This is my Journey into the World of Ironman. It's my journal/documentation of the ups and downs of what it takes to be an age-group athlete training for an Ironman triathlon. This is more of a way for me to remember what I am doing over the course of the training season, as any Ironman Athlete can tell you, sometimes the days can blur into one training day of swim, bike, run after another. So, while some may not find this at all interesting, those that wonder...could I do an Ironman? Do I have what it takes to do an Ironman? I give you a peek into my journey and days to complete my next Ironman. Forgive any misspelled words/awkward sounding sentences. I'm pretty happy just to get them down on paper. Consider it a test of your mental skills to figure out what I'm saying. Hope you enjoy reading my journey. I'll see you at the Finishline!!!
Man....Time has gotten away from me. has it really been four weeks since the last post? A lot has happen in those 4 weeks.
I'm currently in "injury mode". I messed up my shoulder in March, well before that if I'm honest with myself. I started training that first week of Feb. Full on training. I was tired, but feeling stronger. Then as the weeks went by, looking back, I realized that I was starting to massage my shoulder on my swims. I chucked it up to just not being fully ready when it was time to jump back in. I'm a good therapist, so I hope. But I'm not a good patient. I can be good at education my patients on taking break when needed, but then I keep pushing myself. So I Did.
Then I went on my birthday weekend to Red Lodge. I had an awesome time!!! I booked a cool condo, cow decorated and all and enjoyed my time. I had an amazing view of the Beartooth Mtn and the ski resort. I had one of the most comfy beds I've slept in since selling my own bed ( I really miss my bed). Had my Morning Tangerine Mimosas and had a blast snowboarding the entire day. It was on a Friday, there were ZERO lines and because I was alone, I could stick to the slopes I knew I could handle. I ended up on a green run where i practically had the entire thing to my self the entire day. So I spent the day learning how to snowboard again. BY the third time down, I was trying to remember the "S" turn, so on my fourth ride up, I was You Tubing how to S turn again and then I was off. By the end of the day, I was feeling pretty confident with my S turns, I actually felt like a snow boarder!! i only fell off the lift once at the very beginning, mainly because I had a kiddo who fell in front of me and I didn't want to crash into them.
I did manage to get up higher on the mountain in the PM, And I did a Blue Run. I was pretty happy with that. Then I got back down to my green run and had time to do a few more runs before the day was done. This is where I had my one and only fall. This is what was the final push to my shoulder injury. It hurt when I fell. But not that bad in my opinion compared to the time I unofficially dislocated my elbow. I finished my day and headed home, walked the dogs, had my steak and veggie dinner, my birthday cupcake, some more mimosas and enjoyed my night. I Spent Saturday sleeping in (heaven) then got in my trainer ride (yes it all came with me), then met up with some fellow therapist and had a late lunch with beer in DownTown Red Lodge. I walked through the town, checking out the shops. Not a cool as Flag, or Sedona, or Prescott in my opinion. But it was fun. I ended up finding my ornament, which was a snowboarding bear. Yeah,, there is a bear theme in my life up here. Trying to make sure I avoid them. Although I seem to find something with them everywhere. Including combining it with my favorite things ( notice the name on the photo)
That night, the Winter Carnival was being held, I got some cool shots from my condo, but I was content to just veg out and relax and enjoy the down time. now today I started to feel my arm hurt, I even skipped the hottub because it was going to be too hard to lift up. I just attributed it to the usual soreness.
Sunday I was back on my way home to Billings. Dropped off my rental at Scheels (sporting good store that is like crack for sport lovers). Then home. I rested the rest of the day. I was to tired to workout. My excuses were stronger then my will.
I Started Week 6 of my training feeling good, while my shoulder was sore, I could still do my swim workout. I would massage my shoulder, then jump in the hot tub and hit it with the jets, and feel good. As the week went on, i still got all my workouts in, Wed I started feeling crappy though, and so I came home to rest, I ended up with a 3 hour nap. once I woke I was planning to just call this a "break" day, and then I got the email that I was a BASE Ambassador!! Please see my previous post for more on this, I'm SUPER excited that I'm part of this group!!! So of course in my excitement, I headed off to swim. I'm glad I did, I felt bad for not getting green on my workout day. Hot tub massage on the shoulder, then home.
By the time the end of the week came. I was tired, My arm was hurting more. I had the toughest Mental struggle on my bike for 3:45 hr/min. So tough that I had to get off every 30 min and do something for a few minutes before getting back on. Looking back, I'm pretty sure it was because my arm was hurting. staying in aero was tough. But I kept reading my sign i posted. "I will be STRONGER then my EXCUSES" I had a million of them running in my head for sure that day. That by far has been my toughest mental ride on the bike. Got in my run on Sunday . Week done. But my arm hurt.
