Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Life and Injury Update

Sorry I've been absent for the past month, but it's been CRAZY!! So I'll give a brief overview of what I've been up to and some thoughts:

April 21: Ironman 70.3 New Orleans
              Race went relatively well. Few gripes here and there, but I finished which is important. More detail                           to come in a monstrous post-race report.

April 27: Rock 'n Roll Nashville Half Marathon
             RAIN! Hilly and pouring but a great time. Again, more to come.

May 5: Rocketman International Triathlon (1500m swim, 36 mi bike, 10 k run)
              Possibly the most fun I've had in a race. Great day all around. Last portion of the debriefing.

After those three weeks, I was utterly exhausted. Took a (deserved?) rest week. Was ready to get back in the pool and really start working on getting my swim times down during a period with no major races.

Monday May 13 (first workout back from break): Tragedy strikes. I'm over-exaggerating a bit but that's how it felt. I was turning in the pool and pop goes the knee! I knew right away this wasn't good. Once I got out of the poll, my knee slowly but surely deteriorated. Finally accepted the fact that I probably retore my meniscus and made it to the doctor last Friday. MRI is tomorrow and decision on where to go from there occurs next Tuesday. Only saving grace is that I don't have a major race until August. Speaking of racing,

This Memorial Day weekend, I am heading home to MA to see my family. So stoked! I haven't seen my family since January so this will be a great visit. While home, I had planned on doing a 5-miler. After my injury, I knew this was a terrible and stupid idea to think I still could. However, with a meniscus injury, your knee is still stable so running theoretically is allowed. Of course, it'll be painful as hell and might worsen the injury. But as long as I do it before anything is fixed, then my twisted brain thinks that mine as well. So for reasons I will try to lay out here, I have chosen to try and "race." It will be more of a "get to the finish line" race not a "I want to PR" race. The race is Boston's Run to Remember. This race in an annual race put on by the Boston Police Association to honor fallen first responders. Obviously, after the tragic events on April 15, this race took on a whole new meaning and I was so happy to be a part of it. Beyond that, this will be the first race I'm doing with my sister, who completed her firs half marathon last weekend (woot!). So to not disappoint my sister and, even more, to honor first responders and the Boston Marathon, I will hobble my way through the race this Sunday. I'll let you know Monday if I still have a knee.

Again, more to follow regarding most things in the post, just wanted to remind everybody that I'm still alive!

Fight On my friends! (Especially those in Oklahoma right now. We're all rooting for you!)