Rhett

51 days

To update yesterday's ride home from work, it was blowing out of the north still.  There is a 3 mile strava segment that is a nice gradual climb that I've been trying to improve on that heads south, so I took advantage of the north wind and posted the fastest cycling time up that segment yesterday! Kind of cheating, but whose to say the previous fastest wasn't on a day with a strong tailwind. 

AM. 5 miles on the trails with my weighted vest with 685 feet elevation gain, done at a nice and easy effort that I like to call my jog/hike.  The next 2 days I'll be skiing with Chase!!! So excited to spend time with him and to ski.

50 days

Skied all day with Chase. Unfortunately on my first run of the day I took a fall and did something bad to my left knee. I still skied although in pain the whole day. I can hardly walk tonight.

49 days

I could walk better this morning but still not well at all. I decided to give skiing a try anyways and found that I was able to ski almost pain free. We skied pretty hard today mostly doing black runs once I got confidence in my knee back. Afterwards me knee actually felt a bit better to walk on...weird. 

7 weeks 

Weekly review 

The beginning of last week seems so long ago. I put in some good miles the first 2 days, then did a solid cycle Wednesday, and finished up Thursday with some weighted vest trail work. I was feeling great heading off to ski for the rest of the weekend. Then tragedy struck on the first run of the trip when I got my knee twisted up while skiing on a little trail through the trees. It all happened so fast. I was just scooting along and the next thing I knew I was going down one way and my leg was turning the other way and I felt a pop with a sharp pain on the outside of my left knee. The first thing I thought was, "I just tore a knee ligament and I'm not going to be able to run. " Then I laid the for a few minutes trying to gather myself and asses the pain. I butt slid through the trees until I got to the main run and then put my skis back on and went for it. I got really light headed a few times over the next 20-30 minutes. I think my body was in a bit of shock. Eventually I was able to ski anything that was groomed but it was not my normal level of skiing. That night I could barely walk and I was scared I might need surgery. 
 

Saturday morning it felt a lot better although I still couldn't walk very well. We went skiing anyways. To my surprise, skiing didn't seem to bother it much so we got back to skiing my aggressively and by the end of the day I was even skiing some moguls. That night I was walking even a little bit better and I was starting to feel better about hopefully not needing surgery. Assessing it now that the initial pain had come down significantly, I'm thinking I either tore the meniscus in the knee or I sprained my LCL. I'm hoping for the latter because I read up on it and an LCL will usually heal itself and sometimes rapidly. 
 

Today I'm walking even better, but my knee just doesn't feel stable and when it doesn't stay lined up exactly right I get a shap shooting pain on the lower outside of the knee. I'm hoping with a good night's rest it will feel even better tomorrow. I'm guessing I'll be able to cycle without much problem, so I'll try that tomorrow and then if I'm really lucky, maybe some light running or hiking Tuesday. Send me and my knee positive vibes. I could use them. 

47 days

AM. I woke up in the night because I was thirsty and my knee hurt a little worse than it had been at the end of the day yesterday, so I decided I better not push it today.  When I got up in the morning it still hurt to walk so I rode my bike trainer.  To my delight I was able to cycle pain free.  I rode for 65 minutes. Now I know it will be ok for me to get out on my bike and ride.  So grateful I;ve been riding a lot so it will be a natural transition while I wait for my knee to heal.  I dug up an old knee brace and have been wearing it all day.  It really makes a huge difference. I'm walking almost normal.  Maybe with the knee brace on I'll be able to run.

46 days. 
 

I wore my knee brace all day and it really helped. During lunch I went up to the Hualapai's and walked. At first it hurt especially going downhill, but then the knee warmed up and felt pretty good. I walked 2+ miles. Baby steps. 

45 days

My knee still hurt to walk when I got up this morning, but I had planned to ride anyways.  I did a 28.5 mile ride.  It was such a beautiful morning today...64 degrees, no wind, and clear skies.  I really enjoyed the ride.  The ride seemed to warm up my knee as well, so I'm going without the brace at work today and seem to be moving around really well and without pain.

44 days

My knee didn't hurt to walk when I got out of bed this morning!!! I still get a very sharp pain when I step out of perfect allignment though.  At this point, I'm pretty confident I have a tear in my LCL which is good, because from what I've read, it will usually heal on its own.  I rode 33.5 miles on the bike today. It was another gorgeous day in Havasu.  I'm so glad that I have been cycling and that cycling doesn't cause any pain to my knee. I'm thinking about doing a weighted vest walk tomorrow morning to see how my knee responds.

43 days

I wanted to see how my knee would do walking up and down hills so I put on my weighted vest and went for a walk. Mostly my knee felt pretty good but when I would start either an uphill or a downhill, I would feel it, sometimes with a sharp pain. I did 4+ miles. I'm not too optimistic about running on it though. 
 

