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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Busy Summer: Injury and Fatherhood

There won't be a part II.  It's been too long and I really don't want to relive that day again.  Psychologists would say the more you talk about a thing, the less that thing holds power over you.  Yea, I can live with that for now.

My first race of the season was also my last race.  About a week prior to my first race, the Summer Open Triathlon in mid-May, I started having right knee issues.  I figured I could fix it on my own but it just never got better.  I saw Matt at Altitude for a ton of sessions and got to the point where I was able to run again pain free but it didn't last.  I've now not run since early August and now the pain manifests itself randomly after bike rides.

I've officially hung up the tri and road bikes opting for some quality mountain biking.  It was clear from the first few rides that being fearless on a road bike is easy but being fearless on a mountain bike requires cojones I don't know that I will ever possess.  That said, my bike handling skills are improving and I have been able to navigate some rough terrain with increasing ease.  I suspect this will change when I have my first wipeout, but so far, my clothes have remained clean.

This past Saturday I did an epic, 2.5 hour trail ride covering some 30 miles.  I don't have the climbing data, but I'm sure it was in the multiple thousands of feet.  That afternoon, I could barely walk because of my knee.  Sunday was a bit rough as well and I would have to randomly do some stretches to get it to stop hurting.

Recalling something Uli mentioned at Master's swim about how, possibly, bike position might aggravate the injury I made an appointment to see Mark Plaatjes to get a different take on the injury and fixing it.

Fatherhood has been fantastic.  It's really cool to see the development of a child - to see when they first start learning even the most basic of things, like smiling.  It's also a lot of work because they require nearly constant attention when awake which can be very mentally draining.  Elin is sitting up now and rolls around quite a bit.  She's starting to figure out how to pull her knees up under her and I suspect she will be crawling within a few months.