Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The home stretch.

The first sprint of 2010 went well.  I set back to back PR's in 5k races, along with a 5 mile road race.  Columbia went well, finishing in 2:29 after not being able to ride for more than 20 minutes without pain and run more than 5 miles.  After the race, my knees were in rough shape, but I decided to try KT Tape after seeing it on racers.  I was able to recover quicker and started using it for long runs.  This helped my accelerate my PT and allow me to get the long distance training in.  I was able to do 10 miles on the bike, but my knee started acting up again.  After a sprint race in June, I spoke to a massage therapist who diagnosed me with weak glutes and gave me some exercises to do.  I also tried a knee brace and stretches for my biceps femoris, which allowed me to train with minimal pain.  I had two months to train for Timberman.

After a great vacation in the UK, I had less then a month to get down to business.  I survived a 100 mile bike ride, did a few 45+ mile bike rides and multiple 10+ mile runs. I was feeling great and ready for the race.

Timberman was perfect.  My swim was ok, but my bike was great and my run was top notch.  I broke 5 hrs with a finishing time of 4:58.  I felt like I could have given more, but was happy with my progress.  I got home, and decided to take some time off and rehab my injuries.  I got a new bike fit, switched to compact cranks, and 165mm crank arms.  This seems to have resolved my knee issues.  I can now ride pain free without a knee brace.  For the first time since 2005, I was going into the winter healthy.  My wife and I got ourselves a computrainer for Christmas, allowing me to build my FTP with a guided plan and focus.

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