Week In Review: June 16-22, 2014

June 16-22
Weekly volume: 8:27:43
Swim- 1:15, 3x
Bike- 3:57:05, 4x
Run- 2:10:38, 6x
Strength- 1:05, 2x
Full rest days: 0

Notes: Believe it or not, this was my biggest week in a while. And the best part is -- nothing was forced. My goals were just to be consistent, and do sessions as long as I felt good (didn't have to feel great but I refused to do a workout if I was at all questioning whether it was a smart idea). In the process, end outcomes were not even on my mind. Most workouts I started not even really knowing what I'd end up doing until I gauged how I felt and went with it. Only a couple times did I have definite goals such as my Sunday bike that included 2X25min or so worth of time spent at ~160-190 watts (aka tempo watts).

One interesting finding: I started the week on Monday with an oddly low HRV of 63 average upon waking, which is weird because Sunday was a really mellow, restful day spent with our dads for Father's Day. So that said, I can mostly attribute that low HRV to being stressed over the ginormous workload I had waiting for me (and man I worked some long days last week coming off the East Coast trip).

But then fast-forward through the week, and by the weekend HRV was getting back to the 80s. Guess I was recovering well even with daily workouts :)

Ya know what else was nice? I worked my BUTT off during the week, but by weekend I had earned some free time. I'm making a strong effort in all this to allot more time and energy to doing enjoyable things outside of s/b/r. I love s/b/r and I geek out on triathlon daily (truuuust me), but I'm at a point in my training/active life where all triathlon all the time ain't healthy (and you can make that case with any sport -- Michael Jordan understood this).

So, for example, Sunday morning I did a tough bike/t-run but still all under 2 hours total. During that workout, I noticed something: I started that bike (on trainer) giggling so hard at so many random things and was just in such a good mood.... hm. That, compared with days where I've started bikes just feeling grumpy. Got through the workout and it was hard, but over relatively fast. I'll be honest the run wasn't as great as I'd hoped for but I just went with the it. I then had time to enjoy an afternoon with my sister, her boyfriend, John and friends on the beach (complete with snorkeling) then later on watching the USA v. Portugal World Cup game with John literally just gelling out on the couch enjoying a kombucha beer. Later on we cruised around on beach cruisers for fun... it was perfect and just what I wanted. (As an aside I've pretty much been glued to my desk since then but it's all good if I can have days like that :))

Here's a Strength Workout I did.

Extensive warmup

dowel exercises, mobility, light jogging, etc as well as:
3 X 15 ea. lateral band walks and 15 band pullaparts
2 X 10 ea. birddogs, 20 bridges, 10 SL bridges, 10 ea. side legs lifts.
---

Main Set
Part 1. 

4 rounds:
20 walking lunges with weight (DBs each hand)
5 box jumps
abmats of 20, 25, 30, 35 reps - fast/hard effort
---
Part 2. 

3 rounds:
20 deadlifts (with Oly bar)
15 ea. core rotations with med ball
30" plank with scap pushups

As you can see from that workout, the wrist was really doing well (I was wearing brace). In fact I did a SUP sessions on Sunday and on Monday my wrist felt the best it had since before the fracture! I took that as a cue that's it's clearly time to get moving again and work on increasing mobility, strength and function. So, again, on that strength workout I was pleasantly surprised to see that I could handle holding 15+lb DBs for the walking lunges, as well as the 45lb bar for DLs. 

As the week went on I was weaning myself off the brace even more and I think as of the weekend I pretty much have been without the wrist brace, feeling stronger and more mobile every day. I don't even know where it is right now as I type this... I think in my car? lol.

 ---

Anyway here's an example of going with the flow, notes straight from TP from a Wednesday ride:

"I was thinking originally this would just be a Z1-Z2ish sorta morning spin. I was reading questions for podcast and also a review article for another podcast during the beginning to maximize time. But even with that watts and HR increased nicely and easily without trouble. Very soon watts in 130-140s. Then easily into150s. And legs were NOT rejecting the effort! Whoa!

Felt like power was there so did a 15min solid tempo of 170w avg, peaking at ~190watts at times.

Easily could have done more but had to get on podcast and knew I'd be riding Thursday with client so no sweat.

Did not drink water during. Lost 1lb. 130 to 129. Temperature was normal not cold or hot (it was 6:30am when started)"

---

That said, not every workout is this magical effort, and I don't always feel amazing. Later that same day after bike with notes you see posted above, I got out the door for a lovely little evening run and didn't feel like superwoman:
.

"just a shakeout to be consistent with running. sadly legs did not feel that great, but what can i expect after the bike then sitting all day with 3hr of podcast recordings,  2hr combined of followup chats, and then training new intern for 3hr. wore compression during all that btw.

Just went easy on run, later saw after that pace was actually good at times like low 8's. not pushing hard at all."

 --- 

 

Alright gotta jet... thanks for keeping up with my training and journey. Less than 3 weeks till Vineman woo hoooo!!!!!!!

Minimalist Training So Far, Workout Details Included

I have a few blogs in the works right now, but this one's most timely. In effort to be transparent with my altered "less than traditional" training approach leading into Vineman, I want to keep this blog up to date with what I'm doing, how I'm feeling, etc.

I won't lie, a couple times I've found myself a tad nervous about ditching the bigger "more traditional" volume and what that will mean come race day in terms of performance. But then those fears completely go away nearly every time I do a workout or I take a step back and see how I'm doing overall. Why? Because for the most part I feel phenomenal and on top of my game. I also am not holding myself to any strict schedule, I am not using heart rate at all (only power on bike and GPS), and I'm allowing myself the freedom to train how my body feels. I have loose overall goals I want to hit each week and certain intnesities I want to reach, but I just let it come and it's not foreced. Mentally this is really good stuff for me, and it's showing with the physical performances.

