I am extremely busy. Ten hour days at work, working while I snack and eat lunch, handling all the little problems that come with starting up a lab, little things that combine into an avalanche of circus acts and stress. Even now, I have a yard that is way past mowing, shrubs that look like chia pets on steroids, and a deck that is maybe half way painted. (What am I doing blogging then?? Well I haven’t…)

Knee. Went to Dr. Yenni, an orthopedic specialist who I saw from my hip/pelvis last December, and he diagnosed patella tendonitis. He gave me a small knee brace to wear under my knee cap, and a prescription for anti-inflammatories. I have been cycling, swimming, and wearing the brace and I can tell the tendonitis is healing. The spot that hurt (and apparently was causing inflammation under the knee cap – not convinced the are related, but I’m just the athlete) below the knee cap is far less tender when I find and push on it.

My Ironman training plan started two weeks ago, and I haven’t committed to it. I’m not sure if I have the knee for it, nor the time. Right now, the plan is doable and I have been following it loosely. But September and October will be full of training. Right now, it just may be too much to handle.

The game plan, in my mind, is to just follow it because I like having something of a plan. I need something written and structured. Whether or not I will increase my hours/mileage when it increases, well, I will decide that later. I may just do the Beach2Battleship half-Ironman, or there is another one in Washington NC in late October. Either way, I do want to do a fall race.

Cheers for now.

So (and I love to start my posts like that….), my knee is not so good. I had run 6 miles on it in Boston Sunday, May 23rd, and felt pain around mile 5. I ran 7.5 miles on it Saturday, May 29th, and felt pain on it around mile 6.5. I ran 3.5 miles on it yesterday and felt pain on mile 3. Swimming and cycling, though, is fine.

Um, yeah, it is time to get it checked out. I made the appointment today to see Dr. Yenni, an orthopedic specialist who I saw about my hip/pelvis pain. I am expecting “don’t run for 4-8 weeks, here is some anti-inflammatory, schedule a follow-up.” But we will see. As well as pain in the joint, I am getting consistent pain at the top of the tibia, just below the knee cap. I am thinking it is some kind of inflammation of the tendon/ligament, but have speculated in the darkest recesses of my brain that it could be a stress fracture.

And this puts me in this sort of limbo period now. My training schedule for B2B Ironman starts this week, and as of now I am still going to train for it, just not do the running. I will try and fill in with more cycling. I have an Olympic distance triathlon this weekend at Kerr Lake, and just like Battle at Buckhorn, I am am really wondering how I am going to perform. I think I will definitely wear the knee brace on the 10K run this time. But, I am already paid up and I’m doing it.

Overall, I am doing OK. I feel resolved and at peace in my heart about it. Kerr Lake is just a race. Even B2B…just a race. If not now, then I can go for it in the future. I mean, what can I really do about it, right? I shouldn’t run on my knee. I have been kind of ignoring it, hoping it will just resolve itself. Nope.

Part of me is wondering if I am relieved that I don’t have to fully train for this Ironman. Maybe it is relief from the subconscious worry about my knee, or maybe because this is A LOT of training. Below is the toughest week for the training, week 21, of the 24 week schedule. It would be a total of 10,850 yards swimming, 202.5 miles cycling and 34.1 miles running for a total of 21 hours of training. Granted, I work up to this week, but it is very intimidating.

So, am I relieved?

I was thinking on the drive to work this morning about cycling to work more in lieu of running. It is 32 miles one way, and I was thinking I could bump it up from once to twice a week. Then I was wondering if I could ride it three times a week…then an ultimate goal came to me: ride to work everyday for five days. That’s 320 miles!

I think I just like challenges. Or I’m an idiot. Or both. Ironman is just something I want to do. Riding to work everyday in a week – can I do it?!? And I’ve wondered what it would be like to run home some Friday night (32 miles). And to do an ultra-marathon (i.e. 100 miles). I don’t know if I can do it…I just wonder if I can. And it is a very full and pregnant wonder, a consuming wonder, an attractive wonder that calls to me: “I’m here….come get me!”

Why? I’m not sure. Maybe because I am turning 41 this year and if I don’t do it now, or work toward it now, I won’t have that much longer to do it. I’ll look back with regret. Not that I am about to die, though (well, who really knows). It’s just, if I want to do it…well, I better get on to doing it.

.

