Injury and OutSeason
I've had a rough year. I broke my left big toe in the Swim-Bike transition at Timberman last August. (Finished) I came back too quickly as I had signed up for the goofy challenge. I managed to do the event on 4 weeks training. I thought I could safely ramp up my miles to run a 100k in April. Of course I didn't quite realize since I had come back too fast I had altered my running stride and ended up with an overuse injury. I strained my achilles and was out of commission for 8 weeks. When I came back I had just enough time to start training and compete in IMWI10. During my last week of base building before starting my IM training, I was hit by a car while I was running. Some kid ran a stop sign and popped me in the crosswalk.
I am now 'better'. I can run, conservatively, for about 20-25 min a pop. I can bike for about an hour at a time. The pool is fine. I still have some soreness and pain from my injury. I was pretty bummed after I got hit by the car and had a pity party all summer and now I am huge and slow. I am a big believer in how you like to train. I am just not sure what might be the best path for me. I am out of shape, hugely so. I need to get back into shape. I know I can do that by just starting training again. I am just not sure if Out-Season (speed) work is appropriate for me. Do you have any thoughts on the matter?
Comments
Thomas, all I have to say is WOW! You have had a sting of "issues" that would get a lot of people down. But you are here asking the questions and I commend you for that. Way to go.
And 100k? I still cherish my ultra running days. 62 miles is a long frigging way!
I have been in EN a couple of years and I took some time off last winter through this past June. I gained 23 or so pounds over last winter (long story) and when spring came I saw folks around town riding and running and I got the tri bug again. All I have to say is that the first bunch of weeks getting back into the groove with almost zero fitness to start was really, realy tough. I was basically where you are at now. I could tell on my runs my extra weight was a big issue. Slowly but surely I started losing the lbs. and my fitness increased. I lost most of the weight via healthy eating and it all culminated to my HIM last weekend where I had a 7 minutes HIM PR and came in 3rd place in the Clydesdale division.
With the above said, if you focus in body comp and take your time coming back via the Out-Season (OS), I personally think you can use OS to come back. Simply do the initial run and bike tests to get your baseline and then start the WORK. The cool thing about OS is you see results without the long, slow training hours and that will translate into better long runs/bikes down the road. We have proven it in EN over and over and over again. Don't push yourself too hard in the beginning, but I guarantee that after a few weeks you will have your "aha!" moment and not only will you be back, but you will be faster at the same time.
Hope this helps.
John
Welcome! I can kind of empathize with you. Various injuries and other things have kept me from training the way I'd like for a couple of years. What I can say is that the OS is HARD, but is scales to your current level of fitness. I would recommend getting what fitness you can before starting, then give it a go. You should also listen to your body though and be sure that you know the difference between when to push and when to back off.
You may also want to get with someone to do a gait analysis to be sure you don't re-injure yourself after all you've been through. Bike fit is something else you may want to look into. With what your body has been through, I would bet it has learned to make some compensations you are not aware of. Being sure your are mechanically ready to go is going to be huge. You want your run form and bike fit there to support, not hinder you.
I have to get refit on my road bike to a less aggressive postiion. No aero position for me until the spring...so says my PT guy. I know I can gain fitness wtihout the position so that's not huge for me.
Any thoughts on which outseason plan anyone? I was a sub 5:30 HIM'er, but there is no way I could break 6 in the shape I'm in now. Is it easier to scale a plan up or scale a plan down?
Not to mention we'll have several groups on body composition and accountability this fall...we can keep you on track for sure!
P