Yes. Viagra.
Now that I have your attention...
Last week’s workouts:
Mon: Rest
Tue: Bike 80 minutes (didn’t
swim, didn’t do my run brick)
Wed: Oops – nothing (didn’t
run)
Thu: Swim 3,000 yards (didn’t
bike)
Fri: Travel – nothing (didn’t
run)
Sat: 4,000m open water swim
(didn’t bike and run)
Sun: 46 mile bike (didn’t run)
Total miles = 70.1
The previous weekend’s 18 mile run and 100 mile bike ride hit me like a
ton of bricks this week. I went through
the day on Monday feeling like a zombie.
It wasn’t until I snuck in a 20 minute nap after dinner that night that
I started to feel like myself again. I definitely felt the effect of the entire training schedule weighing me
down. The hangover from the peak week of
training stuck around this week.
In terms of training, most of this week was a bust – I took tapering to an extreme. Despite a number of
missed or shorter than planned workouts, I got some good news and built some important confidence
as I move forward to race day.
I just could not get myself out of bed at 4:45 at all this week. I had good
intentions, but it just wasn’t happening.
Aside from the overall training effect, I was up later than normal
because my daughter was trying out for her high school volleyball team and
started marching band practice this week.
She got home at 10:00 each night, and I couldn’t wait to hear about the
activities of her day. By the time we
were done talking, it was 10:30, and I probably wasn’t asleep until 11:30. None of this bodes well for an early wake-up
call, and I'm fine with that. My family is far more important than any race.
Now on to the good news. On
Wednesday I saw my cardiologist to talk about the two episodes I had where I
bonked during open water swims – one in Muncie during the Ironman 70.3 race,
and another when I swam 2.4 miles in Wisconsin.
The doctor feels confident that these were indeed episodes of swimming
induced pulmonary edema (SIPE). We
talked about what happens, why it happens, and some strategies to prevent
it. In a nutshell, my heart is trying to
move a lot of blood volume through my system, and some of the arteries in my
extremities are constricted. The blood
then has nowhere to go, and some fluid leeches into my lungs from the
capillaries there. This then causes shortness
of breath and induces coughing to get the fluid out. To prevent this from recurring in Louisville,
we talked about the impact of water temperature, not wearing compression gear, not
over-hydrating, etc. The bottom line is
that SIPE is self-limiting – if I can’t exchange enough air, I will flame out -
and clears up within a few hours on its own, as I have seen.
The cardiologist also changed the medication I take to help keep my
heart in normal rhythm (I have had atrial fibrillation in the past). The new medication should help my system to
relax and move blood more efficiently.
One of the medications being considered to assist with my pulmonary
artery pressure was Viagra! Um, no thanks. The last thing I need is a rudder while
swimming!
The end result of the doctor visit was that I have been medically
cleared to continue training and race.
That is a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders – I was concerned that
they would shut me down for Ironman.
With the medical clearance I needed, I decided that I could benefit from open water swim practice in Louisville. I registered for The Ohio River Open Water Swim in Prospect, KY (about 15 minutes up-river from Louisville) to try out my “new” swim routine. This was a terrific event! The race is sponsored by a few local swim teams and is sanctioned by USA Triathlon. The course was very professionally marked, and there were lots of people keeping an eye on the swimmers.
Packed up for a quick business trip to Louisville
The hills of Hoosier National Forest in southern Indiana
Great swim venue in Prospect, KY
The course went 0.6 miles out (upstream) and 0.6 miles back (downstream) - photo credit to Dave
I arrived at the venue Saturday morning to a steady rain, but no
lightning so everything remained on schedule.
After check-in and body marking, we had a safety meeting and then it was
into the water. I must admit that I was
laying in bed Friday night unable to sleep – worried about the thought of swimming
in that gross, dirty river. A river that,
as Adam informed me, has had bull sharks in it that wander up from the
ocean.
Walk the plank and into the river - photo credit to Dave
As I walked down the pier, the totality of this made my heart rate
spike a bit, but, I manned-up and slid into the water. I expected gross water and zero visibility,
but was pleasantly surprised! The water
was like a lake. It was green, not
brown, and I could see slightly past my arm extended out in front of me. The water didn’t have a bad taste to it
either. I would compare this water a lot
to the Prairie Creek Reservoir in Muncie.
