Word of the month: Acceptance, finally accepting that I needed to truly rest and not do any physical activity to give my hip a real chance to heal and allowing myself to enjoy this time of forced laziness
Jamming out to: Glass Animals, Gooey
Sleeping: So many dreams!! The most entertaining are the workout related ones where I go for a bike ride or run.
Reading: Finished Born to Run
Craving: Cheese (and crackers)
Nutrition: Nonexistent again but doing some planning for when training starts
Feeling:
Swim- arms feel tired because of using pull buoy the whole time but good tired!
Bike- anxious to try out my new bike!
Run- worried about my run fitness level dropping
High- So many! 1st- Getting 2nd place in my age group at the Dallas Athletes Best of the Best Sprint Triathlon, 2nd- getting a tri bike!
Low- Learning that my parents may not come to cheer me on in New Orleans (thankfully this got all figured out and they are coming!)
Here's a sneak peak at Matthew putting my bike together!
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As you all know I went for a bike fitting earlier this month after officially deciding to get a tri bike. The fitting was such a novel experience I thought I'd share how it all went. I did some online researching of bike fitters in the DFW area. I knew that I wanted to go to one that had the ability to put me on a robot version of a bike where tweaks could be made, a process similar to an optometrist visit. I decided on Dynamic Bike Fit for a couple of reasons. One, they got crazy good reviews and people seemed to love the fitter, Craig Fulk. And second, they had a location super close to me! Making the appointment was super easy, I did it online through the website. When I got to the location, it was at Craig's home. He converted his second floor media room to a bike fitting studio. Craig is a Retül fitter which uses a robot-like bike that allows the fitter to analyze the rider's fit while in motion. Most of the assessment is through the use of the software that tracks what the rider's body is doing. The fit is determined based on numbers and angles rather than the feel to the rider. Hilariously, I insisted that my seat was too high and when Craig dropped me a tenth of a centimeter I immediately knew I was wrong and the system was right! There were screens where I could see them so he was able to point out my body positioning and how my left knee was out of line with my hip and foot, which we assumed was an unconscious adjustment to baby my hip injury. Craig explained all of numbers and how my body should be, most of which went completely over my head but, when I came home and talked to Matthew about it, apparently all made sense to him :) Once, we knew how my body needed to be on the bike, Craig was able to pull up various bike models and compare their fit to the fit that I need. It was neat being able to see them transposed on top of each other. Craig would explain that with some tweaks of various components, some bike frames would work even if not initially in line with what I needed while others were so far out of my range that he said not to even consider them. We ended the 3 hour session with lots of different bike frames for me to look into and various components that I would need (such as a smaller crank). Then I was off to find my bike. Which as you know I have found!
I cannot say enough about Dynamic Bike Fit and Craig. I would 100% recommend anyone looking for a new bike or to feel better on their current bike to see him. I should also note, that he was super patient with the bike shopping process! I emailed him lots of different options and he kindly emailed me back quickly! This is part 1 of the story. Once I get my bike put together, I will be taking it back in to get the bike adjusted to my fit! And I'll be sure and post about that! Next up....put the bike together! We've officially got all of the components in (except for the saddle) so we're hoping to get some work done on it this weekend! (And by we, I mean, I'm doing the hoping and Matthew's doing the working) It's so funny how hard rest can be. One week into my forced recovery and I am needing a little rest motivation.
Hoping you too find time to rest during this upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. One of the most interesting things about the sport of triathlon is how young it is. It turned 40 this September and USA Triathlon Magazine devoted their Fall issue to this great history. This magazine came in the mail right after I finished reading Chrissie Wellington's book which also outlined some of triathlon history. Learning about the history has helped me feel closer to the sport so I thought I'd share important dates in the world of triathlon. *Note that all information presented here comes directly from USA Triathlon Magazine Fall 2014 Volume 17 Issue 4. September 25, 1974 -First triathlon held in Mission Bay California. The event was reversed, run-bike-swim. Participants included the creators of Ironman. February 18, 1978 -First Ironman competition with 15 participants, 12 finishers. Ironman was created by John and Judy Collins claiming to create an event that put the question of who was stronger, a swimmer or runner (and later cyclist) to rest. 1980 -Vice President of Speedo, Carl Thomas, sought out a standardized race distance that was shorter than the Ironman to attract more athletes (and thus sell my swim suits) to the sport of triathlon. Initially the distances were 2k swim, 35k bike, 15k run. February 6, 1982 -Ironman became a household name after Julie Moss' crawl to the finish on ABC's "World Wide Sports." It's pretty crazy to see. 1982 -The founding of United States Triathlon Association. There were 1,500 annual members -First race in the United States Triathlon Association series. This series ran to 1993. -Bike racks and designated transition areas first used August 1983 - The United State Triathlon Association changed its name to Triathlon Federation/USA, Tri-Fed 1983 - Tri- Fed partnered with Bud Light to create an event series of triathlons. Finally putting to rest the debate on standardizing a distance, the event series officially decided on the triathlon distance of 1.5k swim, 40k bike ride, and 10k run. - First United State Triathlon Association/Tri-Fed Triathlon Championships 1984 - Triathlon wave starts used for the first time 1985 - Triathlon Guidebook was created which outlined specifics of running race events. 