Here are 5 positives I've noticed so far since the shift in training:
1) Recovery between workouts is better than ever;
2) ...As a result workouts are QUALITY, and I'm feeling awesome 9 outta 10 times;
2) Drastic improvement in overall energy and mood;
3) Work productivity and mental focus are consistently solid;
4) Lower stress and namely I'm not sweating the small things. (Like if I can't train on a Sunday because we have family obligations or whatever, I don't stress out about missing a long ride. Quality of life improving...)
5) My body is adapting well. My muscles aren't as tight and locked up, and I've even put on lean muscle mass already! (Had a massage this week for first time in a while, and my massage therapist was like," whoa what's goin on?! You're not your typical tight and tense self.")

As for the negatives I've noticed? None. So far. That said, sometimes I miss those long weekend rides with my peeps, but it's not like I will purposely deny myself those workouts that I find fun and rewarding; currently I just haven't been able to ride long outside due to the wrist fracture. Eventually I'll still do group rides when the time is right and if I feel like it, but just not force it. Same with long runs. I love running long in the trails, and if the moment comes where that sounds fun, I'm in!

Speaking of fun... here we are playing around with the GoPro in Chesapeake Bay!

Ok so check it out...

Training Log

We're backing up a bit and I'm starting 8 weeks out from Vineman 70.3 (because that's sort of the timeframe for training that matters). Reminder: Broke the wrist on May 13.

---------------
May 19-25
Weekly volume: 7:23:58 
Breakdown of volume:

Swim- 10:00, first post-fracture swim attempt in ocean. Didn't go that great.
Bike- 3:06, 4 trainer sessions
Run- 2:22:58, 4 runs total
Strength- 1:45, 2 sessions
Full rest days: 0


Notes: This was the week after breaking wrist, and I was ready to start some light workouts again. My body did not feel that great overall yet, as I was only ~2 weeks out from some pretty gnarly training/racing that had me feeling depleted, rundown and overtrained. So that said, this is the week in which I first made a conscious effort to change my training style, decreasing volume to begin with. Then once the body felt better I'd slowly add in some intensity. But all my runs this week were easy, and bikes were easy up until Sunday when I felt ok and did this workout:

Bike trainer 1hr, with 4 X ~8:00 strength sets
Warmup
15' spin + 5 X 30" SL drill (in aero)
[strength]
Main Set
5 X 1:00 sprints/high cadence on 1:00 easy. 

Goal watts 200-250w.
[strength]
~2' spin
10' @ ~70.3 race watts, 160-190w.

~2' spin
[strength]
~2' spin
5 X 1:00 ME some out of saddle while in aero, goal watts 200-280+.

on 1:00 recovery.
Cooldown
spin until 1hr total.
[strength]

---------------
May 26-June 1
Weekly volume: 7:00:19
Swim- 40:00, 2 ocean swims
Bike- 2:50, 3 trainer sessions
Run- 2:30:00, 3 runs total
Strength- 1:00, 2 sessions
Full rest days: 1

Notes: This was the first week when I started feeling GOOD again! Body was feeling fresh and a couple runs I was going sub-7:00 pace (one was a spur-of-moment progression run with John that went from MAF to tempo to threshold; the other was an hour run that had 6 X 1:00 max sprints). My weekend trainer session also had 10 X 1:00 max sprints on 1:00 recovery, and I was hitting 270+w, felt great (FTP is low 200s). I also had two great ocean swims, and thoughts that I could do Eagleman at one point. This week I also started ramping up strength training again within limits of wrist; here's a workout:

Strength session:
Warmup

10min functional movement

Set 1

3X:

20 ea side, split squat jumps with 30" lunge hold

60sec battle ropes or shoulder/band work (my partner did ropes, I did band)
Set 2
Tabata (20sec on / 10 sec rest)

2 rounds of 4 sets each:

jump rope (doable for me!)
band pullaparts

--
box jumps (7 ea round = 56 total)
bridge/ham curl on ball

--
abmats
plank variations on stability ball

---------------
June 2-8 (Travel began June 5)
Weekly volume: 4:40:36
Swim- 32:00, 2 swims both in ocean (Pacific & Atlantic!)
Bike- 1:30, 2 trainer sessions (West Coast & East Coast!)
Run- 1:48:36, 4 runs total
Strength- 1:00, 2 sessions
Full rest days: 1

A glance inside my luggage essentials.

Notes: We flew to East Coast Thursday of this week; that morning I woke up super early and at least got in
about 20-30min running in pitch dark before flight out of LAX. Running before travel is the best. Lived in my 110% Play Harder Compression a lot during travel. Sunday was Eagleman; during race I ran on and off the whole time about 5 miles total and walked/stood around a ton. My training was limited this week with the travel and what I could do but I managed and did NOT stress it. Actually, I was able to borrow John's bike while in Maryland and used my client's trainer where we were staying to get in a bike/strength workout! Also of note was that I saw my HRV get back into high 80s upon waking (great for me).

Run with the boys to assess the land in Cambridge. Yup, it's flat.

Little road trip into Delaware to hit up one of my fave breweries. #dogfishhead

---------------
June 9-15 (DC Trip Monday until Thursday night; red eye home)
Weekly volume: 5:53:36
Swim- 50:00, 2 swims back in pool
Bike- 2:00, 2 trainer sessions
Run- 2:18:36, 3 runs total
Strength- 0:40, 1 sessions (2.5 miles SUP)
Full rest days: 1 technically, but that day included 5-6+(?) miles walking DC.

Notes: Again, training was limited because it was not the priority this week. Having a fun vacation with John was the priority. Monday we drove from Cambridge to DC and stayed there until leaving Thursday night. I only ran Mon-Thu, and our Tue/Thus runs we did "tourist style" in which we'd run to monuments and famous landmarks (kill 2 birds with one stone!). I did not stress the lack of training, especially with all the walking we were doing; each day at least 5-6 miles walking -- endurance training in itself! Once we were home I got back to swimming and biking. Swam in pool for first time since break, and attempted a few sets of 100s without the brace, with success. My bike fitness felt ok even with having only had 1 bike in 8 days while traveling.Sunday instead of a swim, bike or run I did some endurance SUP mostly because we were celebrating Father's Day the beach. Later that evening bowled with John's family, lol.

