Tri-ing Life and More

So most of you have no idea what Hains Point is.  Hains Point is a loop of just over 3 miles in DC that is a biker's haven.  There are three stop signs and very little car traffic.  My team rides there every Thursday.  I used to go race Kendra and Mike around the loop at speeds up to 25-28 mph (not sustained but still hit those speeds).  Well I have now biked there twice this week!  My PT gave me permission to go bike but to take it easy.  I actually got to ride with the team on Thursday (I got there 4 minutes late due to PT though and missed the group start).  I decided my first ride back should be on my own anyway.  My goal was at least one loop and see how I felt about a second loop. Hains Point!  I felt like a kid in a candy store. My smile while biking was huge and all I could think is that I love Hains Point and biking!  It is right along the Potomac River so I took everything in.  The water, the boats, the golfe...

So I think today is one of the best days I have had recently regarding my knee.  The day started with a great swim.  I have made myself get up for every swim recently since that is about the only workout that I can do.  So yes, I wake up at 4:45 Tuesday and Thursday mornings to swim for an hour.  The fun thing about my swimming right now is that I can't kick or push off the wall (darn knee).  So it is an hour of my arms pulling me through the water.  Today I worked really hard on form, which is a great thing and I do think I felt improvement, but it also means my arms are sore!  My friend even commented that my arms are going to be huge before my legs are back.  After a great swim, I was off to PT. My goal was to walk into PT and ask them to push me more.  I am almost 4 weeks into PT and not much has changed.  I always start PT with 10 minutes of stem to get my muscles moving.  My inner quad muscle was actually working today and ...

Happy Father's Day to all the amazing fathers out there.  I wish I were home to celebrate with my dad, but guess that is what you get when you move 12 hours away.  He is very content to a day of gambling and golf though so I probably couldn't top that anyway. Thanks for everything Dad!  For getting me hooked on Disney (maybe mom's fault), riding roller coasters with me, being my coach, and so much more.  Oh yeah and thanks for taking care of me during surgery...couldn't have made it without you. Some awesome pictures to take us through the years!  And yes, he did have hair back in the day. One of my first visits to Disney He did have hair! My first upside down roller coaster...he got me hooked! Typhoon Lagoon Wave Pool Bring your kids to work day A year later, Blizzard Beach? Trip to DC...Hanging out at Mount Vernon Christmas while still in Marion In case you haven't figured it out, we love Disney.  Celebrati...

So last Sunday I spent the day cheering on several teammates at a very hot 1/2 Ironman in Maryland.  A group of us had gone to cheer on some teammates last year so I knew what to expect and it was pretty much as I remembered...HOT! Kendra (a great friend and now roommate) was trying to qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Kona by finishing first in her age group.  Second place would qualify for 1/2 Ironman World Championships in Vegas but her dream was set on Kona.  Chris, another teammate, was also working on qualifying for Kona so a group of us decided to go cheer them on. Jen picked me up at 4:15am (yeah that was rough).  Four of us drove two hours to cheer them on.  We got there in time to watch the pros exiting the swim.  I was very excited to see 3X Kona Champ Craig Alexander there and he did win.  He is an amazing athlete. Jen and Sherri ready to cheer! (Both racing Ironman Wisconsin with me) It was a wave start so Chris was ...

Hope everyone had a great weekend.  It was a very hot one here so I spent all Saturday inside preparing for our baby shower happy hour.  I had to make two diaper cakes and one cookies and cream cake so I started first thing Saturday morning. The diaper cakes are interesting because you build layers with rolled up diapers.  I had to make two trips to CVS to buy rubber bands which prolonged the process but also gave my knee a break from sitting on the ground.  I am extremely happy with how they turned out and it only took me about 2.5 to 3 hours to make them both. The yellow cake for the couple who hate pink.   The pink cake (love the dog at the top) Once the two cakes were done, I did some work around the house.  I have lived in this house for about a month but we have been slow to move in.  This is the first weekend I felt comfortable being on my feet more often so I got some work done.  Not enough of course, but at least we got to mov...

Hey all, So the triathlon world is crazy and I thought I would share a teammate's post about how dirty it can get. http://lovetoeatlovetorun.blogspot.com/2012/06/triathlon-its-dirty-dirty-sport.html I have yet to pee on my bike but it is expected of you when riding long distances (only in the summertime though).  Enjoy the post! Big weekend for all my teammates (best news is that I wasn't supposed to do anything this weekend except ride a hilly 90 miles and run 16 miles).  I have a lot of teammates do the Bay Bridge swim.  This is the ultramarathon of swimming because they are crazy enough to swim 4.4 miles under the bridge.  Good luck to them all.  Other teammates are racing in the Eagleman Half Ironman.  It will be 90 degrees and humid and what I would consider horrible race conditions.  Several teammates are trying to qualify for the Ironman world championships in Kona or the Half Ironman world championships in Vegas.  Good luck to ever...

Today was a good day for me.   Good thing number 1...I went swimming for an hour (don't ask how my arms feel tomorrow).  Turning at the wall is difficult since I still can't really bend my right knee but I figured it out and moved to my own lane.  Sadly I haven't figured out how to turn fast so I limit people in my lane exiling me to my own lane.   Good thing number 2...only worked a half day.  Yes I did have two doctor appointments in the afternoon, but still a half day of work is always nice.   Good thing number 3...my physical therapist said I was doing a good job!  She was impressed on the improvement between Friday and now.  I always take that as a good thing.  She did almost bring me to tears by bending my knee to the extreme, but she said I would thank her later.  Then she put me on the bike for 10 minutes and I actually biked!  Sure I only got about 1/2 mile in ten minutes but it is better than nothing.  Can'...

I was able to bike twice this weekend.  Yes, my knee still doesn't really like bending so of course I didn't really bike.  My therapist recommended using my bike on my trainer to work pushing my knee to bend.  So my left leg controlled the rocking of my right leg back and forth while pushing the knee to bend a little more each time.  I successfully did a full rotation yesterday and today.  Yesterday it took about 8 minutes of work to get a full rotation, today it only took about 5 min.  Obviously I am a long way to actually riding my bike but it is a start. So proud of my ability to bend my knee! I was also able to go cheer on my teammates at a local sprint race today.  It is always fun to see new and old teammates racing and excelling.  It was harder than I thought to watch though.  I get to start swimming this week, but it will be awhile til I can bike or run.  I was jealous and while watching what I couldn't do, my knee wasn't...

Yes, the title is what I learned today at physical therapy.  I have ditched the crutches (my doctor told me to do so) and have been hobbling around.  The physical therapist today told me I needed to relearn how to walk.  So I am now walking heel to toe and trying to bend my knee a little with each step.  Who knew you could forget how to walk in one week. As far as progress is going, my doctor and therapist said I am doing ok.  I am meeting with both on Tuesday and need to progress by that time.  I have small stretches and movements to work on at home.  These include sliding my foot closer to my butt to work on the bend and straightening it and working on developing my quad muscle again.  I also get to bike!  Sadly my knee doesn't bend enough to actually go around the full circle on the bike so I get to rock it back and forth and push my knee to go a little further each time for 10 full minutes a day! Not much else new to report but I am ...