And now for the off season

So what does one do in the off season?

What else; prepare for next years "on season".  Actually I think the correct term is "in season", or just the "season".

In previous post I have outlined the more mechanical aspects of off season training
( Past post on periodization ).  My training is going to follow the over all plan of starting with low hours and low intensity.  Although not as low as in the past.  One of the things acquired while training for ironman triathlons is a slightly elevated baseline.

Even with an elevated baseline my training weeks do not include runs and swims greater than an hour or bike rides exceeding 2 hours.


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It is now the major part of the off season (February) and I just completed surgery on my knee.

Before the injury details a few updates to fill in the time since the last post.

My last post was in October after finishing Ironman Louisville.  It was my second ironman and I was ready for my third.  I signed up for Ironman Texas.  I was scheduled for Mid May.  Family commitments kept me from planning a summer time race My Daughter is getting Married).

As I started to post (see above) the off season begins with low intensity and short duration.  So throughout October and November I went merrily along with a 6-8 hour a week training regime.  In December I got called to report for jury duty and actually got picked for a Jury.  The trial lasted almost a week and so it cut into training a little.  On the whole it had little impact and I was enjoying the training and looking forward to ramping up for IM Houston.

A quick note before I continue to the injury.  During the trial I tried to get back to this blog but I found that as I tried to write I would start to process things in my head.  That also included the trial.  The judge in the trial gave us the standard instructions of not deliberating the facts of the trial until all the facts had been presented.  If you have watched Law & Order you are probably familiar with this.  We were also told not to self deliberate as well.

I felt that if I spent any time writing I would start thinking about the case and start processing the details of the case.  So I put that aside until the case finished.  If you are wondering the case was a sexual assault case.  The details were not the most pleasant.  In the end the accused was found guilty.  I was an alternate so I did not even get to actually deliberate the case.  I sat in a room alone while the remaining jurors deliberated.

Now for the injury: I had a torn meniscus in my right knee.  I am still not sure exactly how it happened.  I do not recall a specific incident or occurrence that suddenly caused me pain.  Over a 4 day period I had the following workouts:
          Sunday:          Yoga (my first yoga session and I thought it was really cool)
          Monday:         Hill workouts
          Tuesday:         Weights
          Wednesday:    Track workout

I had pain since the Monday workout.  On Wednesday I could not finish the track workout and by Thursday I could barely get out of bed.  Other than pulling up short on the track I did not experience any specific painful event.
So I backed off the training and went to see a chiropractor my coach recommended.  We felt it was some soft tissue damage and that after a few sessions we would a clearer idea of what was going on.  My exact recollection of events is a little hazy but the general chronology was;  The knee at first started to respond to therapy.  The biggest issue seemed to be that I could not bend the knee.  The main problem seemed to be centered in the back of the knee.  As it was worked the flexibility seemed to be coming back.  During this time I was not running but I was still swimming and biking.  I did a bike before Saturday before Christmas and felt good.  I did a little work around the house (blinds).  The next morning it was really sore and I had trouble getting out of bed.  I had a light run scheduled that day (10 minutes elliptical 10 minutes run and 10 minutes elliptical). I know that as soon as I started the elliptical that something was wrong.  I only lasted a couple of minutes on the treadmill.
So the plan was to rest it more and try again in 2 weeks.

In those 2 weeks we were going to San Diego to visit our daughter, son in law and grandchildren.  So after Christmas I was all set to try again.  I was still swimming, the Marine Crop base had a nice pool to use.  So after Christmas and bought of Stomach flu I was ready to try again.  The plan was to try 1 minute of running and 4 minutes of walking.  It did not seem to go to badly until the next morning.  So the decision was made to see an orthopedic surgeon when I got back to Dallas.

Continued in the next post.