S: 15,200 yds - 3h 50min
B: 117.31 mi - 7h 2min
R: 41.06 mi - 5h 15min
Total: 16h 7min
Another week, another solid set of deposits into the bank. All 3 are going good, especially running. It really is amazing what the human body can adapt to on the fly and what you can handle as a base training load. It is also worth noting that necessary to adaptation is getting enough sleep to allow ample recovery time. So, due to LIFE getting in the way, I'm a bit more tired than I should be after this week; but that's ok, I wouldn't have it any other way!
1.22.2012
1.18.2012
Why?
It’s the question that I have been asked a zillion times. Why do you train so much? Why do you wake up early so often? Are you crazy? Is that really fun? Why do you put yourself through that? Honestly, I’ve always had an answer to these questions, but after thinking about it some over the winter I realized that there are more reasons than I originally thought!
Why do you play the game? At least for me, the primary reason is competition, or to win. Whether it was playing church league basketball or little league baseball growing up, flag football or rowing in college, or road races and triathlons post college, the goal for me is and always has been to win. That is what I want to do. It is fun. Another thought is this: as much as it sucks to lose, if I know (emphasis on "know") I pushed myself to the limit and still lost, then I’m OK with that. Some people aren't. That doesn’t mean that I am happy by any means, but at some point you have to get over it and move on to the next task, using anything you can as a source of motivation. Over the years, I have came to realize that competition is necessary for me to do what I do and train how I train, but it is not sufficient. In other words, if you took the competition out of triathlon or any other endurance sport, it would have no interest to me. But having the competition is not enough in itself; if it quits being fun, then I would lose interest as well.
You may not think so, but the daily grind of training really is fun. It's really a lifestyle, not just a chore-list of workouts you have to do each day. I mean, no one likes chores, right? Now, this may be hard to understand, but it really is true. Why else would we do it? Why do 30 people show up on MWF at 5:10 am to swim with the Birmingham Swim League master's group? It's not because we have to...it's because we want to. It really is hard to describe the exhilarating feeling that you get on a bicycle while bombing down a hill going 50 mph. Or spontaneously slamming the pedals and taking off up that same hill and having an ad hoc race against your best friend. While you are bitter enemies during those few minutes, you get to the top and laugh between gasping breaths about how much fun it was. Or that rush you get in a race when, for a short period of time, you are running as hard as you can and there is no pain. Or the sense of accomplishment you get after completing an epic training ride or run or race or season. There is just something to be said about logging hours; just you and the open road, giving you time to think, ponder, listen to good music, sweat, and just get work done. It makes you feel alive.
Nothing really compares to the scenery that you encounter over the years on your bike or in your runners...like biking up a challenging mountain and then treating yourself to the amazing view at the top, or running some dirt road in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees, birds, and the occasional squirrel or deer. Or climbing up Smyer Road and riding across the bluff of Shades Mountain RIGHT at sunset…anyone that has lived in Birmingham for awhile knows how awesome this is! Romans 1:20 says, “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” For me, it’s clear to look at all that I see and come to the conclusion that He made it all, that no one else could have done it except for Him. It’s almost like my own little worship session; being in awe of creation.
For obvious reasons, doing exercise is good for you…as opposed to sitting on the couch and eating potato chips all day. Now, we won’t get into the fact that you might twist your ankle while running, hurt your shoulder swimming, or wreck your bike…but those are inherent risks that are assumed and that are all around us anyways. Also, the social side of endurance sports is there just like anything else…you get to meet people, hang out, fellowship, do life…it’s like what anyone else does with their friends…it’s fun.
Now the old saying goes, “limits are made to be broken.” What is less boring: to be challenged and put out of your comfort zone, or to easily repeat the same task over and over again? This question could have many different mediums, whether it be school, work, sport, or life in general. Why do people challenge themselves? Why do people set New Year’s resolutions every year? Is it to challenge themselves to be a better person? Is it because testing and challenging one’s self is ingrained in the human nature? Do YOU know what you are capable of? Do you want to know? I still don't know what I'm capable of in the future, but I do know that what I'm capable of now dwarfs what I thought I was capable of 4 years ago. The only way to find out is to go for it. In triathlon, the athlete is very familiar with the words “test” and “challenge”. To race at the highest level, not only is the day to day routine challenging, but putting together an entire season is even more demanding. If it’s so demanding, then why do it? As with any trade-off analysis, the reason why anything is done is because the pros outweigh the cons, the good outweighs the bad. It’s hard to describe the feeling you get after winning a race. It’s also hard to describe the feeling you get after just barely finishing a race that you thought there was NO WAY you were going to be able to finish, but somehow, miraculously, you went blatantly beyond any “limit” that you thought you had. It’s a sense of accomplishment and a sense of knowing what you can actually do, because you actually did it.
So, in the end, it’s a number of reasons that lead me to do what I do, and I'm sure I left some out. These reasons are all related or intertwined in some way, and they each have their place. If it doesn’t make sense, then don’t worry about it.
