The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating - in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life - Anne Morriss -
The results showed no stress fracture (YEA!), but did have some soft-tissue swelling (adema). The MD recommended that I start a 3x daily Ibuprofen regimen and icing for a week as well as getting metatarsal shoe inserts. I'm on day 5 of Ibuprofen and icing but I'm not sure if there is any change. In my last entry I linked back to my post about my history of back pain and tension myositis syndrome (TMS). If you have not read this post before I would recommend clicking over and getting the history. The general concept is that back pain is caused by a disorder called tension myositis syndrome (TMS). This is a real disorder and causes real pain, but it is the result of repressed rage and emotions, not physical injury. I know it sounds wacky but go read my post. I went through countless treatments without relief until I discovered TMS.
I honestly haven't considered TMS as a possible issue for my foot pain because I've been so certain that this is a running related injury. Yesterday a reader left me this great comment and it got me thinking:
Hi,
I saw your blog a few months ago when I was looking for other triathletes who (like me) had recoverd from TMS before. I was checking your blog again today and saw your post.
I wanted to encourage you not to rule out TMS again. In my own experiences, I've found that TMS can be very sneaky. In 2007, I was healed from some very chronic pains (back, neck, PF). Then in 2009, after being pain free for 2 yrs, I ran my 1st marathon after which I started having knee and achilles issues. I suffered for 5 months trying all manner of physical treatments and reducing training. Eventually, I treated as if it was TMS and the pain dissolved quickly (within days).
Just my opinion. Best of luck in whichever path you choose toward healing! Enrique
Thank you Enrique! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your comment. I think that I'm going to spend a little time looking at this from the TMS viewpoint. The symptoms make sense - the pain has lasted for nearly 3 months, its a non-specific location and random timing, and it seems to be "untreatable" by doctors and physical therapists. My homework is to re-read my copy of "Mind Body Prescription" and start back with the journaling. Every time my foot twinges or tingles I say to myself "What is bothering you now" and "Relax - you cannot be perfect." I am hopeful and optimistic today.
If you or anybody you know is experiencing chronic pain, please consider the idea of the mindbody connection. If anyone is interested I have an 8 page summary of TMS (given to me by Dr. Sarno at my first appointment with him). If you have any questions or would like a copy of this summary please email me at kristagager@gmail.com.
Since I'm still having continued pain in my left foot I went back to the sports med doc on Tuesday. He did another x-ray which still showed nothing so he decided to send me for an MRI.
So, I had the MRI done on Wednesday night and they told me results would be in Friday (today). I called the office this morning at 9:05. They opened at 9:00 so I gave them plenty of time. They get three deliveries a day and my results were not in the first delivery. They told me to call back at 12:30 and if they don't have then to call again at 2:45 for the final delivery. The anticipation is killing me.
My worst fear is that they will find that nothing is wrong. Or that it is all in my head.
Have you heard about Penny Palfrey's recent attempt to swim the 72 miles between Oahu and Kauai? OpenWaterSource.com posted about her incredible attempt. Unfortunately, her swim was cut short after 8 hours because she was repeatedly attacked by jellyfish.
“I got hit over and over again, but I was right on the same pace as before. I thought I might have been going a little slower than before, but I was at 16 miles around the 7 hour mark. The jellyfish were hanging off of my arms on both sides. I had them on my hands too as I was trying to get them off. But I couldn’t get them off, their tentacles were wrapped around my arms. They were all over the place. Then I got hit right in the face and that really hurt. But the one which stung me on my ear is what is really hurting now.”
Now that I'm officially saving for a new bike I've started doing research about my options. I've been debating between upgrading to a much better road bike or going for a tri bike. I've hesitated to consider a tri bike because I'm a nervous rider and I was afraid that the aggressive positioning would be too much for me to handle.
Last weekend we stopped to see our favorite bike guy at Sunrise Tri on Long Island. I told him about my bike dilemma - road vs. tri - and he was very helpful. He told me that since I already have a road bike that I should strongly consider getting a tri bike. The sport I do is triathlon and if there is a tool designed for it then I should try to make it work. He kindly reminded me that I probably wasn't comfortable on a road bike when I started (which is true) and while it will take time to get used to the tri bike it's highly unlikely that I will hate it.
