For those of you that read my Jessica vs.Triathlon post a few months ago, you may have heard that the Triathlon won.
Meaning I wasn’t able to complete it due to an injury I endured the week before
the race. Insert sad face here. While I still plan on completing one either
this summer or fall after I have fully recovered, I have been reminded by many
friends and family members that the journey I’ve been on the past four months
is just as important and might even surpass the experience of the race itself.
Upon much reflection, and trust me I’ve had plenty of time on my hands to
reflect, and finally coming out of the fog of pain medication I thought it
might help me heal to share that journey.
If you recall, this was a pretty big challenge
for me as I was a complete novice when it came to swimming and cycling. Yes, I
could “swim” and “ride a bike” but those are both VERY different than competing
in the actual sport of swimming (in open water I might add) and truly cycling
on a road bike. My first time in the pool was quite comical and my coaches and
I all wondered if I could get there. And the first time I took out my bike I
was such a dope that I didn’t even realize that my gears weren’t working! I
told you, NOVICE. So, it didn’t take long for me to realize that this was going
to take a lot of discipline, focus, time, and flat our WORK to get to where I
needed to be by race day. And if you know me at all, when I am in – I am IN.
So, I grabbed the bull by the horns and hit my training plan hard.
Swimming
This was my biggest challenge by far but you
just have to get your butt to the pool and work. My training group
unfortunately had their group swims during the week on a night that I could
never attend due to another commitment (should out Major League Bocce Dallas!)
so I was really hurting for some help. I spent one short session in the pool
with one of my coaches who gave me some fantastic tips to start with including
how to breath (pretty important one!) and later in my training got some great
advice from a friend with a background in swimming and diving (Holla Wendy O’Connell)
but I swear to you I learned everything else from Olympian Swimmer Ryan Lochte’s
new reality show “What Would Ryan Lochte Do?”. Oh how I wish there was a “sarcastic”
font. KIDDING. I learned everything else from Your Tube. Seriously, You Tube is
the greatest thing on earth. You want to know how to do ANYTHING you can “You
Tube It”. And that includes swimming! I watched countless videos, read
articles, bought buoys and hand paddles for drills and each week I could feel
things start to really “click”. When my coaches saw me in the pool again a
month or so after that first day they were in shock! My improvement continued
through our transition into open water swimming but then there was a whole
other new series of things to learn like a) how to put on and pull off a
wetsuit by yourself (and living with how super sexy you look in said wetsuit)
b) how to control your breathing in cold water and while getting hit in the
face with waves c) how to use more arm power than legs as you want to save your
legs for the other two events d) how to “sight” or “spot” as unlike swimming in
a pool you have to look up while swimming in open water to know where you are
going and many more things like getting used to being in a gross lake with your
face staring down at nasty green water! Good news was it took one training swim
on an evening in bad, windy weather and super choppy water for me to conquer it
all and feel completely comfortable swimming in open water. Yay!
Cycling
Although new to this sport it wasn’t as hard to
adjust to as swimming but there was still a lot to learn. I now know why
cyclists wear special tops or sometimes have bandanas over their mouths. BUGS!
Another lesson learned the hard way, but depending on the trail or time of day
or even type of day you may sail into a swarm of bugs at 20 miles per hour and
it is disgusting. Lance Armstrong duped us all in more way than one as it takes
more skill and practice than you think balance grabbing your water bottle and
taking a drink while maintaining your speed and direction on your bike using
just one arm. There were a few times I thought I might bite it or miss my
bottle holder completely when putting my water bottle back! Windy days suck.
Hills suck. I mean hills REALLY suck. Puddles suck. And cars suck. I now have
an entirely new appreciation and understanding of cyclists. For cars my advice
is, just drive! Just drive like normal and we will work around you. It makes it
worse when you are scared to pass us or wait too long at the stop sign or
whatever. We know we make you nervous but you make us more nervous so just be
cool. It is way easier for you to stop then us to stop as our feet are strapped
into our pedals! And I’ve already given you my rant about the bike shorts but
just wait until you’ve ridden in wet tri/bike shorts – no fun! I never got to
where I loved going for a ride but it
was a nice alternative to doing something active outside instead of running.
Running
As you know, I’m already a runner so this was
easy-peasy for me. And I learned that for all athletes that attempt their first
Triathlon it is typically easiest for a runner because that is the sport that
the majority of people struggle with the most. Great news for me! The run is
the last part of the race and comes directly after the bike so the hardest part
is the transition your legs have to make as the first mile they feel like lead!
Tip: if you put your bike into a “spin” meaning you are barely using any force
from your legs but literally are just spinning your wheels about a half mile to
mile out from your transition area your legs will adjust much faster. The
biggest thing to remember here is to take off your bike helmet before you take
of running. Trust me, people do it.