So, in the end, it’s a number of reasons that lead me to do what I do, and I'm sure I left some out. These reasons are all related or intertwined in some way, and they each have their place. If it doesn’t make sense, then don’t worry about it.
1.16.2012
0 12
2012 brings a new year and a new approach to my triathlon adventure Pops always said, "you play how you practice", and it's no mystery on what it is that I need to do; become a fish, become a Kenyan, and keep on bikin'. 3 weeks in and some holidays and pretty good weather opened the door for some big hours compared to what I'm used to. I've never really touched much more than 30-35 miles/week running (or 17 hr weeks for that matter), and I've been a bit surprised at how I've handled it because I was definitely a little doubtful at first. I think the key here is using frequency to get in big hours without letting any one particular workout trash you for the next day or two, with the exception of yesterday's Birmingham Bike League 4 hour death march...I couldn't move for the next 4 hours! In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best thing to do because it pretty much trashed the rest of the day, but it was totally worth it! For me, having fun is and always will be a corequisite of racing. Sometimes it's worth pushing back that run until sunset!
Dec 26 - Jan 1
S: 10,800 yds - 2h 46min
B: 154.95 mi - 10h 1min
R: 33.52 mi - 4h 29 min
Total: 17h 16min
Jan 2 - Jan 8
S: 14,050 yds - 3h 23min
B: 152.22 mi - 9h 11min
R: 38.15 mi - 5h 0min
Total: 17h 34min
Jan 9 - Jan 15
S: 14,650 yds - 3h 41min
B: 152.22 mi - 8h 32min
R: 40.25 mi - 5h 10min
Total: 17h 24min
Dec 26 - Jan 1
S: 10,800 yds - 2h 46min
B: 154.95 mi - 10h 1min
R: 33.52 mi - 4h 29 min
Total: 17h 16min
Jan 2 - Jan 8
S: 14,050 yds - 3h 23min
B: 152.22 mi - 9h 11min
R: 38.15 mi - 5h 0min
Total: 17h 34min
Jan 9 - Jan 15
S: 14,650 yds - 3h 41min
B: 152.22 mi - 8h 32min
R: 40.25 mi - 5h 10min
Total: 17h 24min
9.12.2011
Best of the U.S. Amateur Championship Race Report
This really is a good way to analyze learn from a race...re-hash it play by play...
Beach! I kind of decided to replace Age Group Nationals with Best of the U.S. after winning Buster this year because 1. I don't feel like traveling to Vermont and 2. beach trip, duh!! So with this reasoning in mind, I've been getting ready to race at the Best of the U.S. Amateur Triathlete Competition since around mid June. This race is farmed out each year to an existing race around the country, and this year it just so happened to be held at Team Magic's Alabama Coastal Triathlon in Gulf Shores, AL, which I have never raced before but have heard excellent things about. Race participants for BOUS were low this year (short course and 70.3 Worlds on the same weekend); there were only 15 males that were entered in to the race. Here's how it unfolded...
Pre-race
"get going"
Arise at 4:30am and...COFFEE! Seriously though, it's a legal performance enhancing drug. Starbucks Costa Rica grind, yes please. After a cup of the good stuff, a banana, and a bagel w/peanut butter and honey, I'm good to go. I conveniently stayed at a condo 0.5 miles away from the race site, so fellow BOUS competitor Colin Riley and I pumped up the tires and headed over to the race at around 5:45am. After racking my bike and organizing the transition area, I headed out for a warm-up run. Goals for the run include 1. get the legs moving 2. get the HR up a little bit 3. open up the hips/get loose and 4. get the feeling of leg speed. So, I ran a couple minutes easy, did some butt kicks/high knees/etc to get loose, jogged some more, then did a couple of 10s strides to get the HR up a little and then a little cool down...all in all around 10 minutes and I was feeling goooood.
Swim: 22:39
"time to become a fish this winter"
It is what it is. The 15 of us lined up about 50 feet from the ocean's edge, and at "go" we were off. The fishes quickly separated themselves from everyone after the first 150m or so. For the rest of the swim I was all alone, although I could see 2 guys up ahead of me by maybe 10 seconds or so. From there I just tried to focus on going hard, knowing that I'd need every second I could get. The only eventful thing that happened was a jellyfish sting with about 100m to go..what tha!!! I took a stroke with my right arm and STING! It didn't hurt to bad, more annoying than anything. I could see 2 guys running up the beach as I exited the water. I came out in 12th out of 15.