Run - tempo + strides

5.1 miles/40min

Here's an example of not knowing what to expect upon starting, then feeling good and going for it and making the most of it. This run was a blast! Day after EM, last morning in Cambridge, legs felt great!!

 

Warmup

Dynamic non-run exercises, plus 1 mile easy running.

Then:

4 miles tempo (all sub-8:00 pace) AND during that including 1:00 strides done fartlek style.

Cooldown

1:00 easy jog, then walked it out to finish.

Picture taking during that run workout posted above.
Can I just say I love my new Katalyst top by 110% Play Harder?!
I wore it - black!! - in hot and humid Cambridge and it was cool,
comfortable and functional during this tough run!
Check them out here: www.110playharder.com/products.
Use my code 110CoachTawnee for 10% and free shipping.

~~~

Bike trainer workout

1:15 total

Warmup 

~15 min spin, building effort.
Main set
Set 1:
6 X 1:00 hard/reaching max effort and big watts (110-150% FTP) on 1:00 recovery. Extra 2-3' recovery after the last one.
6 X 20" standing in hard gear/low cadence on 40" recovery. Extra 5' recovery after the last one.
Set 2:
Intervals of 8'-6'-4'-2' at high Z3/low Z4 watts (~80-95% FTP) on 2' recovery after each.

Cooldown

Easy spin to finish

Sight-seeing and running. Maximizing time!

---------------
June 16-22
Weekly volume: TBD
Swim- XX
Bike- XX
Run- XX
Strength- XX
Full rest days: XX

Notes: Week in progress. So far so good :)

------------

Disclaimer
If you know me and have read this blog for a long time you know I've spent year training and essentially building a solid base and foundation. So, I've gone into this new training phase comfortably knowing I have that base backing me. That said, this training approach is not something I'd advise for just anyone, especially someone newer to endurance sport. As I wrote recently on CoachTawnee.com, developing endurance fitness takes time and there's no way around that (the other theme of that post is: if you hire a coach, give that coach time to develop you).

So with my current training, I'm NOT trying to find shortcuts, I'm trying to find my way out of a rut that I've put myself in a lot in recent years. It's really just an experiment and I'm making no promises or guarantees on how it'll manifest on race day at the half-iron distance.

Finally...

Wrist Progress Report
It's doing well. I'm not sure if my healing is "normal", better or worse at this point but I feel like I'm on the right track. Tuesday, June 17 marked 5 weeks since the injury. As of last week, I found that I am now very functional without the brace and am comfortable without it on in safe situations. I have even done a couple runs and trainer sessions without it. When I'm home I have it off a lot more and sometimes I forget it's broken/healing. I can put pressure on it but only in certain positions; hard to explain without showing what I mean. I still swim with the brace on for 80-90% of the sessions, but I did attempt (successfully) a few hundred yards here and there without the brace this past week!

The only "bad side" I still see with the wrist healing is that it's 1) still swollen quite noticeably when compared with the right, and 2) very stiff especially flexion. I do need to get in and see and OT/hand therapist just to get evaluated on progress.

Early Morn' Confessions From the East Coast

It's currently 4:30am ET... I am up and at 'em. I think I'm just excited by the fact that I have six athletes racing this weekend (seven if you count one of my consulting clients), and two of them already landed on the podium Saturday:

My mom and sister! Podium girls!!! I am so stikin proud! That race is short, but NOT easy with a tough ocean swim in harsh surf conditions and a deep-sand run.

So why am I up so early? Not quite sure because I did have a little more time to "sleep in" but that didn't happen so I figured I'd get up and enjoy a little quiet time before sh*t gets crazy. Yea, today is Eagleman and in less than half an hour it will be chaos and full of energy in our condo. Thankfully I'm staying with my athlete and his family at a really nice condo less than 2 miles from the half-ironman start, and for the record this is probably the NICEST accommodations I've had for a triathlon in my life. Actually, our Ironman Canada 2011 house was cool with a beautiful view -- tucked into apple orchards and winery grape leaves, but it was a small and old house. This condo is large and very new.

Anyway, the final decision for me is no racing or participating of any kind in Eagleman. I was going to at least do the swim until I realized that was risky as well because the wrist brace really negatively impacts my left-side swim mechanics and it bothers my shoulder/bicep tendon after a while. The last thing I want is to create another injury with just five weeks until Vineman.

I still got a chance to swim in the Choptank River, where the Eagleman swim takes place. We were GoPro'ing it up and having fun. The water out here ain't like the ocean at home lol. I'm excited to get that brace off!!!

So speaking of Vineman, here's a little sneak peak on what's to come from me....

I've decided to experiment with a minimalist training style leading up to the race. I've already started and I LOVE it. Feeling amazing.

Here's my logic and why I'm doing it:

This year, I started re-building a solid base for 3+ months (mid-January to May 3). However, in doing so I was reverting back to old habits that really didn't fare well for me -- namely digging myself into a deep rut of fatigue. I loved the training but it was taking a toll -- and quickly taking a toll on me this time. I could see signs of breakdown just like what's happened to me before. So this time, instead of ignoring the signs and just continuing to thrash my body (and mental state) with one big/hard day after another I decided it's time for change.  Enter: minimalist training.

I'm not saying this is 100% the solution nor the best answer -- I am away the higher intensity of minimalist training can be risky in itself -- but I have to give it a chance because what I've been doing prior is a) very effective for good performance on many levels, but b) also not so good for me in terms of health, quality of life outside training/racing, and eventually performance once you meet that point of diminishing returns. I've seen my health and energy suffer -- not to any great degree in which I'm risking severe health problems of long-term issues, but enough for me to not want to continue on that path.

Here's the other thing speaking to quality of life: I am a million percent committed to my work and job -- I love coaching, training people, teaching classes, doing the podcast, writing and all that I have going on and I want to be my best at that. When I get so incredibly tired from training every day I'm not my best. It's important for me to continue building my career with great energy, focus and dedication.

I'm also not doing this just for me, but for an education that can possibly help in other ways...
As a coach with a background in and passion for exercise science/ physiology/ endurance sport, I am totally into the idea of doing an n=1 experiment on myself with a different training style. It's like nutrition -- there's no "one size fits all" but if I can at least sample and test what's available out there, then I can at least help others find their "ideal" way coming from experience.

So, it's time to switch things up. Like I said, I am in NO way suggesting that minimalist training is going to be the golden solution for me nor is it for everyone, but I know my life and all that's going on in my world as of late, it just seems like the most reasonable path to take for now.

And ya know what? I look at it this way: I got nothin' to lose. If it works for Vineman and future 70.3s, then hell yea. If it doesn't work and my race is a flop, or maybe just not as good as I've done in the past? Well, then I learned a valuable lesson.

