Breaking News: As much as I enjoyed working out with the Ironteam after my injury, I realized that I'm about 2 months behind in fitness compared to my teammates. My peak fitness was 8 weeks ago, the day before my ski injury when I ran 14 miles in under 2 hours at high altitude in Canada. I could confidently tackle hilly 65 mile bike rides. Now a 3 or 4 hour ride would be considered a major success, and my longest run after the injury was the 7 miler I jogged yesterday. As the Ironteam workouts now extend to 85 and 90 miles, I realized that I don't have the confidence to tackle these arduous workouts. It's also been tough to keep up with the swim sessions. Since I won't be competing in Vineman this year, family obligations are now a priority. Work is also a big priority now, since I will be taking a month off in July to recuperate from my ACL surgery. I need to finish up projects and administrative duties prior to my surgery.
So this is the end of my Ironteam training for this season. But I'll be back in 6 months for another Ironteam season. I will definitely miss the friends I made this season; my teammates, mentors, and coaches. I hope to drop in from time to time at the team workouts to encourage my teammates and hopefully draw inspiration from them as I face rehab.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
LA Marathon 5K
I was post-call Memorial Day, but that didn't stop me from participating in the LA Marathon events. I didn't get off my 24 hr shift until 6:30am, too late for the Bike Tour that started at 5am. My knee is not ready for the full marathon, and I'm probably not in marathon shape anyways. So I participated in the 5K. Despite the lack of sleep, I had fun. I had no time goal since I'm injured, but I tried to push myself as much as my knee could handle. I actually jogged! Yes, forwards running and not backwards running. The event was too crowded for backwards running.
The first half mile was packed with walkers, strollers, and even people marching with signs and banners. This is L.A. I saw people of all nationalities, the mentally disabled, the blind, the wheelchair participants, men, women, and children. The water stations were manned with enthusiastic volunteers. This was the best 5K water station I have ever seen. I guess they were set up also for the full marathon, since we ran on the same route as the first few miles of the full marathon.
I have run the LA Marathon the last 2 years. It was hard to miss it this year, but I guess even if I wasn't injured I would have had to skip it since our Ironteam coaches forbade the team from running in the marathon. I recommend the L.A. Marathon to any runners who enjoy the big city experience. The city comes out to support it. Crowds cheer you on as you run through the different ethnic neighborhoods of L.A. It's a great way to get a ground level view of this city and the people that make up this city.
Post-race I took a well deserved nap. Then after a late lunch, I had a short hilly bike ride in P.V. My 5K time was 39min and 14 sec. Not too bad considering I walked the first mile, and then jogged the rest. Better than the 55min 5K in P.V. 3 weeks ago.
The first half mile was packed with walkers, strollers, and even people marching with signs and banners. This is L.A. I saw people of all nationalities, the mentally disabled, the blind, the wheelchair participants, men, women, and children. The water stations were manned with enthusiastic volunteers. This was the best 5K water station I have ever seen. I guess they were set up also for the full marathon, since we ran on the same route as the first few miles of the full marathon.
I have run the LA Marathon the last 2 years. It was hard to miss it this year, but I guess even if I wasn't injured I would have had to skip it since our Ironteam coaches forbade the team from running in the marathon. I recommend the L.A. Marathon to any runners who enjoy the big city experience. The city comes out to support it. Crowds cheer you on as you run through the different ethnic neighborhoods of L.A. It's a great way to get a ground level view of this city and the people that make up this city.
Post-race I took a well deserved nap. Then after a late lunch, I had a short hilly bike ride in P.V. My 5K time was 39min and 14 sec. Not too bad considering I walked the first mile, and then jogged the rest. Better than the 55min 5K in P.V. 3 weeks ago.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Mandeville Canyon Ride
It was nice to see the Ironteam again. I missed our last couple swim sessions and also our team 90 mile bike ride last Saturday. However yesterday was just like old times ( except for the 1 hour run). We had an easy "brick" workout which consisted of a 2 hour ride and a 1 hour run. The ride was up Mandeville Canyon Road. This road is steep and long, but what goes up must come down. The long descent was fun, fun, fun. My fitness level has gone down, but I was able to hang with the middle of the pack. Hopefully, I'll get my fitness back before my surgery. ( More on that later in a separate post.)