Bike: 58:06
"it's all about the watts"
Plan for the bike: 1. CONSTANT wattage 2. be aggressive but SMART 3. reap rewards and go fast
Well, I admittedly did not follow Coach K's plan. I've raced most Oly distance races this year around 260 watts...although most of these races were 90+ degrees and on tired legs. With temperatures in the low 70's and a full taper leading up to the race, I knew I wanted to/needed to be a little more aggressive on the bike. Of course you always have to balance the run, but you never want to leave anything on the table. K and I decided to try and nail it at 270-275 watts as a "rough" estimate of what to shoot for. That should usually give me right under 60 min. Off on the bike and I tried to settle in quick. After 10 minutes I was around 282 watts. It felt great. Definitely a good buffer under threshold. I seemed to be wanting to naturally settle in at around 280, so that is what I did. I normally don't concern myself with HR too much, but I usually have it on just because it is interesting to look at after the fact, but it can also be helpful sometimes...like, if I'm feeling "good" but my HR is in the 180's then maybe I really am cooking myself. But I quickly glanced at it and was steady around 170 bpm. Usually, something around 180 bpm +/- a little is when I seem to tip over to anaerobic. So...the rest of the bike was clockwork. Nail a wattage, let the winds take you where they will, and see what happens. I was 12th out of the water and passed 6 guys on the bike, so I came into T2 sitting 6th and feeling gooood.
Run: 39:19
"finally"
So this was kind of big...I've never actually run a 10k under 40 minutes. Of course I haven't run an open 10k in quite some time either, but this year I have usually ended up around 41-42' in the Olympic distance. Coming out of T2, all I was focused on was keeping my leg turnover high. Do that, and the speed will come. The first mile was kind of painful. I was trying to get in a rhythm, but it just wasn't working out to well. 6:39. Then it clicked. Miles 2-4 were 6:23 - 6:23 - 6:24. Fellow Alabamian Travis Grappo passed me slightly before mile 4. I eventually bridged up to him and tried to turn it up the last 2 miles. We ran stride for stride for the next ~2 miles, 6:18 and 6:11. With a little less than 0.5 miles to go, Grappo bolted. There was not a chance that I could go with him. I picked it up to 5:45ish pace but that was about all I had. All in all, it was a good effort.
Total: 2:02:13
9th out of 15
As much as it hurt, I had fun ALL DAY! Racing head to head with a mass start is just where it's at. TT starts leave something to be desired, like, "I really wanna know if I'm beating this guy right now or winning this race or barely losing this race." I was able to meet a couple of the guys too, and everyone was really cool, and of course, fast. Overall, it was a perfect way to end the season. Nothing left on the table. And most importantly, I know what I need to do to really start competing next year. All in all, this season has been full of highs and lows, good races and some mediocre races, and I've learned a lot. I've kind of decided that if I don't want to quit the sport at least 3 times during the summer, then I'm not training hard enough. Sometimes people ask me why I do it...the obvious answer is that I genuinely love the sports, but sometimes I even pose the question to myself of why I do the daily grind. It's days like today that answer the question; it's not just about going out and doing a race, but actually RACING it. Whether that makes sense or not doesn't really matter, because it makes perfect sense to me.
Beach! I kind of decided to replace Age Group Nationals with Best of the U.S. after winning Buster this year because 1. I don't feel like traveling to Vermont and 2. beach trip, duh!! So with this reasoning in mind, I've been getting ready to race at the Best of the U.S. Amateur Triathlete Competition since around mid June. This race is farmed out each year to an existing race around the country, and this year it just so happened to be held at Team Magic's Alabama Coastal Triathlon in Gulf Shores, AL, which I have never raced before but have heard excellent things about. Race participants for BOUS were low this year (short course and 70.3 Worlds on the same weekend); there were only 15 males that were entered in to the race. Here's how it unfolded...
Pre-race
"get going"
Arise at 4:30am and...COFFEE! Seriously though, it's a legal performance enhancing drug. Starbucks Costa Rica grind, yes please. After a cup of the good stuff, a banana, and a bagel w/peanut butter and honey, I'm good to go. I conveniently stayed at a condo 0.5 miles away from the race site, so fellow BOUS competitor Colin Riley and I pumped up the tires and headed over to the race at around 5:45am. After racking my bike and organizing the transition area, I headed out for a warm-up run. Goals for the run include 1. get the legs moving 2. get the HR up a little bit 3. open up the hips/get loose and 4. get the feeling of leg speed. So, I ran a couple minutes easy, did some butt kicks/high knees/etc to get loose, jogged some more, then did a couple of 10s strides to get the HR up a little and then a little cool down...all in all around 10 minutes and I was feeling goooood.
Swim: 22:39
"time to become a fish this winter"
It is what it is. The 15 of us lined up about 50 feet from the ocean's edge, and at "go" we were off. The fishes quickly separated themselves from everyone after the first 150m or so. For the rest of the swim I was all alone, although I could see 2 guys up ahead of me by maybe 10 seconds or so. From there I just tried to focus on going hard, knowing that I'd need every second I could get. The only eventful thing that happened was a jellyfish sting with about 100m to go..what tha!!! I took a stroke with my right arm and STING! It didn't hurt to bad, more annoying than anything. I could see 2 guys running up the beach as I exited the water. I came out in 12th out of 15.
