I’ll have what she’s having (a left knee MRI)

You would think Barb and I are twins feeling each other’s body pains.  I’ll let her tell her left knee woe story but here’s mine.  Two weeks ago after giving my body 5 days of rest other than some recovery swimming after the Montauk triathlon, I set out for a run with Mike.  Since we were on flat surface, the weather was comfortable and I knew I needed to start picking up distance for my first Olympic distance triathlon in September, I encouraged him to join me for a longer run.  After having done the 10K a month ago, I figured I could handle a 6 – 6.5 mile run.  Mid-way through my knees starting not feeling great.  Three quarters of the way through, I was walking.

Upon returning home, going up and down stairs was painful so I knew I needed to take it easy.  I swam the next day, and the day after I thought I was starting to feel better and reasoned I could still bicycle.  While the ride started out fine, 3 miles into the ride I felt a pain in my left knee as I started on a very small incline.  I turned around for home and told Mike to go on.  Once I got home, I could see the inner side of my knee was swollen so I iced it.

As I hobbled around work the next day, my triathlete friend, Diane, advised me to see a sports medicine doctor sooner rather than later since she herself had waited too long to treat an injury and was finding relief in physical therapy.  I started researching doctors in my insurance network and by Friday, since I was still experiencing pain and vacation was a week away, I made the appointment for Monday.  The doctor sent me for an x-ray and MRI.

“Oh, that’s not good,” said Barb’s husband and physical therapist upon seeing the results of my MRI.  A story of a patient with a similar problem and surgery involving drilling holes into your knee bone ensued.  But “DON’T PANIC”, said Barb’s email....Hmmm…..

So back to the doctor on Thursday.  He explained in plain English what I had been trying to understand through my google searches – a piece of cartilage had broken off in my knee and cartilage is what helps keep your bones from having friction when your joints move.  He had me put my finger into his knee joint model as he bent the knee as a demonstration of the pressure that is typically put on the cartilage as it flexes.  He said while there are surgical options to fill in cartilage, he wouldn’t recommend it at this time - mine is fortunately very small and it's possible I've had it for a long time.  The real diagnosis was more simply, "runners knee" -- the doctor said I had been running too much.  He has recommended I avoid exercise that puts pressure on the knee joint while we give it 4-6 weeks to see if it will heal. 

So that means no running or serious cycling for at least the next month.  I may be able to handle some light, flat riding but certainly not the kind of training I would need to train over the next month for my first Olympic race.  Yes, sadly, I won’t be doing my first Olympic race on Martha’s Vineyard as I had hoped.  I can swim to heart’s my content so in that regard I’m reminded of the benefits of living the multi-sport life style.

As Barb told me, if you are going to be an athlete, you have to expect injuries.  We all try our best to avoid them and to find that happy balance of pushing ourselves to reach our next goal and yet not overdo it.  Inevitably, most of us aren’t immune to injury.

Montauk: A Sprint to The End

After Mike’s first triathlon in PA, I wasn’t sure if I would get him back into a triathlon swim as the “swim mob” nearly did him in.  But after the Stamford triathlon and some ocean swim practice, Mike was hooked to the multi-sport life.  And, he had to admit that it was more fun being a participant than being my triathlon lackey.  So when I proposed he could still get a charity spot for the Montauk Lighthouse Point Sprint triathlon on July 15, he decided it was all for a good cause!  I had chosen this race since it one of the longer Sprint distances (1/2 mile swim, 14 mile bike, 5K run), and I figured it would be a good progression to ultimately doing my first Olympic distance race.  I also chose the race for its bucket list location – I have always wanted to go to The End, as the eastern most tip of Long Island is known.

We drove out to Montauk on Friday the 13^th.  Forty-five minutes into the ride we were questioning whether or not we had turned off the towel warmer at home.  Since 99% of the time, the answer to such on-the-road questions is yes, we decided to keep moving forward [upon returning home we discovered it on and realized just how lucky our Friday the 13^th was!].  Once we reached the Hamptons, the summer traffic was in full force.  However, it was once we arrived to check into our hotel that Friday the 13^th struck in full force with the “what’s your name again…um, no record of your reservation”.  Producing my Expedia reservation confirmation that I had received two days earlier with the “no further confirmation required notification” only got a “yes, that is a valid reservation.”  Our hotel immediately began calling around and asserted, “we’ve got you a room across the road at the Born Hotel for $250 per night but you have to say yes now since they have someone else wanting it.”  We took it sight unseen – the fear of having to stay miles away and navigating the summer traffic was too much to argue.