1987 - Aerobars (Scott DH bars) began to be used on bicycles, looking to create the same tucked ability as downhill skiers. Initiating the start of time trial bikes. - Triathlon specific wetsuits created April 1, 1989 - International Triathlon Union Congress was established with 39 nations participating 1989 - Aerobars became widely accepted after Tour de France champion, Greg LeMond used them on the last stage of the race, averaging 31 mph, passing the cyclist in first who was 50 seconds ahead of him. October 14, 1989 - The Iron War between Dave Scott and Mark Allen. They competed in the Ironman World Championship staying neck and neck the entire 8 hour race. It's the most famous race of Ironman history. September 4, 1994 - Triathlon was named an Olympic Sport February 26, 1996 - Tri-Fed changed its name yet again to USA Triathlon (which it still currently holds September 16, 2000 - The sport of triathlon was competed at they Sydney Olympics Today - USA Triathlon has 174,787 annual members It is pretty amazing how young this sport is and how many developments have been created in the just short 40 years of its existence. It's easy for me to laugh at the concept of friends holding bikes for athletes because there was no transition area or bike racks and taping bananas to the tops of bicycles because of all of the innovations that I have access to have already been created. I can only imagine what will come out of the next 40 years of this sport. I hope I'm there to experience it first hand
*Note that ALL information here was provided by USA Triathlon Magazine Fall 2014 Volume 17 Issue 4. Video via YouTube Well, this week has been an emotional roller coaster. There have been some amazingly exciting highs and some disappointing lows. First, let's start with the best thing that happened this week because I just can't hold it in any longer... I got a tri bike!! Now obviously, it needs to be assembled and we're still gathering all of the components but I could not be more excited that we were able to find this amazing 2014 Argon 18 E-112! I got it in the mail on Friday and I must admit, I feel a small sense of guilt. If Matthew were to pick out a bike for himself based solely on looks this would end up being it. It's totally his style, with a matte finish and the argon molecule on it. But, it wasn't meant to be and it feels almost too cool for me but, I'm certain I'll be able to rise to it's awesomeness! ;) Wednesday I got up and went for a COLD run! It's seriously my favorite thing in the whole world to run in the cold, however, the windchill made it feel as if it was 18 degrees so it was a slightly uncomfortable run whenever heading into the wind. But I still enjoyed myself. So I can't avoid it any more, I have to talk about the not so great part of the week. My hip hurt, again. It's basically been hurting since my bike fitting last week. I hoped it would just fade but, it didn't. After my run on Wednesday, I really started to panic. I've got 6 weeks until serious half Ironman training starts and I really need to be healthy for that. Wednesday night I looked into options of getting an MRI done/going back to the orthopedist/going back for more PT. After doing some reading, I just don't think that I have something that would warrant me getting an MRI to find the appropriate treatment. It's not like I can't swim/bike/run, it's just that when I do, it aches. I've decided to go back to PT explain how my pain came back after keeping my knee in line on the bike and see what exercises/stretches he suggests. And possibly go back to the orthopedist to see what my other treatment options are. Also, after reading about hip pain, and basically everything saying rest is the #1 thing to do, I've decided to seriously rest for the next 4 weeks. I'm not going to bike/run at all (even typing that I feel emotional). But it's really the only chance I can give my body before April to just heal itself and I must do it. I will still swim but I will use the swim buoy and not kick. I'll also do my strength training 2X a week but with light weights for leg stuff. I'm trying to not let myself wallow in my disappointment and instead focus on what good can come out of the next 4 weeks. I'm hoping to get to the pool 3X a week so my swimming will get stronger. And I'll have more time on my hands to get things on my 'oh, I really need to do that' list checked off, especially before serious training starts at the end of December. Things like: getting the front yard ready for winter, cleaning the grout in our kitchen and bathroom, finding frames for all of our artwork, painting our master bathroom. This weekend I allowed myself to relax And even though the pool was unexpectedly closed on Saturday and I couldn't get a swim in, I valued the extra time I was granted for the day and took Gordon for a longer walk (not too long for the hip) and watched the NBC recap of the Ironman World Championships (which was awesome!). With making this decision, I've also decided to take a break from weekly wrap up posts. There's just not going to be a lot to recap. I still plan to do my weekly info/tips posts so worry not, I'm not completely gone for 4 weeks.
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Welcome!I'm Sadaf, a 30 year old wife, foodie, greyhound/cat owner, cyclist turned triathlete. Follow me on my journey of life and triathlon. Archives
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