Scrap hubby and I started in january and swam 4-5 times a week while also marathon training. Did 5 tris this summer and doing first half iron next summer at age 52. Was never injured just always wabted to do tris. Totally hooked now,

We are lucky that our tri club sponsors 4 times weekly drill sessions free of charge for members.

I took 10 minutes off my marathon PR on less miles and totally credit the extra fitness from the swimmimg drills etc.

pssst cyclists don't speak min/miles it's MPH

enjoy your new toy!

So, while I have to admit that my knee is feeling pretty good lately, I'm being a good boy and not running on it. (Grrr!)  It's hard to believe I have not lost my sanity by not running, but cross training has helped me.  I also did bike shopping.  We  got Christmas bonuses at work so I decided to splurge on myself.  I asked the family for safety gear & after a couple weeks of research & shopping I bought myself one of these yesterday.....

 

 

It is a Cannondale Quick 4 & one sick piece of engineering!!  I put her on her maiden voyage last night for about 7 speedy miles.  (If anybody remembers my bike speed thread, I averaged around 5min/miles & on this thing the same effort is 4min/miles. (yikes!)  Yes, significantly faster!  Carbon forks, wheels as light as air & just a very comfortable geometry.  It's an awesome bike.  Legs are feeling it a bit this morning but plan to get good at this bike thing regardless of how my running future goes.  I think I'll need this as an avenue going forward cuz my joints aren't going to get younger.

 

If anybody else is considering it, I can't recommend Cannondale's Quick line enough.

Bah......I'm not a cyclist.....I'm a runner!   Ya, it's hard for me to break the habit.  I'm still using my Garmin so I'll have to see what it'll give me for readings.  I'm still recording on the Running log just cuz I'm too lazy to change it right now.

Put 10 miles in today & felt great!!  Found a few bike lanes around the area where I can feel safe on the road and then found a piece of a Bike Route (asphalt w/ dotted yellow line) but I don't think it's very long cuz I found one end of it and I can't imagine it goes the other way very far but I could certainly use it to make a route.

Started w/ a trip to the local version of my bike store. (Had to go to a remote one to get the model/size/color I wanted)  I thought I was having front derailer rubbing but it was a daggum shimano sticker from the chain ring!    So the other 7 miles of today's ride were nice & quiet.

pssst cyclists don't speak min/miles it's MPH

 

enjoy your new toy!

 

OK, now I have piriformis issues!   I could definitely tell it was different than the herniated disc for sure, but man, sciatica sucks.   I think I strained it when doing my PT (lateral lunges with a band), which is just my luck.   

Oh no!!!!!! It definitely sucks! I'm going to my second PT appointment today and I'm going to try a short run this week. I'm taking exactly 2 weeks off from training to rest it. It is slowly getting better, but still have twinges if I sit or lay down a certain way. WTF?? I've always had a tight left butt cheek and the massage just killed it. Literally. I'm trying to find humor in this. I have some serious biomechanic stuff that I hope to get worked out with PT. My left side has always dominated due to the leg length discrepancy even though I wear a small lift in my running shoes. I really should start wearing the lift with my everyday shoes too, but its kind-of hard with dress shoes. 

I hope it gets better!!!

I'm starting to think this thread is contagious.

lol!  Oh wait, that's not funny.

HIlary - I took a full dose of robaxin at 4am when it started, so I could get back to sleep and that helped a lot.  I could tell it was a wicked muscle spasm, so I'm hopeful that when the piriformis calms down, I'll be ok.   :fingers crossed:

Time for me to check in again, and wow, lots of stuff here.

 

Hillary:  Pirformis issues are really troublesome, LRB fought them for a long time, LTH is dealing with it right now, and I had it for over a year until I tore my hamstring.  The Pigeon pose stretch seems to be one of the best exercises, but keep in mind that injuries are often a sign of muscle imbalance.  In my case it is clear that I have very weak glutes, which put too much stress on the hammy and piriformis.  Once I get clearance to stretch, I see lots of squats and leg curls to strengthen the glute.  Might I recommend considering that route for you.

 

DR - your surgery will be fine, I bet the time off from running in March will give your body a nice rest after all the pounding its taking.

 

Mandy - gratz on the 12, take it slow and enjoy the time out on the trails with your furry friend.  Maybe ultras will be back in your future!

 

As for me, Santa brought me a present - no hip brace and I tossed the crutches.  Dec 26 was 6 weeks post surgery so I cut it short one day.  Boy is it nice to move around without crutches, before it took like 20 min just to make lunch, now its like 5 min.  Still lots of numbness in the surgery site, and I cannot put full weight bearing on my affected leg.  No PT yet, limited to anti-gravity leg curls.  Protocol has light jogging at 20 weeks post surgery (that's 5 months...ugh), so I remain on the bench till April 15 (or so they say).  Actually I feel pretty good, like I could run right now but of course I will not.

 

Short story, my hip brace retails for $258 plus shipping.  Insurance paid them $275 plus $200 for the fitting.  They billed me $800 for the difference, the initial claim was for $1,300.  Total time I spent in the fitting office getting the brace was 10 min.

Wow! That is some recovery. You can do it though. When I herniated the disc in my back, I thought I would never run again. I definitely have an imbalance and will be working with PT to get a good stretching and strengthening program. Dh who doesn't run has been nagging me about cross-training for the longest time. I am entering the last semester of grad school and spend a lot of time sitting while studying. This could have definitely contributed to my piriformis problem. I am also a nurse and spend many many hours on my feet when I work two 12 hour days a week. So very thankful, when I finish school my job will be less physical. Think about turning patients over 300-400 lbs. in bed several times a day. My body cannot take that physical stress. I leave feeling like I've been run over by a truck most days and some days I often go home to run! 

I'm happy to hear you are on the mend. Being injured isn't so bad, its just a reminder to appreciate any and all runs we do get to have. My perspective has changed greatly over the years. Its not all about getting a PR. I want to be the 80 year old who is able to jog a few miles every few days in my elder years.

Oski- I'm glad the muscle relaxer helped. I have a whole bottle of them and will be saving them for when I need them most.

OK, now I have piriformis issues!   I could definitely tell it was different than the herniated disc for sure, but man, sciatica sucks.   I think I strained it when doing my PT (lateral lunges with a band), which is just my luck.   

I have suffered from that and the only thing that helped me was a great chiro and his adjustments.