Bike: 58:06
"it's all about the watts"
Plan for the bike: 1. CONSTANT wattage 2. be aggressive but SMART 3. reap rewards and go fast
Well, I admittedly did not follow Coach K's plan. I've raced most Oly distance races this year around 260 watts...although most of these races were 90+ degrees and on tired legs. With temperatures in the low 70's and a full taper leading up to the race, I knew I wanted to/needed to be a little more aggressive on the bike. Of course you always have to balance the run, but you never want to leave anything on the table. K and I decided to try and nail it at 270-275 watts as a "rough" estimate of what to shoot for. That should usually give me right under 60 min. Off on the bike and I tried to settle in quick. After 10 minutes I was around 282 watts. It felt great. Definitely a good buffer under threshold. I seemed to be wanting to naturally settle in at around 280, so that is what I did. I normally don't concern myself with HR too much, but I usually have it on just because it is interesting to look at after the fact, but it can also be helpful sometimes...like, if I'm feeling "good" but my HR is in the 180's then maybe I really am cooking myself. But I quickly glanced at it and was steady around 170 bpm. Usually, something around 180 bpm +/- a little is when I seem to tip over to anaerobic. So...the rest of the bike was clockwork. Nail a wattage, let the winds take you where they will, and see what happens. I was 12th out of the water and passed 6 guys on the bike, so I came into T2 sitting 6th and feeling gooood.
Run: 39:19
"finally"
So this was kind of big...I've never actually run a 10k under 40 minutes. Of course I haven't run an open 10k in quite some time either, but this year I have usually ended up around 41-42' in the Olympic distance. Coming out of T2, all I was focused on was keeping my leg turnover high. Do that, and the speed will come. The first mile was kind of painful. I was trying to get in a rhythm, but it just wasn't working out to well. 6:39. Then it clicked. Miles 2-4 were 6:23 - 6:23 - 6:24. Fellow Alabamian Travis Grappo passed me slightly before mile 4. I eventually bridged up to him and tried to turn it up the last 2 miles. We ran stride for stride for the next ~2 miles, 6:18 and 6:11. With a little less than 0.5 miles to go, Grappo bolted. There was not a chance that I could go with him. I picked it up to 5:45ish pace but that was about all I had. All in all, it was a good effort.
Total: 2:02:13
9th out of 15
As much as it hurt, I had fun ALL DAY! Racing head to head with a mass start is just where it's at. TT starts leave something to be desired, like, "I really wanna know if I'm beating this guy right now or winning this race or barely losing this race." I was able to meet a couple of the guys too, and everyone was really cool, and of course, fast. Overall, it was a perfect way to end the season. Nothing left on the table. And most importantly, I know what I need to do to really start competing next year. All in all, this season has been full of highs and lows, good races and some mediocre races, and I've learned a lot. I've kind of decided that if I don't want to quit the sport at least 3 times during the summer, then I'm not training hard enough. Sometimes people ask me why I do it...the obvious answer is that I genuinely love the sports, but sometimes I even pose the question to myself of why I do the daily grind. It's days like today that answer the question; it's not just about going out and doing a race, but actually RACING it. Whether that makes sense or not doesn't really matter, because it makes perfect sense to me.
4.05.2009
BACK
Well, I'm offically back from my super-annoying shoulder injury. Last week consisted of a 5K time trial to establish some heart rate zones for this season, my first bike ride back on the road since late December, and my first stroke taken in a pool since sometime in November. Let me just say...it's good to be back!
With hopes of a dominant triathlon season this year, I was determined to make the best of my bum shoulder. I don't know if I will ever ride my trainer again, but I was able to log about 50-55 hours of base riding split between the trainer and stationary bike since my surgery. On the running side, I was able to get in about 12-13 hours up until now...I wasn't allowed to run until mid-February, and not long after that I started having foot problems...but it's all good now. As of now, I'm officially cleared by my surgeon to do anything I want, so hopefully my injuries will be done plaguing me.
My 5K TT on the track this past Tuesday went pretty good. I had done absolutely no speed work (and nothing above a 140 HR for that matter) in all of 2009, so I wasn't expecting too much. My goal was a 22:30, and I managed to run a 21:52, which I was happy with. On Thursday, I got on the Lemond for the first time since December and it was awesome! I met up with Paul at the SNG building and we climbed Smyer, rolled down Shades Crest Rd, descended Columbiana Rd (in which I raced a truck and hit 48 mph), climbed back up Columbiana and Berry Roads, headed towards Mr. P's, and then rolled back home. The weather was phenomanal and it felt great to get back outside and put those climbing legs to use! On Saturday, I ran in my church's annual High Country 5K, and it too went pretty good. I ended up running a 21:59, good enough for 3rd in my age goup. Again, I think I'm at a good starting point for the season, especially with no speed work or super big volume under my belt, so I'm very optimistic about improving my run alot this year. Later that afternoon, I met up with my parents and a few guys from church for a leisurely bike ride. Starting in Bluff Park, we rolled over towards Homewood and Mt. Brook and descended Columiana (hit 50 mph this time), hit the green way and Lakeshore towards Mt. Brook Village, and eventually made it to the BBC before heading back to climb Smyer and go home. It was a good solid 36 mile ride with a little over 4,000 ft of climibng, felt great!
