Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Oops. (AKA training through an injury).



Guess I got a little "hot under the collar" during a recent bike training session. We have an orphanage across the street from our house. It is a stately old brick mansion with an exactly 1/4 mile driveway leading up to it.

Last week, I did a series of very hard bike sprints in the standing position down this 1/4 mile driveway.

The orphans were cheering.

Anyways, I got going so hard, wanting to impress the orphans and all, that I slightly "tweaked" my right hamstring. Nothing bad, just a bit of a strain.

Despite some heavy icing protocols, it has stayed with me this past week, and in the meantime, as I "upped" the swim volume during my lay-off from biking, I have managed to over-use the right shoulder.

So here I sit with no right shoulder and no right hamstring. A southpaw, so to speak. Since New Orleans Half-Ironman Triathlon is in about 6 weeks, the pressure is on.

I've decided to completely lay off running and cycling for the next 3 days to really let this hamstring lay down some connective tissue groundwork. I'm also switching to "drills only" for swimming, primarily very light and easy formwork, with rotator cuff work thrown in as well. Here's how it will look:

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Wednesday: Foam roller in morning, 5 minutes. Aqua Jogging, 30 minutes, as 5 min warm-up, 10x30 second sprints, 5 minute tempo, 5 minute cool-down. Paired with fire hydrants, side leg raises and isometric squats for leg conditioning. 3x 10 minutes ice on hamstring/shoulder during day, 5 minutes home infrared with Kenkowave, topical oil of oregano application for analgesic.

Thursday: Foam roller in morning, 5 minutes. Aqua Jogging, 30 minutes, as 5 min warm-up, 2 minutes tempo, 1 minute easy, 4 minutes tempo 2 minutes easy 3x through, 5 min cool-down. Swim drill workout as side-swimming, 6-1 transition, 6-3 transition 10x through as a circuit of 50m repeats. *If* time permits, 15-20 minutes elliptical trainer *with* arms + light dumbbell rotator cuff circuit. 3x 10 minutes ice on hamstring/shoulder during day, 5 minutes home infrared with Kenkowave, topical oil of oregano application for analgesic.

Friday: Foam roller in morning, 5 minutes. Same as Wednesday, with a "Left Side Only" cable circuit for resistance training and a full rotator cuff internal/external rotation elastic band circuit. 3x 10 minutes ice on hamstring/shoulder during day, 5 minutes home infrared with Kenkowave, topical oil of oregano application for analgesic.

Saturday: Hopefully damage will have subsided and a return to training.

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And that's how you train through an injury or two. Don't worry, little orphans, I'll be back soon.

2 comments:

Bucer's Coffeehouse Pub said...

Sounds like some painfully gained wisdom. But very smart.

Anton said...

Ben,

Thanks for the link for ITBS. Maybe some outside help is what Bryan needs to listen. ;-)
I have some experience from Athletic Training in college, but not nearly as much as you. Good to meet you.

I must say, I was first excited, then let down, then excited again to see your post. One of my role models as I was growing up was a Ben Greenfield of Aurora, NE. He was about 7 years my senior, and inspired my dual ambitions of health care and aviation. I thought you were him, then disappointed to find you weren't, then excited to learn more from you.

Looking forward to gaining new insights and training tips from a pro.