We spent the rest of Friday afternoon walking the town and scoping out dinner.  We also took a drive up to the Montauk Lighthouse, or truly “The End”.  Mike gracefully skipped along the rock path that surrounds the lighthouse and drops down to the ocean with no railing.  I decided this was one sport I didn’t want to partake in.  We tried to envision where the race would take place but with the waves crashing up against the rocks, we surmised the swimming portion must be elsewhere.  We concluded our evening with a superb lobster, mussels, clams, and corn on the cob full meal deal and some Italian cookies from the local bakery.

On Saturday morning we attempted to get up really early to do a bike warmup, but I had had a restless sleep so we were up at 8am.  I checked the course and we decided to do one leg of it and check out Gin Beach where the swim and T1 would be.  The bike course was flat for about two-thirds of the race but its final stretch included the hills up to the lighthouse, where T2 was located; nothing we haven’t conquered in our hilly Connecticut terrain.  Ten miles later we were ready for Anthony’s Pancake House.

We digested our breakfast by picking up our race packets and shopping for some final necessities.  I decided I wanted to carry a small water bottle on the run given the heat wave we had been experiencing.  When I couldn’t find a small one, I opted for buying and emptying a small lime juice bottle – it was the perfect size and I reasoned the squirt top would be perfect for on the go hydration. 

We did a 10 minute swim warm up in the very wavy beach near our hotel, and then packed up our transition gear into T1 and T2 bags.  By 5:30pm, I was all packed up – a record!  We decided to not risk a restaurant prepared meal (given Mike’s last race bathroom issues) and just make our own pasta dinner since our $500 hotel spend came with a small kitchenette.  After dinner, we took an evening stroll – a sorbet stop seemed ok for pre-race diet.  By 9:00pm, we were in bed and feeling organized and prepared for our 4:50am wakeup.

We awoke at 4:45am.  I slept better than the night before but it was Mike’s turn for a restless night.  Nevertheless, the adrenaline was in full force.  I had reminded Mike how fast race morning goes – once again, we needed every minute, especially with the two transition areas.  After we had dropped off our gear in T2, I realized we should have counted the transition rows to insure we could find our gear (we both would later lose some seconds as we searched for our T2 spot).  We had to park and walk our bikes about ½ mile to T1.  T2 set up, two bathroom runs, body marking and chip fetching further ate minutes.  Then, we had to walk another ½ mile down the beach to the start.  We made it with just comfortable minutes to spare.  Others were not so lucky and were running down the beach and starting with subsequent waves.

Mike’s wave went first followed by mine a few minutes later.  Since it was a point to point swim course, it seemed straight forward.  I was grateful when someone in our wave said there were 4 buoys after the start buoy – I hadn’t thought to count them but it helped me consider my swim pace once we were in the water and lost all perspective.  Mike was out of the water in 18:10 and I came in at 23:45 – both times longer than anticipated but I suspect the current may have been slightly against us and the run up the beach to the timing mat was significant.

We passed each other going in opposite directions on the bike.  I was going at a good clip, but not passing as many people as I often do, I think a combination of some very strong cyclists on expensive bikes and the waves that preceded me were on average the faster groups.  Mike had spent Friday afternoon putting a bike computer on my bike but I had forgotten to reset it after our warm up ride so I wasn’t completely sure how I was doing with my speed.  I ended up being happy with a 18 mph pace for a time of 46:35 and Mike was happy with his 20.8 mph pace at 40:22.

Once at the Lighthouse T2, we ran through the paths of Camp Hero.  Once again we passed each other going in opposite directions.  Having spent a lot of energy on the bike, my run felt on the slow side, especially given the heat although I managed a 9:41 per mile pace at 30:06 and Mike did a 7:52 pace for a 24:28 run.  We both saved some fuel in the tank for a final, strong ascent up the hill to the lighthouse, with Mike passing a man and me passing a woman in the final stretch.  As I crossed the finish line at exactly 1:44:00 for my wave, I heard them announce “Catherine Mayone, Stamford, CT”.  Mike met his goal of finishing in less than 90 minutes at 1:27:28.  A very cool finish at THE END indeed!