Last week was fun, but I'm really looking forward to this week. I've been riding my road bike, but this week I'm going to get back on the brand-new-only-ridden-3-times-Cervelo P2C! I wanted to get a few rides in to let my shoulder get used to riding on the road again before I tried to get in the aero bars. Coming up this week, I've got some TT's on the bike to establish some heart rate zones for the season, as well as a bunch of other Z2 bikes and runs. I'm also going to be getting in the pool 3 X a week and progressing with my stroke. My shoulder is fine, it's just going to take some time to get my strength back. Anyways, this year is starting to look good! First race is in 2 weeks; the Magic City Duathlon in downtown, Birmingham...it's a 5K run, 12 mi bike, 1 mi run...what a hammerfest!
With hopes of a dominant triathlon season this year, I was determined to make the best of my bum shoulder. I don't know if I will ever ride my trainer again, but I was able to log about 50-55 hours of base riding split between the trainer and stationary bike since my surgery. On the running side, I was able to get in about 12-13 hours up until now...I wasn't allowed to run until mid-February, and not long after that I started having foot problems...but it's all good now. As of now, I'm officially cleared by my surgeon to do anything I want, so hopefully my injuries will be done plaguing me.
My 5K TT on the track this past Tuesday went pretty good. I had done absolutely no speed work (and nothing above a 140 HR for that matter) in all of 2009, so I wasn't expecting too much. My goal was a 22:30, and I managed to run a 21:52, which I was happy with. On Thursday, I got on the Lemond for the first time since December and it was awesome! I met up with Paul at the SNG building and we climbed Smyer, rolled down Shades Crest Rd, descended Columbiana Rd (in which I raced a truck and hit 48 mph), climbed back up Columbiana and Berry Roads, headed towards Mr. P's, and then rolled back home. The weather was phenomanal and it felt great to get back outside and put those climbing legs to use! On Saturday, I ran in my church's annual High Country 5K, and it too went pretty good. I ended up running a 21:59, good enough for 3rd in my age goup. Again, I think I'm at a good starting point for the season, especially with no speed work or super big volume under my belt, so I'm very optimistic about improving my run alot this year. Later that afternoon, I met up with my parents and a few guys from church for a leisurely bike ride. Starting in Bluff Park, we rolled over towards Homewood and Mt. Brook and descended Columiana (hit 50 mph this time), hit the green way and Lakeshore towards Mt. Brook Village, and eventually made it to the BBC before heading back to climb Smyer and go home. It was a good solid 36 mile ride with a little over 4,000 ft of climibng, felt great!
Last week was fun, but I'm really looking forward to this week. I've been riding my road bike, but this week I'm going to get back on the brand-new-only-ridden-3-times-Cervelo P2C! I wanted to get a few rides in to let my shoulder get used to riding on the road again before I tried to get in the aero bars. Coming up this week, I've got some TT's on the bike to establish some heart rate zones for the season, as well as a bunch of other Z2 bikes and runs. I'm also going to be getting in the pool 3 X a week and progressing with my stroke. My shoulder is fine, it's just going to take some time to get my strength back. Anyways, this year is starting to look good! First race is in 2 weeks; the Magic City Duathlon in downtown, Birmingham...it's a 5K run, 12 mi bike, 1 mi run...what a hammerfest!
3.16.2009
The Story of the SLAP Tear in my Right Shoulder
SLAP stands for superior labrum anterior to posterior, which basically indicates the way in which the labrum tore.
The Cause
In January of 2008, I suffered an injury to my shoulder while playing in a church league basketball game. Shades Crest B team (my team) was up on Shades Crest A team by about 20 points. With 20 seconds left until halftime, I decided to pick up the point guard at half court and play some crazy defense for the last reamining seconds with hopes of getting a quick steal and a lay-up. In hindsight, this play-all-out-until-the-end-no-matter-what mindset would be my downfall, but hey, it was worth it. I slapped the ball away from the point guard and quickly raced to try and recover it. After diving for the ball with my right arm outstretched, a player on the opposing team also dove for the ball and landed on my right shoulder blade. You can picture how this ended up. At first, I thought it was a serious injury, but after a week of icing the pain had subsided. Nearly 10 months later, after my last triathlon of the year (and after swimming 10k a week for practically the whole summer/fall) I started lifting some weights and doing some push-ups and pull-ups. After starting this weight lifting routine, I felt as if I had aggravated my shoulder a little bit, but I couldn't really tell. It didn't really hurt; it just felt like something was not right.
