It is still more than a week until my next appointment with the orthopedists, so it will be at least that long before I am
cleared to run again. But since I am cleared to swim, I have been doing that. My first four swims went for 400,
1000, 1200 and 1500 yards. One time in my life, back in college, I swam a mile (1760 yards). At the time, I had
thought it was one of the most difficult things I had ever done. And it was because of this that I dreaded the thought
of ever attempting an
Ironman Triathalon. If one mile was so hard when I was 20 or 21, it would take a heck of a lot of training to work up to 2.4 miles now
that I am in my late 30s.
But I didn't have too much trouble with the 1500 yards earlier this week. So yesterday
I had decided that I was going to go for 1800 and a new personal record. I was pretty confident that I would make it.
Well,
as it turns out, I made it all the way to 2000 yards! Or almost. Actually, I got a
charley horse in my right leg about halfway thru the very last lap. So I basically did the swimming equivalent of limping to the
finish line. But hey, I made it well past a mile, so I am quite pleased! This has given me new hope that I can
some day complete an Ironman Triathlon. If I can do 2000 yards (almost half the Ironman distance) after only 5 trips
to the pool, I am now fairly confident that I can work up to 2.4 miles with the proper training. I've already managed
to do a 55 mile bike ride, which is almost half the Ironman distance (112 miles), and I did it on a mountain bike. So
with the proper training there (and a good road bike), I'm sure I can handle that portion as well. And of course I already
know I can handle the 26.2 mile run. Stringing them all together? Well, that's the big challenge, of course.
As
for that charley horse, well it's not too bad. Why did it happen? Dehydration, maybe. It's strange to think
of dehydration in a swimming pool, but I understand that it can happen. Plus, heck, my muscles certainly aren't used
to swimming distances like that, so it might just be my body's way of begging me to stop.
All along, I had assumed
that swimming would just be a stopgap activity until I'm cleared to run again. But I've been enjoying myself, and I
might just make this a regular (if somewhat infrequent) permanent addition to my exercise routine.
Changing the subject,
I will be leaving tomorrow for California so that I can attend the
Pro/E User conference in Long Beach next week. I look forward to this conference every year. Yes, I'm a geek.
I don't need to
be anywhere before the welcome dinner Sunday night, but I'll be landing at LAX before noon on Saturday. The original
plan was to drive to San Diego and run the marathon there Sunday morning, but the ankle injury derailed that idea, and I cancelled
the journey to San Diego. So now I've got a free day and a half in the L.A. area with nothing to do. I think I'll
be able to find something to keep myself occupied...
Yup, it's my birthday again. This time it's #37. Wow, once upon a time, 37 sounded very old. And now
it's here. Gee, that was quick!
Well, there are no big plans for the day. It's Thursday, so it's just another work day. C'est la vie.
I had my next appointment with the orthopedist last Friday. New X-rays showed that my ankle is healing, but isn't
fully healed. The doctor seems sure that it is well on its way, however. I suppose this is good news. I
was hoping that it would be fine by now and that I could be back to running. But not yet. He says that I should
be 100% better by the next time I see him on June 9. So while that's not exactly the news I was hoping for, it certainly
could be much worse. I'll take it. I've wait this long, I can wait another couple weeks.
While the doc told me I can't yet run or bike, he did, however, give me clearance to swim. I hadn't been in a pool
in eons. But I have been now twice in the last few days. I feel a little awkward, and I'm sure I don't look very
graceful. But it just feels good to get some aerobic exercise in. I definitely think I can handle another couple
weeks without running.
Well it's time to begin another year on planet Earth...
In case anybody hasn't noticed yet, I put up some new pictures of Jillian on
her website not too long ago. I've been trying to keep the site updated about once a month. So remember to check back around
the end of May as well.
My ankle continues to get better. In fact, it feel pretty much back to normal. I've still been wearing the
air cast, and I will continue to wear it until I see the doctor again on Friday. Hopefully he will tell me that I'm
all better, and that I can start running again. Knock on wood. I guess we'll find out soon.
This is the third time I've broken a bone. And all three times have been bones in my feet. The first was
in 1975 when I was 4 years old. See pics at left. (My mom recently found these old photos). That was my
right foot -- same foot as this time. The foot was broken after I fell out of a treehouse at nursery school.
The other broken bone occured when I was in grad school at the University of Florida. I had broken a toe playing
raquetball. It was a big toe, but I honestly can't remember if it was on the right foot or left foot. I don't
even remember exactly what year it was. Probably 1994 or 1995. I guess my feet have taken a beating throughout
the years.
Lastly, I want to comment on the fact that my guestbook has been signed by a couple of other guys named Bob Mann who
apparently found my website after googling their own name. Heh, I think that's pretty neat. Nice to meet you guys!
