularly.   However, since buying a condo, furniture and changing jobs all at the same time I was forced to forgo the Muskoka Chase and instead did a good weekend of long distance training. I can really see how life can alter the best of laid plans.  IM Lake Placid is my first A race this season and I am convinced that the long and selectively intense training is going to pay off when it counts.    Having the new Power Tap from Cyclops is an amazing training tool I have been using extensively to gauge my power output on the bike with respect to my HR. By monitoring the watt values when compared to an indoor power meter like Computrainer one can see where they stand.  For example HR values when one is gliding downhill the HR drops, so do the watts (zero) and therefore, time, average watts and distance as well.  I will be heading to Lake Placid again this Saturday am for 2 loops of the bike course followed by a 10k run. A one-day training event and drive back home afterwards. I will compare the values from 2 weeks ago when I did 1 loop in 2:30 with a 119 average HR and 260w average on the Cyclops. This effort felt comfortable, but it was only 1 loop and I know from experience that the hills on the second loop can be difficult if underestimated.   Cheers, Dave

Recently I competed in the competitive Muskoka Chase in Huntsville ON, in the beautiful cottage country just north of Toronto. It was a test for me to evaluate the effectiveness of deep water running (DWR) to on land running. I knew there would be the issue of non-weight bearing (which means I would be probably be sore afterwards-DOMS), but I just wanted to keep my speed and stamina up, so I could race fast. I had 8 weeks to test out the theory with 2-3 week blocks of NO land running, just DWR. Because of the “free” time of not runing as many hrs I increased my bike and swim mileage/ training hrs. This caused a little soreness to my shoulders after a few weeks of the DWR and extra swimming. Therefore, I slowly shifted to do increasingly durations of DWR with a belt and shorter and shorter durations without the belt. I have troubles getting my HR up at all with the belt, but it is a lot easier on the shoulders and easier to keep a more upright running action.

The Race:
I had my usual subpar swim in Huntsville, despite the amazing Blue Seventy wetsuit and had to begin the “chase” once on my bike. I managed to move up (on my Trek) from well back in the field to 5th off the bike, but 2 guys only a few seconds behind. Fourth place was leaving the transition area when I arrived and I stayed within 1min or less of him (Jamie Cleveland) and the 2 others until 8k of the run exchanging places at times. My HR was just under my short distance threshold of 150bpm up to this point and I will still feeling ok despite my lack of running intensity and mileage prior to the race. I was able to overtake the 2 more women during these 8k and only Macel (last years winnner) and McGlone (70.3 World Champion) stayed ahead of me after their 17:29 head start. I think that the new hillier and bumpier bike route favoured the men more, which is why only 5 women finished in the top 20. I ended up finishing 9th male and 11th in the “Chase” with 4 men within a minute. My HR was actually going up the last 7k although I was not able to run any faster. Overall, the fact that I ran 56min for the 15k instead of the 55min last year was the difference in me not placing in the top 5. Although this distance is not what I train for (rarely train w/ HR in the 150′s) as it is not conducive to IM pacing. Therfore it was good to get a good solid/ hard day under my belt to help in my mental toughness. I also received a cortesone injection in my foot on the Tuesday before the race and it was miraculously … and still is PAIN FREE. I will be keeping my fingers crossed, as I begin adding intensity to my increased run mileage.

Finally, on to the relevance of DWR on land running; I would have to agree with the most recent scientific study (evidence) in NSCA Strength and Conditioning Journal that the effectiveness of DWR is questionable at best. They found that because it is non-weight bearing and the angle of the knee and hip are at a much higher angle than when on land is does not correlate that well. As well, during DWR the legs run in sinc while not so when running on land. I however, must state that it has worked for many people in the past and running on an under water treadmill has known to be very effective (Deena Kaster- marathon champion).

Cheers, Dave
www.daveharjucoaching.com

Power is a very important facet of cycling, whether it be absolute (on the flats) or relative (in the hills).  Knowing one’s power (watts) on the bike is as valuable to cycling as distance per stroke is in swimming and average pace per Km/Mile is in running.

When coaching athletes as well as myself, I gradually try to increase the watts/power output being produced, while monitoring HR and RPMs throughout the winter (off-season). These values “power numbers” give the athlete and coach concrete numbers to predict average speeds out on the road. I have had the pleasure to have access to computrainer, which not only measures watts, rpms, and HR, but also has graphs to measure pedal efficiency. The measures are in %’s, which change while the athlete is riding (changing their technique) to offer instant feedback to the cyclist. ie. Change to reflect the pulling back action of the leg. Many athletes (even professionals) are surprised when they first get onto a computrainer and can plainly see that their pedal stroke is not as efficient as they thought.  Computrainer measures wattage at four points (top/ front/ bottom/ back) to ensure one is pedaling in a circular motion, which would mean equal force in the four aformentioned areas. 

Now, the ability to measure these same rates of force outside is an even greater advantage to the cyclist, as he can now compare his/her indoor watts to outside in the elements. As well, for racing it can be similar in importance to a HR monitor for pacing. One just has to maintain the wattage that they have been doing all year in training and the body will not be in for any surprises come race day. Timex (and its multisport athletes) are very fortunate this year to have secured a deal with Power Tap which will certainly benefit all parties.  Another added benefit to knowing your wattage produced is that it is a standardized number that can be compared to anyone and any place. For example; Lance can apparently “push” up to 500w of resistance for over an hour (I cetainly am not going to argue with this), but it is something that an athlete can imagine or try once you have a power meter to measure your wattage.

Being that cycling is my strong discipline of triathlon I like to measure myself with professional cyclists, even if I cannot come close, I relish the challenge.  I have not been able to measure my wattage outside on the road (never had a Power Tap or SRAM), so now I will be able to see what I can average for my long rides.

p.s. Many of the pro male triathletes average between 260 and 290w for a long distance triathlon, now it is our turn to see what we can do.  I cannot wait.

Happy Riding,

Cheers, Dave Harju

www.daveharjucoaching.com