There is a reason why I had little interested in doing an Ironman distance race. It's extremely tough on the body. I re-injured my left knee during the marathon at Rev 3 Full. In 2008, I developed an inguinal hernia that altered my stride. My left adductor was tightening to compensated for the hernia, which caused patella chondromalasia. Chondromalasia just means damage to my cartilage. You don't feel pain from damage to cartilage, so during the marathon I just thought I had tendinitis. However, the tendinitis was from the swelling caused by the damage to the cartilage from all the pounding. I managed to finish the marathon by walk/running the last 13 miles of the race. I didn't really know I had a big problem until Tuesday after the race. On Tuesday, I couldn't do anything. I had immediate sharp pain in my knee with almost anything but standing.
The US Open in Dallas is 4 weeks after Rev 3 Full. As the leader of the Toyota Cup series, it would be a big disappointment not to be able to race. I could only swim with a pull bouy the first week after the race. The second weeks was the same, only swimming with a pull bouy. I started seeing my
sports PT 5 days after I got back from Rev 3 Full. Treatment wasn't having much effect, so he recommended an anti-inflamitory injection. The numbing agent worked well for a day, but once that wore off I was back where I started. The maximum effect of the anti-inflamitory is about 2 weeks from the injection, but the doctor said I should see relief in 3 to 4 day. Nothing changed by the end of the second week, which was disappointing. I wanted to get some training in before the US Open. During the second week I tried cycling and made it for about 1 hour without pain. I still couldn't run durning the 3rd week, but I could bike up to 2 hours.
In the 4th and last week leading up to the US Open, I made a second attempt at running on an
Alter G treadmill. This trainer can reduce your running weight. It's great for running with injuries. I made it 40 minutes, which was a success considering I could only run 5 steps a week earlier. I ran 3 times total on the Alter G treadmill (Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday) slowing bringing my weight back to 100%. Today, Saturday, I ran 25mins at the US Open race site without any major problem, so I should make it through the race. However, not being able to train properly is a disappointment.
Hopefully, everyone is just as beat up, and I can win the
Toyota Cup Series, which I've be leading for most of the summer. The series is really tight between Filip Ospilay, Matt Reed, and me. Whoever crosses the line first between Filip and I wins. I think Matty needs someone to finish between himself and one of us.