The run was a new experience. I've been mostly walking since my injury 6 weeks ago. ( R knee ACL and MCL tear). Now my knee feels pretty stable and pain free. Once in a while if I mis-step, I feel a slight wobble as if my tibia is misaligned. A couple weeks ago I started with a little backwards running on my toes. Yesterday, I started by walking. That was too boring, despite the nice scenery of Santa Monica, California. So I started short bursts of backwards running. That was fun and got my heartrate up and I was even sweating. Of course, with backwards running you have to keep your head turned around repeatedly to make sure you're not going to run into someone or something. You also have to endure some stares and the wiseguys shouting, "Lookout!" when there is nothing behind you. Oh well, this is Santa Monica, close to the craziness that is Venice Beach and "Muscle Beach" . So I don't think I was that unusual. I walk/ran an out and back to the Santa Monica Pier. On the return part, I was afraid I was taking too long and that my Ironteam would be waiting. So I started a slow jog forwards. This was my first jog since my injury. I shuffled my feet to minimize knee impact. My knees felt fine, but its hard running this slow. I felt like a 60 year old could beat me. ( No offence to the 60-yo age-groupers who probably could beat me even when I was healthy.)
The run was a new experience. I've been mostly walking since my injury 6 weeks ago. ( R knee ACL and MCL tear). Now my knee feels pretty stable and pain free. Once in a while if I mis-step, I feel a slight wobble as if my tibia is misaligned. A couple weeks ago I started with a little backwards running on my toes. Yesterday, I started by walking. That was too boring, despite the nice scenery of Santa Monica, California. So I started short bursts of backwards running. That was fun and got my heartrate up and I was even sweating. Of course, with backwards running you have to keep your head turned around repeatedly to make sure you're not going to run into someone or something. You also have to endure some stares and the wiseguys shouting, "Lookout!" when there is nothing behind you. Oh well, this is Santa Monica, close to the craziness that is Venice Beach and "Muscle Beach" . So I don't think I was that unusual. I walk/ran an out and back to the Santa Monica Pier. On the return part, I was afraid I was taking too long and that my Ironteam would be waiting. So I started a slow jog forwards. This was my first jog since my injury. I shuffled my feet to minimize knee impact. My knees felt fine, but its hard running this slow. I felt like a 60 year old could beat me. ( No offence to the 60-yo age-groupers who probably could beat me even when I was healthy.)
Monday, May 11, 2009
Conejo Metric Century Ride
Saturday, I went on the longest bike ride yet of the season. I did the Cruisin the Conejo 2009 ride. I did the Metric Century/ 68 mile ride that offered moderate hills. They also had a challenging 62 miler over the Santa Monica Mountains, a 100 miler, and also shorter distance rides of about 30 miles. This was my first substantial ride since my ski accident a month ago. I was worried that I couldn't keep up with my Ironteammates who were basically on a recovery ride from last weekend's Wildflower Tri. I rode with the team to the first aid station, then on the next leg which provided some moderately steep hills, I decided to push myself. I went ahead of my group to the next aid station. I waited for them for about 15 minutes. As they were arriving at the station, I went ahead with the next leg of the ride. By the next station, I was about 20 minutes ahead. I again waited/ relaxed and when they arrived, I went on to the finish. I was already chowing down on the post-race food when my teammates arrived at the finish. I hope they're not upset. Many thought that I had cut the ride short due to my injury. Instead I used this ride to gauge my current fitness.
The highlight of the ride was riding through the strawberry fields, the fresh scent in the air, and the boy scouts who served at the aid stations. They even held your bike while you relaxed, refueled, and hit the port-a potty. The downside to the whole day was the drive back home. I was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on the 101 and the 405 for 2 hours!!!
