Triathloning

Bicycle related chatter & discussion
timyone
Posts: 4380
Joined: 22 Nov 2006, 20:29

Postby timyone » 15 Dec 2012, 12:38

So i was signed up for a half iron man with my brother, but the day before the Christmas party I clicked my knee out some how, and wasn't able to straitened it for a bit over a week, it then clicked back, and I have been limping around with put crutches for 5 days or so now.

On Thursday I went to my specialist, and he told me the MRI shows a tear of some sort in my miniscis, one that could damage more by crouching or squatting and lifting weight if its twisted at all. Funnily enough nothing that's involved in running or cycling. Being me, I asked him if I could do the triathlon on Sunday, before Wednesdays surgery to fix it, and he said yes! Though there is a chance that if it clicks out again, I could damage it more. I rephrased the question a few times, and realised he was meaning small risk.

So we are now in the car on the way to Canberra, I went for my first swim in a few weeks last night, and I sucked, and today did half an hour on the exercise bike followed by a km or so jog. And it turns out I can both ride and run! So I'm out of my triathlon retirement, knee brace in tow, and hoping to hobble through the race, high chance of dropping out after the ride.

But yeah, I was only really here to hang out with Simon any way, and he hasn't been training a lot either. My jog actually made my knee feel better, and I'm limping less ;) so will see how it goes.

Eleri
Posts: 1753
Joined: 31 Dec 2009, 08:43
Location: Erskineville

Postby Eleri » 15 Dec 2012, 15:51

Go Tim and Simon! (assuming it's Simon that is)

Good luck and hope your knee holds up. Hmm - triathlon!!

User avatar
JoTheBuilder
Posts: 1500
Joined: 19 Feb 2011, 15:32

Postby JoTheBuilder » 15 Dec 2012, 19:20

Wow... Good luck both of you. Looking forward to hearing results!

User avatar
mikesbytes
Posts: 6991
Joined: 13 Nov 2006, 13:48
Location: Tempe
Contact:

Postby mikesbytes » 16 Dec 2012, 10:40

Take care of the knee mate

All the best for the Tri, I'm jealous :)

User avatar
Trouty
Posts: 1214
Joined: 09 May 2007, 13:23

Postby Trouty » 16 Dec 2012, 10:53

Have fun at the triathlon Timmy and Simon. Hobble on! Great to hear its nothing too serious. I guess it is from a previous weight lifting injury?

timyone
Posts: 4380
Joined: 22 Nov 2006, 20:29

Postby timyone » 16 Dec 2012, 11:55

It was heaps of fun!

timyone
Posts: 4380
Joined: 22 Nov 2006, 20:29

Postby timyone » 18 Dec 2012, 11:16

I had planned on making an absolutely hillarious story report of our race, but required the payed for photos, which are way over priced and not worth it, even if we both look fabulous through out. Instead I will post the two pics I took of simon, and then chat about how we went :( in what will possibly be much less hillarious :( I am also posting from work, so have no auto spell check!

In this photo we have Simon looking as happy as he did each time I jogged past him telling him about my adventures and my experiences such as seeing the one and only Michael Matthews in full Rabobank kit on the front of the Drapac Porsche bunch which was dawdelling past us at one point.

Image

Here is Simon at the finish looking like he did before I started yelling and waving at him each time we passed. I was lucky enough to be wearing a much more matching outfit with other competitors, so was able to spot him first, and put effort into my appearance. The time above his head is not his actual time, we were not in the first wave.

Image


So we turned up to what some would call a race, but what was for us an exercise of achievement, mental strength, and stupidity. The toughness on Simons part, and the stupidity on mine.

This race had been an attempt to try some thing different, training in some sports that would hopefully keep us fitter easier, as well as letting us compete with no one but our selves. The idea was almost entirely Simon's, as I thought it sounded like way too much effort and training, I was lucky to talk him down from the idea of a full ironman event, as I didn't think we would get enough training in the four months time we had before events.

I set out almost imediately to train as if I was going to do a full ironman, learning to swim with my head under water off my two swimming teachers Julio and Nathan, with jogging etc, upping my training to twice a day or so, with two km swims before track training (which is a great idea for weightloss, but makes you look slow!). Simon went for a more relaxed aproach, training once to three ties in a week, depending on other commitments such as the 6 month old baby that has been hanging out since his wife had her.