The Hills of Gretna

Gretna Ride

After the Tri, I started concentrating on my biking in preparation for the 25 mile "ride around the valley".  I started out with a couple of 12 mile rides in addition to swimming.  My knee was feeling pretty good and the IT band pain was just about gone, but I decided to take a break from running for a while.  I went on one of my favorite 15 mile rides, only to find one of the main roads chewed up due to construction.  This brings up my next subject, the 'ride around the valley' disappointingly got cancelled due to road construction throughout the county.  I was getting bored with my usual rides, and to boot there was a heat wave; so my husband suggested I try riding in the hills of Mt. Gretna because it's nearly all in the shade.  He gave me directions, which I drew out on a napkin and shoved in my back pocket along with my phone.  Ordinarily this would sound like a bad idea, but I only had to check my cheat sheet once!  The route includes a couple really tough climbs, and a couple fun fast descents.  It's 11 or 12 miles and I can do it in under an hour... it's a great workout!  I did this ride 5-6 times in the last couple weeks, determined to master the tough hill in the middle.  Watching the Tour de France, I am aware of just how much determination it must take for the riders.  The hill I call "tough" registers a 5 on their difficulty rating which starts at 5 - with 1 being the most difficult.  My new favorite cyclist is Bradley Wiggins for telling those "f'ing wankers" to get off their "arses"http://   bit.ly/ND9ko5   
My husband and I dusted off our Trek tandem bike for a 20 mile ride on the rails to trails Tuesday.  I had a great workout, but all of the recent biking (which isn't supposed to hurt my knee) has yielded a bit of new and different pain.  Finally, I've made an appointment to see my family doctor to get some x-rays to find out how bad the arthritis is; and perhaps an MRI to check on the original injury and see what's going on with the meniscus and cartilage.  There is no instability, I feel strong and in excellent shape... just getting tired of the aches and pains of the last few years and finally ready to find out what's going on which will help me either fix it - or work around it.

Also, I got a new Trek mountain bike for my birthday and Bella and I have been hitting the rails to trails because it's shady there, and still 90 degrees.

   

Just Tri It: Stamford Olympic Relay

Frances and Ursula were great support!

Looking back at this weekend’s events, I can’t help but think of the Beatles “I get by with a little help from my friends”.  Being part of a relay team added a whole new dimension to my triathlon endeavors.

Back in January I convinced my husband Mike and friend Allison that we should do a relay at our hometown Stamford Olympic distance triathlon hosted by the local charity Kids in Crisis.  Mike wasn’t ready to sign up for a triathlon since he hadn’t yet mastered swimming and I thought I could use the summer to train for my first Olympic distance.  Over drinks, I had convinced Allison to join me for our first Olympic distance in September so we thought this would be a good “training tri”.  Hence Team “Just Tri It” was born.

After having done full Sprint distance triathlons, I wasn’t sure if I would find doing a relay fulfilling but it was in different ways.  First, it gave me the opportunity to do my first 10K run.  Secondly, it allowed us all to do a hometown tri that we wouldn’t have otherwise been ready to take on.  And, it was super fun to experience team camaraderie in an otherwise individual sport.  We were also able to host our friends and have local spectators.  It was the first time I had the opportunity to be more of a race spectator even as I still participated – I was in awe watching the elite athletes not just survive but thrive in their swim (especially the woman who beat many of the guys out of the water) and maneuver their bike transitions with shoes in their pedals.

After a nice Italian dinner at our favorite local restaurant, we along with our guests – Antoine, Ursula and Allison – settled in for as early a bedtime as we could manage.  Mike and I were already awake when the alarm went off at 4:15am.  Thirty minutes later, we were out the door.  While on one hand, it was our home turf, the logistics were extra tricky with two transition areas over one mile apart.

Allison was our team swimmer

Upon picking up our timing chip, we did a quick team practice how we would “pass the baton”.  We decided our strategy would be for a single person to both take it off and to put it on the other person.

The race kicked off at 6:30am with Antoine seeded in the Elite and first wave.  Allison went 15 minutes later in the fifth wave.  As I looked out at the nearly mile long swim course, I thought “wow, that looks long!”  But I just told Allison “it just looks long – you do it in the pool all the time!”  

 As we waited for Antoine and Allison to emerge, I came to realize how nerve wracking it is as a spectator to be wondering where your swimmer is as you just see a sea of caps – both out of desire to see them do well and for their safety (I got more nervous as I overheard the organizers on the shore saying there was one person being pulled out). 

