What It Takes...
Hi All!
This is the official continuation of the "Challenge of the Week" thread we are closing in the 3.0 forum. The thread was started by EN chicka extraordinaire Marianne, on July 20, 2008. We leave it with 2,770 posts and 25,208 views. It's the heart and soul of the EN chicka vibe.
An open invitation to all the new women in the house to join in the conversation. This thread is serious, crazily silly, heart wrenching, but always, always, always inclusive and supportive. We've got each others' backs, and then some. It will also likely send you on a shopping trip or three--$$$.
We also like the guys checking in and joining in, so don't be shy!
So here we go with our new version of "Challenge of the Week--4.0"!
LP
This is the official continuation of the "Challenge of the Week" thread we are closing in the 3.0 forum. The thread was started by EN chicka extraordinaire Marianne, on July 20, 2008. We leave it with 2,770 posts and 25,208 views. It's the heart and soul of the EN chicka vibe.
An open invitation to all the new women in the house to join in the conversation. This thread is serious, crazily silly, heart wrenching, but always, always, always inclusive and supportive. We've got each others' backs, and then some. It will also likely send you on a shopping trip or three--$$$.
We also like the guys checking in and joining in, so don't be shy! So here we go with our new version of "Challenge of the Week--4.0"!
LP
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Comments
Once the dust settles we'll see if we can import all of the old forums into these new forums. Thanks.
Just paste this into the signature.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3497/3942246920_1a966f6bc1_m.jpg
Believe it or not, Beith did a whole wiki tutorial here. Amazing.
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AVwVLI1Eoim9ZHBzendwel80YzU4N3ZjZnY&hl=en
Get it posted there, girl!
Thanks Rich!!!!!!
Thanks for taking the reigns on this Linda! I am glad it is all going to be in one place now, but also kinda sad to see those big post and view numbers go bye bye. So glad your workouts have been going so well too
Things have bit a little bit rough for me lately and just want to let it out!!!
So I am officially in OS limbo! I'm working really hard not to let myself get down about it (after all this is NOT life threatening and it is happening VERY early on in the OS). The hard part (and I know you ALL understand this) I REALLY miss running and riding (don't have good pool access this time of year) and we have had such beautiful weather this November (whine, whine, whine.....). So much of it is mental - as in "I need my fix"! I'm sticking with the pilates and yoga, but ya know those endorphins just don't kick in doing that stuff
No sense worrying about it until I know what I am dealing with, but it is just such a Pain in the ASS! Literally
Robin
I have dealt with piriformis more times than I can tell you. It's chronic for me, and there is never going to be a 100% resolution. My reality is that I simply manage it, and keep it at bay as best I can. I also have huge LD running issues with quads that turn to glass and shatter. I could have major back issues due to my very flat feet and bunions. Orthotics help with that and keep my back out of trouble. In the end, I've done two IM races. No way, no how should I be able to finish these distances, but I do. And you will too. After my first IM, I couldn't run 20' at a 12' pace. Had to take off about 4 months.
A few other things:
1. Talk about getting orthotics, if you don't already have them. It can help with imbalances.
2. After PT, the singular thing that keeps me healthy (as best I can) is rolling on the Triggerpoint. 2x/day, virtually every day. TP ball, soleus roller and quad roller.
3. Monthly body work/massage during peak training (inc. OS) to keep things loose.
Good news is, there is another OS starting up in Jan! Keep the faith that you'll be good to go by then. If I think of anything else, I'll post it.
I had a great ride this morning early 7 a.m. 47 degrees as one of our local GFs is doing IM Cozumel so several of us rode with her on her race rehearsal ride that David had set up.. with reminders of "calories!" every 15'... and "what is your HR?" and other IM tidbit inside info.... and it was a nice ride as we reminisced and remembered....
what is T1 women's dressing tent like?? I told her "Walmart, 5 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving sales!" and we advised her don't get in the middle, sit near the exit, don't talk and don't try to fix other GFs problems or you will get sucked into the vortex!!! and we told her we would be watching her T1 and T2 times as she had worked way too hard to give it up in transitions...
and note: to Gina and Carrie.. and other chickas.... honey, you better not be sitting down drinking latte's in there!!! smile we is watching you
and what to wear? hmm... the ol' problem of getting clothes on a wet body if planning on adding to. and I reminded her, most important!! GF to GF, why they take pics out there!!! so make sure you look good whatever you got on!!! hee hee no she is a doll and will do great!! we had some good laughs and all of us had IM tales just like you do....
so to start off this "what it takes" thread... and to help out those recovering from physical injury, Laughter is the best med!! so Day one of this new thread....
tell us a funny tale of you in a triathlon (doesn't matter if you have already told it, we got some newbies in da haus) and new chicks, tell us your tales!!! I wanna laugh.