A fraction of my inspiration to take this route comes from Sami Inkinen. And trust me, I am NOT expecting to all of a sudden be an AG champion like he is on 6-7hr a week (YES, folks, there is a genetic component to Sami's success as well as a level of self-discipline that makes Sami a freak of nature -- and I'm saying that in a good way of course -- which not everyone can just accomplish). I had Sami on my podcast recently, so if you want to hear more about his approach to training then listen in.

Anyway... troops are about to wake up. Time to get to work.

Don't Be Stupid

Man! Eagleman on, eagleman off, eagleman on, eagleman off.... sadly it ends there. Race off. It's all good, surprisingly this hasn't been stressing me out, just taking it one day at a time. When I first broke it (3 weeks ago as of tuesday) I was nearly convinced I wouldn't be able to race just 3.5 weeks later. But then last week I got a glimmer of hope when I was able to do a couple successful ocean swims. I thought the swim would was going to be the biggest issue in whether I could race, so once that worked out well, I had made a 180 and was now nearly 100% convinced I could race -- and I got excited to toe the line! I wasn't worried that my training had suffered... I was still totally motivated to get out on the Eagleman course and see what I could pull off.

There was just one little thing, though. I still hadn't ridden by bike outside on the real road since the break. All rides had been on the trainer. I am still required to wear the wrist brace at this stage in the healing phase especially when working out, and with the aero bars that are on the Felt IA, it was impossible to pronate my wrist to grab the bar. But on the trainer that was no biggie; I could just rest my arm on the pad without gripping and it was fine.

Once I could swim I hustled to figure out the bike situation and how I could ride. The solution was getting ski-bend aero bars, and that way I didn't have to bend my wrist to be in aero - perfect! Monday I borrowed the bars I needed and (totally last minute) got in touch with Felt to see if they could help out. I am so lucky to have a great relationship with the guys there. Once I told them I still wanted to try and race, and the aero bar situation, they were able to work on the bike and get it set up all in one afternoon (oh, and they finally internally routed my SRM wire -- goodbye ugly tape haha). I was feeling so stoked and optimistic!

Tuesday we planned to test the setup riding outside. John and I did a little easy ride outside; standard race week taper ride. But first, we had a quick trip to SD for a fast and fun morning photo shoot with Kristin Mayer and Co., displaying her latest Betty Designs collection; see photo. She's a design genius if you ask me.

Soooo... the  bike ride. Oh man. It was a disaster (ok, maybe that's a bit dramatic but it wasn't good). What's that saying about getting back on a bike? I don't remember, but dude I felt like a total rookie and unable to handle a bike, let alone race a bike. Simply mounting the bike was sketchy (which I had been warned about by a couple doc's -- they were right), then it was super sketchy riding whether in aero or sitting up. When sitting up I had to be very "light" on my wrist as to not apply too much pressure, and in that same position is how I brake, which was nearly impossible to execute with the L side. Meanwhile, the wrist brace was digging into my palm as I tried to grip anything, and that was painful as heck after a few minutes (can't imagine 3hr of that). It's been about 24 hours since the ride and my palm still hurts from that ride, as if I have a gnarly bruise.

So, it's one thing to be tough... it's another to be dumb. And after that ride yesterday I felt like it would be unsafe to race especially among thousands of other triathletes -- unsafe for them and me! The bike at Eagleman is flat, which is definitely a plus for my situation (hilly course = no way), but it's also somewhat of a technical one-loop course with lots of turns where solid bike handling skills are a must. I saw the writing on the wall. At one point in my stubborn state I had to say to myself, "Stop, Tawnee, it's just a 70.3. There are a million more. Don't F this up more." And before you ask: I can't ride without the brace, I can't use a softer/more functional brace or ace bandage -- both options totally unsafe at this point.

Bottom line: The risk is not worth it, and this is where I draw the line.

The good news is... and there's plenty of good news when you focus on the bright side...I still have a super fun trip to the East Coast planned (we'll be gone for a whole week. I can geek out on triathlon as sherpa/spectator and give you guys inside photos + results of pro race on my Instagram and Twitter @tawneeprazak. Then once tri stuff is done, John and I are doing some touristy stuff in DC.

AND the second part of good news: I was lucky enough to score a spot into Vineman 70.3 for this year! Yup, going back to Sonoma for Vineman #4. This year it's July 13, exactly two months post-fracture; last year I was able to execute the race after breaking my wrist, and I know I can this year. I'm taking a completely different approach to my training as well, and will be documenting it regularly on the blog. Consider it another n=1 experiment. I'll fill you guys in soon.

To wrap up: It's not Thursday, but how about a little throwback to my first Vineman in 2009....

First off, check out the names on the results here! Classic!

Iconic swim exit shot.

#FELTbicycles back then and now. Bam.

Made a lifelong new friend that day, Sara Davis (who's just in front of me)

Finishing my second 70.3 with a big PR, and super satisfied at the finish.

Podium and slot to 70.3 Worlds!

Whoa, look at this crew! Talk about old school. (And shoutout to my parents have always been there for me.)

So, life goes on! Glad that decision is made.

Update on that last update

Last post I talked about how I tried a swim and it was unsuccessful due to the pain? Well new news for ya. Yesterday (Thursday) I made another swim attempt in the big blue ocean, five days later. I did it not only for me and to test the wrist again (which has been feeling really good), but also for my sister who needed a swim partner on her lunch break since she's doing another sprint tri next weekend (!!!). There was no way I was going to hassle with a wetsuit again and hoped the water was warm enough (ya, it's warmer now with summer approaching but it still fluctuates and has its cold days). Wore my Betty Designs Jacquard two-piece.

Karlee was tight on time so we jetted down, jumped right in, and right away I had a good feeling about it. No pain. The water wasn't as calm as last weekend, in fact there was a bit of a swell and the water was very "churny" and kelpy but it wasn't too choppy or risky.

I seriously felt amazing... I think no wetsuit helped (so freeing and much more comfortable to ocean swim like that), and the water was nearly Hawaii-like warm (in my opinion). Karlee and I swam out to a buoy that's ~500m. We didn't have watches or anything on, just going off feel. I felt strong and in a good rhythm -- as good as it could be with that dang wrist brace on. To feel good swimming and like I was actually swimming... ahhh... I think I was smiling between breaths.

Didn't want to overdo it, and Karlee didn't have tons of time, so we did roughly 1k in I'm guessing, in I dunno like ~20 minutes? With a few stops. But who the heck really knows. Doesn't matter. What matters is that it was an awesome experience with my sis who's so fun to train with these days (I also see her weekly for strength training), and my wrist felt a million times better than it did just five days earlier.

#TeamBetty #lagunabeach #sillyselfie

I still haven't been able to, nor thought it was safe yet, to ride outside on open roads for several reasons. And I'm not making any promises yet, but yesterday gave me a glimmer of hope that maybe I can do Eagleman 70.3 -- which is nine days from today. I'd have to do some self-introspection to come to terms on how I'd race knowing I'm not 100 percent. But  I don't know... I'm pretty back and forth with it right now. What do you think?

I'm also putting it out there -- now and after I'm healed I'm making big changes to how I approach my training. Lots of ideas floating around.

