On Saturday I volunteered at the Escape from Ft De Soto sprint triathlon and it was awesome. I got to do the body marking. It was like a parade of hot dudes that I got to draw on. I may or may not have written my phone number on some people’s calves. Heh.
Saturday night was Kiki’s bachelorette party in Orlando. P-Funk and I headed over there and joined the girls at a delicious Japanese Steakhouse for dinner. The most hilarious part was when our desserts came one of the servers did his rendition of a sexy dance. I was crying it was so funny.
That’s a whole lot of pretty right? Yup. That’s how I roll.
Sunday I got in a 31 mile ride and it was so windy I was cursing quite a bit. Fortunately a buddy of mine showed up and kept me company. I felt bad because I am so much slower than he is but he was doing his “easy” ride so it worked out. My average speed is getting better but I’ve still got a long way to go.
Finally this morning, I swam and my injury, AKA Hampton, only gave me a little twinge when I got out of the pool. Sadly, it’s still with me, but at least it seems to be getting better. I’m so torn on that upcoming St Anthony’s tri. On the one hand, I REALLY want to do it because it’s my 2nd year at this race and I’ve gotten so much stronger on the bike. On the other hand, I don’t want to re-injur this dumb hamstring and I don’t want to run like a sloth.
What do you think I should do? I’ve got two weeks. I’ve been aqua jogging and the doctor cleared me to race but wasn’t really optimistic about how I’d feel after it…..
I'd race… here's why.
I normally run okay when I'm really warmed up (like after a swim and a bike)
and if you pull the plug on the run… well at least you got out there and got some good swimming and biking done… and you got to practice your trasitions.
Good luck.
🙂
Cute picture! At first I thought you just happened to be sitting near Miss Florida and wanted your picture with her. Ha! I think you should try the race, but if you don't finish with a PR don't be disappointed! You are recovering from injury. I hope to see you there either way!
Body marking has got to be THE BEST job to volunteer for. 😉
You'd better race, I'm not coming down there to watch you spectate!
Obviously you need to listen to your body and if it feels comfortable enough to race, do it.
I don't know, I've never been in that position. All my "to race or not to race" decisions happen when my alarm goes off for a morning race I was thinking of doing day-of registration for, and 9 out of 10 times I end up curling back up into bed. They're never serious injury related judgment calls…
I have a feeling you've probably already answered your own question and no matter what we say you'll go with your gut! 🙂 How about I support whichever decision you make?
Do the race! If you are unsure about the leg, then DNF after the bike. It's still a great opportunity to test out your cycling skills and have a good 2/3 of a race!
Go for it. You've done enough racing and training that you'll know once you're out there if you need to shut it down. Sounds like you're past the point where you'll make it worse, so it will be a chance to test it with some active therapy.
Do the race, I'd just run slower. Good luck!
I would race. You will be fully warmed up from the swim and bike (where you really want to see where you are anyway) and if the run blows up then just walk it in but at least two/thirds are in the bank.
I am going to be the wildcard here and say I would skip the race. I would rest, recover and rebuild. If you hadn't already raced a lot this season I'd do it, but you've raced quite a bit.
Can you still defer?
Here's why I say that. You've raced a lot; you're going to race a lot. You're on a kick with cycling; you're also healing. If you have a less-than-stellar day at St. A's you may start getting unnecesarily down on yourself or -worst case scenario – get hurt again. This isn't your last chance to race, OR your last chance at St. A's.
FYI – I also work in higher ed and love the Escape race. It is weird how much us tri-e-thletes all have in common.
I've said my piece. As Jan – she'll tell you the same thing I think. Race! For the reasons many have already said. Even at your best pace, it is still at best 20-30 seconds per mile off your 10K stand alone pace, and therefore you are running slower than normal so minimal risk to injuring it worse. Hey – it's only a 10K! Run easy to start and pick it up if it feels good!
gorgeous picture!
i'd race. but I do everything wrong, but i'd do it.
Great post. As far as injuries go… Make the decision that will answer a yes to the following questions:
Will it matter next year?
Will it matter 5 years from now?
If that doesn't work and you still want to do it. Just remember running with an injury makes you look fat!