WEEK 21, TOUGHEST WEEK:

Day

Code

Time

Est Dist

Type

Description

Tue	SWU4		350	Swim Warm-Up	350 [Easy swim @ recovery intensity]
	SDS4		250	Swim Drill Set	10 x 25 [25 yd intervals of mixed form drills w/ 10 sec RI]
	SBI6		700	Swim Base Intervals	7 x 100 [100 yd intervals swum @ mod aerobic intensity w/ 5 sec RI]
	STI6		1400	Swim Threshold Intervals	7 x 200 [inverals swum @ threshold intensity w/ 45 sec RI]
	SKS4		250	Swim Kick Set	10 x 25 [25 yd intervals of kicking only w/ 15 sec RI]
	SCD4		350	Swim Cool-Down	350 [Easy swim @ recovery intensity]
	total	1.4	3300
	CTRA16	2.0	36.0	Tempo Bike Ride	2 x 20 min (2 hr) [1-2 blocks of riding @ threshold intensity (10 min act.recov when 2 blocks)
Wed	RTRA12	0.9	5.8	Tempo Run	32 min (52 min) [Steady run @ threshold intensity]
Thu	SWU4		350	Swim Warm-Up	350 [Easy swim @ recovery intensity]
	SDS4		250	Swim Drill Set	10 x 25 [25 yd intervals of mixed form drills w/ 10 sec RI]
	SBI3		400	Swim Base Intervals	4 x 100 [100 yd intervals swum @ mod aerobic intensity w/ 5 sec RI]
	SLIA18		1200	Swim Lactate Intervals	8 x 150 [intervals swum @ VO2 max intensity, 1 min 15 sec RI]
	SSIA15		450	Swim Sprint Intervals	9 x 50 [intervals swum @ speed intensity w/ 20 sec RI]
	SKS4		250	Swim Kick Set	10 x 25 [25 yd intervals of kicking only w/ 15 sec RI]
	SCD4		350	Swim Cool-Down	350 [Easy swim @ recovery intensity]
	total	1.4	3250
	BRW9A	1.5	27.0	Bike	1 hr 30 min/30 min (bike/run @ high aerobic)
		0.5	3.3	Run
Fri	CSS5	1.8	31.5	Steady-State Ride	1 hr 45 min [Steady ride @ high aerobic intensity]
Sat	SWU2		250	Swim Warm-Up	250 [Easy swim @ recovery intensity]
	SBIC35		3800	Swim Base Intervals	3800 [swum @ mod aerobic intensity]
	SCD2		250	Swim Cool-Down	250 [Easy swim @ recovery intensity]
	total	1.8	4300
	CLRA17	6.0	108.0	Long Bike Ride	6 hr [Long steady ride @ moderate aerobic intensity]
	RRR6	0.8	5.0	Recovery Run	45 min [short run @ recovery intensity]
Sun	RLRA13	3.0	20.0	Long Run	3 hr [long, steady-pace run @ moderate aerobic intensity]

