February Flies By Fast

The Good

Mentally I feel like I’m really on my game.  While I was sick, I kept thinking about getting back out there.  Generally I’m finding it easy to get out of bed in the morning to go train.

The Bad

This last build and recovery really changed my body.  None of my clothes fit any more, including the new “skinny” stuff that I’ve bought in the last six months.  I’m constantly fiddling with my wedding ring now too as it will simply fall off if my hands are cold.  I have mixed feelings about this change.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with the way things are going.  What I struggle with is the reality that I’m not going to go out and replace my work suits, or even my casual clothes for that matter.  At least if you see me out you can recognize me as the skinny guy whose pants would fall off if not for the belt.

And The Ugly…

It’s been less than a year since my last knee surgery and this last week things have started to get worse.  I felt bad enough last week that I called and scheduled an appointment with my Orthopedic Surgeon and since that time things have gotten much worse.  I’m lucky, says the guy who is queuing up for his third knee surgery in four years, in that my knee issues have not been structural.  It’s this fact that I would like to reconfirm when I see the surgeon next week.  There is little doubt that I’m headed for another surgery at this point, so what I want to know is if I’m going to cause any other, bigger issues by continuing to train and then race before I go back under the knife.  The only redeeming fact is that in spite of the pain, my training is still going quite well.

The Numbers

Swim – 11.27 miles – well under last month due to the workouts I missed this week because I was sick.  Regardless, my swimming is getting better and I actually have proof.  My main workout today was a 1750m @ RPE4.  On a lark I hit the lap button at 1000m since I missed my prescribed 1000m swim last weekend.  When I checked, I found that my time was a new PR by over 30 seconds.  Not bad!  I’m still above my silly 20 minute goal from last fall, but technically I have until April to get that done.  Winning!

Bike – 217 miles – way better than last month and right were I need to be.  Not an all-time high, but pretty close.  March will be bigger as I have several long rides on the schedule and one whole week that is focused on the bike.  I got to ride outside several times in February, which is rare for me and really excellent.

Run – 70 miles – Just a touch under last month, again due to workouts missed while I was sick this week.  No worries though as I happy with the way I’ve been running of late.

So that’s the grand total of my February.  I’m really looking forward to March.

Clark