The water was a bit cooler than I expected with a temp of 78 degrees
which made me a bit nervous that I was going to have SIPE once again. I checked my pulse out of habit, and was
immediately yelled at by Kelly, my training partner, who was also swimming in
this event. It’s good to know that you
have people looking after you.
Now that I was in the river, I moved out to the starting area to wait
for the signal to start the race. Once
in position, it definitely required effort to stay in that spot against the
current. The force of the water wasn’t
too bad, but it was certainly noticeable.
After a few seconds, the signal to go was given, and we were off. I held my pace back in an effort to ensure
that my breathing was regular and my heart rate stayed in check. This meant watching the field pass me early
in the race. I settled in to a rhythm
within the first 500 meters, although it was a two stroke rhythm, not the
3-stroke rhythm I had hoped to use. I
think the constant effort of sighting makes the 3 stroke pattern unreasonable
for me.
The 0.6 mile trip up stream to the turn around buoy (it was a 2-loop
course for the 2.4 mile swimmers) took me about 30 minutes. Slower than what used to be normal, but I
really didn’t care. When I turned around
and headed back to the start, I could feel the current pushing me along – it
was subtle, but awesome. The trip back
took about 19 minutes and felt like 5 minutes.
A strange sound in the water turned out to be barge traffic
After some confusion about where to turn back out for my second lap, I
made the right turn and there was that current again. I fought my way back out, hit the turnaround,
and cruised into the finish. By the time
I got within 500 meters, I knew my lungs were dry, so I decided to pick up the
pace a bit, working on form and speed. I
popped out of the water and was relieved that it was all systems go - swimming
in the Ohio River river isn’t bad, the current isn’t too tough, and my lungs
were nice and dry.
My time was really slow (1:47) which put me 44th out of 47
men, but I could really care less. I
have to get out of the water in 2:15 in the Ironman race, and I have to do it
with dry lungs. I was swimming against
the current for 1.2 miles in this race, and I’ll only be swimming 0.6 miles
upstream in Ironman. I think a 1:40 is
quite possible, which means my goal of being on the bike by 2:00 just may
happen.
Uh, that was fun?
After the swim,
Kelly, her husband Dave, and I planned to bike a 70-mile segment of the course
and follow that up with a 1-hour transition run. It had been raining in Louisville all night and all morning,
and we learned that these roads had no shoulders. We easily made the call not to ride
and tempt fate with an accident. Instead
I drove a segment of the course and headed back to St. Louis.
The bike course looks challenging with hills and rollers, but is also very beautiful with lots of horse farms
On Sunday, the plan was to run 70 miles and get my 1-hour brick run
in. Sounded great, but it just didn't happen. Amy and I met up with 3 other
Honey Badgers for the TrailNet Ice Cream Ride.
My plan was to bike 42 miles with this group and then go out for the
additional 28 miles on my own followed by the run. Unfortunately, one member of our group (who
was also Amy’s ride home), had an issue at a stop light and fell on her brand new road bike. She is okay, but had to end
her day early. Not wanting Amy to have
to wait another 3 hours for me to finish my workout, I decided to call it a
day at 46 miles (we picked up some extra distance along the way). I thought about going home and heading out
again, but after an hour in the car I would have tightened up, and I was
already mentally checked-out at that point. I spent the rest of the afternoon asleep on the couch.
Always the supportive friends, Soozie and Amy pose for pictures outside the ambulance
Elyse - always the good sport!
So despite my crappy week of training (according to the
schedule), I am reminded that it is better to go into a race under trained than
over trained. All the rest, the positive news from the doc, and the good experience in Louisville puts me in a great mental place as I take on the final two weeks of training.
4th Street Live
I know this race is going to
be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and I know the run is going to be a hot mess. At the end of the day, I just
want to finish. I don’t care how long it
takes - I am not measuring myself against anyone else’s performance. I just want to hear those words…”Paul
Kreidler from St. Louis Missouri – YOU are an IRONMAN” and the torture
of training, the early morning wake-up calls, the gallons of Gatorade Endurance Formula, and the time away from
home - it will all be worth it.
13 days
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