I competed in a triathlon in Penrith alongiside some of our toughest DHBC lads, Nathan, Pete OS, Julio, Gi, and Anthony Pham, in order to learn how to do every thing (I did the swim with my head above the water the whole time, because I couldn't breath?!). While Simon proceeded to carb load, and taper in order to ensure he saved his legs for the other events such as work and baby bathing that form his outside life. I also did things like riding up Macquarie pass in the drops to prepare for time trialing, and the odd 30km jog (this possibly should have had more prep, and been a part of a running training plan). Some thing or other may not have been right in this throw into training, as I was crouching a few weeks ago, and my knee clicked out in some way or other, leaving me unable to straiten it, I went to emergency twice, they tried clicking it back under happy gas, I also had Simon try and kick it into place on three different occasions, but to no avail, I was on crutches for the week, waiting for it to magically click back into place, which it did a week or so ago, enabling me to hobble around the place.

On thursday I went into my specialist to find out the problem, and he checked my MRI, and told me what it was and how I would need to fix it blah blah blah, I am having surgery tomorrow to fix it etc etc etc. But in his explenation, there didn't sound like any thing that would stop me from a triathlon! (well besides the fact that I hadn't really walked in a couple of weeks, and only had 2 days or so prep time). He agreed that I could possibly do a triathlon, possibly dropping out of the run, but not doing any squating weights! So it was decided that I should try it out :D And I did a full 30 mins on an exercise bike, and 1km jog on the day before the event. Funnily enough the running made my knee feel better and stopped me limping!

So this began our experiment... what is more important, previous training for an event like this, or having both knees that work, and being able to walk for the three weeks leading up to the event.

So we got to the event (by 5am?!) which was being held in the coolest spot in Canbera, the lake (which is slightly prone to algi) next to the Parliment house, lucky that there had been no previous snow fall, as Simon was doing the swim in budgi smugglers, and I, in a tri suit borrowed off Julio, two of the only people not in a wet suit!

In the Swim, I missed the start, but only took a kilometer, to progress from breast stroke with my head above the water, to freestyle with the odd kick in the head by other competitors. Simon was unlucky to learn what I did at my first triathlon, that its hard to swim with your head under water in a lake?! it is like continually dipping your head in a bucket of mud, and for some reason is a heap harder to breath than a swimming pool?! So I came out on top in this event (mainly due to simons only swimming under 10 times in total in training, where as I had been three times a week or so at one point!)

The ride should have been our strong point, but Simon cruised it in order to save him self for the run, and I was riding moderately, but my knee totally gave out in the last two laps, and I did the last 18km one legged up hills, and coasting down the hills not peddling. I still came out on top in this event (possibly thanks to my previous 500 or so km weeks vs Simons lack of an actual 80km ride this year?!). I only lost about 8 mins or so on the last lap, so can't really complain.

Thanks to my run the day before, I had in it in my head that running would fix my dead knee, and it did!! I was unable to walk when I limped off the bike, but it got better! unfortunately not enough to stop my absolute smashing by Simon in this event! I was looking and feeling a lot better than him, but I wasn't getting the results! His previous history as a runner may have helped, but he hadn't been for a job in 3 weeks or so! (which is the same as me technically), but it was still impressive.

All in all it is hard to compare our times as Simon was stopping and actually changing clothes between events (including unpinning and repinning numbers?!), but it was quite a close result in hindsight. I think the result of our experiment was that my 3 weeks off mattered less than Simons not having time to train at all!!

I really recomend these triathlete things to every one, especially this one! I didn't think it was too hard to finish, and I spent the run admiring the beautiful surroundings, it turns out that the slower you go, the better looking the people get that pass you! I did also learn though, that though putting your sunscreen on no handed at the start of the bike leg looks amazingly impressive, it isn't an entirely fool proof method of stopping sun burn! I am covered in blisters right now, that hurt more than any thing else from the event!!

The event seemed to have as many people as a mountain bike race, though with a lot more girls, and what is quite probably a higher average age of competitors, so heaps cruisy, every one should check it out!

User avatar
Simon Llewellyn
Posts: 1532
Joined: 13 Nov 2006, 22:31
Location: Tempe Velodrome

Postby Simon Llewellyn » 23 Dec 2012, 18:54

I must add that this was a very enjoyable event and though I did not acheive my original goal of training 3 times per week, one run, one swim and run ride by about 3 months in which I basically did no training it was a lot of fun. I am always amazed with triathlons that the three events don't really overlap in muscle groups nor really accumulate the way one event would for the same time period.

The location was beautiful and the bike leg was definitely the best time trial course I have ever ridden and overall it rates highly. Not to tell people to triathlon instead of cycle but great fun if you get the chance.


Return to “Conversation”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 26 guests