The Verification
Around the start of December of 2008, my shoulder still felt jacked up so I decided to get it checked out. After getting checked out by a local and highly recommended sports medicine doctor, Dr. Kim Fagan, she determined that I most likely had torn my labrum. The labrum is a piece of cartilage that basically holds your shoulder in place. Since my shoulder was still in socket, I figured it couldn't be torn that bad, so at least I had that going for me. The only way to verify the tear it is to get an MRI, so that is what I did next. It's a pretty interesting process. They inject a dye into your shoulder cavity that shows up as a bright color on the MRI so that any tear can easily be seen. My next visit with Dr. Fagan was pretty quick: she came in, told me it was torn, I told her to schedule surgery asap, she said ok, and then I was gone. Hah. The next week I went to see Dr. Lyle Cain of The Andrews Group at St. Vincent's Hospital to get him to check me out. He verified that the labrum was indeed torn, and I scheduled a surgery for that Friday.
The Surgery
My surgery was on a Friday morning at 7:00 am. I had to get there at 5:30 am, so my parents showed up at my house at 4:30 am in order to drive me to St. Vincent's hospital. At about 6:15 am, they took me back to one of the pre-op rooms. After asking me 30 times what shoulder my surgery was supposed to be on (I thought about telling them the left one and then saying "haha just kidding" but I don't think they would have found that amusing), they stuck an IV in my left wrist and went over some basic procedural information. Next thing I knew, I was being wheeled down to the OR. Once in the OR, they hooked me up to some sort of IV and started to put the mask over my face to deliver the anesthesia. The anesthesiologist wasn't doing a very good job of holding the mask secure to my face, so when someone said "why isn't he falling asleep," I started laughing. Next thing I knew, another doctor started applying a little more pressure to the mask, and after a few deep breaths I was gone. When I woke up, I was in a recovery room.
The Rehab
The rehab for this surgery blows. That's about all there is to it. For the first 4 weeks, I had to wear a sling with an immobilizer pad. For the first 2 of those weeks, I couldn't even actively bend my arm. Of course, with my luck, the surgery was on my right shoulder. I considered myself to be fairlly decent with my left hand, but there are some things that are just flat out difficult to do with the opposite hand. Brushing teeth, for example, is one of those tasks that becomes extremely frustrating because most people (including myself) lack the fine muscle control required to brush with their opposite hand. I wasn't supposed to drive for the first 10 days, but I did anyways because work is 5 or 6 miles away and I'm not going to walk there. Taking a shower with your non-dominant arm only is pretty interesitng, as is pouring from a completely full gallon of milk, using a mouse and typing on the computer, and getting dressed. Another annoying thing is that you have to wear button down shirts for the first few weeks because the injured arm can hardly move. Besides the multide of tasks that were made extremely difficult and time consuming, daily rehab is required in order to get back to 100% strength and mobility. It's been about 3 months so far, and the rehab has probalby averaged about 30 to 45 min a day the entire time. The first 4 weeks consisted of exercises working mainly on flexibility, and now I'm working mainly on strength. At the 3 month mark, I'll be able to start doing some light swimming in the pool, as well as biking on the road. I've been knocking out a bunch of hours on the trainer indoors, but it is getting REALLY boring! In conclusion, I would not recommend tearing the labrum to anybody, especially if you enjoy swimming, biking, or running.
The Cause
In January of 2008, I suffered an injury to my shoulder while playing in a church league basketball game. Shades Crest B team (my team) was up on Shades Crest A team by about 20 points. With 20 seconds left until halftime, I decided to pick up the point guard at half court and play some crazy defense for the last reamining seconds with hopes of getting a quick steal and a lay-up. In hindsight, this play-all-out-until-the-end-no-matter-what mindset would be my downfall, but hey, it was worth it. I slapped the ball away from the point guard and quickly raced to try and recover it. After diving for the ball with my right arm outstretched, a player on the opposing team also dove for the ball and landed on my right shoulder blade. You can picture how this ended up. At first, I thought it was a serious injury, but after a week of icing the pain had subsided. Nearly 10 months later, after my last triathlon of the year (and after swimming 10k a week for practically the whole summer/fall) I started lifting some weights and doing some push-ups and pull-ups. After starting this weight lifting routine, I felt as if I had aggravated my shoulder a little bit, but I couldn't really tell. It didn't really hurt; it just felt like something was not right.
The Verification
Around the start of December of 2008, my shoulder still felt jacked up so I decided to get it checked out. After getting checked out by a local and highly recommended sports medicine doctor, Dr. Kim Fagan, she determined that I most likely had torn my labrum. The labrum is a piece of cartilage that basically holds your shoulder in place. Since my shoulder was still in socket, I figured it couldn't be torn that bad, so at least I had that going for me. The only way to verify the tear it is to get an MRI, so that is what I did next. It's a pretty interesting process. They inject a dye into your shoulder cavity that shows up as a bright color on the MRI so that any tear can easily be seen. My next visit with Dr. Fagan was pretty quick: she came in, told me it was torn, I told her to schedule surgery asap, she said ok, and then I was gone. Hah. The next week I went to see Dr. Lyle Cain of The Andrews Group at St. Vincent's Hospital to get him to check me out. He verified that the labrum was indeed torn, and I scheduled a surgery for that Friday.
