Dang It

I have patella tendinitis.

Not good.

The right knee has been giving me problems for over a month now and the combo of a hilly Muskoka course (not to mention the effort I had to produce to take 5th place up there) + my resuming training too quickly post Muskoka has left me with my first notable injury in years. I was able to run 30k over hilly terrain last Sunday, and laid down some solid training sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, but today, the knee finally gave out and the pain forced me to walk the final 2 miles of my a.m. run.

Looks like I'll have to suspend all cycling and run training for a few days and give this thing a chance to heal. We have some nasty weather headed our way this weekend anyway, so good timing, I guess. I need to convert my old P2C into a road bike, so now I'll have a chance to do so.

Unfortunately, flare ups/injury/sickness are all part of the game. I've enjoyed 3 years of relatively smooth sailing and my fitness is high. I will admit that missing some training time pre-IMFL is a bit disconcerting, but better that I take the down time now vs. roll the dice, push on and risk blowing all of October and any shot at finishing in one piece on 11/01.

Psyched on the Sidelines

What a weekend! My crew tore it up!

I had a bunch of people set PRs, and although all the results/race reports aren't in as of 9 p.m. EST, hi-lites at this point in time include:

• Nick Dufresne's 6th place finish at the stacked Westchester Olympic Distance Triathlon (Pro race)
• Craig Lewin's 2nd place overall finish (40 sec.? off 1st!) at the Nutmegman Half Iron Triathlon in CT
• John Anthony's 3rd place overall finish at the Firmman Half Iron Triathlon in RI

Still awaiting word on how Liam and Kelly fared in Cancun. This was Liam's last chance to qualify for Clearwater '08, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. At this point in time, I have 8 athletes heading to Clearwater, so I'm hoping that Liam pulled it off today so that he can join us for the big end of season party!

9/22 update: Liam won his AG at Cancun so he's heading to Clearwater!

Muskoka 70.3

Muskoka: Hands down the toughest 70.3 event I've ever competed in, but I'm already counting down the days until next year's race!

Hills, Rain, Wilderness, a Wetsuit Legal Swim... What more could I ask for?!?!

This race was all that it was cracked up to be and I couldn't be happier with my performance. Despite a stellar field that included the likes of Craig Alexander, Richie Cunningham, Simon Lessing, Dave Harju and rising star Daniel Bretcher, I was able to claw my way back from my typical 5+ minute swim deficit to a 5th place overall finish (see results); my second podium finish of the year on the 70.3 circuit.

Muskoka provided a very much needed boost of confidence. Recording the 2nd fastest overall bike split and third fastest overall run split against guys of this caliber makes me feel as though I've made the right decision to leave school behind and go full tilt with the coaching and athletic gig. As fast as I went on Sunday, I honestly feel as though I have A LOT more in me and will continue to work hard to improve on all three fronts.

Well, that's a wrap. Michelle has outdone me once again by writing a race/travel recap that tells it all, so I encourage you to visit her blog if you're interested to hear how we spent last weekend. She's posted some great pics as well. We were fortunate enough to make a stop in Niagara Falls on our way back down from Canada, so the weekend was nothing short of spectacular for a variety of reasons.

Back to the grind: Time to start prepping for Ironman Florida again. I can look forward to tired legs and groggy mornings for the next 4 - 5 weeks. Revisiting 70.3 mode sure was fun while it lasted!

Antsy!

Man I'm ready to race! I can't wait to get this Muskoka trip underway! I hear that it's going to rain this weekend while I'm up in Hunstville, Ontario: Excellent. I don't think that I've ever had anything but a PR day when it's rained on race day.

The fitness it there now. I knew that things were looking good when I clipped off my standard 6 mile run about 2 min. faster than normal yesterday morning, and today only underscored the fact that I'm ready to roll: 30 min. of pace work @ 300+ watts felt like a walk in the park.

I guess that last weekend's Pumpkinman sprint was a much needed tune up as I can't remember the last time I've felt this good. Hell, even my swimming feels pretty strong right now. Despite zero warm-up and a hurried rush just to make it to the starting line, I had a really fun time chasing Tony, Dean and Nick (who I caught, AGAIN on the run - I don't think I'll be so lucky at Duxbury though!) and the experience has left me feeling very relaxed and excited as I gear up/taper down for Muskoka 70.3 this weekend.

So... off for a quick ocean swim tonight and then, there will be nothing left to do but pack up and stay loose with a couple of easy workouts before I hit the road on Friday.

I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that nothing stupid happens on Sunday. We received notification that some jack-ass dumped tacks all over the Muskoka bike course. The race directors assured us that they're having all of the roads swept, but 56 miles of rolling, wet roads + tacks = increased probability for a flat. Man... I'd be pretty heated if a flat ruins my day or the day of one of my fellow competitors.

But there's no sense in worrying. Whatever will happen will happen on Sunday. I just can't wait to hit the starting line!