Week #19 - Half-Way-To-Iron-Weekend

I was all pumped for my half-way-to-iron-weekend. I knew that cutoff times will be enforced to ensure we have the support you need out on the course and we finish up with plenty of time to get ready to chow down at an all you can eat BBQ dinner back at camp. These cutoff times were selected by the coaches because they represent exactly half the time for the real cutoff times at Ironman.

I mentally and physically visualized my day going like this. We will start promptly at 7am with the swim.

The swim cutoff time will be at a total time of 1 hour and 10 minutes, which is a 3:18/100 yards pace (8:10am).

The bike cutoff time will be at a total time of 5 hours and 30 minutes (12:30pm) . If you just make the swim cutoff and have a 10 minute transition, this equates to an average bike speed of 13.44 miles/hr.

The run cutoff time will be at a total time of 9 hours (4:00pm). If you just make the bike cutoff and have a 10 minute transition, this equates to an average run pace of 24:34/mile.

What I wasn't prepared for was falling directly onto my kneecap on the Marin Metric Century route the weekend prior. in the days leading up to Half-Way-To-Iron-Weekend, I had an x-ray to make sure I didn't break my kneecap. The x-ray came back - no fracture, but due the trama this knee has already endured, my doctor wanted me to see an ortho. Fortunately, I was able to see an ortho this week too. I knew I was only going to be cleared for swimming and that was exactly the case. I traveled down to the Wildflower course and I was able to complete the 1.2 mile swim in 50 minutes. Not bad for only pulling. This was the first activity I was able to do all week so I attempted to kick and it didn't feel right, so I just pulled. Then after my swim, I stayed in the cold water to complete some range of motion movement to get my knee moving. I had been icing and elevating it all week, taking anti-inflammatory meds, doing everything I could to get the swelling down.
Then, I went and worked the first run water stop. It was great for me to be able to cheer on my teammates. Sure, I wanted to be out there with them, but since it is better for me to recovery completely now so I can complete my main goal in July, cheering on my teammates was the next best thing. After the last runner came through my water stop, I went back into the cold water for round 2 of range of motion, only this time I was without a wetsuit. This REALLY helped loosen my knee up so I was really glad I did it. Of course, my knee tightened up again on the 4 hour car ride home from Lake San Antonio, but it was worth it!
My week ahead is supposed to be a recovery week, which is great because my week will be filled with doctor appointments and an MRI to make sure everything is ok with my knee.