Transitions
I had no idea how all this worked before I
started my training. I hadn’t even watched a triathlon on television. I just
knew it involved three sports but had no clue how you transitioned to each
during a race. First of all most triathletes wear what you call a “Tri Suit”.
The shorts are spandex and have padding like true bike shorts but less of it
and made of material that absorbs water (remember – you will be swimming in
these bad boys). The top is also spandex and very, very tight and is typically
sleeveless and is also super dry fit to absorb water/moisture. Some people wear
the one pieces but I preferred the top/bottom option (again, nothing about a
Triathlon is attractive so you just learn to go with it). At all Tri’s there is
a place called a “transition area” where you put all your crap before the race.
You don’t have much room and you start in the water so you are already wearing
your tri suit, wet suit, cap and goggles so you have to have your bike, helmet,
sunglasses, bike shoes, socks, running shoes, sunglasses, towel, nutrition and
whatever else you think you need all ready to go and easily accessible so you
won’t take forever during a transition or get in anyone else’s way. This is
very important as when you come flying in after an event and are trying to get
moving to the next one it is a cluster and if your stuff isn’t organized it can
really hold you up or stress you out. One Saturday training we did two “mini”
Tri’s so we could get the feel of jumping from one event to the next. It was
madness but gave me a great idea of what race day would be like and how insane
it is to literally jump out of the water, onto the bike and then take off
running. It’s insane really but I loved it. Even though it was practice it was
hard for me to not “race” and my coaches placed bets on me on if I would catch
the boys in the run – they got to know me pretty well. And if you are
wondering, yes, I did catch them and beat them J.
Team In Training
I am beyond thankful that I decided to train
with Team In Training for this event. My coaches (Paul, Tim & Jen) were all incredibly inspiring
people and they were so patient and encouraging and motivating to all of us. I
can’t imagine having taken this all on without them. And if you think I’m crazy
with all my physical challenges, etc. you have no idea what crazy is! These
people do Triathlons and Marathons and Iron Mans and any other race you can
think of practically every month AND they still make time to be there for us twice
a week, plan our trainings, answer our questions, etc. They are truly
inspirational! My team was also amazing. We had men and women ranging from 25
to 70, Singles, Moms, Dads, Grandparents, one Married couple. Some newbies to
Tri’s and some veterans. We had a blast and were truly a support system for
each other. I was most disappointed to not get to compete with them on race day
and share that moment with them after sharing so much blood and sweat (no tears
at least) with them over the past few months. Some of us are talking about
doing a Triathlon together in July so I’m hoping that works out.
The Accident
To give you some background, the weeks before a
Marathon or a more running-heavy race you do what we call “taper”. You slow
down the training – you run less days, shorter distances, etc. Your body is
ready so you really just need to stretch your legs and rest. For a Triathlon,
you do a similar process but not as extreme of a back off so you still have
several workouts the week before the race but again they may be a little
shorter or less intense as during prime training time. I say this because some
wonder why I was out riding my bike 5 days before my race and the answer is
because I was supposed to be! It was my last training ride – a 30 minute “light
spin”. And in all fairness, I did complete that workout but with a bumb arm,
jacked up bike and several bloody limbs J.
I was riding over a bridge on a trail at White
Rock Lake near my house so I was already going downhill, was directly behind
another bike, and approaching a sharp turn that forked into a road that
pedestrians, cyclists and cars all used. So, there was a lot going on and I was
riding defensively as I should. I admit that it wasn’t my typical route as I
was taking a short cut since my ride didn’t have to be as long and I mis-judged
the turn. While I took it too sharply, it would have been fine had the grass
and trail been flush but instead there was a huge gap/hole between the two and
my front tire went directly into said hole and there was no turning back at
that point. I saw it right before I hit it and knew what was coming. The rest
is a bit of a blur but I ended up landing on my left side, not sure what hit
first, and skidding across the pavement, banging my head against the ground
(Thank God I finally learned how to wear that helmet!). My left knee, right
thumb and left shoulder were all skinned and bleeding and my left elbow and arm
were pounding. I got up pretty quickly and a few people nearby asked if I was
okay (shout out to the homeless man taking a nap on the grass by the water) and
I brushed them off being in a state of shock, pain and embarrassment. I tried
to get back on my bike but the chain was loose so I fixed that, added greasy
hands to my list of troubles, and took off. I considered turning around to go
back towards my car but still being in race-preparing-mode I didn’t want my
last memory of being on a bike on race day to be me crashing so I wanted to
settle in again and get comfortable. So – off the bloody, greasy, crying mess
of me went. I realize this sounds crazy to the “normal” person but when you are
an athlete at heart your nature is to push yourself when it hurts and sometimes
it takes a while to realize your body limits. My arm continued to throb, swell
and become difficult to bear weight, move, etc. so I knew something was up. Being
stubborn and sure I just “stung” it on my fall I popped some Motrin and still
drove to book club that night, despite the protests of my passenger, (what’s up
Renee Harris) and sat quietly with an ice pack. My friends knew something was
wrong as at this point I couldn’t even straighten or bend my arm it was so swollen
and it HURT. The rest of the evening was a painful nightmare and I was
terrified of what I might learn the next day at the doctor. Here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure.
