DEALING WITH INJURY
Ron Saetermoe
Have you ever heard the expression “There are two kinds of cyclists: those that have crashed and those that will crash”? Not a happy thought, but probably true.
And just like bike crashes, injuries are bound to happen – especially as you age. I’m 53 now and have had a number of athletic oriented injuries, including:
- Rotator cuff surgery (left side)
- Rotator cuff injury (right side)
- Broken ribs (bike crash)
- Achilles micro-tears (see below for the solution to this one)
- Stitches in my right leg (got cut off by a car)
- Hernia surgery
- Shin splints
Of course, in addition to these injuries I’ve also experienced the usual aches and pains of training and competition. The key is how you deal with these injuries. Deal with them correctly and you’ll be back in the game as soon as possible. Deal with them incorrectly and you may be out of the game permanently.
Being competitive, we all become anxious when we’re injured. We want to get back out there and train with the same intensity that we did prior to the injury. We all know it’s a mistake but we make it nonetheless.
Here’s what I’ve learned over the years. Talk to everyone. You’ll ultimately find someone that has probably had the same injury as you and they can give you ideas on how to deal with it. For example, a couple years ago I was suffering from severe pain in my left shoulder. The problem was just from years of swimming with poor form (the old YMCA method of swimming). The pain became so severe at times that I literally couldn’t sleep.
I found a great orthopedic surgeon that pumped my shoulder full of cortisone a few times (miracle drug) and for a few months the pain would subside. I did eventually have the surgery and have been swimming pain-free ever since (albeit with less mobility).
After the surgery (after race season of course) I gave the shoulder the necessary rest by concentrating more on my cycling (which I needed) and now I’m totally recovered.
Perhaps the king of recovery is my good friend Russ Jones. Russ was an Olympic hopeful back in 1984 and probably would have gone on to represent the U.S. in the marathon. His PR (personal record) was 2:17. Not bad for a guy that’s never even visited Kenya.
Anyway, Russ was hit by a car and had his first, of many, knee surgeries. Since then he’s had numerous surgeries on both knees and most recently on his foot (he has a tendon from a cadaver – “dead man walking”). The point is that Russ is excellent at limiting, or changing-up his workouts when coming back from an injury. One of his favorites is “pool running.” Essentially you run in chest-deep water so there isn’t much impact.
Russ will be one of our Orange County representatives at the Sprint World Championships next month and is nursing a back injury now. He knows that if he continues his therapy and limits his training he will be ready for Australia. He also knows that if he pushes it too hard he will probably take longer to recover. Russ is currently under the care of Julia Juliusson (PT) and Dr. Sam Sunshine (sports physician) and is recovering well.
From a personal standpoint, I’ve been dealing with a chronic Achilles problem for over 10 years. I’ve seen a number of doctors and physical therapists and nothing helped . . . until I saw the miracle worker . . . Dr. Sam Sunshine. Sam had an idea that since the Achilles doesn’t get much circulation that if we increased it perhaps the micro tears would heal faster. He prescribed a ¼ nitro glycerin patch daily (up to 12 hours) until the pain subsided.
I was a bit concerned about using nitro (keep away from flames) but within two weeks the pain was gone! That’s right, gone! After dealing with numerous doctors, PTs, and hours of therapy and stretching, the pain was gone. If you’ve ever experienced something like this you know how life changing it can be.
Everyone gets injured but dealing with it properly can get you back on the road faster.
To sum up:
- Talk to everyone about your injury.
- Get help from someone that knows.
- Change up your training.
- Don’t start back too soon.
Cheers!
FREE GROUP WORKOUTS (week of August 10th)
All of our group workouts are free to all members and non-members, so come on out!
We want everyone to enjoy our group workouts but we should clarify the intent. The intent of the group workouts is to “workout.” Yes, it includes a social element. Yes, your Triathica host is happy to give you tips. But please be aware that everyone there is attempting to get a workout in at his or her own pace. If we all go at the slowest person’s pace many people won’t be getting in a proper workout. We will attempt to pair you up with another athlete so you’re not left alone.
Week of August 10th
Event: Group Swim
Place: Triathica flag at Big Corona near the lifeguard station next to the jetty
Day: Wednesday, August 12th
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Planned Workout: 1 – 3 loops around the buoys
Event: Group Ride
Place: Triathica HQ
Day: Saturday, August 15th
Time: 7:30 a.m.
Planned Workout: 1 loop around Santiago Canyon
Event: Group Run
Place: Triathica HQ
Day: Sunday, August 16th
Time: 7:00 a.m.
Planned Workout: 9 miles through Whiting Ranch
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Big Corona – Corona Del Mar From the 405 N take the Jamboree Road Exit Make a left at Jamboree Turn left at Macarthur Boulevard Turn left on to CA-1 Pacific Coast Highway Turn Right on Marguerite Turn right on Ocean Boulevard Turn Left at Breakers Drive Turn left to stay on Breakers Drive |
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Triathica – Triathlon Training Center From the 5 Freeway: Exit Bake Pkwy and head east for about 4 miles Make a left on Rancho Pkwy South Turn right at the 3rd driveway 2nd building on your right Triathica is in Suite B on the right side of the building |
RACE REPORT: PETERS CANYON TRAIL RUN SERIES
Jarrett Pflieger
I really like trail runs, but they sure can be painful.
I had to go to the 3rd and final race in the Peters Canyon Trail Run Series to man the Triathica expo booth. I thought I might as well get a training run in so I signed up right before the race.
After speaking with a few people at the expo, I headed over to the starting line about five minutes before the race start. I managed to squeeze in about 30 feet back from the start and felt a little awkward being the only one wearing a tri top and tri shorts. Oh well, at least I looked cool in my Triathica gear.
