Back on hold...

Running is back on the sideline! :( Boo!  Went into my chiro appointment today and I told him about my running progress.  And as I feared and expected, I was told to put running on hold until we get a definitive result from the MRI.  Too bad since I was getting back into a running groove.  My pace was slowly getting better and my third run this morning was the best to date.  But the pain is still there and I guess that is not a good sign.  So back to swim and yoga and I will be much more serious with training on the bike!

On another note, I have still been commuting on my single speed around town all winter so far.  I changed my tires to cyclocross tires and I have a better grip on the snow.  I have been improving my bike skills in the snow until I come to corners where I fishtail! Haha!  If cars were not around I would be having way more fun!  Still having fun though but I have to be aware of the cars around me and make sure I do not fishtail too much!  The last few days I've been riding in -20C and even colder with the windchill!  Now that is hardcore! ;) Hehe!  Winter in Canada!  Fun!

Oh January...

First of all - HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!  I have been a real delinquent in the posting department....oops!  I blame it on being too lazy after picking up extra shifts to cover for sick calls!  I have yet to post my annual "year in review" post which will come soon.  I just wanted to post a little update on what I have been up to! ;)  Well, I guess I have really not been up to much.  After the holiday break I am back in the pool and am getting my speed back.  I was out of the pool for almost three weeks due to closures and cancelled practices.  The first week was pretty brutal but I am almost back to my pre-Christmas pre-elbow sprain speed! :)  I have been practicing yoga about 3-4 days a weeks and am loving it.  And that is pretty much it! :(  My poor hammy is still very unhappy.  I had a follow up appointment with the doc last week because there has been little improvement.  My hamstring will hurt just after 15min of walking at the insertion point.  It will also hurt if I am standing for about 25min (I discovered this when I was Christmas cookie baking and standing at a code at work one night).  So with this, and not having run for 3 months now, my good ol' chiro sent me back to the doc.  Up next, an MRI to see what is going on that the US may have missed.  Depending on those results, I may resort to PRP (platelet rich plasma) injections or a higher dose of shockwave therapy.  For now, the doc told me I could try to start running as he doesn't think I am at risk of tearing the hamstring or the tendon.  So aimed with this little bit of good news I went out for a run the very next day!  Ha! That was a bit of a body shocker!  I am so not in run shape!  My plan is 20-30min max and honestly, that was all I could do.  I started my runs at my normal run speed and that lasts for all but 5min!  Then it is all downhill!  I cannot keep my normal run speed and I am hurting.  The first run I was almost ready to puke for the effort I was putting in to try to run at my normal run speed! Lol!  I probably should not be running with my Garmin so I don't get frustrated when I see how pathetically slow I am going.  I really should know better and I really should not be expecting much of myself.  The best was the next day - my muscles felt like I ran a marathon! Haha!  I was quite sore!  The bad news - my hammy hurt just as much as it did back in October! :(  Ok...maybe not as bad but if I kept on running it may have been just as bad.  I walked home on my first run because it became so sore.  This was the most frustrating!  I have put in the time, the therapy, the rehab and it seems like I got no where! :(  At this point, I honestly do not know if I should keep running or not.  I tried again the next day and although my running muscles remembered a little more what to do, my hamstring was still sore.  I may try again to see if it actually hurts more or if it is just the same pain.  I will be smart about this as I have an Ironman planned for this August.  I also really should start on the bike training to see if I can at least maybe become an uber cyclist! ;) Haha!  So that is where I am at now.  Still injured and not much training!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

A quick little post to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!!!  

I'll update about my injuries,  rehab, and non existent training later but for now, here is a You Tube clip of one of my fav Christmas songs:

Here are some of the Christmas goodies I made this year!  They seem to be a hit! :)  

The M-dot Shortbread cookie!

The cookie spread all gifted up!  I made six different kinds!

So...Merry Christmas to you all and To all, a Good Night!!!!

And one more...