~~~

In other news... I finally got around to making bone broth (it's in the making right now)! Sorry to my vegetarian/vegan friends for these photos :/

Hey @MamaSimmons, how 'bout these feet?! (I blanched the feet before adding to crock pot)

Bone broth in the making. Super simple! I basically just threw in: the whole leftover organic chicken carcass (some skin and fat included, whether that's standard I don't know) a couple chopped up carrots and celery stalks, some herbs, the feet and filtered water until it was full. Also added 1tbsp apple cider vinegar and ~1tbsp sea salt. We'll see how it looks 24 hr later. Smells amazing in my home right now though! Mmm.

Update and Decisions

I'm actually feeling quite awesome and in the driver's seat right now with what's going on. Ya the wrist fracture put a wrench in my plans, but I'm not going to sit around and whine or mope. I'm doing what I can! As I said in my last blog, I started exercising again 4 days after the break. Well, I went on to workout 10 days in a row, averaging ~1hr per day (with some days ~45min, some ~90min). I can't say that it was "training," but, quite frankly, I think that was the best approach for me. All the workouts I did were extremely enjoyable and even though I definitely feel the de-training effect setting in, I wasn't stressing it. I only used my HRM like once, and power meter a couple times or so. I think my bike fitness has held up better than run fitness; however, since none of my rides have been long I'm sure my bike endurance blows.

Oh yea, I tried swimming on Saturday too. It was in the ocean not pool, and, no, the decision to go ocean was not because I was being a dumb athlete ;) Mostly because the ocean was looking awesome, calm as a lake and it's my happy place... and our pool was closed (and is closed for 2+ weeks). How'd it go? let's put it this way: It took John and I longer to put on my wetsuit than we spent swimming. Ha! Next time I try to swim I'm going no wetsuit, I'll just suck it up, which is easy to do in ~65degrees. So really though, how did it go? It hurt in the area of the break soon after starting. We swam maybe 10min total with frequent stops, and it was more like "moving forward" rather than swimming. I was not about to F it up more. I did some single arm (with my good side) and also found that making a fist on fracture side helped relieve the pain a bit. But I wasn't "swimming," and that brace certainly isn't an advantage for swim technique. Thankfully it was awesome in the water, though, and that made me happy enough.

So Tuesday of this week marked two weeks post-break, which meant time for more X-Rays. Sucky for me is that the new ones looked virtually the same as the first set of X-Rays in terms of the radial fracture (was hard to tell if a hard callous is forming yet, with signs of fracture still clearly there). However, since swelling went down, my doc was able to rule out any additional breaks, including any fractures at the wrist joint (like scaphoid), which was great news because usually those breaks require surgery and bolts, ew.

This week I also did an interesting podcast with an osteopathic physician, Ben Rawson, and covered some great grounds on bone health and fracture healing. Uploading it today. Among the many topics covered, I basically got two big messages from that show:

1) You can't really speed up bone healing, or, at least, it's not proven that you can via supplements etc (even the PEMF stuff is promising but not guaranteed). On the flip side, you can delay bone healing for whatever reason (poor health, re-injure, etc). At the end of the day, the body and the bones know what they need to do to heal and the process just has to play its course. Takes time. So all those supplements and things in previous post -- well, they certainly don't hurt, but they also won't turn me into Wonder Woman. Or at least not yet (n=1, n=1. n=1). Bwahaha.

2) The inflammatory response is your friend. This is not earth-shattering news to me. I preach this all the time, and is one reason why I'm so against using NSAIDs for injury. But in my case it seemed that Dr. Ben (the expert) was, in a nice way, telling me to not overdo it even with the all-natural anti-inflammatory stuff because that can potentially block the inflammation response needed for healing as well. That was good news for me because I then admitted that I hadn't been a perfect angel with daily nutrition/supplement stuff -- man that's a lot of stuff to take and sometimes I get lazy, forget just don't want to obsess over it. And while I'm admitting things, I also didn't cut out alcohol and caffeine either to help the healing process. Nope. Sorry not sorry, as they say. Haha.