21	10/19	Tue	SWU4		350	Swim Warm-Up	350 [Easy swim @ recovery intensity]
			SDS4		250	Swim Drill Set	10 x 25 [25 yd intervals of mixed form drills w/ 10 sec RI]
			SBI6		700	Swim Base Intervals	7 x 100 [100 yd intervals swum @ mod aerobic intensity w/ 5 sec RI]
			STI6		1400	Swim Threshold Intervals	7 x 200 [inverals swum @ threshold intensity w/ 45 sec RI]
			SKS4		250	Swim Kick Set	10 x 25 [25 yd intervals of kicking only w/ 15 sec RI]
			SCD4		350	Swim Cool-Down	350 [Easy swim @ recovery intensity]
			total	1.4	3300
			CTRA16	2.0	36.0	Tempo Bike Ride	2 x 20 min (2 hr) [1-2 blocks of riding @ threshold intensity (10 min act.recov when 2 blocks)
	10/20	Wed	RTRA12	0.9	5.8	Tempo Run	32 min (52 min) [Steady run @ threshold intensity]
	10/21	Thu	SWU4		350	Swim Warm-Up	350 [Easy swim @ recovery intensity]
			SDS4		250	Swim Drill Set	10 x 25 [25 yd intervals of mixed form drills w/ 10 sec RI]
			SBI3		400	Swim Base Intervals	4 x 100 [100 yd intervals swum @ mod aerobic intensity w/ 5 sec RI]
			SLIA18		1200	Swim Lactate Intervals	8 x 150 [intervals swum @ VO2 max intensity, 1 min 15 sec RI]
			SSIA15		450	Swim Sprint Intervals	9 x 50 [intervals swum @ speed intensity w/ 20 sec RI]
			SKS4		250	Swim Kick Set	10 x 25 [25 yd intervals of kicking only w/ 15 sec RI]
			SCD4		350	Swim Cool-Down	350 [Easy swim @ recovery intensity]
			total	1.4	3250
			BRW9A	1.5	27.0	Bike	1 hr 30 min/30 min (bike/run @ high aerobic)
				0.5	3.3	Run
	10/22	Fri	CSS5	1.8	31.5	Steady-State Ride	1 hr 45 min [Steady ride @ high aerobic intensity]
	10/23	Sat	SWU2		250	Swim Warm-Up	250 [Easy swim @ recovery intensity]
			SBIC35		3800	Swim Base Intervals	3800 [swum @ mod aerobic intensity]
			SCD2		250	Swim Cool-Down	250 [Easy swim @ recovery intensity]
			total	1.8	4300
			CLRA17	6.0	108.0	Long Bike Ride	6 hr [Long steady ride @ moderate aerobic intensity]
			RRR6	0.8	5.0	Recovery Run	45 min [short run @ recovery intensity]
	10/24	Sun	RLRA13	3.0	20.0	Long Run	3 hr [long, steady-pace run @ moderate aerobic intensity]
TOTAL			Swim	4.5	10850	yards
Hr	20.9		Cycle	11.3	202.5	miles
Dist	242.8		Run	5.1	34.1	miles

Official Results: Bib# 82

Swim: 16:01 min [pace 1:29, placing: 35/107 overall, 9/15 age group]

T1: 0:56 min

Bike: 52:15 min [pace 19.5 mph, placing 40/107 overall, 8/15 age group]

T2: 1:15 min

Run: 24:30 min [pace 7:54 min/mile, placing 43/107 overall, 8/15 age group]

FINAL: 1:34:56 [placing 33/107 overall, 8/15 age group]

Pre-Race Prep

First of all, I was not sure how my knee was going to hold out, coming off my race last Sunday. Friday’s run was a confidence builder.

Second, I was going to try several new things for this race. Since the bike leg was only 17 miles, I was going to go sockless. In conjunction with that, I was also going to try both a flying mount and dismount on the bike. For the mount: leave my shoes clipped into the bike cleats, run out of the transition area and do a rolling mount, cycle with my feet on top of the shoes until I built up some speed, then strap into the shoes. For the dismount, it would be the opposite: near the bike finish, pull my feet out of the shoes, cycle on top of the shoes, slow and roll to the dismount line, swing my right leg over the seat and hit the ground running.

In practice the night before, I fell twice on the mount drill, which is good. I worked out what would make me more stable, namely keeping both hand on the shifters while I use my left toes to flip the cycling shoe over. I done this before, but it’s been awhile. The dismount was a piece of cake, and was the same during the race.

I ate a big dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, and stayed up kind of late (like 10pm) for an early morning rise (5am). I really didn’t feel too nervous.

Race Morning

We got up and were out by 5:45am and arrived about 6:45am. I had already picked up my race packet, so I had plenty of time to set up, get marked and pick up my chip. I did forget my tire pump, even though I was careful to try to remember everything. The water temperature the night before was 68 degrees, and I was considering not wearing a wetsuit. Overnight the temperature had dropped to 63 degrees, and I was glad I wore it.

Swim [1000m]

16:01 min [pace 1:29, placing: 35/107 overall, 9/15 age group]

I probably had the best swim of my life. I felt strong and consistent during the whole swim portion. I felt I did better with my buoy sighting this race, and was more consistent in swimming straight.

T1

0:56 min

Wow! Under a minute, with having to strip off my wetsuit! In fact, my T1 time was 11/107 overall. Boom! So, it probably helps to have a smaller race and transition area. Going sockless and clipping my shoes into the bike really sped things up. My flying mount was not so flying, but I got on, remained balanced (i.e. did not fall) and accelerated quickly.