Mike was our relay team cyclist

Our friend Frances along with her 10 week daughter (Mike’s Goddaughter) arrived at the beach in time to help us cheer on Allison as she completed the course.  I was so happy I had convinced Allison to buy swim booties as people were cutting their feet on the shells.  As Allison approached the transition area, I didn’t see Mike in his designated spot but he came running from the bathroom (the Italian meal wasn’t sitting well) to successfully receive the chip and proceed on the bike.

Antoine is - just awesome!

After waiting for the shuttle, Ursula and I arrived at T2 just in time to see Antoine zoom in on his Scott triathlon bike.  Being the elite triathlete he is, he gracefully had his feet out of his shoes before he ever touched the ground.  Allison and Frances caught up to us as I watched the clock and the stream of cyclists coming in.  I knew the fastest possible pace would probably be 25 mph but with hills, Mike would do something less than that and come in somewhere more than 1 hour and likely less than 1 ½ hours.  So at the 1 hour 15 min market, I went to the transition area and sure enough, he appeared at 1 hour 20 minutes and 11 seconds.  As I took his timing chip off and put it on me, I fumbled a bit and almost lost my water.  As I hit the hot pavement minutes later, I was glad to have retrieved it.

It was HOT!  We were in the midst of a heat wave and by 8:45 we were in full sun.  The first two miles went ok and then I really started feeling the heat as I ran through a particularly sunny section of the course.  Halfway through my fan club kept me going and Ursula’s “Cathy placard” (she had one for each of us as she was forced to the sidelines with an ear infection) made me smile.

On the second loop, the Stamford fire engine’s water spray felt really good.  As I – wearing my Army shorts – passed a 61 year old with an Army jersey on, I encouraged him with an Army Strong greeting, the campaign created by my former company.  “You Betcha!” he said proudly.

For a short time I befriended a fellow mid-forties woman as we kept relatively the same pace.  “My friends think I’m crazy,” she said.  “One third of mine think it’s cool, one third think it’s crazy, and I’ve recruited the other one third,” I replied.  It was her first Olympic distance and somehow she mustered the strength to pull ahead of me at the end.

I was happy as the finish line approached.  A young 24 year old male passed me, high fived me and encouraged me to keep going strong as I looked like I was wilting.  And, I did just that, exerting my last bit of speed at the end and passing him right at the finish line.  He was very cool and gracious and high fived me again!

I was the team runner

We finished 27^th out of 49 relay teams at 3:01:19.  I accomplished my goal to finish the 10K run in less than 1 hour at 58:16.  Allison achieved her goal with a strong swim at 40:51.  Mike placed 10 out of 49 amongst the relay bike participants with an average speed of over 18 mph on some hilly terrain.  And Antoine placed 8^th overall amongst all race participants!!!

Now we’re already planning how Team Just Tri It will shave off 1 minute 20 seconds to finish in under 3 hours.   I think we can…”I get by with a little help from my friends…”