Last weekend I decided to put Sam's old aero bars on my bike to test it out. We were out on Long Island at Heckscher State Park. It is a very flat park with a 3.5 mile loop. It is free to enter during the off season and a good place for a flat ride or run (as long as you don't mind going in circles). This was a great place to test out the aero bars since it is flat and there was very little traffic. I ended up doing 8 loops for a total of 28 miles. I am very happy to report that with time I think I can get used to the aero position. In fact, I had moments where I felt fast and efficient and I might even say I liked it. I know it will take a lot more practice to be comfortable on descents or for longer periods of time, but I think it solidified my decision to go with a tri bike.
I asked the bike guy if he had any recommendations and he brought me over to check out the Felt B16. This is a full carbon fiber TT/tri bike that is an excellent and economical choice. The entry level bike is an unbelievably affordable price of $1999. There are 8 versions of the bike but they all have the same frame. This means I can start with the entry level and upgrade components in the future.
The NYC Marathon is one of the largest in the world with more the 45,000 racers each year. The famous course starts on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge on Staten Island and winds through the five boroughs of New York City, finishing in Central Park.
The size of the NYC Marathon is hard to comprehend:
- More than 45,000 runners
- Over 2 million spectators (+315 million TV viewers)
- Over 6000 volunteers
- Guaranteed prize purse exceeds $800,000
- 130 bands and acts
- 368 portable toilets (that actually doesn't seem like nearly enough for 45,000 runners).
- 390 tubs of Vaseline
Last Sunday I spent the day volunteering at mile 18 of the NYC Marathon.
First, Sam and I went to swim practice so we could get a workout in before reporting to duty at our aid station. After swimming we grabbed some coffee and breakfast and walked over to the mile 18 aid station at 96th Street and 1st Avenue. I've worked at a lot of smaller duathlons and triathlons but I've never volunteered at a marathon. I had no idea how crazy it was going to be. We spent the first few hours filling cups of Gatorade and water. Runners drink more than 100,000 gallons of water and Gatorade during the race.
After we finished filling cups there was a little down time while we waited for the wheelchair and hand cycle athletes and then and pros to come through. It is always amazing to see people running so fast. They make it look unbelievable easy.
Around 11:30 the rest of the runners started coming through. The next 3 hours were non-stop craziness! People are thirsty at mile 18! There was a PowerBar Energy Gel station just before our aid station so a lot of people wanted water. For awhile we had a hard time keeping the cups full but we never ran out. I would grab 7 cups off the table, 5 in my left hand and 2 in my right. Within 30 seconds I would hand out all 7 cups and be back for more. It was truly incredible.
I assumed that I would see all the famous people run by, especially the Chilean miner or Amani Toomer, but I didn't see a single one. I did not have time to think or look around. I just yelled water over and over again. Even though I didn't see any famous runners I did see some fun costumes.
"Triathlon Link Love" is a weekly(ish) series where I repost interesting blogs from the week. If you have a link love suggestion (including race reports and giveaways) please send it along to kristagager@gmail.com.
Triathlon & Training This I Believe (Kevin @ Ironman By Thirty)A great story to warm your heart and bring tears to your eyes. Best blog I read today.
UNcoached vs. SELF-coached (Steve @ Steve in a Speedo?! Gross!)
Steve wrote an excellent post about the differences between UNcoached and SELF-coached. It was a real eye opener for me. New Vegetarian Running E-Course (Matt @ No Meat Athlete)
Matt started a FREE running vegetarian e-course. If you've though about reducing or cutting out meat from your diet I highly recommend it!
Race Reports Bassman Fall Half (Regina @ Chiu On This)
Regina wrote a great report about powering through (mentally and physically) on a difficult course. She did great with a major PR.
Randomness and Giveaways Road ID Giveaway (Mandy @ Caratunk Girl)
Mandy's giving away two Road IDs! If you didn't win on my blog just hop on over there to enter by Sunday!