Bike [17 miles]

52:15 min [pace 19.5 mph, placing 40/107 overall, 8/15 age group]

The course was mostly flat with a couple of significant rollers. Since it was only 17 miles, I pretty much went all out the entire ride, and 19.5 mph shows. I don’t know if I have ever had an average that fast. I felt good, had my profile water bottle to stay hydrated and stayed aero. Near the end of the bike leg, I was going back and forth between this guy – I would pass him, he would pass me, I would pass him. He finally passed me and stayed ahead, but it really helped me to push harder.

T2

1:15 min

Ok, this one, although fast, was 77/107 overall. The guy who was first was off the bike and out on the run in 23 seconds. For me, it took some time to get my socks on and to get my Garmin 305 off the bike. For the socks, that is jus the way it goes. I am not running without them. But the Garmin, I could try taking that off on the ride. I did link my hat and racebelt so I could just grab and go. That worked well.

Run [5K]

24:30 min [pace 7:54 min/mile, placing 43/107 overall, 8/15 age group]

My biggest concern for this leg was how my knee was going to hold out. I brought a knee brace and considered putting it on in T2, but it was only the briefest thought. I was in a groove and just ran. The knee did not hurt at all on the bike, nor did it during the run, for which I was grateful. The course was two laps and flat. My goal was to get under 8:00 min/mile, and woo-hoo! I did it!

The Finish

1:34:56 [placing 33/107 overall, 8/15 age group]

Overall, I had a lot of fun. It wasn’t grueling like a half-ironman, and I enjoyed that. I still like going long, but this was cool too. I put everything I had into the race, and felt I was more streamlined as far as transitions. For the finish, Kiara and Aidan were waiting for me and ran with me through the finish line. In the picture below, you can see him smiling with his finger up, presumably saying that I’m number one! Very cute!

So, I will just try some quick posts for now. I flew up to Boston today (and boy, are my arms tired!), so I have sort of been thinking about how I am going to train. I did a sprint triathlon on Saturday (race report to follow soon), and my knee held out. I have been icing since then, and it feels a little sensitive. As in, I’m not sure how it is doing.

For now, I am going to put on my Vibram FiveFingers and go down to the Charles River for a run.

My Garmin Forerunner 305 has been misbehaving quite badly over the last few days, and I finally figured out how to do a hard reboot, since the soft reboot was not fixing the problem. Luckily, I downloaded my data routinely so I did not lose much, and the data I couldn’t download, I entered manually into my Garmin Connect calendar. Jeez, I have really come to rely on this thing! Good when it works, bad when it doesn’t.  (I think my MacGyver skills are going to atrophy…) Anyway, it seems to be working now, but we will see how things go when I get back and connect it to my computer

Oh first, I will share the map to the local YMCA where I plan to swim laps. It is a 1.2 mile run from the hotel, so 2.4 miles…I get some multisport action in, haha. We will see how my transitions go…

Race Morning

It is interesting that going into this race, I was a little concerned about my fitness but that is was still just about the experience. Little did I know what kind of experience I would get.

I got up feeling fine, eating a banana and a plain bagel. Tom, a coworker friend, was also running, and I met him at the old Sam’s Club parking lot in Cary (NC) and walked down to the race start, maybe half a mile. I was feeling fine. The temperature was probably in the 70′s, and I was ready to go. No nervousness at all.

Race Start

Next time I will try to get closer to the front. There was over 700 people there and Tom and I walked for probably a minute before we could start jogging, and then maybe half a mile before we could actually run. The route was very nice, crossing the I-40 and going into Umstead Park for the majority of the run. Tom and I ran together for the first couple of miles. On the first major downhill I bumped up my pace to take advantage of gravity, and we split up. Below are my splits for the entire race. My goal was to break 2 hours, and as of mile 8, I was feeling good and on track for it.

Mile	Split Time	Best Pace	Avg HR	Max HR	Calories
1	0:09:40	7:36	153	174	121
2	0:09:28	8:15	167	172	126
3	0:09:08	7:37	167	171	125
4	0:08:45	7:06	166	171	125
5	0:08:53	7:12	165	172	126
6	0:09:27	7:37	170	175	126
7	0:08:29	6:49	167	172	126
8	0:09:36	7:52	171	175	126
9	0:12:21	7:25	156	173	113
10	0:14:06	7:22	137	153	97
11	0:15:18	9:54	126	142	96
12	0:15:22	10:19	127	142	88
13	0:15:16	9:17	130	145	90
13.2	0:03:25	10:00	148	161	25
Summary	2:29:20	6:49	150	175	1,510

.