The Surgery
My surgery was on a Friday morning at 7:00 am. I had to get there at 5:30 am, so my parents showed up at my house at 4:30 am in order to drive me to St. Vincent's hospital. At about 6:15 am, they took me back to one of the pre-op rooms. After asking me 30 times what shoulder my surgery was supposed to be on (I thought about telling them the left one and then saying "haha just kidding" but I don't think they would have found that amusing), they stuck an IV in my left wrist and went over some basic procedural information. Next thing I knew, I was being wheeled down to the OR. Once in the OR, they hooked me up to some sort of IV and started to put the mask over my face to deliver the anesthesia. The anesthesiologist wasn't doing a very good job of holding the mask secure to my face, so when someone said "why isn't he falling asleep," I started laughing. Next thing I knew, another doctor started applying a little more pressure to the mask, and after a few deep breaths I was gone. When I woke up, I was in a recovery room.
The Rehab
The rehab for this surgery blows. That's about all there is to it. For the first 4 weeks, I had to wear a sling with an immobilizer pad. For the first 2 of those weeks, I couldn't even actively bend my arm. Of course, with my luck, the surgery was on my right shoulder. I considered myself to be fairlly decent with my left hand, but there are some things that are just flat out difficult to do with the opposite hand. Brushing teeth, for example, is one of those tasks that becomes extremely frustrating because most people (including myself) lack the fine muscle control required to brush with their opposite hand. I wasn't supposed to drive for the first 10 days, but I did anyways because work is 5 or 6 miles away and I'm not going to walk there. Taking a shower with your non-dominant arm only is pretty interesitng, as is pouring from a completely full gallon of milk, using a mouse and typing on the computer, and getting dressed. Another annoying thing is that you have to wear button down shirts for the first few weeks because the injured arm can hardly move. Besides the multide of tasks that were made extremely difficult and time consuming, daily rehab is required in order to get back to 100% strength and mobility. It's been about 3 months so far, and the rehab has probalby averaged about 30 to 45 min a day the entire time. The first 4 weeks consisted of exercises working mainly on flexibility, and now I'm working mainly on strength. At the 3 month mark, I'll be able to start doing some light swimming in the pool, as well as biking on the road. I've been knocking out a bunch of hours on the trainer indoors, but it is getting REALLY boring! In conclusion, I would not recommend tearing the labrum to anybody, especially if you enjoy swimming, biking, or running.
2.02.2009
25 things
Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you.
1. I'm a triplet. We are not identical. Yes, that is possible. Our names are in alphabetical order according to birth.
2. I used to be scared of the dark and thunderstorms.
3. When I was younger, I had a habit of biting my fingernails; now, I have a habit of not clipping them.
4. I tried out for the school basketball team in 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade and NEVER made it.
5. Throughout my lifetime, I've been to 12 Major League Baseball Parks; Braves, Rangers, Rockies, Royals, Cubs, White Sox, Reds, Tigers, Indians, Orioles, Yankees, and Astros.
6. I can put down more food that you can possibly imagine in a very short amount of time. I get made fun of at work and by my friends for this talent.
7. I have 3 bikes whose cumulative monetary value is greater than that of my car.
8. I love to compete at any sport. In college it was rowing and now it is triathlon and cycling. I'll race my first half ironman in September 2009 (Augusta 70.3) and my first full Ironman will be in 2010, probably Ironman Florida!
9. I am saved by grace through faith, not because of my works.
10. I've seen every single John Wayne movie; my favorite is Rio Bravo.
11. When I was little, me and my bros had this ballin' 3 man stroller that we rode around in.
12. I'll be entering the market for a house sometime soon.
13. I believe in personal responsibility, hard work, earning everything, and striving to be great as a means of success. I think a lot of people don't realize how much harder other people work in order to succeed. Anyways, don't be a pansy and suck it up!
14. I have gotten into politics in the last few years; I love debating liberals on anything from "global warming" and economic policy to affirmative action and other social issues.
15. I drive a manual transmission. It helps pass the time on long drives, and I think it's kind of cool because a lot of people can't do it. No, I will not teach you how to drive in my car because you will tear up my clutch.
16. I enjoy reading...just no fiction. If it isn't true, why bother? Value-added stuff only!
17. I love music. I do not listen to rap or country or anything like that. I like almost all classic rock (Aerosmith, Journey, Foreigner, etc) and a lot of punk and hard rock (Taking Back Sunday, The Used, Underoath, Just Surrender, Hawthorne Heights, etc). Apparently, my taste in music is bad though because I recently got made fun of for wearing a Linkin Park shirt.