 |
| Full Body Shot - Right After I Got Home |
 |
| Ouch - Nice Chain Grease |
 |
| Starting to Swell... |
 |
These Cuts Were Actually Really Deep
Not Sure How My Right Hand Got In This Mess |
The next day consisted of a visit to PrimaCare,
Xrays, prescriptions for antibiotic cream and pain killers. They sent me to an
Imaging center for an MRI later in the day. The following day was an
appointment with my Orthopedic doctor (yes, I have two actually already from
previous injuries) and the results of my MRI. While all had laughed in my face
when I asked about the possibility of racing that Sunday, the final diagnosis
of a fractured radial head (part of your inner elbow) in addition to road burn,
bruised/cracked ribs, severely contusions and sprains in my elbow, arm and wrist
it was clear that I would not be competing or finishing my first Triathlon.
Instead I would be visiting the Physical Therapist for the next 4 weeks and
doping myself on pain meds and anti-inflammatories until further notice. Good
news was no surgery and apparently this is the best elbow injury you can have
as it heals quickly and you typically re-gain full mobility.
 |
Two Days Post-Accident
Wicked Road Burn and Hella Swollen |
 |
| Moment of Truth - No Triathlon For Me |
However, this was heartbreaking. If you have
ever done anything like this, it takes over your life. Your entire world
changes to evolving around when you can fit workouts in, what equipment you
need, watching you tube videos and reading articles, paying attention to what
you eat, sacrificing work or social time to train, rest or prepare, etc. Not to
mention that it is just physically exhausting. My point is I had worked VERY
hard for 4 months and sacrificed a lot, body-mind-soul, to accomplish this goal
and now I wouldn’t even get the chance to try.
And for the record, I do mumble a curse word or two every time I drive by the stupid scene of the "crime". It will be interesting the first time I ride past it!
Recovery
Thankfully, I have the most supportive friends, family and colleagues in the world so there was no lack of love coming my way. And let’s
be honest, it could have been MUCH worse so I was thankful to be relatively
healthy with a short recovery time! So, after I threw myself a drugged up pity
party in my super sexy sling and bandages for a week or so I launched into
physical therapy twice a week, progressively started using my arm more,
upgraded to a compression sleeve and then an elbow support brace, and weaned off
the pain meds. Once the swelling went down, I had the most trouble with
rotating my arm so things like round-brush blow drying my hair, unscrewing a
bottle cap or twisting a door knob hurt like hell! While my therapist did give
me the okay to try running after two and a half weeks, she did warn me that I
would “pay to play”. Meaning I wouldn’t hurt my elbow, arm, wrist or ribs any
MORE by running but it might not feel so good and was it really worth it? The answer
was, No. It was not really worth it. Haha. I tried running one day and my ribs
and arm were throbbing so badly with just a few strides in I had the mental
discussion with myself reminding me that I was not an Olympian who needed to
push through this run and was an average Joe who probably needed a few more
weeks of rest. Dammit.
Today, I am happy to report that just one month
after my injury I am almost good as new, minus a few scars from my road burn
that are still healing nicely J I still
have a little bit of stiffness and limited mobility in my elbow but the
majority of the issues are with my arm and wrist. Apparently, fractures, or the
type and location of mine, heal pretty quickly but it is the sprains and such
that are more of the problem. I’m not quite back to 100% in terms of weight
bearing (can’t use just my left arm to bear my weight to get up off the floor,
lean on a bike, etc.) BUT I have officially started to run and swim again and
it feels great!
One of my goals this year was to complete a
Triathlon and although I didn’t get to do the first one I signed up and trained
for I still have it on my list for 2013 J. Call
me crazy! And for those of you who
donated to Team In Training/LLS on my behalf to reach my fundraising goal you
will be happy to know that the majority of what I raised can go towards my goal
if I decide to sign up to train with TNT again in the fall. Thank you again for
your support both financially and emotionally and I will let you know when I
reach this goal!