The horn sounded, and we were off…not quite. The guys in the very front were off, and for most of the people in front of me it was more like a mosey. I don’t have anything against slower runners, I’m not very fast by any means, but it doesn’t make sense to me to go to the front of the pack if you are running a 10 minute mile pace or slower.
It took me over a quarter mile before I could get past everyone blocking the way and settle into my pace, after that it was smooth sailing…and then there were hills.
I had been warned that the course was hilly, this warning proved to be an understatement. The first mile or two were cake, then it was one monster hill after another. I told myself I would not walk so I had to power up all of them. These were some of the longest and steepest hills I’ve seen on a trail run. I sometimes will run Whiting Ranch in Foothill Ranch, but Peters Canyon makes Whiting look like a leisurely stroll through the park.
I did a good job keeping my pace and keeping my heart rate where it needed to be to keep from blowing up. A neared my max of 180 bpm a few times going up some of those hills, but I was able to recover on the flats and downhills before the next hill.
Im 6’1” and 185 so I don’t do too well going up hill, but down hill is a different story. I saw a lot of people struggling on the down-hill and using their quads to keep their speed down. My quads were much too tired for that, so I have this technique where I just turn my legs into limp noodles and let gravity do its thing. It was scary at times flying down these rocky dirt paths, but I passes a lot of people using this method. It is a little dangerous, but it allows me to go faster and use less energy.
After a series of roller coaster troughs and peaks, I neared a turn where a guy was shouting, “Its all downhill from here.” I was relieved at first, but my downhill method is very pounding so I was hurting a bit on this long descent.
Once I reached the bottom of the hill it was mostly flat ground back to the finish about a mile away. There was one guy a few hundred meters in front of me, so I picked up the pace a bit. He seemed to do the same, so I only gained a little ground and ended up finishing alone with no race to the line.
I ended up in 17th place overall and my time was 34:38. I was just under seven minute/mile pace which I was very happy with for how hilly the course was. I definitely need to do more hill repeats in training. Come on out to Triathica for free Sunday runs at 7:00 a.m. We usually go through Whiting Ranch, but will switch it up periodically.
NEW MEMBERSHIP OFFER
Triathica is now offering a new membership deal through the end of August! Anyone who signs up for any type of membership before August 31, 2009 will receive one FREE in-house personalized training zone assessment (a $50 dollar value), one free video analysis of your choice (swim, bike, run), and a 20% discount* on all membership levels for those that qualify. This brings a Level 1 membership down to $40/month. (To receive 20% off membership, you must be associated with a club, organization, or group that is dedicated to multisport (swim, bike, or run)). There are no initiation fees and no contracts. All members have the luxury of using the state-of-the-art facility seven days a week.
Your free in-house training zone assessment could be in swimming, cycling, or running; you decide.
Did you know that your training zones are different for every sport and knowing yours can be a great tool for creating your workouts, training more efficiently, and increasing performance? Knowing your training zones can really give you a better understanding of your body and its limits, which will, in turn, give you a better understanding of how you should be training in each sport.
We will take heart rate readings multiple times at specific intervals throughout a specialized graded workout. These numbers will tell us what your heart rate is at different levels of exertion in all three sports, how much power you can sustain on the bike for different lengths of time, what your race pace should be in the swim and run, and lots of other data specific to you.
The video analysis is done with our Dartfish motion capture software. You will receive a DVD mediabook that contains footage of your form from all different angles along with notes on what to work on so you can improve. This is a $115 value, and it is free with any membership this month. Don’t wait too long to take advantage of the membership discounts, free assessment and a free video analysis of your choice.
PETE & CORRINNE UPDATE #6
Kelli Whittaker
Corrinne had her doctor’s appointment this past Thursday and they took the cast off! Her wrist is still broken, but now she has a plastic brace that she can take on and off. She explained, “The plastic brace is so much better. It’s pretty comfortable and it allows me to work out.” Thursday was her first workout after the injury and she rode the OC Triathlon course on a CompuTrainer at Triathica. She said, “The workout felt good. I was slower than usual and noticed that I got tired pretty quickly, especially on the hills, but I was just happy to be back.” She didn’t eat much before her workout and really noticed the difference. Corrinne said, “I had no idea how much nutrition can play a role with your physical ability. I feel like if I would have ate and given my body the right fuel I would have done better.” She feels like the CompuTrainers are building back her confidence on the bike, which is something that she really needs right now.
Corrinne went to Catalina this weekend and planned on running some of the trails and doing some swim workouts in the ocean. She really isn’t wasting any time getting back into the swing of things! She is still determined to race in the OC Triathlon on September 27th and Corrine and Pete both just signed up for the California half Ironman in March 2010.
Pete also had a busy week, although he says, “Training without Corrinne is very different and I hope that she will be back at full strength soon.” His back has been bothering him, so he has been focusing on getting himself back to full strength. The chiropractor has been a big help and he explained to Pete that taking preventative measures with your health, especially when you are working out hard, is important for success.
Pete likes having the 9-week training plan that was provided by Triathica at the training camp and feels like having the guidance has really helped him see results. Pete says, “It (the training plan) has given me the ability to mix up the workouts because every workout is a little different. The swimming aspect of the workouts have been very challenging and they have made me step up the intensity.”
He is participating in the Camp Pendleton Triathlon on Saturday and is excited about the race. He says, “It will be a good practice run for the OC Triathlon. I’m really going to focus on my transition times and on my speed in each event.” Pete is very excited about his progress and can’t wait for the OC Triathlon on September 27th and for the half Ironman in March 2010. This week Pete dropped his time on the CompuTrainer by several minutes on the OC Tri course and was very excited about the improvement.
Check back next week to see how Pete and Corrinne are doing.