Where does that leave me with a Wrist Progress Report?
Well, like I said, I have been working out regularly, and that is feeling totally fine. A as of this week I have a few new tricks up my sleeve:

12-15 days post break:
-I can open a can of sardines by myself (surprisingly hard with broken wrist lol)
-Can do light resistance band exercises at gym (with brace on of course) like pull-aparts, some external/internal rotation, scap pinches, etc, while not applying too much force/pressure, but enough to activate shoulders/back muscles. Man, that felt good!
-Hold a light barbell with both hands for 2 X <1min be="" because="" br="" hurting="" it="" not="" safe="" started="" time="to">
-Able to move around and set up much more equipment at the gym
-Further increases in wrist extension and flexion, and even some light pronation/supination now doable without pain
-Brace is off much more often at home and I'm able to do many things just carefully -- typing feels totally normal, showering I can use it with even more normally and with force (still not 100% though)
-Figured out a system to put on compression socks by myself, aw ya.

I still can't do:
-Some basic household things like hold a pan or hold a full pint-size mason jar with left hand alone
-Swim (see above - tried saturday, no bueno,. haven't tried since)
-Half Ironmans. Yup, it's looking like Eagleman won't happen. Just not worth it in my state; complicated and not worth the risk with the break still so fresh. I know I can't race it at full capacity, and with so many 70.3s available, I'll have plenty more opportunities to get out there again. I gotta look at my health and healing first and foremost... and it's not like we're talking a world championship/once-in-a-lifetime event here.

But I'm still headed to the East Coast to watch John and a couple of my athletes race. And I'm excited to have one hell of a trip, now with a much lighter load of luggage ;)

fracture healing part 2: rehab and ways to speed recovery

I hoped to have this Part 2 out a little sooner, but I've been working away this week and totally able to do so, yay! At the bottom of this post, you can check out my wrist progress report and day-to-day list of tasks that I've slowly been able to do again... wondering if my progress and ability to do the things listed occurred at an accelerated vs. normal rate compared with others who've broken their radius. Interesting stuff.

Anyway, on to rehab for a bone fx outside of nutrition/supplementation. If you're curious about the timeline for healing a fracture and potential problems in the process, this article is a good quick read.

The 23/24 Rule
I don't think this is an actual "rule" by any means, but it sounds cool. Thankfully this day in age for certain breaks/situations there is the option of a "removable cast" like the Exos brace I have. (That said, I know this isn't the case for everyone, and many breaks require a traditional cast and staying locked up in it 24/7.) But if your break is less severe and you can opt for a brace that's removable, then most doctors/PTs should recommend that as an option, athlete or not.

I was told that right away I should be removing my brace daily and accumulate up to 1 hour a day of time without the cast on, and this will set you up for faster recovery as well as ensuring it heals correctly without deformities (pretty important for the wrist joint!). The time w/o cast can be in 5-10 minute increments or whatever; doesn't have to be one-hour nonstop. During this time you can work on light mobility exercises, range of motion, etc. For my wrist, I cannot be doing pronation/supination yet (or at least not on purpose lol), but I can work on flexion and extension and some other very easy light exercises.Taking the brace off also allows for the area to air out and dry out, which is really nice. I shower without my brace. And if I workout, I need to wash the brace and leave it off for a bit to dry.

Whole-Body Cryotherapy (WBC)

Step into the chamber... bwaaa hahahaaa.

Now, to my knowledge there is no research to show that this technique has been proven to speed up fracture recovery (anyone have a study?), but if you look at what this therapy entails, it would make sense that there could be a benefit. Personally I'm not really a fan of the whole ice bath thing (we talked about it on this podcast), but cryotherapy chambers are a different story and intriguing to me not only for my fracture healing, but for athletic recovery in general from hard training, etc. It even can have benefits for people dealing with chronic pain issues like arthritis or fibromyalgia.

What is it? There's a cylinder-shaped chamber that you step into and the fun begins: The temp drops rapidly and gets as low as -300 degrees F, but it's a dry cold and nothing in there or on you can be wet, which prevents frostbite from occurring. That is key. Just to be safe, you wear dry gloves, socks, slippers and underwear -- and that is all. You stand in this chamber for 3 minutes max -- less if 3 min is too much (you don't get frostbite but it's still dang cold lol.

Just in that short time a bunch of things happen to promote faster recovery and healing. For one, you get a decrease in inflammatory cytokines and increased levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines. You also get more blood flow to the core, which replenishes vital organs with fresh blood -- similar tactics are used in yoga with certain poses, like this one from bikram, which is said to replenish and rejuvenate your thyroid.WBC also doesn't actually have the same negative effects that ice baths do -- ice baths can actually freeze and stiffen tissues, WBC doesn't. In fact, in theory you could go workout right after WBC without risk of being too tight/frozen. Plus 3 minutes of exposure is something I can handle in my busy schedule.

I could go on about the science and research, but in a nutshell the point is: WBC, in theory, is all about accelerating recovery. Does it work? I don't know. I've had four treatments in the past week. Hard to tell. But it doesn't hurt.

If you're in OC and interested: I am going to a place in Costa Mesa called Polar Cryotherapy. If you're local check it out and tell Dan you heard about it from me.

Want more info? Dan has great links on his website that I link to above. Also: This is a great article that explains more on WBC.


Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF)
That stands for Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Laser Therapy. Honestly, I do not know much about this nor have I tried it. But the all-mighty Dr. Minkoff suggested I look into it for faster healing. It was the one thing he said he believes actually works to heal faster. However, I haven't tried it yet (oops). I blame that on location of the nearest place (not that far, but far enough), cost, etc.

But PEMF seems to be a trusted therapy. What it does is apparently signal a response that causes increased ATP production, restores normal cellular function and, thus, enhances the healing of damaged tissues.

And as opposed to Cryo, there is direct evidence of PEMF healing bone fractures more quickly. But then again, research is inconclusive. I gotta look into it more. Maybe I'll suck it up and take a drive to my nearest clinic or spend my Friday night researching scholarly articles. (Or not ;))

Anyone out there have comments on PEMF? Tried it?

