Anthony Smallwood micro topic
Coach P,
As discussed yesterday running is a no go for at least two weeks. I'd like to then test my knee with light running and see if things are better, and then resume fast running in 4 weeks. If that doesn't work, it's MRI time and more plan adjustments.
Swimming hard is a go since I'm a 2 beat kicker for the most part anyway.
Cycling hard should be okay too, I will know today after work and will update this topic then.
I'm in week 12 of the beginner short course plan.
Thanks.
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The trainers I know at the gym were all making me swear if it gets bad or I have pain in the back of the knee to immediately get the MRI done. This morning I have less pain than yesterday. It's slowly getting better.
Amazingly enough, I don't do flip turns yet. Maybe that's why I like 50m pools and open water more than some others. I haven't put a priority on it, since I can't flip turn in the lakes or bayous I've raced in.
I would like to be able to slowly jog half of the 10K or more for my race on 6/1. And then when I start my GET FASTER plan the following week, I want to be able to do the workouts and get faster.
Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Remember the Long Term goal this season is IM Austin. Everything leading up to that is low priority.
I finished up the 60 minutes of riding and did 3 minutes of treadmill walking and then 1 min of jogging (13 min / mi pace), super slow.... VDOT 2ish..... then walked a minute, and then jogged another minute at the same pace. I then got off and checked my knee over thoroughly. Verdict, the knee is weak from the injury which causes some discomfort jogging. There is no noticeable effect after the jog, swelling or pain etc. The discomfort is weak tendons around the bottom part of the kneecap I'm certain.
So I'm thinking of doing something really silly like couch to 5K or Daniel's walk/run white plan for the next 4 weeks. What's your thoughts on this?
we're looking for consistency here, not flash. Keep it on the simple smooth surface and don't worry about the intensity just yet. As you noted, we need you need to get strong first before we worry about speed. You should also check into kenesio taping. There's some great resources over here: www.athletestreatingathletes.com
May 2nd to May 10th, Middle East, hotel may have indoor cycle and treadmills. A pool is highly unlikely. I'm thinking honestly just do a lot of walking (will be on my feet all day) and get the 20 min X 4 in of walk/jogging.
May 11th to May 17th Utah; outside all day looking at rocks for work. Lots of walking and on feet all day again. Indoor cycling might be possible (4 different hotels, new one each night), outdoor or indoor running is very likely in US hotels, but swimming may be a huge miss at all of them (small pools make for poor laps). I"ve been meaning to invest in a swim tether to use in small pools including at home...... Any suggestions?
I'm starting to think 6/1 is really not a B priority race anymore, maybe Cish now. I'm not going to be able to run a 10K by then realistically.
So then my 6/2 GET FASTER training is really the priority for Austin in October.
What the heck are you looking for?
His final suggestion, he prescribed a super strength anti-swelling med (NSAID) and warned not to take any other NSAIDS along with his. He said go use my knee as I want, using the NSAID to control inflammation and ice. He thinks it will all clear up in a few weeks. He wants me to check back in after 3 weeks. He says he will only operate if I beg him to do so.
My plan. Skip this weekend's race (haven't been training enough). I'm supposed to start the get faster plan next week. So today I'm going to do a one hour medium pace bike ride. Tomorrow I'm going to go for a jog with the wife. And then I'm going to see where I'm at. I will probably attempt a fairly long bike ride this weekend (2 hrs or so) and a slowish 5K to see where I'm at (around 40 min). My fastest 5K last season was 28 min. I'm nowhere near that right now. I'd still like to get to the 20 or less I could run in HS someday.
I'm expecting quite a bit of pain actually but hopefully with the strong NSAID and ice I can keep going through it. If in 3 weeks it's still awful, I will tell the doc then.
It feels great right now, but I haven't done anything in a week. We shall see what happens.
It's a good thing IM TX is so far off. It may take a while to sort this out. I want to execute a good race for the Austin 70.3 in October too. I'm starting to worry about that right now.
Okay so for the minus 1 week. I did a short walk/jog with the wife, dogs and baby on Wednesday with no issues. Thursday I did the week 1 bike ride and pushed it hard. Gosh I'm way out of shape due to not exercising much for two months. The knee felt fine. It swells but the anti-inflamatories keep it under control and pretty much pain free. Friday I did more walking with the family. Saturday I did a 90 minute ride, but was tired from pushing Thursday. I do an out and back and my worst climbs are the return. I felt fine Sunday but rested. Today I did the week 1 swim and swim golf.... dropped 10 after the drills 6 seconds and 4 strokes. Sad. My swim sucks, so starting my one on one lessons soon is a good thing.