Team Just Tri It





Tri and Try Again

The time had finally come for Cathy and I to reunite in Quakertown for my second Tri, and her fourth.  For the most part I felt good going in to the event, except the IT band issue.  The weekend started out on a down note when I78 was closed mid way to Quakertown due to an accident.  Even though we left a little late, I had still hoped to get there in time to do the swim warm up and clinic to get me mentally prepared for the next day.  The two alternate roads to get around the accident both had "closed due to construction" signs; so we had to completely reroute.  Cathy and I are terrible navigators, and we admit this fact - this is why I have a GPS.  David only had a map of greater Philadelphia in his truck and I was trying to tell him how to get around the accident using the map on my phone.  This got me car sick and gave me a headache, also I told him to zig right when he should have zagged left because the image was upside down!  So I missed the swim clinic but made it there just in time to pick up my registration packet.
After checking into the hotel Cathy, Mike and I made a trip for extra provisions which gave us all deja vu because they were all the same stops we had made the previous year:  Dollar Store, the sporting goods store, Walmart, and Dunkin Donuts.  Then we went to the Brick Tavern for a tasty and relaxing dinner on the patio and enjoyed the beautiful evening.  A quick dip in the hot tub provided further relaxation and I fell asleep immediately.  However I woke up in the night and couldn't fall back asleep because my new kick-ass playlist was already swirling around in my head.  Last year I trained to some relaxing beats to help me stay calm, this year it was all Green Day, Kanye, Billy Idol and anything else I could think of to get me ramped up and mentally tough.
Having done it before, I knew I could complete the course so the only mental issue was knowing that my training hadn't gone as I planned.  My only goals this year were to average better than 14 mph on the bike and not to stop during the run.  I wasn't really concerned with improving my time because I had done about half the training of last year.
Getting in the water, I bobbed up and down trying to get some of the cold water in my wetsuit so it wouldn't be as much of a shock when the race started.  This was to no avail, because the cold water took my breath away again just like last year.  I had trained to start out with a strong breast stroke instead of trying to freestyle, which I knew would work better for me.  I was breathing hard though and felt my heart rate going crazy, so after rounding the first buoy I settled into a relaxing side stroke.  Rounded the second buoy and flipped on my back, keeping my arms at my side and kicking hard just like the drills we did in our master's swim class.  Then hearing the "green caps" approaching from behind, I went back into breast stroke but the breathing was much better at this point.  I felt good coming out of the water and assumed I had done about the same as last year.  Later I was surprised to learn that I had taken almost 4 minutes off of last years time!  The lesson here is play to your strengths:  I knew I couldn't freestyle in a lake so I had practiced mostly breast and side stoke.
Coming out of T1, I had more trouble clipping in going up hill than last year, but overall felt very strong on the ride.  Remembering what David had told me to do, "power over the apex of the hill"  "put it in your big ring"   "pull up and push down"  all these things were in my head along with Billy Idol's Rebel Yell!  I was so surprised to learn later that I did about the same on the bike as last year because I felt much better and was averaging 14.6 the last time I checked my flight deck.  Cathy and I later remembered that there was a pretty strong head wind for part of the ride so that all made sense.  Going into the T2, I clipped out early to avoid any mishaps, which did not work because I lost my balance while dismounting and toppled over right before the white line.  I smiled and jumped up, saying "I'm ok" and the spectators were all saying "take your time.. you got it" to encourage me.  I ran in laughing at myself and put my bike on the rack, quickly shifted from bike shoes to sneakers and trotted off for the last leg.
I was definitely tired, but I had grabbed my water to sip and spit and also one final power gel I had laid out next to my hat.  Getting a side stitch, I knew I could run through it if I slowed my pace just a bit..  passing other walkers, I kept saying to myself "I will not walk, every second counts".  Finally the turn around came into view and I knew I would make it although I didn't feel as good at this point as I had the previous year.  Plus I wasn't chasing down Cathy like last year, which was extra incentive!  I tried to lengthen my stride, and managed to sprint in the finish - but it was still almost a minute slower than last year.
Surprising I somehow took 5 minutes off of last year's time with half the training!  (Going from 1:22 in 2011 to 1:17 in 2012)  Part of this was because I did wait for Cathy a bit in T1 last year, I was truly worried that she wasn't out of the lake because I knew we swam at the same pace.  This year's T1 was a full minute less than last year, but I don't regret waiting - she's my sister!  So my transition times went down a good bit, and the improved swim time was a very nice surprise.  Overall I'm thrilled to have bettered my time despite lack of training and a sore IT band.  I'm not sure what the future holds... but if I do another Tri, I'll find the happy medium between the overtraining I did the first year resulting in injury -  and the unforeseen undertraining of this year resulting in less endurance for the run.
Cathy improved her time to 1:06 as she continues to train for her Olympic length event.  And her husband Mike, who only started swimming a few months ago, gets the Beast Award for doing his first Tri in under an hour!!  Just as last year, Piranha Sports put on a well marked, well organized race with good food and nicely done goodie bags.

Here is the Public Link to the pictures from the 2012 Quakertown Independence Tri:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151777069700507.848607.885265506&type=1&l=91fd39a32d

Independence Triathlon: One Year Later

One year and three triathlons later makes a big difference!  I was excited to return to the event that had marked my first ever triathlon and to be joined by Barb and my husband Mike.  We all had a great race with Barb and I chopping multiple minutes off of our time, and Mike, who watched from the sidelines last year, joining us for his first race.

This year I practiced flat tire changing a week in advance instead of a last minute day in advance.  Mike and I fortunately had the opportunity to practice in the lake the day before and we took a ride around the bike course. The only small snafu was that my triathlon watch decided to die this week but I was pleasantly surprised to find a replacement in Walmart when we stopped for a few provisions.  After a nice dinner and a soothing jacuzzi, we went to bed around 10pm and I fell asleep quickly, unlike last year!