okay okay I got one on me.... Ironman Florida was my first IM and I had only been cycling for 1.5 years so let's just say back of the back of the pack!!! smile... and it was 32 degs at race start, 2006 so when I got into T1 (and this is how I know what not to do), I decided to put on arm warmers on my wet arms, big mistake, cuz the volunteer was determined to pull them on for me which took forever!! then we got an orange jacket on me and a black skull cap!!! gloves and socks on wet feet and she clamped down my bike cleats (later on found out way too tight and it left bruises)... I was shivering and so were the other women in there!! and off I went out in a hideous color combo photographed greatly by DH and pro.. in blue shorts that made my rump look HUGE!, orange jacket from Target, and a skull cap that came out of my pink helmet and made my head look very weird!! I was wet and shaking' cold but soon I got warm, duh... so stopped and PULLED over to take off my jacket!!! and tied it around my waist neatly and then had to take off helmet to get off skull cap, all the time peeps were passing me by!!! THEN up ahead I see those yellow scrunchy things that go in your aero bottle??? and knowing the $cost, I walked my bike up there to pick one up!!! no kidding.... ha ha ha... I was like forget the IM, I could make some money just picking up litter! no really, I just had to take off all of that garb and it was just by my feet... okay so I now have off arm warmers,jacket around waist and skull cap and have to wait til special needs to dump all of that stuff.. and then day after race??? forget to pick it up, so then have lost $$$ on all the gear.... including the yellow scrunchie! I forget (conveniently) how many hours I was out on my bike!!!! long time... and the funny thing?? there were a few guys that drafted off me, ME?? and you know I didn't mind , I was flattered that I was faster than them!! and they were good company cuz I was out there alone!!! but determined and at mile 80 "the race begun" on the bike!! now on the run, I was a bit more together having had another year of running than biking and having done some marathons, so headed out into the run in Florida... and then it got dark, really dark... and my pains got great! really really hurt with IT and I walked, shuffled, ran it on in!!! dunno, maybe 15.5 hours!! not sure but it was like 10:30 at night and there was my family waiting on me, nobody had done my daughter's long hair and she looked windblown! and I came out of this eerie night run to bright lights and noise and clamouring "you are an Ironman!" and well?? I had done it... "If I can, anybody can!" as you know I have other mishaps and adventures with all of this training but I can't wait to hear some of yours!!! m
I don't know if i can shed some light or not. I had a car injury last year and have been finishing up PT for that. I have had some piriformis issues in the past, always managed with massage, Triggerpoint implements, etc. However, after the accident i had pain very much like yours desribed. knowing i had triggerpointissues from the accident at the L3 level, it would radiate into my groin and down my leg. my hip ached all the time the ortho did cortisone shots, etc. and finally i went back to the rolfer who worked with me before IMFL 2 years ago. Specifically i was having lots of nerve pain radiating into the crotch/groin/down leg. I was having pain to the point i could not sit in the car and knew it was not the piriformis but something else. Already had shots in the trigger point but she hypothesized that the nerve had become entraped in some fascia and decided to work on the nerve branches itself from the crotch outward and down the leg, and darn if within 1 hr my total hip was relaxed and no more shooting pain. I did feel some burning in my hip when she was working and as it released the burning resolved. I believe that nerve might enervate your area. anything, just something to think about. So far that was 1 month ago and though i still get rolfing and massage, the pain has not returned. this only took me 1 year, 2 massage therapists, a trigger point specialist in ortho and a PT to figure out.
mary
This week coming up is peak mileage week ending with a 22 mile run (and Gina, I'm way glad I'm not swimming and biking before it!) Very excited to see Gina & Su off to IMAZ this week. Seems just the other day she told us all she'd signed up!
Robin- Sorry to hear issues cropping up again. Hang in there and keep going to get those right answers.
Nemo- Very glad you guys came through the storm ok. Amazing what good ole Mother Nature can dole out.
To all the other chickas, hope you are also sharing the great weather we're having here this weekend. Looking forward to all the weekend stories!
Gina, I can't believe how close we are to your race!! Seems like just yesterday that we were at week 12.
I woke up this AM to 6 inches of snow!!!! Dosn't make for a good environment in which to attempt 2x2miles....I'm so dreading getting on the TM for that sucker! But a few more minutes here in the forums reading race reports and stuff may just push the motivation ball over the hill....
Getting used to 4.0 is going to take a little time, huh?
Was really happy to see the "what it takes" thread so thanks for continuing!
Robin- my biggest advice is to keep searching for the right diagnosis. I was told I had periformous syndrom and was treating it as such for years. Finally saw a PT/Sports Therapy guy at VA Tech who said my symptoms present like PS, but the real problem was with hyper and hypo mobility of disks in my lower back. Some focused PT on that spot and lots of core work to keep things in check worked miracles once the real issue was identified.
I'm sure we'll get the kinks of 4.0 worked out eventually- but I really miss being able to post pics and those cute smilies. These new ones just don't really have enough personality!!
In the mean time, Linda- this ones for you!! I have this song on my ipod and it came up while doing my drainer ride this morning, I got the biggest kick out of it thinking about you and that old "Bye Bye Bunny?" incident:
Thanks so much for all of your suggestions and stories!
