IM CDA - Week 17 - Neck Injury Needs Rest

daveje

RnR,

I'm in the final stretch before IM CDA and am dealing with a herniated disk in my neck. My doctor has prescribed as much rest as possible for a few weeks but also understand what I'm trying to accomplish with this IM.   He said that I'm unlikely to hurt myself any worse if I keep training (unless I crash again which got me in this mess in the first place) but he also said that getting as much rest as possible would be a good idea. So, my question to you is how can I structure a plan for this last four weeks where I can at least maintain my fitness and give the IM a shot.  With my injury, swimming is a  problem,  biking is uncomfortable but I can tolerate it, and running is no issue.  At this point, I just want to feel like I'm OK starting the race and then I'll gauge how I feel as I go.

Thanks,

Dave

Coach Patrick

@David, I am really at a loss as to what you can do training wise with a herniated disk in your neck. I say we rest swimming for 2 full weeks right now, perhaps you can do some dryland work in the meantime (swim cords, core work, etc)? I would try biking in an upright position (not aero), and do as much of the plan as you can (let me know if that's even feasible). I would run as scheduled, nothing extra. If you need to cut out some biking we can work on the running...

All of the above, not to mention regular care / rehab work you can do to accelerate the healing!!!

daveje

Thanks for the quick response. Fortuantely, I feel much better today than I have in awhile so I hope this is a good sign.

I agree that taking a break from swimming is my best move. I'm going to get on the bike tomorrow for a shortish ride and see how I feel. I'll follow up and let you know how it goes and if I think I need to modify the bike workouts. I'd like to get one more big ride in before this is all done and I hope I'll be ok next week. If not, would it be OK to add one big ride in week 19 or is it better to just taper down as planned?

Robert Sabo

Sorry to jump in on your micro thread but I saw neck injury.  If it's the breathing issue that hurts while swimming, you could try one of those goofy snorkel things that goes straight in front of you.  This might allow you to swim freestyle with less discomfort realizing that with body rotation your neck still rotates.  Just a suggestion.  might be a good way to reintroduce swimming.

daveje

Thanks for the suggestion. I may give that a shot if this doesn't clear up next week.

Coach Patrick

@Rob, thanks man!!!