18. My job is exactly what I want to do with my engineering degree: lots of data pulling, intense analysis, and computer simulation in order to produce an optimal solution for a given problem.
19. I have only made 1 C in my life since they started assigning letter grades back in the day. It was in Calculus 1 my freshman year in college. I got so mad that I never even came close to a C for the next 4 years.
20. I use the same user name and password for pretty much everything, unless there's some stupid unreasonably high minimum character rule for the password. Dang, I hope no one ever guesses it because they could probably ruin my life, haha.
21. I've been in a car a lot during my life. Long drives include to Philadelphia 3 times, to Boston 3 times, to Colorado once, and to Las Vegas once, to name a few. For one of those Boston trips we made the whole drive without rest (24 hrs straight).
22. I just had surgery to repair a torn labrum in my right shoulder. If you don't know what the labrum is, then google it. My two brothers and I have all had this surgery in the past 4 years. I've been asked a million times if it's a genetic defect, so don't ask.
22. I want to be as active 40 years from now than I am right now. I hope to someday win the 80-84 age group in a triathlon.
23. I would, without a doubt, stimulate the economy if my income tax rate or the capital gains tax rate was cut.
24. I always set my alarm clock on an odd time (4:57 am, 6:37 am, etc).
25. I can't stand people that are not punctual. 10 minutes early is on time and on time is LATE!
1. I'm a triplet. We are not identical. Yes, that is possible. Our names are in alphabetical order according to birth.
2. I used to be scared of the dark and thunderstorms.
3. When I was younger, I had a habit of biting my fingernails; now, I have a habit of not clipping them.
4. I tried out for the school basketball team in 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade and NEVER made it.
5. Throughout my lifetime, I've been to 12 Major League Baseball Parks; Braves, Rangers, Rockies, Royals, Cubs, White Sox, Reds, Tigers, Indians, Orioles, Yankees, and Astros.
6. I can put down more food that you can possibly imagine in a very short amount of time. I get made fun of at work and by my friends for this talent.
7. I have 3 bikes whose cumulative monetary value is greater than that of my car.
8. I love to compete at any sport. In college it was rowing and now it is triathlon and cycling. I'll race my first half ironman in September 2009 (Augusta 70.3) and my first full Ironman will be in 2010, probably Ironman Florida!
9. I am saved by grace through faith, not because of my works.
10. I've seen every single John Wayne movie; my favorite is Rio Bravo.
11. When I was little, me and my bros had this ballin' 3 man stroller that we rode around in.
12. I'll be entering the market for a house sometime soon.
13. I believe in personal responsibility, hard work, earning everything, and striving to be great as a means of success. I think a lot of people don't realize how much harder other people work in order to succeed. Anyways, don't be a pansy and suck it up!
14. I have gotten into politics in the last few years; I love debating liberals on anything from "global warming" and economic policy to affirmative action and other social issues.
15. I drive a manual transmission. It helps pass the time on long drives, and I think it's kind of cool because a lot of people can't do it. No, I will not teach you how to drive in my car because you will tear up my clutch.
16. I enjoy reading...just no fiction. If it isn't true, why bother? Value-added stuff only!
17. I love music. I do not listen to rap or country or anything like that. I like almost all classic rock (Aerosmith, Journey, Foreigner, etc) and a lot of punk and hard rock (Taking Back Sunday, The Used, Underoath, Just Surrender, Hawthorne Heights, etc). Apparently, my taste in music is bad though because I recently got made fun of for wearing a Linkin Park shirt.
18. My job is exactly what I want to do with my engineering degree: lots of data pulling, intense analysis, and computer simulation in order to produce an optimal solution for a given problem.
19. I have only made 1 C in my life since they started assigning letter grades back in the day. It was in Calculus 1 my freshman year in college. I got so mad that I never even came close to a C for the next 4 years.
20. I use the same user name and password for pretty much everything, unless there's some stupid unreasonably high minimum character rule for the password. Dang, I hope no one ever guesses it because they could probably ruin my life, haha.
21. I've been in a car a lot during my life. Long drives include to Philadelphia 3 times, to Boston 3 times, to Colorado once, and to Las Vegas once, to name a few. For one of those Boston trips we made the whole drive without rest (24 hrs straight).
22. I just had surgery to repair a torn labrum in my right shoulder. If you don't know what the labrum is, then google it. My two brothers and I have all had this surgery in the past 4 years. I've been asked a million times if it's a genetic defect, so don't ask.
22. I want to be as active 40 years from now than I am right now. I hope to someday win the 80-84 age group in a triathlon.
23. I would, without a doubt, stimulate the economy if my income tax rate or the capital gains tax rate was cut.
24. I always set my alarm clock on an odd time (4:57 am, 6:37 am, etc).
25. I can't stand people that are not punctual. 10 minutes early is on time and on time is LATE!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)