GOTTA KNOW WHEN TO FOLD EM

I had been holding my cards for as long as I could, but I just cancelled out of Kansas 70.3 to be held on June 9th.  Very tough decision as this was a target race for me.  I had planned on finishing first in my age group and qualifying for the World Championship 70.3 race to be held in Nevada in September.  I have a backup qualifier in mind -- Racine 70.3 scheduled in July.  But, not getting to race at Kansas is kinda like getting a flat on a bike ride and using up your only spare.  The uncertainty of whether you will finish the ride or get another flat is unnerving.

The reason I cancelled is I have another injury.  Following my race two weeks ago Saturday, I took a recovery bike ride on Sunday and swam/ran on Monday. Tuesday morning I could hardly walk.  It appeared I had a good case of the shin splints on my right leg. Haven't had shin splints since High School.  So I followed the RICE rule (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) but continued to swim and bike as the pain was not excruciating for those exercises (as compared to attempted running).  After a week nothing much changed so I started with the heat and self massage treatments. OK, that's not going well, maybe I have something other than shin splints.  What about a stress fracture of the tibia or navicular bone (google it)?  Healing time is up to 6 weeks, ugh, I can't have that.  Did you know Frank Shorter ran the 1976 Olympic Marathon with a stress fracture and still took the silver medal?  Just a trivia diversion for those under the age of 40.  Or, maybe I have External Compartment Syndrome (ECS)?

After some self diagnosis aided by the Internet, I ruled out shin splints (they appear on the interior of the leg, my swelling is on the exterior).  I ruled out stress fracture (the pain usually localizes after a few days, mine didn't).  That left me with ECS or a simple tendon/ligament strain.  The foot is complicated, 24 bones per foot, almost 1/4 of all the bones in your body are in your feet.  Take a look at my right leg almost two weeks after the pain first appeared.  You can't even see the ankle bones for the swelling. Guess I better not attempt a 70.3 race (with a half marathon run) on that puffy lower leg.  So, wait for healing and the opportunity to race another day.

Now, it's time for a confession that may have a nexus regarding my injury.  I'm old school when it comes to training and athletics.  I mean really old school.  I keep things relatively simple.  I have never had an athletic coach except for high school and college track, and they were conscripts (Any teacher here want to coach track? Pay is $500 per season.).  I have never consulted a nutritionist for dietary, training or race needs.  I simply follow the crave theory.  If I crave it, I eat it. Well, not exactly true. I do try to show reasonable constraint but I don't exclude anything in particular from my diet.  I have never used supplements unless you call multi-vitamins a supplement.  I don't get regular massages or physical therapy for athletic purposes (I have received them occasionally for injury recovery).  I have never had a professional triathlon bike fitting,  swim evaluation, or running evaluation.  I don't have a physical trainer.  I'm not sure what "core" workouts mean, but I imagine you exercise everything but the arms and legs.  How do you do that?  And, while I used to keep track of training and race efforts with a pencil and paper,  now I no longer bother keeping track at all.  Certainly you don't care how far I biked on Jan 6th 2002.  I know I don't.