Then I spent the day on the lake with my family and my sister and her family. I did some knee boarding which surprisingly did not seem to hurt my knee at all. I really, really, really hope I'll be able to get back to some running next week. If not, I'll just keep cycling. I wonder if I can jump rope?? Maybe I'll give that a try. 

42 days

I rode with Craig this morning. He always pushes me harder than I would ride solo. We did 55.6 miles with about 2500 feet elevation and averaged 18.7 mph.
 

My brother in law John has convinced me to sign up for LoToJa with him, which is a 207 mile bike ride from Logan, UT to Jackson Hole, WY. There is a lottery, so I don't need to stress it until I find out if I get in. 

6 weeks

Weekly review. 
 

I was not able to run at all this week because of my knee which I a pretty confident is a partial LCL tear. I'm not going to go get it looked at because they are just going to tell me to rest it and in time it will get better. That is unless it is mostly torn,in which case it needs surgery and, well that would bite so I'm just got to go wit, give it some time. 
 

Fortunately, cycling doesn't bother it and I was able to put in 4 solid rides this week. I really feel like I'm improving on the bike, which is great since I want to do a full Ironman next year. I walked 2 days last week, the second time with a weighted vest. On flat ground, I'm mostly pain free. When I have steeper up or downhills, it's not quite a good. I kneeboarded on Friday. That was a blast and didn't hurt my knee, but trying to kick in the water to get to the rope or back to the boat was a serious no go, so I guess swimming is out for a while. 
 

Pending on how my knee feels tomorrow morning, I may put on my knee brace and try to slowly run on my TM. If that is a fail, I think I will see if I can jump rope. If that fails too, it will likely be another week of biking and walking. 

40 days

AM.  Yea!!!!!! I put on my knee brace and gave running a try on myTM this morning and did not have any issues.  I ran 7 miles.  Well acutally I walked a decent amount to warm up and cool down, but while I was running my knee gave me no problems.  I then hopped on my bike trainer and rode for 30 minutes.  All in all, I am super excited to be running again.  It was a great morning.

39 days

AM. I rode the bike trainer for 40 minutes this morning and focused on keeping my core engaged with my hips rotated forward. I've been reading about proper cycling form. I figure if I'm going to ride 200 miles, I better have decent form or I will fall apart. 
 

Lunch. 3 mile walk. 
 

PM. I ran up in the mountains after work maxing out just over 8300 feet with a little over 2300 feet elevation gain during an 8 mile run/hike. I had to be careful with my knee. I wore a brace and used trekking poles, but it was still a bit painful and unsteady. I'm super happy to be up in the mountains out on the trails again though!!!

38 days 

AM. Weighted vest Wednesday!  I walked with my 20 lbs vest and did 10 hill sprints along the route totaling 7 miles. Sprinting uphill with the vest on definitely taxed some muscles as my legs are a bit sore this afternoon. 

37 days

AM.  It was a beautiful day in Havasu!  I rode to work getting in 35 miles before getting here.  It was a good solid ride.  

PM.  Only one way to get home, since I rode here, I'll be riding home a much shorter 5 miles.

36 days

I headed up to the mountains for my long run today. I packed my knee brace in my hydration pack but decided to try and run without it. To my delight, my knee felt pretty darn good...not 100%, but a ton better than it did when I tried to run up there just 3 days ago. 
I ran just over 25 miles with somewhere between 5400 ft and 7400 ft elevation gain. (My Garrin and Strava gave me the 2 different numbers.) All I know for sure is that it felt like A LOT of climbing and the max elevation was just over 8300 feet. It was a fun adventure. 

35 days

The wind was gusting from 25 to 35 mph today. At times I was getting pushed all over the rode. It was a bit sketchy. Going into the wind I had to go to my smallest gear like I was climbing a mountain, but it was flat. It was really slow going. But then on the way back, I was flying!  47 mile total ride taking 3 hours. Definitely slower than usual. 

Weekly review 

5 weeks 

Man, 5 weeks from race day, I can count that on one hand. That is a little scary considering I couldn't even run last week because of my knee. The great news is my knee seems to be mostly better. There is still some random pains, bit it is not stopping me from running. In fact, I ran 50 miles this week. Friday's run was the only one I wasn't stepping gingerly with each step, but it was the most important run of the week. I also cycled 87 miles and rode the bike trainer 2 other times. 
 

I will have 3 more hard weeks then 2 weeks of tapering. I'll probably do a very similar week this upcoming week as what I did this past week, just with more miles. 

