weakness = strength

When I'm quiet on the blog and twitter there are only three possibilities.

1) I'm out of town
2) I'm too tired from training to think or write
3) I'm injured

Unfortunately it's number 3 that has me quiet lately. Like a recurring nightmare the IT band has gone again, almost exactly 1 year from the last time. Last year it took me until December to get past it and I raced an ironman "through it" (which was not pleasant to say the least).

But now I know the things that need to be addressed to get through it. There are a few possible causes and I'm trying to address each one as quickly and methodically as possible. The frustrating thing about IT band injuries is that once the IT band "goes" it takes some time to get it under control so that it doesn't flare up when running. This involves a lot of rehab, testing, rehab while waiting a few days, then testing again and so on. And once running begins again it is a slow process to get back to longer sustained runs.

So what does this mean for the rest of the triathlon season? Well, Nationals is out. Augusta 70.3 is iffy but I'm holding out hope that I'll get back to form in time to race it. If I am able to race it I will train straight through it with only a few light days leading up to the race. For the ironman ... if I can race Augusta and then back it up with a 2+ hour run then I'll go for it and still expect a sub 10 hr outcome. I told Jennifer that I wouldn't race it injured as I've done that once already with the goal of completing the distance and don't care to do it that way again. If I'm on the start line this year it is to see how close to 9:30 I can come.

In other news ... I'm no longer being formally coached. This was a decision I made based on finances and the needs of the family. I improved as an athlete and learned a lot working with Jonathan and hope to work with him again in the future. In the meantime, there are higher priorities that must be addressed. The lessons I learned I will continue to carry with me and believe my best days of racing lay ahead.

From working with Jonathan I now understand how I need to train to hold my own in Open / Elite. It's pretty simple really ... get in as close to 20 hours of training per week as possible. Train a minimum of 3 hrs a day, 6 days per week, and have one day with light training. Swim at least 4 times per week and get in at least 10,000 meters with some arm and lung searing intensity. Run 4 or 5 times and try to get more than 30 miles in distance. Ride at least 7 hours, but 10 or more is preferable. And most importantly, get to know your body (I'm still in the very early stages of learning my body). Take care of the details (must get better at this!!). Have a lower volume week (12 - 14 hrs) every 4th or 5th week. Have fun.

We'll see how it works out over the next few years ...

I'll leave you with this awesome verse that keeps me moving forward with a smile:

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Reprimand and Advice

After explaining to Jonny that I had been doing some running drills (butt kicks, high knees) just before I felt the tendon strain, here's what he had to say (with some advice from Brett Sutton):

nick......grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr dont do anything that hurt the tendon...give them a rest...dont push it...your fitness wont go away....

and drills...are not a good investement in your energy...running is the best drill there is...

here s a little peice of wisdom from one of the greatest coach of the history of this sport.,..

brett sutton
yes we do a lot of running drills .

we first put the shoes on make sure in this drill we dont tie the laces too tight
2nd we make sure we stretch before leaving the house ,this drill is done by pushing the door open and walk down the steps carefully .
3rd drill is we jog easy to the corner , as to help warming up
4th we run , and this is the magic run drill , we do lots of it .
we run past many people in parks doing run drills , we find that , we dont have a lot of time to waste , so we like forrest gump , just run and keep running .
conclusion ,
we dont do drills , we find them counter productive , and injury intense .
we do howevr try when we run for some to keep the heel low on the recovery ,
no arse kicking drills for us
errr except on race day , then we go out and kick every body elses arse , who spent too much time thinking of how a drill is going to give them free speed .
my tip
run forrest run .

July 27 - Aug 2

Hey guys,

Just a quick note to let everyone know how things are going. The past 6 weeks of training have been very good with 4 weeks of build then a recovery week. The recovery week had less than 13 hrs training and left me feeling very fresh and fast. Last week I was back at it with 18 hours of training but unfortunately I ended the week on Sunday with a bit of a running injury which will require me to scale back the run training somewhat this week to recover. It's nothing serious, just a tendon / muscle strain on the backside of the knee. There's not much on the Internet about this one so I don't think it's common.

I'm very excited to have finalized the race plans for the rest of the season:

- Nationals in Tuscaloosa on Aug 22 (Olympic distance)
- Augusta 70.3 in late September
- Beach 2 Battleship 140.6 on Nov. 7th

Good times ahead! I'm also REALLY looking forward to a week in the Outer Banks hanging out with the kids and family and seeing how well I remember how to surf. It's always a scary thing when I go on vacation (especially to the beach) because I come back ready to sell the house, rid myself of the corporate job, and get back to a more relaxed and natural way of living.

Train well and have fun!