My injury list is just getting longer! :) Boo!  Since I have stopped running and cycling I have been in the pool and getting in some yoga.  Well, Thursday night at swim practice I did something stupid!  We were working on dives, turns, and finishes after a shortened main set to prepare for our club's time trial swim meet.  I had signed up to swim the 50m, 200m, and 800m free looking forward to improve my times from the last swim meet.  Working on the last thing - finishes, I managed to do something bad.  As I was going into the wall at full speed with my left arm outstretched to touch the wall, I think I had my arm a little too hyper-extended that when I hit the wall it had no where to go.  My elbow just sort of buckled and popped out!  I immediately sort of tried to straightened it and grabbed it with my right hand to straighten it and it went back into place.  But not without massive sharp pain! :(  I stood at the side of the pool in near tears hoping the pain would go away but it was just getting worse and I could not move my arm.  I then realized I was in trouble and did something bad.  I managed to get myself to the other side of the pool where I one handed got myself on the pool deck and iced my elbow for a bit.  My range of motion was horrible.  Thankfully I got a ride home from one of the coaches (since I rode my bike to swim) and hoped that my elbow would get better.  I almost went into emerg that night since I could not sleep from the pain to make sure everything was ok.  I waited until I was at work the next night and had it checked then.  Thankfully, the xrays were all cleared and there were no fractures, it wasn't a complete dislocation and the elbow is in its proper place! Pheww!  But there is joint swelling and ligaments were torn.  So now I have a bum elbow! Lol!  Range of motion is getting better but it is still quite painful and there is no way I can swim or go to yoga for a bit until this heals!  Well, I figured this is a sign to force me to completely rest!  Yoga may have been pushing my hamstring a little much....well, now I cannot go.  I may try some swimming by the end of the week if my elbow feels better but I think I need to be careful with that too and not push it too soon!

Check this out!

I have had the pleasure of taking yoga classes for just over a year now at Fireflow Yoga!  And I really do love classes there!  Well...owner and yoga instructor, Jonathan, asked me if he could interview me about being an athlete and taking yoga classes.  I was honoured and below are two You Tube clips he put together of the interview and from a yoga class that I took.  He did a really good job if I may say so! ;) Thanks Jonathan!

On the "DL" list! :(

As in the MLB, I am officially on the "Disabled List"...which in my world means no running, and possibly no yoga! :(

I started the year with plantar fasciitis and a sprained ankle.  The ankle healed and I was getting treatments for the PF; which I am still getting treatments for just not as intense.  The foot is actually doing quite well and just flares up once in a while.  It really did not bother me this past race season.

Somewhere along the way, I developed a hamstring strain.  I remember feeling my right hamstring get tight in March during Oceanside but I thought nothing of it.  As the race season went on, my hamstring was getting worse.  Unfortunately, I put quite a bit of stress on it preparing for the Ironman and I think I destroyed it during the IM.  I continued to race and train for the remaining races I had for the season but really backed off on the run training.  I was running very little to give it as much rest as possible.  I got through my races, in pain, but I got through them with awesome results.  The pain got worse at the upper hamstring where my hamstring meets with my sit bones.  I got to the point that everything hurts - sitting, walking, swimming etc etc.  I was in constant pain. :(  I do have a high pain tolerance though so I was and am able to continue with my normal activities of daily living.  My chiro has been pretty awesome in treating me the whole time but I know I did not do myself any favours by continuing to race.  So after my last race (B2B) I was told to stop running and see if I can start healing.   I ended up getting an ultrasound to make sure there was not a complete tear in my hamstring.  The good news: no tear!  The bad news: my tendon on the injured side (right) is 50% thicker than the left with some calcium deposits.  Basically, tendinitis that is chronic.  Saw the doc and was basically told to not run because it would just prolong the healing.  Also, there may be a chance that I have a stress fracture but at this point he doesn't think so.  So, continue with the treatments and hope for the best.  I was hoping to begin some real training in January - I guess I will have to wait and see! :(

Not gonna lie, I am not liking this!

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming!

Since I am on the do not run list (more about that in another post soon), my off season training is right now limited to swimming and yoga.  In fact, swim and yoga are two of my favourite activities!  I haven't jumped on the bike trainer yet for any serious training, that will come soon though.  So, since I could not participate in the OMA XC meets this fall, I decided to try out an Ontario Masters Swimming meet, at the very last minute to boot!  So on Sunday, I headed to the Etobicoke Olympium with our coach and other swimmers from the University of Toronto Masters of the Universe swim club and swam in my very first swim meet ever!!!