Oh, I ran across a friend, Susan, from my running club, AREC in Long Beach. She is also a cyclist and rode the 68 miler. I enjoyed seeing her again and having post-race lunch with her. She informed me that her Mom is sick in the ICU at UCLA and was dedicating her ride to her Mom. Later I got an email that on Mother's Day ( yesterday), her Mom turned the corner and is now more awake and alert. Best wishes to Susan and her Mom. Let's send out our prayers and positive vibes to them. Thanks.
The highlight of the ride was riding through the strawberry fields, the fresh scent in the air, and the boy scouts who served at the aid stations. They even held your bike while you relaxed, refueled, and hit the port-a potty. The downside to the whole day was the drive back home. I was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on the 101 and the 405 for 2 hours!!!
Oh, I ran across a friend, Susan, from my running club, AREC in Long Beach. She is also a cyclist and rode the 68 miler. I enjoyed seeing her again and having post-race lunch with her. She informed me that her Mom is sick in the ICU at UCLA and was dedicating her ride to her Mom. Later I got an email that on Mother's Day ( yesterday), her Mom turned the corner and is now more awake and alert. Best wishes to Susan and her Mom. Let's send out our prayers and positive vibes to them. Thanks.
Monday, May 4, 2009
PV and OC Marathon
Instead of competing in my first half Ironman distance Triathlon, I spent the weekend at two local races. While my teammates traveled to Nor Cal and camped out at Lake San Antonio in the rain, I stayed in the comfort of my home in PV. ( But I missed them greatly...)
Last Spring, I completed back to back marathons in Washington DC and then Atlanta, Georgia. This time, since I'm still recovering from my ski injury, I walked the 5K at the PV Marathon/Half/ 5K event on Saturday and volunteered at the OC Marathon on Sunday. I usually run a 5K in 21 or 22 minutes. This time I took 55 minutes! Wow I don't know how people have the patience to walk a marathon. I'm not use to being this slow and I was itching to run, but I know my knee is not stable yet.
On Sunday, I got a chance to do something that I've always wanted to do, serve as a race volunteer. Usually I'm running in the race, but now with the injury, I could still be a part of the marathon as a volunteer. I brought the kids and we helped at the mile 19 / 20 water / powerade station. It was fun to hand out the water and to cheer on the runners as they hit the WALL. We got a lot of "Thank-you for being out here" from the runners. That certainly made us feel good about volunteering.
Later Sunday, I biked on the hills of PV for the first time since my injury. I'm not as strong as before and went slower, but I was able to climb the hills without any pain. I did feel some knee discomfort when I tried to pedal standing. I'm hoping that with improved conditioning, I should be back to my previous cycling form soon. I'm hopeful that I will be able to join my Ironteammates at next weekends cycling workout.
Last Spring, I completed back to back marathons in Washington DC and then Atlanta, Georgia. This time, since I'm still recovering from my ski injury, I walked the 5K at the PV Marathon/Half/ 5K event on Saturday and volunteered at the OC Marathon on Sunday. I usually run a 5K in 21 or 22 minutes. This time I took 55 minutes! Wow I don't know how people have the patience to walk a marathon. I'm not use to being this slow and I was itching to run, but I know my knee is not stable yet.
On Sunday, I got a chance to do something that I've always wanted to do, serve as a race volunteer. Usually I'm running in the race, but now with the injury, I could still be a part of the marathon as a volunteer. I brought the kids and we helped at the mile 19 / 20 water / powerade station. It was fun to hand out the water and to cheer on the runners as they hit the WALL. We got a lot of "Thank-you for being out here" from the runners. That certainly made us feel good about volunteering.
Later Sunday, I biked on the hills of PV for the first time since my injury. I'm not as strong as before and went slower, but I was able to climb the hills without any pain. I did feel some knee discomfort when I tried to pedal standing. I'm hoping that with improved conditioning, I should be back to my previous cycling form soon. I'm hopeful that I will be able to join my Ironteammates at next weekends cycling workout.
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