Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes… Well, more like head, elbow, knees and knees and a bunch of bruises

So, how is my triathlon training going, you ask? Ugh, life just seems to get in the way. Jon had to spend four days in Moab for a work conference at the end of March so before he left I thought I’d get in as many workouts as I could. Well, I did, including a 5:45 a.m. spinning class after a hard run the previous evening and sleeping a total of two hours that night. Then I was at the pool at 6 a.m. the next morning still very sleep deprived. Needless to say, it was a bit much on my body and I ended up fighting off a cold and feeling like complete crap for almost a week later. And then the crappiness culminated in the worst migraine I’ve suffered in the past two years, including the requisite puking. Anyway, onward and upward since then.… well mostly.

I’ve also been suffering severe knee pain during my runs for the past few months and finally decided I should get it checked out. In the past when my knees started to hurt, I knew it was time for a new pair of running shoes. But Jon bought me a great new pair for Christmas and the pain still wasn’t going away. I stereotypically followed the pattern that most other injured runners do: 1. Ignore the injury and run through it, 2. Quit running for a while and pray that it will go away, 3. Attempt self-treatment, then 4. Seek medical help. So here I am, almost finished with three weeks of physical therapy for patella-femoral syndrome, which is really just a polite way to say that my genetically defective knees, plus an imbalance in quad strength versus cardiovascular strength, equals one gimpy runner. I always knew this before but now I live religiously by it… strength, flexibility, and cross-training and lots and lots of ice.

Since I’ve had to take my knees out of the action during therapy I have been swimming with a floater between my legs and pulling with just my upper body. I was actually fine with this because I could focus more on my stroke for a while. But being the klutz I am, I wasn’t used to how off-balance I felt at the end of the lap and I smacked my elbow into the concrete… yup, it’s still sore a couple weeks later.

THEN, last week I got the green light to do some biking. So I hungrily installed my new clipless pedals, which Jon gave me for our anniversary, onto my freshly-tuned bike and slipped into the accompanying shiny bike shoes. Of course I knew I needed to practice clipping in and out so I did a few turns on the lawn and then cautiously headed down the street with only one foot clipped in. I slowed down to practice clipping that foot out but the other foot had stealthily clipped in. So yes, I took the obligatory “Buck Bybee” tumble into the pavement with the bike still attached to my body. Everyone has to do it once while learning to clip out, so my turn’s done now, right? RIGHT?? At least I didn’t land on my knee.

Despite all this, I actually am getting in some good training time and really learning (maybe the hard way) how to balance everything. But apparently I need all the help I can get.