When I got home from work tonight I checked my email and found this:
Congratulations on your wonderful race at the Jarden Westchester Triathlon. Because of your incredible performance, you have qualified for a slot to the Escape from Alcatraz race. The Race will be held June 5, 2011.
This slot is being offered to you first, but if you choose to not use it, the slot will roll down in your age group to the next qualifying athlete.
Please respond to this email by November 6th. Please let me know if you will accept the slot or not. A simple YES or NO is all I need to get you on your way to San Francisco (or not). The Alcatraz registration fee is $400.
I am still in shock! I was really proud of my race at the Westchster Triathlon this year. I placed third in my age group out of 29. I thought that I had missed a spot for Alcatraz since slots are awarded for the first two in each age group but it turns out that the slots roll down. Apparently the first or second place winner in my age group decided not to go and now I have an opportunity to take the slot.
The problem is I don't know what to do! The race fee is really high and the associated expenses for flying to San Francisco, shipping my bike and getting a long sleeve wet suit would clear out my race coffers for 2011. Plus, I haven't nailed down my race plans for 2011 but I was tentatively planning on doing my first half ironman early in May or June. If I decide to do Escape from Alcatraz I'll need to put those plans on the back burner. Due to some other commitments for next year it would probably mean I would need to wait until 2012 before attempting a half. On the other hand, this is an amazing opportunity! Entry to Escape from Alcatraz is done through race qualifications and lotteries. I might not have the chance to do this race again.
I've got a big decision to make. I reached out to the director and asked more more details about the registration window to see if I can get a little more time to decide...
Thank you all for your feedback on my bike purchase. It's very overwhelming and I just want to make the right decision. I guess the good thing is that it's going to take me a LONG time to save enough money so I'm not in any rush.
I think this winter will be know as the "Winter of The Bike." Last winter I focused on running and I made serious gains by consistently running 4x per week and focusing on form and core strength. I went from a 10 minute mile to an 9:00 or even 8:30 minute/mile in races. Hopefully once my foot is healed up I and I can run again I won't have lost too much of that speed and fitness.
To officially kick of my winter of biking I've decided to invest in an indoor bike trainer. Our local tri store, Jack Rabbit Sports, is running a promotion for a group buy of Kurt Kinetic Road (Fluid) Trainers and the Cyclops Magnetic Trainers. We stopped by the store last night to test them out. We both decided to order the Kurt Kinetic Fluid Trainer. It is about twice the price as the magnetic trainer ($294 with the group discount) but is much quieter and it has an unconditional lifetime warranty. Since we live in an apartment we knew it would be wise to invest in the quieter model.
Now we just have to decide where to put them. We have a two bedroom apartment and we are honestly thinking of getting rid of our guest bed and setting up a little training room... (Sorry Eliza, the couch is still really comfy!)
Do you have a trainer? How do you use it? Do you do more structured rides or just long, consistent rides? Spinnervals?
If you live in the NYC area and you want to get a trainer you can participate in this group buy before Sunday. Visit this website to place your order.
I've officially decided it's time to start saving for a new bike. Yippie! I opened up another savings account with ING Direct so I can keep my special bike money separate from my regular savings. I'm automatically depositing a certain amount of money each month. Hopefully by next spring I'll have enough for a new bike!
I love ING Direct**
Now, the big question. Which bike?! I currently have a 2008 entry level aluminum Trek (1.2). There are so many to brands, styles and types to choose from. So far I know that I want a carbon bike but other than that I have no idea. I'm especially torn between a road bike and a tri bike. Right now I don't feel that I have the comfort or the bike skills to ride a tri bike. However, a new carbon bike is a big investment and I wouldn't want to buy a road bike now and then want a tri bike a year later. Does anyone have any suggestions? For those of you with tri bikes, how did you make the transition? Is there anyone out there who was hesitant about switching to a tri bike?