L - do have orthotics that were done by a very good pedorthist in Lexington. He is a very accomplished runner himself and does lots of them for runners and cyclists so I feel confident I'm in good hands there. Even worked out a leg length discrepancy and have addressed that as well.
I've be seeing an awesome massage guy for a while now - "Alex the Russian" (imagine a big burly guy w/ a thick Eastern European accent) as like to call to him - has been a lot more helpful than the person I was using before. sticking with the pilates, yoga and lots of core work too.
Nemo - I am of a mind that we have just been on the wrong track for a while and we may find it is back related. We'll know more in a few weeks I guess.
Mary - Thanks so much for your input too!
Gina - Thanks for trying so many times - how frustrating. You and Su are gonna rock IMAZ!!! I know it
Kris - the trail race sounds awesome. Something I hope to get to do someday when this is all worked out.
M - yes, laughter is the best medicine. This is not a tri story, but a current one and funny so I'll share. Last night my boys went and spent the night with friends - this AM my younger one - Kevin says to the Dad - "uhmm.... Brad is Cindy up yet?" him - "no - she's not" Kevin - "I mean is she awake" him - confused "uhmm..... no she's still in bed sleeping, why do you need something - anything I can do for you?" Kevin - "no, I was just wondering if she's playing possum, at my house I play possum a lot when I don't want to get out of the bed."
I am looking forward to being able to share pix again too! I have one I think you'll love. Hope everyone is having a nice Sunday. I'm going to take my kids hiking and scope out some trails in hopes of running on them at some point!
M thank you so much for your offer of borrowing things. I think I have everything I need except fitness. Ha! We'll see how it goes.
testing the attachment feature
Hi, girls! Still figuring this out myself! I have to say I'm enjoying everyone's new pictures!
How nice to be on the other side! Thank you, Linda for launching us into the 4.0 space.
Robin---I second what Nemo said. I had a diagnosis of chondromalacia patellae for YEARS from several orthopaedic surgeons, was told I could NEVER run a marathon. 10 years later, I go to a Grand Rounds lecture given by a sports medicine podiatrist about frontal flat feet. Eurecka! that's what I had. Orthodics, ART, yoga, TP, stretches = IMLP in 2007. I hope you find a diagnosis soon! Sending anti-inflammatory vibes your way...
Nemo--So glad to hear you're safe from the storm.
Gina---Hope you and Su are having a good taper---as good as tapers can get!
Marianne---I was totally thinking of you yesterday...I've been on a 5 day mtb trip through Central PA and was riding at Allegrippis yesterday. I'm railing corners and berms like never before when suddenly my front wheel starts washing out under me. I scold myself,"No front brakes!" and the front tire is still wonky and wanting to slide out even on easy turns. It's then I realize that there's no air in it. I had burped air from my tires (I run tubeless tires). No problemo...I'll just reinflate. Uh...not today because my Airchuck has a broken gasket and the air from the C02 cartridge is blowing out the side of the inflator.
Did I bring the pump? Of course not, why would I need a pump when I have C02 cartridges and an inflator?
I stop a mtber on the trail and ask to borrow his pump (only waited 2 minutes), but I cannot reseat my tires with the pump. Ugh. So feeling the clock ticking on my FdotD (front tire change on dirt), I pop the tire off, throw in a tube, wrap duct tape around the Airchuck, and try to reinflate. I managed to get about 12 psi in and rode for another 20 minutes until the DH rode back to rescue me (the guy with the pump left and told my DH of my issues). I learned my lesson: Always carry a pump! no matter what. I completely brought down my Fdot with that mistake!
I did the Tues OS bike workout and Wed run workout (in pool), but I've been riding mtb for 2-4 hours a day since Thurs. I'm hoping it's about the same TSS as all the OS stuff I didn't do. The weather has been so wonderful I just had to ride dirt before winter comes crashing down on all mtb opportunities. The DH and I met up with friends who brought friends and friends of friends yesterday at Allegrippis, PA for a ride. 15+ people showed up (I was the only girl) for one magnificent ride. 7 supa fast doodes (DH included) took off like a rocket in a paceline. I was somewhere in the middle, passing the single-speed studs on the climbs then getting lapped on the downhills. The trails had alot of dry leaves which hid alot of "landmines": rocks and roots that called for some creative countersteering and ungraceful correction of back wheels washing out. I rode like the hounds of hell were chasing me. I even caught some air on the whoop-dee-doos. Nothing like chasing (and being chased by) boys on bikes to push you to the edge of fitness and bike handling skills.
I'll post pics as soon as I figure out how...
somebody ping me when you get vid/pics access cuz I got pics too! m
Kitma- I'm just continually impressed by the mountain biking stuff. That kind of riding absolutely fits in the OS!!!! And you ride tubies on your MTB?? OK- that's hard core!
Good Monday morning ladies!
K- 5 days MTB'ing in PA? very cool. I still want your bike handling skills.
G and other AZ'ers: countdown is on! really looking forward to another Iron Sunday.