The road to Timberman 08 started in Aug 07
This all started in the end of the summer of 07 while talking with my brother-in-law, Bruce. He's the runner in the family and we were talking about triathlons and running in general. He's done several marathons and in general just loves to run. Anyway, he was talking about ramping back up for Boston and somehow we got to the idea of doing a relay for the Timberman 1/2 IM. I volunteered to swim, if my Hubby would ride and Bruce would run. They were sold and we registered in October of 07 as Team CNN (Chaput, Nowak and Nowak). All we had to do was stay healthy...Ed had separated his shoulder in September while riding, Bruce had some nagging hamstring issues, but they were getting better and I was having foot surgery in November. But heck, the race was almost 1 year away...we'd be good by then...right?
November comes and goes, I have surgery on my foot and am able to swim and bike by mid-December. I'm back to running by the end of February 08. Ed's shoulder is doing better and better. Bruce's hamstring is doing well. Ok, Team CNN is holding up pretty well.
Ah, but I spoke too soon. Ed wrecks his ankle while running in April 08. He's in a walking cast for at least 3 weeks and then an aircast after that. He doesn't get back on the bike until June and then has to be really careful going up hills, not to put too much pressure on it. Uh-oh, this isn't looking good.
I join Suzy and her husband as the swimmer for a relay team at the FirmMan 1/2 IM the first weekend of June 08. The weather was in the 90s, but the water was rather chilly. Still, did fairly well with a time of 31:31. Figure it was a bit short, but having never swam the distance without stopping before, I didn't know what kind of time to expect.
Around that time, Bruce does a local road race and tweaks his hamstring again. He's got to lay off the running for a while, but assures me he'll be good to go come race day.
Hmmm, I'm doing ok, but the rest of my team is not too hot...BUT we still have time to get healthy again, so we continue on.
Around the end of June, Bruce isn't doing any better, in fact he's getting worse. His sciatica is bothering him, he can't run longer than 5-6 miles without pain. yikes! Decision time...I contact my Dr and PT and ask about ramping up my mileage to 13.1 in 6 weeks or so...is it doable given the amount of time and the fact that I had surgery in November? Both give me a resounding YES and my PT gives me a running schedule (of sorts) to follow. Ok, so now, I am ramping up my mileage in case Bruce can't do it. Ed, on the other hand, is doing well and his biking is getting stronger. Phew.
About 2 weeks before the race, Bruce and I decide it's best that he figure out what is going on with his back and legs and that I have enough mileage to be the runner. So I contact the RD and request the switch. Team CNN is now Team Nowak, but we leave the name alone. BUT another glitch - Ed may have to WORK the weekend of the race (he's self-employed, big job, big $$) - what the heck?!?! Can 't ramp up for a full 1/2 IM THAT fast! So...my back up is Suzy...who was game to step in at the last minute.
After a few nerve wrecking days, Ed finds out he's working on Saturday only and will be able to make the race. Phew!
Oh, and the Friday before the race, Bruce finds out that he has a possible ruptured disk, so no running, no lifting, no nothing for the foreseeable future...
So now here we are in August 08, and ready to rock and roll...
November comes and goes, I have surgery on my foot and am able to swim and bike by mid-December. I'm back to running by the end of February 08. Ed's shoulder is doing better and better. Bruce's hamstring is doing well. Ok, Team CNN is holding up pretty well.
Ah, but I spoke too soon. Ed wrecks his ankle while running in April 08. He's in a walking cast for at least 3 weeks and then an aircast after that. He doesn't get back on the bike until June and then has to be really careful going up hills, not to put too much pressure on it. Uh-oh, this isn't looking good.
I join Suzy and her husband as the swimmer for a relay team at the FirmMan 1/2 IM the first weekend of June 08. The weather was in the 90s, but the water was rather chilly. Still, did fairly well with a time of 31:31. Figure it was a bit short, but having never swam the distance without stopping before, I didn't know what kind of time to expect.
Around that time, Bruce does a local road race and tweaks his hamstring again. He's got to lay off the running for a while, but assures me he'll be good to go come race day.
Hmmm, I'm doing ok, but the rest of my team is not too hot...BUT we still have time to get healthy again, so we continue on.
Around the end of June, Bruce isn't doing any better, in fact he's getting worse. His sciatica is bothering him, he can't run longer than 5-6 miles without pain. yikes! Decision time...I contact my Dr and PT and ask about ramping up my mileage to 13.1 in 6 weeks or so...is it doable given the amount of time and the fact that I had surgery in November? Both give me a resounding YES and my PT gives me a running schedule (of sorts) to follow. Ok, so now, I am ramping up my mileage in case Bruce can't do it. Ed, on the other hand, is doing well and his biking is getting stronger. Phew.
About 2 weeks before the race, Bruce and I decide it's best that he figure out what is going on with his back and legs and that I have enough mileage to be the runner. So I contact the RD and request the switch. Team CNN is now Team Nowak, but we leave the name alone. BUT another glitch - Ed may have to WORK the weekend of the race (he's self-employed, big job, big $$) - what the heck?!?! Can 't ramp up for a full 1/2 IM THAT fast! So...my back up is Suzy...who was game to step in at the last minute.
After a few nerve wrecking days, Ed finds out he's working on Saturday only and will be able to make the race. Phew!
Oh, and the Friday before the race, Bruce finds out that he has a possible ruptured disk, so no running, no lifting, no nothing for the foreseeable future...
So now here we are in August 08, and ready to rock and roll...
posted by zojmn151 | 5:55 PM
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