Triathlons are a drug and I, Marni Rakes, am addicted. For those who know me (one who loves to talk and write about anythin tri-related) there is a reason why I have not posted anything on my blog in the last week. After returning from Karel's race, my right hip was a little sore. I ran on tues and wed morning but decided to take it easy on thursday after a great 5000 yard morning swim practice. Cycling went well all week and I after a 40 mile ride on friday I went for a painful 30 min. run. After 10 min. of running I questioned if I should keep going and after 5 more minutes I was forced to turn around. After running very awkardly I returned home and immediately put some ice on my hip. I was in so much pain I could barely walk. After resting all evening, I was convinced by karel and my parents (the people who know me the best and are willing to tell me the truth even though they know I don't want to hear it) that I shouldn't train all weekend. WHAT!!! two days off!! I don't know what was worse, two days off from training or a whole weekend of no training. what was I going to do with my time??? To many people, a weekend consists of sleeping in, indulging in a carbohydrate rich brunch , a little shopping or time at the beach and an evening out for drinks. Well, for an Ironman triathlete in-training, I had no idea what to do for 48 straight hours since a normal weekend consists of waking up at 5am, having a light snack and coffee before a 5-6 hour workout of cycling and running and then indulging in a protein smoothie, some type of sweet coffee drink at Starbucks (Tall Carmel Frappachino light is my favorite!) and a late breakfast of pancakes and egg whites. And everything is followed with a nice nap and lots of TV watching. And to make things worse this weekend, Karel was off in Stuart for a race with 3 of his teammates. That means no room for Marni in the car or hotel so I was stuck at home just being bored to tears! I spent saturday evening at my parents and decided to spend the night at their house. Rather than be completely lonely and bored at home, I was in good company with my parents. I did survive the weekend and decided to take monday off from training as well since my hip was still bothering me. After trying to diagnosis myself w/ everything possible, I believe I have piriformous syndrome and it was probably caused by running the hills in atlanta followed by a LONG ride home in the car. It hurts most when I sit or put pressure on my rt. leg and I feel the pain in my butt, hip and ITBand. All not very good places when I am planning on running 26.2 miles after I bike 112. I'm not concerned about training or improving my performance. Most importantly as I have stated many many many times in my blog, I train and race injury free. I don't "get through" anything and it just isn't fun to me to train through pain. I get into this zone when I run which is so relaxing. Even if it is for 3 hours at a 8-9 minute pace, I am loving every second of it. Now give me an injury or a blister and I'm dreading each step of every mile. I scheduled a therapy apt. right away and this morning I received an amazing deep tissue massage from the same lady (michelle) who Karel saw for his shoulder when he got hit by the car and fractured his shoulder. She really helped me and although I was still kinda hurting after the apt. I feel I am so much better today. I'm icing and stretching like crazy and this morning was the first time in 4 days that I worked out. Just taking it easy and I swam after I taught my spin class. Not too much pain but as long as I stand and don't sit, I'm ok. I'm standing with my computer on the TV right now just to write in my blog. I'm trying to be optimistic but it is very hard when I am supposed to be in the best shape of my life and nearing the biggest race of my life. I know people get injured during training but for someone who is very emotional and passionate for triathlons, I have had many downs during this past week. I see people like Karel and my friend Ray R. who were in horrible crashes and can't ride their bikes for 4-8 weeks. I remember when Karel was hit by the car in may and I can't even remember one time when he complained. He couldn't wait to get back on his bike but even with a fractured shoulder and absolutely no exercise for weeks, he was so positive about everything. I know he was sad but he just kept going. And then I hear about people who are hit by cars or are severly injured just days before a major event and I can't help but feel stupid to complain about a very painful hip 4 weeks before the Ironman World Championships. I remember when my good friend Mike hit a pole on his last training ride on his bike just 3 weeks before IMWI. He totally ripped up his knee cap and had major surgery and was out from training for almost a year.
So, with all this said, I'm still hoping for a good recovery in time for a little more prep before my taper. In my eyes, I just want to be injury free for Kona and in no pain. I don't care about training or any type of improvement in these next 4 weeks. If anything, a little rest was probably good for me. I do appreciate everyone for asking about my training and for keeping me excited for Kona.
And, to make everything a little worse for this weekend, Karel crashed in his race on Sunday. After a decent finish in the Pro race on Sat. in Stuart, someone hit his handlebars on a corner and Karel went down with another rider landing over him. Yes, his Pinarello is ok but his right leg and butt is really tore up. You could imagine the sights in our place on sunday evening as I am hobbling around on my sore hip trying to clean up karel's wounds on his leg and arm and he doesn't even flinch as I bandage him up. What a trooper.
I'll try to do better with keeping up with my blog. Hopefully all will go well this week with some type of exercise.
So, with all this said, I'm still hoping for a good recovery in time for a little more prep before my taper. In my eyes, I just want to be injury free for Kona and in no pain. I don't care about training or any type of improvement in these next 4 weeks. If anything, a little rest was probably good for me. I do appreciate everyone for asking about my training and for keeping me excited for Kona.
And, to make everything a little worse for this weekend, Karel crashed in his race on Sunday. After a decent finish in the Pro race on Sat. in Stuart, someone hit his handlebars on a corner and Karel went down with another rider landing over him. Yes, his Pinarello is ok but his right leg and butt is really tore up. You could imagine the sights in our place on sunday evening as I am hobbling around on my sore hip trying to clean up karel's wounds on his leg and arm and he doesn't even flinch as I bandage him up. What a trooper.
I'll try to do better with keeping up with my blog. Hopefully all will go well this week with some type of exercise.