Week 7
This is where it all went downhill.
Monday, I woke, my arm hurt. I have been noticing some numbness in my wrist, and strength felt weak, but it would go away after a bit. I got in my run on Monday...and I was hurting enough to know better. I was not planning on swimming. But then that Excuses sign was staring at me SO I decided to just go and be "easy" with my workout. Which I did, and as I swam, it seemed to stretch it out and feel better. But by the time I was done. could not lift my arm over my head without pain. When I got home. I couldn't get dressed without pain. I could do full ROM, but anything overhead, reaching behind, or external rotation was extremely painful. Thank goodness for Tiger Balm, and my pain killers for my back. I hadn't had to use them since I moved out of Prescott. So they were a godsend with the pain.
Unfortunately, this also prevented me from doing what I needed to do at work. I couldn't lift a patient who is a Max A if my life depended on it. I had to tell my boss, and my recruiter. Luckily, I picked an awesome crew to work with. They all volunteered to help me if I needed assist with a Max Pt. It was a low week in training, and mentally too. I had to have a big pity party over the weekend. Concerned that I may have torn something from the fall snowboarding. That's the only major trauma to my shoulder I could think of.
Fast forward a week later, I finally decided to get into see a specialist for shoulders. At this point. I was pretty limited in what I could do with my limited movement. No doing my hair, much difficulty putting on my bra, shirt. No Max Transfers, no swimming for a week and a half. I couldn't lay on my right side, my back without my arm supported, or my arm dangling. I got in to the doc on my day off. He did some e rays, and found nothing wrong with my shoulder. While he couldn't rule out a tear, he didn't think there was anything major going on. Except that I strained it pretty good from the snowboard. He did say that I had some muscle wasting on my arm, so that's not good, I'll have to get my back checked out at some point. He did some testing, which while hurt, I could do. He then manipulated my left shoulder to see how much it moved, and then the right. OH MY GOD that hurt so fricking BAD. Conclusion, I had very loose shoulder, I needed stabilization, No rotator cuff issues, and didn't think I every would as my Glenoid Cavity is significantly smaller then most people, so the possibly of impingement is very unlikely for me. I guess that is a good thing anyway!
So he set me up with PT which couldn't get me in until week later. I debated on seeing my fellow PTs at the hospital, but I didn't want to bother them, so I just said, I'd go there first.
Now the interesting thing, is that day, after he Manipulated my shoulder at the office and it hurt like hell. It started to feel better. Not perfect, but better. So it makes me wonder if something was dislocated or out of whack with the ligaments, etc. Because the next week, while I still have pain in the movements, it's feeling better. maybe it's just the rest.
The PT appt was a bit of a joke. While she was a nice PT, she was not a sports PT, and gave me stretching exercises, no stabilization exercises. I showed them to my current PT at the hospital, and they hooked me up with the exercises that I need for stabilization. I think she realized that it wasn't enough, as she called me up two days later, and wants me to see a different therapist. I'm not sure I will, I think I'll stick to the current exercises I have.
So I sit here with a bum shoulder. with the only really cause of injury as a "pretty major strain". that's all I got. It's so frustrating. But I can still run without pain, and I can still bike, with some minor adjustments when I am in aero. So, I'm focusing on what I can control. That's all I can do at this moment in time. It sucks to because, I was getting faster in my swimming. But I know that its the shortest leg of the race, so as long as I can bike and run. I can survive with a average swim if that had to be limited for now.
The good news is I am feeling stronger on the bike, and the run. I'm working on my cadence, and it's getting up in the 180s more. My bike power feels stronger. And I can see it in my numbers. That makes me happy for now. I am doing my new PT exercises that I just got on Friday, and some from Wed. And I will be patient, and I will be focused on what I can control. I'm also focusing on my nutrition. I'm using my BASE Performance supplements and I really feel better with my energy on the bike, I'm working on the timing, the electrolytes. Getting it more dialed in. I was lazy with that with my last race. More then I was willing to admit at the time. It's not going to happen this time. Not a chance in hell.
So my workouts have been all completed, except for my swims, I hate that I've missed 11 swim workouts. But I have hope that I'll be back in the pool in the next few weeks and back on track. Until then. Patience. Patience. Patience.
"Pain is proof that the journey matters…
And obstacles are the only
stepping stones to a greater destination."