33 days

AM. I ran from my house to the top of Cherry Tree. It a a constant 4% + climb for about 6 miles and then I turned around and ran back. My knee was a little off at first but then warmed up and seemed fine.  I just took it nice and easy. It ended up being about 1200 in elevation gain and I averaged 8:26 per mile. 

Now about an hour later my knee is not feeling great.  Hopefuly it will loosen up and be fine by tomorrow.

32 days

AM. 17 mile spin on the bike trying to keep the cadence high and to pedal in circles. 
 

Lunch. 2 mile walk. 
 

PM. 10 miles with a total elevation gain around 3000 feet and max elevation 8300 feet. Considering all I did today my legs felt strong. 

31 days

Today is a recovery day after yesterday's hard day, so I did a 7 mile weighted vest hilly walk this morning.  I was tempted to run the hills, but I stuck to the recovery day and only walked.  

30 days!!!

Race day is only 1 month away.  It's hard to believe.  I don't feel like I am totally ready yet, but I do feel like I am headed to peaking at just the right time as long as I can stay healthy. 

AM.  21 mile ride on a windy moring.  Then I had to take my truck to the shop for a recall on the airbags, so I put my bike in the back and then rode from the shop to work another 2 miles. I'll then have to ride 2 miles back during lunch to pick up my bike, so I'll end up cycling 25 miles today.

29 days

I did a 30 mile run in the Hualapai mountains with 8840 feet elevation gain and a maximum elevation just over 8300 feet. It took 6 hours and 5 minutes. I was definitely ready to be done when I finished and very tired of all the climbing and descending, but that is how the race is going to be. I really hope with a nice taper and some race day magic, I'll survive the next 24 miles.  That's a lot further!

28 days. 
 

My legs felt really good this morning with no soreness except a slight strain in my left calf. I'm hoping that by Monday that will be fine. If not, I'll cycle until it is. I rode with Jason and Craig this morning. Since they did a 100 mile bike race last Saturday, and I ran 30 miles yesterday, we took the ride easier than usual. We ended up riding 28 miles. 
 

I need a nap this afternoon. 

4 weeks

It's definitely feeling real now, and I'll admit I'm a bit intimidated by the corse. I've been reading past race reports, and almost every report talks about how steep some sections are both going up and down. And then knowing the elevation gets up to 10500 feet also scares me a bit since the highest I've been able to train at is 8300 feet. Hopefully that is close enough but another almost half mile higher is significant when it comes to oxygen levels. 
 

This week was a solid week of training. I ran 61 miles with a long run of 30 and I cycled almost 70 miles. I'm feeling pretty healthy except for a slight calf muscle tweak from the long run. It's not soreness. I actually didn't have any even the day after the run, it's definitely a little tweak but it's so mild I think I'll be able to run tomorrow morning. I'm going to be very careful with it though and if it is giving me any trouble, I'll abandon the run and cycle. 
 

This week will be my last high mileage week before I start my taper. I'm hoping to repeat what I did this past week just with a little longer on each effort. 

26 days

Let's start with the most important thing.  My calf did not bother me while running today!  I did an easy effort running up to the top of Cherry Tree gaining a little over 1100 feet over 6 miles, then ran down and back the longer way for another 8 miles, totalling 14 today with an average pace of 8:22.  Considering I ran 30 with crazy elevation gain on Friday, I was very happy with how easy today's run felt, and once again super stoked that my calf didn't bother me.  

25 days 

AM. 22 miles cycling. It was actually kind of chilly this morning. 
 

PM. I wasn't able to walk during lunch today like I usually do when I'm in Kingman on Tuesdays because it was cold and rainy. After work though I braved the cold and rain and ran on the Monolith Garden loop for 11 miles. I couldn't go up the Haulapai's because there is currently a fire up there and everyone but emergency personnel have been evacuated. I'm grateful it rained all day in Kingman. I hope that helps get the fire out. 

24 days

Recovery weighted vest walk Wednesday

After totalling 25 miles running over the last 2 days, I needed a recovery effort today.  I put on the 20 lb vest and did a hilly walk for a total of 9 miles and 820 feet elevation gain.

23 days

AM.  I rode to work today, getting in almost 30 miles on the way here.

Lunch. 1 mile walk.

PM. I'll be riding home tonight for 5 more miles.

22 days

I couldn't go to the Haulapai's because of the forest fire, so I ran locally. Unfortunately it was the hottest day of the year so far and I had my last super long run planned. I therefore got up early and started running around 5:00. I ran from the road up Crossman Peak and back twice and then once up past Bison Falls and back totaling 35 miles with 8000 feet elevation gain. When I finished it was 93 degrees. Good thing I started early because it got up over 100 for the first time this year today. 
 

Considering how warm it was, I was vey pleased with how it went.