Training Streak: Day 24

Got some bad news today. The injury that I thought was a minor LCL tear has ended up being a partially torn meniscus. Looks like I won't be doing any running until March. On the bright side at least I get to spend a whole month focusing on my swim.

10:50PM Strength and Yoga: The news about my meniscus kind of bummed me out and almost had me breaking my streak. At the last hour I decided I could throw in some push-ups, pull-ups and yoga. The yoga felt great. I'm feeling pretty revived. Now I got to get a quick five hours of sleep before tomorrow mornings bike.

Feeling Sick? Exercise or Rest

Usually when I get sick I try to be mindful of how sick I am and how contagious I could potentially be. If I just caught something I avoid workouts where I could get other people sick. This is usually just the weight room or indoor bike classes.

When I'm sick I try to give a workout a go and see if it makes me feel better. If I feel worse afterward or the next day then I take that as a sign to back off.

I've heard that a good rule of thumb is the "neck up" concept. If all of your symptoms are affecting you from the neck up then its ok to exercise otherwise its probably best to stay at home.

Most important of all, just listen to your body. It will tell you if you can go or not.

Anyone else have tips on what you can and can not do while your sick?

Training Streak: Day 23

7:00AM Group Technique Swim: This swim actually felt really good. I discovered I was trying to force the bilateral breathing by getting a breath every three strokes and trying to commit to that. I didn't know I could do several breath every two, then throw in a breath every three, then repeat. I was able to get a lot more oxygen this way. Another good part about this workout was that I was able to rediscover several different swim paces. We did three sets of descending 100m. I actually held 2:10, 2:00, and 1:55 per 100 through the three sets. Its coming along.

Training Streak: Day 22

2:00PM Mountain Bike Class: Yay! Today we practiced wheelies. The purpose of them is to be able to clear obstacles while going uphill instead of trying to jerk the handlebar up. I had an easy time with them on a flat surface but when going up a steep uphill I had to come off the bike several times. The problems with me are that I'm putting too much emphasis on the handlebars. I've got to remember biking isn't about twisting the handlebars. The other issue with my wheelie is that I'm not bringing my butt far enough back on the seat. Overall we had a great class. At the end of it we did a fairly technical trail run and I ended up running into a wired fence at one point but it was a lot of fun. A little terrifying but fun nonetheless!

Training Streak: Day 21

7:30AM Optional Swim: Again, I was not feeling this swim. I'm still waiting for those couple of clicks from last season that got me into the swim groove. In order for me to get these completely in I need to 1) Go first thing in the morning and 2) have other people there doing the same workout. I felt so blah during it. I even stopped midway through the workout and just went home. Still, at least the bilateral breathing and flip turns continue to improve.

Outside of Training/Triathlons

I finally went and saw a Sports Medicine doctor. There's a possibility that I might have a torn LCL. I had an MRI done yesterday and will find out the results on Monday. Its no biggie though, because I can still swim and bike but being able to run is still iffy. Its my own boneheaded mistake for going out and playing basketball but for me personally it was kind of worth playing. I like to think I still have a life or other hobbies outside of triathlons and training.

This week's training has been ok. The swim is still a process for me. I'm waiting to experience those couple of "mental clicks" that I experienced last season which helped me get into a good place with swimming. Today, I actually had to get out of the pool midway through today's swim workout. Not because I was tired but more because it seemed like I was miserable doing the workout. There are times where we have to push through our minds limitations but there are also times when we have to listen to our bodies and be conscious of the possibility of burnout. Just like with the longer races we have to think of our training as a marathon not a sprint. We won't be worth much at the start line if we're burned out from too much training.

How's everyone else's training going? Got any cool hobbies that you do outside of triathlons? When was last time you got to do them?

Stay Healthy.

Training Streak: Day 20

6:00AM Technique/Intensity Bike: I left my heart rate monitor at home so I had to rely on tracking my zones by feel. I think I'm getting a lot better at this but sometimes I question if I'm pushing hard enough. At the same time though a lot of training is based on discipline. Its definitely a science which is why I trust my coaches. The knee was kind of sore afterwards, I'm starting to think it really is a tear. I get my first experience with an MRI machine today.