Mobilize/Exercise/PT
Obviously the prescription for rehab/physical therapy stuff is going to be very individual to each person and depends on what is fractured, severity, etc. But the underlying theme is to be proactive with hands-on rehab and prevent loss of ROM/atrophy as much as possible. Don't let that area waif away, don't allow your injury to turn you into a sedentary person... do what you can, as soon as you can, but be smart and don't do too much. how about that for specificity? lol. I'm getting in my share of activity with my wrist without being dumb... although when I'm at the gym with a client, it's already getting frustrating not to be able to move around the weights, pick certain things up, set up a workout station, etc... but patience and a good attitude....

Get More X-Rays
Swelling is a natural and normal response when you have a trauma like breaking a bone. For up to two weeks the swelling that occurs can actually hinder the ability to get clear X-Rays and you may not be able to see all the damage. It's important to then X-Ray again after ~2 weeks to re-assess the damage as well as look at healing progress.

I'm getting new X-Rays next week. I'm looking forward to the results. We're going to make sure there weren't any other minor fractures, and I was also advised to look and see if a hard callous is forming yet. If there is a hard callous that could indicate a green light for racing more physical exercise that I'll be able to do.

More Resources To Come...
Next week I'm going to be speaking with a bone specialist on the Endurance Planet podcast to do a show on bone fractures, healing protocols, etc.... a bunch of cool stuff from an expert who deals with these issues every day!

Anything to add?
If you have a bone-healing recovery technique, please tell us/me about it in the comments section!

Wrist Progress Report

Lots to catch up on here. If anyone else has had a similar break as mine, I'd love to hear about your progress vs. mine! Similar or not?

(For reference: Injury on Tuesday afternoon, May 13.)

Happiest trainer session ever? It's possible.

3 days later (Fri):
-could type on computer with L hand, but it was still slow but more efficient
-could extend wrist and fingers even more than day prior
-slept almost normally without being woken up by pain

4 days later (Sat): 
-was able to put hair in a loose/sloppy pony tail.
-*first workout* - rode on trainer 55min mostly easy with 10min tempo. no bad pain during/after. see photo to right. (john set up trainer for me)
-could put on socks
-could finally cut and open an avocado again!
-could cut meat (used knife with R hand however, and used L hand to stabilize fork)
-could open a jar (used R hand to twist, and L hand to hold base in place)

5 days later (Sun):
-felt like i was able to use fingers normally to type; wrist stabilized in brace of course so no pronation/supination
-rode trainer 1:10 with 5 X 3:00 intervals at Z4 watts
-first RUN. did a 4-mile t-run off bike and wrist felt fine.
-could almost floss normally
-carefully showered without the brace (had doc approval to do this)

6 days later
-could apply enough pressure with the broken wrist to put on lotion
-ran 4-5ish miles, easy.

7 days/1 week later
-turn a door knob to open a door (wrist still lock in place with brace on, but able to still use that side for the task)
-hold a regular-sized glass of water that's full
-did an outdoor strength training session with clients that included planks and side planks, which I was able to do!
-treadmill run intervals at 6:30 and faster pace (less than 15min total though)
-could use the puff in the shower with left hand and able to apply enough pressure for washing
-operating virtually like normal in the kitchen for cooking, no pain

8 days later
-could finally do some "real" cleaning around the house with brace on i.e. wash dishes, clean up/hang up clothes that had been piling up, wipe down counter tops, etc, and spend enough time actively doing all that with no bad pain at all.
-definite increase in extension/flexion of wrist and overall wrist mobility when brace off
-tried typing with no brace... possible but need to be careful. any wrong movement and it hurts bad
-comfortable taking off brace at home and moving around the house with it off, doing light movements/tasks with no brace (vs. before I'd take it off and sit quietly in one spot to avoid aggravating it or hurting it in any way because it still hurt)
-bike workout AND I set up my bike on the trainer all by myself for the first time!

9 days later
-today!
-i made breakfast without the brace on, but that was a bit risky and i really had to watch my movement to not do something dumb.
-i feel like I'm ready to try a swim with the brace (duh), but our pool is closed for a couple weeks and I don't feel like driving forever to get to another one. ocean is option, but it's quite choppy and that seems a little risky at this point. we'll see....
-wrist still visibly swollen in area above the radius, but improving.

fracture healing part 1: nutrition, supplements and juice recipe

as you can imagine, i want this bone to heal asap. already i'm seeing huge gains in just 4 days. after i got on my exos brace thursday, things took a positive turn. before that i could barely move my fingers let alone use my hand to type, but after we removed the wrist and mobilized it a bit, i now have function in my fingers again and can use my left hand for small/light tasks. for example of progress, see the end of this post for my "progress report."

onto recovery protocols that i'm taking. i'll separate this into two posts with today focused on nutrition and supplementation for bone health and healing. next time will be about other treatments to speed recovery. 


nutrition/supplements

the key areas to focus on for bone healing, recovery/relief:*
1) anti-inflammatory nutrients -- you need the natural inflammatory process to heal, but you also need to nourish in a way that reduces inflammation in the body for better healing without inhibiting the natural inflammation process.
2) adequate caloric intake -- even though not exercising, body still needs those calories to "energize" bone healing!
3) protein -- amino acids are the building blocks of bones and tissues in our bodies!
4) vitamins and minerals -- a specific array as you'll see below


and what to avoid:*
1) pain killers -- really just not necessary; pain is bad but i can hang.
2) NSAIDs -- these drugs block the body's natural inflammation process and delay/inhibit recovery; specifically COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitors including asprin and ibuprofen.
(thankfully i never take drugs/medications of any kind as it is, and that certainly holds true with the "trauma" of this wrist fracture. i haven't had an ibuprofen since 2009 in fact. NSAIDs may provide temporary pain relief, but that's not worth it if they inhibit recovery!)
3) alcohol -- excessive drinking can delay bone recovery and bone reformation... but that said, dude. c'mon, a drink a night can't be that bad and is good for the soul! i mean, i need to stay happy and have something to "kill the pain" before bed ;) but i'm keeping it in total control and limiting my intake for sure.
4) crappy foods/drinks -- things with excessive sugar, caffeine, salt, etc, aka things that can inhibit calcium absorption and deplete minerals. i'll also be sure to limit food with oxalates (raw kale, chard, spinach).