** This post is not meant to be an ad for ING. However, I love ING Direct. I've banked with them for years and had a great experience. The accounts are simple to setup and the online banking is the most user friendly I've seen. If anyone is interested in signing up I can send you a referral. If you deposit $250 you get a $25 bonus and I get $10. Just email me at kristagager@gmail.com.
Did you know that November is National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo). I took a few impromptu weeks off from blogging but there has still been a lot going on. I'm going to try to get back in the swing of things by committing to NaBloPoMo.
Even though I still can't run, I've been taking advantage of the glorious fall weather for cycling on the weekends. For the last three weekends in a row Sam and I have headed over to the famous 9W for some cycling. 9W is the highway on the other side of the George Washington bridge in New Jersey and New York. On the weekends it is the post popular place for local cyclists because you can "easily" get there without a car. Easily is in quotes because it requires going over the GW bridge which has a very, very technical on ramp. I have a fear of biking in traffic and scary places and have managed to avoid the GW bridge for the last two years. For the first two weekends in October we drove to 9W, but after last weekend and terrible traffic that resulted in a 2 hour drive home (12 miles), Sam told me to suck it up and get on my bike. So I did!
Saturday morning was quite chilly so we waited until about 11am to head out. The temps at that time were in the mid-40s and it did warm up a bit as the day went on. First we rode through Queens and over to the Queensboro bridge. We took the bridge into Manhattan, rode up First Avenue, across 72nd Street and into Central Park. I think my closest chance of having an accident was actually in the park when a group of 10 foreign tourists were spread across both lanes and decided to just STOP their bikes with no warning (I may or may not have screamed some profanities as I narrowly swerved through them and avoided a serious pile up). We went through Central Park and exited at the North end, rode through Harlem and Northern Manhattan, and then we arrived at The Bridge.
Getting onto the GW bridge is very tricky. There is a very narrow access ramp that makes a 180 degree turn. It is the same ramp that cyclists and walkers/runners use so it is narrow and crowded. I'd heard horror stories about going up this ramp and I was very scared. I found this video of a cyclist going across the bridge. You can see the footage of him going down the ramp near the end (5:50).
To my great relief I managed to make it up the ramp and over the bridge without any trouble. We stopped at Strictly Bikes in New Jersey for a quick bathroom break and a mental rest after riding through the city and across the bridge. It is 13 miles from our house to Strictly Bikes and it took us 1:26. Then it was time to get in the real riding and head up 9W to Nyack, NY. The ride up was beautiful. The fall colors are magnificent, the air was fresh and smelled like leaves, and I was just happy to be alive and well. After riding through the city 9W felt so liberating.
It was 17.5 miles and exactly 1 hour that I arrived in Nyack, NY and met Sam at the local biker hangout, The Runcible Spoon Bakery, for a mid-ride muffin and coffee.
After our snacks we jumped back on our bikes and headed towards Strictly. The ride back was much harder as there were some serious headwinds. I was an hour into the ride and still had 4 miles to go when I saw Sam stopped up ahead. He was in the middle of fixing a flat. It turned out to be an especially difficult fix which required 2 tubes and 3 CO2 cartridges. Finally we were back on the road. We were back at the bike shop at 3:45pm. I ran inside to replenish our flat supplies while Sam inspected pumped up his front tire to the proper PSI (the CO2 cartridges are never enough). The sun is setting earlier and earlier these days and it starts getting dark around 5:30pm. We were not prepared to ride at night so we raced the sun home. We decided to take an alternate route home to shorten the trip. Instead of taking the Queensboro bridge we rode across 96th street, took the pedestrian bridge onto Randall's Island and then over the Triboro Bridge. We made it home at just about 5pm. After the ride I think I was more mentally exhausted than physically. Biking across bridges and through Manhattan traffic is hard work! This was also my longest ride yet! Even though I was scared shitlees, I was so proud of myself for doing this ride. We celebrated my accomplishments with a dinner out at our favorite Sushi restaurant and then a special treat at Coldstone Creamery.
The Official Garmin Stats: Distance: 59.26 miles
Time: 4:59:37
Average Speed: 11. 9mph (city traffic will do that to you)
Climb: +5,115 / -5,152
Calories: 5,228