However, as you can see on mile 9, the split time has gone from 9:36 min/mile to 12:21 min/mile. I had been noticing twinges of pain in my left knee throughout the race, but had thought it was just something that would come and then go away. By mile 9, my knee was done. The pain was so intense I could not run at all. Every couple of minutes or so I would try to run a bit, but that lasted only 10-20 seconds. In essence, I walked the last 4 miles of the race.

Everyone that I had passed, now passed me. I felt so helpless and discouraged. I was mad and writhing on the inside… but the longer I walked, the more perspective came to me. I was so focused on myself and getting my own slice of victory, I didn’t even consider that I would experience defeat. I wrote that it was still just about the “experience,” but I really didn’t mean it. I meant, “it’s still just about experiencing…victory.”

For me, and for my goals, this was defeat. But as I watched people pass me, I realized that so many people were experiencing victory on that day. It brought me back to my own injury of the last six years, and how I felt then, and that it was only through God that I was able to find this doctor that helped me back to the starting line. I saw an Indian family running together, with the father running along and chatting and encouraging his wife and daughter, both visibly fatigued. It was really special to witness, and I would have missed it if I had made my two-hour goal. There were plenty other people pushing themselves along, suffering but pushing themselves. My friend Tom, pushing himself along on his first half-marathon.

God promises to humble the proud, and that is a good thing. It’s not that I was walking around cocky and arrogant, it’s just that God wants me to learn & stay compassionate and to appreciate everyone and their struggles to push themselves, not just my own struggle.

The Finish, and just how is my knee doing anyway…

Below is the official results, with some pictures! My overall feeling is good. There is always next time to run faster, hopefully with full perspective!

As for my knee, it was really hurting me all Sunday. I iced it a lot in the evening after a splendid afternoon at a friend’s house from our Sunday School class.  On Monday, I wore a knee brace all day, but my spirits were not low. I didn’t know what this meant for me. I have another triathlon this Saturday (tomorrow), and I was just surrendered to the fact that I would have to cancel. Monday evening….well, the knee actually did not hurt. I didn’t press it, but I jumped up and down a bit. I walked around quickly…no pain.

Tuesday morning I swam 2000 yds. No pain. At work, no pain.

Wednesday afternoon, 21 miles cycling. Ah, a little bit, something I wouldn’t really describe as pain but as “sensitive.” Hmmm, well, I may as well get out there on Saturday and give it a try, right? It is a sprint triathlon, so that means a 1000m swim (doable), 17 mile bike (doable), 3.1 mile run (umm, short enough to be doable??)

Friday morning, I walked half a mile, then ran a quick 8 minute mile, then walked another half mile. Maybe some slight sensitivity. I am not sure what I did, or how I did it, but my knee seems to be recovering. I did do some research about running knee pain and it may be “runner’s knee,” which seems to be caused by and imbalance between the quads and hamstring muscles. I do really get tight hamstrings, so is that a problem? Should I go to an orthopedic knee specialist, or a physical therapist? Haven’t decided yet.

586   407   KIP LOWERY    M    40   YOUNGSVILLE NC    2:28:06     2:28:52    11:22

Start was at the green peg. Beautiful run through Umstead Park.

At the race start, checking my watch, with an embararssing heel strike…

In pain and discouraged…

Finishing with a reluctant smile…still processing lessons learned.

Mile	Split Time	Best Pace	Avg HR	Max HR	Calories
1	0:09:40	7:36	153	174	121
2	0:09:28	8:15	167	172	126
3	0:09:08	7:37	167	171	125
4	0:08:45	7:06	166	171	125
5	0:08:53	7:12	165	172	126
6	0:09:27	7:37	170	175	126
7	0:08:29	6:49	167	172	126
8	0:09:36	7:52	171	175	126
9	0:12:21	7:25	156	173	113
10	0:14:06	7:22	137	153	97
11	0:15:18	9:54	126	142	96
12	0:15:22	10:19	127	142	88
13	0:15:16	9:17	130	145	90
13.2	0:03:25	10:00	148	161	25
Summary	2:29:20	6:49	150	175	1,510