So as the alarm went off at 5am, I popped up, was organized and packed from the night before, and this time remembered to eat my breakfast.  Going down my checklist, I kept Mike organized as well.  I had warned him how fast the clock ticks, which he came to realize as we still headed out 10 minutes later than planned at 5:40.  But arriving at the transition area I was much more organized than last year so I had just enough time to set up my area and put on my wetsuit.  It helped that Barb and I were in wave 2 and Mike was 10 minutes later in wave 4.

And we were off!  I sighted the first buoy often, determined not to make the same mistake of going off course as I did last year.  Neither the swimming mob nor the plant infested, dark water lake freaked me out so I warmed up going out the 200 yards to the first buoy.  Rounding the second buoy, I sprinted my way in for a personal  record .25 mile swim in 8:22 and cutting more than 10 minutes off of last year's time!

This year I had my wits about me enough to remember to start taking my wetsuit off as I exited the water and ran into T1.  I still wasn't immune to mistakes though as I realized I hadn't unvecroed my bike shoes.  I also had multiple attempts clipping my shoes into the pedals on the incline at the bike start despite having practiced it.  But once on my new Specialized Amira racing bike, I sped off and did more passing than being passed, except for the pro men on their triathlon bikes with whirring wind resistant wheels that cost more than many people spend on a car.  And there was that one 59 year old woman who passed me - inspiration!  I was happy to shave 1:36 off of last  year's time.

Coming into T2, I looked at my watch and I was 49 minutes into the race so I had motivation to give the run my best as I was exceeding my time expectations.  I had seen Barb on the bike so I knew she had been doing alright but I had not seen Mike so I was worried if he had made it out of the swim ok.  But after the run turnaround we passed each other.

I thought Mike would catch me but I wasn't turning around to look for him - I kept my eyes on the finish line and ran 3:27 faster than last year!  My overall time of 1:06:22 (11/27 in my age category) was a full 16 minutes faster than last year!    I cheered on Mike a couple minutes later who I think should earn some sort of first timers award for his 00:57:41 finish, especially since he just started swimming a couple months ago!  Just think what he could have done if he had been on his Felt rather than his $95 Schwinn!  And Barb cut a full 5 minutes off her time too!

Now if I can just get better at being the car navigator.  Even google maps couldn't help keep me on course as we ended up with the scenic Poconos route coming home...

Quakertown Triathlon T Minus 3 Days

Cathy and I will be doing our second Quakertown Tri (Sponsored by Piranha Sports) this Sunday, we're both excited and much more comfortable than last year!  Cathy's husband Mike will be joining us for his first Tri, having purchased a 2XU wetsuit.

After working with Cathy's swim coach for the past month, he's already swimming a mile!  Cathy will be riding her sexy new racing Specialized, I will be riding Phil's old Klein which I have named "The Blue Beast", and Mike will be riding a $100 Schwinn (with which he still beats Cathy on her new fancy bike).  In a flurry of texts yesterday we compared the expenses of Tri training.  Aside from the improved bike, Cathy spent about $180 on swim coaching.  I only spent $10 on a couple of Master's Swim classes; but after weeks of doing the breast stroke had to spend $180 on new bras at Victoria's Secret.  Cathy and I both agreed that our husbands didn't mind our spending habits involved with training because it's keeping us in good shape!

Greetings Earthling, brace yourself for immediate disintegration. 

After months of avoiding injury, I managed to re-tweak my knee last week leaving for work.  Carrying my 11 pound Morkie and work bag, I thought I was stepping onto hard surface but landed in mulch instead.  As soon as I felt my ankle twist, I took the weight off of my right leg and caught myself with the left.  I knew my left knee would be sore immediately, I was just hoping it was nothing major.  Sunday I had a fantastic ride, but the run afterwards yielded some IT band pain which I had also experienced after last year's tri.  This week we're doing iontophoresis to the front area which David calls "the insertion point", and he has taped the IT band from the back which last year fixed the problem instantly.  David calls the tape we use "medical duct tape" because it's very strong.  There was something about doing a 'fibular glide' while taping and anchoring to the tibia - whatever he does, it releases the tension.  Insurance companies don't want to pay for Ionto because they consider it "experimental" but it also fixed some bad wrist tendonitis that I had this year.  It's only used in certain circumstances, but it does work and has been around a long time.  If we ever treat an insurance company exec, I would love to say, "Oh we could fix that with Ionto but according to your company it's experimental."

        

Hopefully we'll have great stories & pictures to share after Sunday; and Mike will join our Blog Team with a post about his first big event.  Go Us!