I am not going to lie, I was very nervous heading into this meet.  My strongest sport in triathlon is swimming but I did not grow up as a swimmer.  I learned how to flip turn when I joined the club a few years ago and I really do not know how to dive off the diving blocks.  Many of the swimmers at these Masters meets are ex-varsity and ex-competitive swimmers and they are fast!  I did not know the rules for swim meets but because I was just sticking to free style I was safe! ;)  My biggest fear - losing my goggles during the dive starts! Lol!!!  I decided to swim the 100, 200, and 400m free as well as the 4x50m free relay!

The first event was the 100m free.  I am not a sprinter, I am a long distance swimmer so this was going to be hard!  I seeded myself at 1:30 knowing I could swim faster than that but wasn't expecting anything faster than 1:20.  The start gun went off and I dove in and swam as hard as I could for 100m.  This was an all out sprint for me and I definitely felt the lactic acid building up!  I swam it in 1:17:56 and I was ecstatic!!!!  That was the fastest I ever swam 100m!!!!  Woohoo!!!!  But I gave it my all and red-lined the whole thing.  I could barely get out of the pool and my legs were absolute jello!  Lol!  I could barely hold myself upright let alone walk!  Haha!  My teammates and coach were waiting for me to congratulate me and I was having a blast!  I was 5th in my age group and 2nd in the heat.

Next event was the 400m.  My biggest problem at swim practices is pacing.  I can pace running events but I have yet learned the art of pacing in swimming.  So when the gun went off, I started off too hard for the first 100m.  Then I tried to settle into a pace telling myself to slow down, slow down.  I led my heat for most of it until the end when I was losing gas.  Then I wasn't sure if I was on my last lap and actually held up a bit to see if the girl next to me was going to do another flip turn or finish.  Well, she finished so I tried to kick the last little bit to get back some time! Haha!  I swam a respectable 6:06:42!  I seeded myself at 6:15.  This was the fastest I ever swam a 400!  I was 4th in my age group and 2nd in the heat.

Now for the 4x50m relay.  I was swimming with ex-swimmers so I was swimming second! Lol!  I was given a quick tutorial on the rules and how-to of relays!  Again, an all out 50m is hard for me and I gave it my all.  I finished barely able to breathe or even see straight! Haha!  I swam my leg in 35:30 which I believe is the fastest I ever swam 50m.  We came 2nd in the relay in our age category and won our heat.

Our 4x50m relay team!

 After a little break was then my final event for the day.  The 200m free.  I had a blast racing this one.  I had the slowest seed time in my heat at 3:05 so I wasn't expecting to stay with the others.  However, I started off sprinting the first 100m and then found myself fighting to stay up there.  I think I was leading the first 100m, lol!  The girl next to me decided to do this event all fly.  As I was dying, she caught up to me and passed me.  With about 50m left I just put my head down and kicked with all my might!  I saw my coach at the side of the pool cheering me on since I had the outside lane!  So much fun!  Well, I managed to catch up and pass the girl next to me in the last 25m and won my heat! I swam the 200m in 2:53:55 which is for sure the fastest I ever swam this and came 3rd in my age group.  My coach was excited as he said it was fun to watch me lead, get passed, then fight back and out touch the other girl!  I even could hear the crowd cheer loudly!  I got out of the pool and was dizzy probably from the lack of oxygen! Haha!  I had to sit down and then I decided to jump in the pool for a little cool down.  I had no legs left, once again, they turned into jello!

Too bad I didn't grow up as a swimmer!  I think I could have actually done well.  I held my own being a non-swimmer and had so much fun!  Having a team and coach for sure helped too!  It was awesome getting cheered and cheering others on!  Of note, one of our team members is 75 years old and he did a 200m fly! If you have ever done fly you will know how hard this is!  He is absolutely amazing and an inspiration!!!  I still cannot do 200m fly!  Lol!  I am actually looking forward to the next masters event!  Oh...and I did not lose my goggles in any of the dive starts! Yay!  Much better than the warm ups when I lost them twice in four dives!

Members of TMU plus our coach (minus one swimmer!)

Two days later, and I am still sore! Lol!  I did not expect to feel so wiped out the night of the swim meet and to feel so sore! My shoulders and abs actually hurt! Haha!  I really did push myself to the limit but it was so worth it!