I know Rich said not to do it, but I'm going to try the 4X800m tomorrow. My plan is to do the 800s at 10kish pace and walk 400. I'm going to see if I can do all 4 and see how the knee feels after. I did run a few strides yesterday out pushing the jogging stroller and no issues.
The Wednesday bike ride is all go.
I'm looking forward to using the first 3 weeks to establish a minimum fitness base for testing in week 4.
I'm really worried about the long runs on Thursday right now, and I will probably skiip the Wednesday brick for a while. I will probably walk the dogs and kiddo for 30-45 minutes 3 days a week as well.
Ultimately a race performances has far less to do with peak fitness than it does with durability and overall wellness.
It's hard to grasp that sometimes with our focus on high-intensity training and data, but truth is, race day has a different set of demands.
I did it. I was slow enough that I could've timed myself on a sundial today. I've lost a lot of fitness since baby was born on 11/4 and leading up to that event.
So how about I run on my assigned run days? No real intensity but I try and run 30 minutes out of the allotted time and walk the remainder. I did a slow to quick jog for 800m today followed by 400 walking, repeat. I felt depressed with my lack of fitness, but I still have lots of time before Austin.
Thanks,
Anthony
I had my first swim lesson today. Can I swap Friday's swim with Thursday's run? Or should I just run Thursdays and swim more Fridays? That would give me another chance to reinforce what I learn on Thursday. I'm paying for 10 30 minute lessons at a time. I imagine after 10, I will be much better. I may take 10 more again this winter too.
You can swim on Thursdays if you want -- up to you if you want to try it and see what you think.
My wife wants to do the Turkey Trot 5K in 2 months. I may be doing my own version of couch to 5K for kneehab. I'm actually walking much better now than before the surgery. The knee doesn't feel funny at all anymore. What hurts is the swelling and amount of bruising blood in my leg from the surgery.
My OS was pretty bad. I have been able to complete the last 3 weeks of the plan. Cycling no problems, running is jogging/walking making sure to keep speed down and my stride short since I don't wanto to aggravate my knee. After gaining way too much weight since TX 70.3 in 2013, I'm looking to get back there and do better this year. I've lost 8lbs in the past 3 weeks and plan to lose 2 until I hit 200 and then reduce that goal to 1 lb a week to 175. I'm counting calories via MyFitnessPal and honestly if I don't count calories I gain. So this is a must.
My first big hiccup of the season will occur in mid March. OS ends this week then two weeks of Swim Camp. No issues there. Then I enter week 11 of HIM beginner plan on 3/16. I'm looking forward to and dreading the bid day #1 on the 21st, but it will give me a good feel for where I am and how far I need to go in 9 weeks. It's going to hurt.
The hiccup occurs in week 14. I have my Race Rehearsal on the 14th and my first local Sprint TRI on the 15th. do I just do the RR and know I'm going to stink on the 15th? Honestly I don't care about the race other than it's my first triathlon in a year and will be the first one where my knee isn't totally F'd up in almost 2 years.
So my concerns and questions are:
1) Do you have any tips or advice on how to get back into running shape from esentially ground zero? Any required reading on my part? I know it's a twofold problem and I've experienced it both ways. Any weight lost is free run speed and less knee stress. I was 208 before Galveston in 2013. I'm sitting on 228 right now. I plan to be 203 by Galveston this year and 175 or less by IM FL. Do I just run/jog/walk the full allotted time even if I can't hit all of the intervals until strength endurance return and I can hit the targets? This is the approach I've been using the last 3 weeks. Just go the duration and let speed and mileage build up naturally as I heal and get smaller.
2) How do I handle week 14 of HIM plan with race rehearsal on Saturday and po dunk local St Patty's TRI on Sunday? I also have 2 sprints to contend with later this year during IM training so this will be good to learn before then too.
First and foremost is a healthy happy knee. So yes, it's running for time not intensity for the forseeable future. Remember most folks don't run at all in an IM so it's not like you need to muralize yourself one for a Nov race.
I say keep it run / walk as you build up and really take care of it post run. Any issues we back off.
Similar to that thought, my only concern about the RR + Sprint is that you might be pretty beat up after the RR. If you are going to do both, don't do the run on the RR, we can swag it. Save the run for the sprint.
So I want you to race, just u wiling to let you do so if you are doing damage. Deal?
I'm mad at myself for missing the optional swim today but I have a cold coming. I hate swimming when I'm already breathing impaired due to nature (cold, allergies, etc.).
I hereby promise to 1) Count calories like it's my new found love in life. 2) To do all my "runs" for duration and not jeopardize my knee health while doing so.
If I fail to keep either of these and am not ready for IMFL and at 175, I owe EN Coaches one month of free Starbuck's via gift cards. And everyone that knows me knows I don't want to spend my Christmas bonus on someone else's habits.