My LIST for HEALING

juicing.

starting with the ultimate all-natural real-food route for healing! i'll be making daily juices with ingredients that are powerful anti-inflammatories, healers, detoxers, etc. pictured is a simple concoction i'm making this week that meets all those requirements. it's a great flavor, kinda tart and not super sweet but very drinkable:

tart green juice. gauge ingredient amount based on photo.

ginger

turmeric

dandelion greens

dino kale

parsley

cucumber

celery

carrot

lemon 

i'm trying to keep the juices i make lower in sugar from lots of added fruit since i'm pretty sedentary and not training. i keep my juices low in fruit as it is. there are more ingredients i'll add to mix after i hit up farmers market likebeetroot, beet greens, green cabbage, cilantro, etc. don't want too many raw greens though due to oxalate content.

MAP (protein insurance!).

My go-to protein supplement for 2 years now. So, Dr. minkoff is one of the awesome guys I've talked to since breaking wrist and he suggested I keep taking MAP for protein and to promote healing. Normally I don't take MAP on easy/non-workout days to save money but in this case I've been taking 5 per day on empty stomach since the accident. Might up that to 10/day.... I'll also be eating adequate quality protein in the forms of meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts/seeds, etc... no slacking.

Fish Oil.

Omega-3 fatty acids are an important part of reducing inflammation. This is normally in my daily supplement routine, but I'm up'ing the fish oil from 2 to 4 pills a day, which works out to just under 3g a day. Taking Nordic Naturals in triglyceride form (avoid ethyl-ester forms). I'm not mega-dosing (8-10g a day or so) because I'm eating fish regularly and also taking cod liver oil. I take my fish oil with 2000-4000 IU Vitamin D per day....

Vitamin D.

D regulates calcium absorption in the body and works on bone rebuilding/bone strength. i always take at least 2000 IU a day up to 5000 sometimes, and have been for a long time now. that holds true currently, and i'm not gonna slack. 

Fermented Cod Liver Oil.

Excellent for bone health and health in general! I've been taking this for almost a year now. Currently, I'm taking 2ml of Green Pasture's liquid FCLO a day (i've taken their capsules in the past). Rich in not only EPA and DHA (omega-3s), but also fat-soluble vitamins including Vitmains A, D, E and K2. I'm going to order their Cod Liver Oil/Butter Blend which is even richer in those nutrients. Want the full lowdown on why you should take this and not just fish oil pills? Read this.

Proteolytic enzymes.

Based on research, these are shown to speed up bone healing. Plus the have tons of other everyday benefits for athletes and general population like reducing inflammation, helping digestion, enhance immune function, etc. I'm going to buy the gold-standard Wobenzym formula today.

Jarrow's Bone-Up.

This was recommended to me by my friend and super-ultrarunner Neeraj, who I met in Colorado this year at our endurance planet group run in snow; and he's friends with Lucho. I just ordered it today so haven't started yet. I'll be sure to balance what's in this with other supplements as to not overdo any one thing.

Quercetin.

A flavonoid that is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and can aid in bone healing. I actually haven't gotten this yet but buying and starting it today. dosage is something like 2g, need to verify.

Multi-Vitamin

Just for extra insurance, I always take Body Health Complete + Detox (even before the break I've taken this for a while now). I learned about this through Dr. Minkoff, and it's from the same makers as MAP. Most multi's are shit in my opinion, but this one is legit and quality and has things like Viatmin K2. Still, I only take 1/2 the recommended daily dosage (2 pills not 4) since my diet is pretty darn good, I have the other supplements I take regularly, and I don't want to break the bank.

Gelatin

I use Great Lakes brand, which is a powder from grass-fed cows and price-friendly. It is a great source of dietary animal collagen that not only helps bones and joints (and their recovery) but also has many other benefits... better skin, better hair, fewer wrinkles, helps with digestion and so on. So far I am putting this in drinks, but I don't like it. While there's not much taste, it just gives a weird taste/texture. Thinking about making gelatin gummies, sounds more appealing.

Bone Broth

And circling back to the real-food protocol for healing... In addition to the gelatin powder supplement, real bone broth packs some legit nutrition that is a powerhouse for bones. I haven't made this yet, but excited to add this ancient nourishing method in to the healing process! Here's more info and a recipe.

Other

On a regular basis I take the following, and this holds true still: 

NAC (a precursor to Glutathione, a powerful antioxidant)

Vitamin C

CoQ10

Natural Calm Magnesium

probiotics

~~~

wrist progress report:

0-48hr after injury: no typing with left hand whatsoever. too painful. only one-finger typing with right side, ugh!
72hr later i was able to type with left side again, but slowly and carefully, of course with my wrist securely in the brace so it's still awkward position but fingers were working. 
4 days later, it feels like fingers on left side are almost to normal function minus a few movements i can't do without it hurting, but i can type even more efficiently and normally minus the lack of mobility in wrist.

0-48hr after injury: could not move wrist nor bend back fingers/hand w/out extreme pain. 
48-72hr: regained ability to move the rest of my hand and fingers and am making sure they're staying mobile -- all without pain. i can slowly move wrist if needed (like when we set new brace); however, it is locked in place in brace.

0-48hr later: i could not use left fingers/hand to rub in lotion on right arm after, it hurt too bad to put down that much pressure. john was my moisturizer lol. 
72hr later i was able to apply enough pressure to rub in lotion on right arm without pain.

0-72hr. no exercise whatsoever. but i have taken some walks.
4th day later: i plan on attempting an easy spin on trainer (hasn't happened yet)

nights 1-3: did not sleep well due to pain/throbbing/inability yo get comfortable
4th night: finally felt like i got a good night's sleep and pain only woke me up twice, and that was because i made an unconscious move in my sleep that aggravated wrist, oops haha.

 *Based on my own knowledge, advice from trusted resources and internet research I came up with my list of do's and don'ts for bone healing. One excellent I found online that guided my lists includes this great resource here on fracture healing that goes into more details of the how-to's, why's, what's, etc.

cheers!