Registration for the 2008 Danskin Triathlon is just ahead; sometime in early February. I'm going to sign up but am concerned that I may not be able to participate as I did last year, much less push the boundaries of my time last year. It all started in the weeks after the August 2007 Tri; my right knee started to talk to me and say, "Hey, I hurt, something isn't right". My response was to lay off the exercise but I still noted that certain positions like a squat or sitting cross legged or in balasana pose during yoga would "zing" my knee. Surely this is a tendinitis, I rationalized. It will get better with time. Not.
The MRI shows a torn medial meniscus in my right knee. I don't know when it happened; there was no particular moment when I was aware of a sudden pain. Mind you, everyday activities are pretty cool. My knees love doing stairs and walking on even surfaces. Yesterday I went out to run and did a mile and although I've got sore muscles, the knee isn't too bad. Today I see my sports medicine doc for advice on what to do about this pesky issue in my knee. I know very little about this ailment; it is far removed from the world of kidneys and truly, the last time I gave the knee much thought was during an orthopedics rotation in medical school. I do know that arthroscopy has revolutionized the management of certain knee problems over the last decades and that removing torn cartilage is one of the "bread and butter" procedures of the orthopedic profession. We shall see.
I want very much to swim, bike and run on August 17, 2008 in the Danskin Triathlon. Prepping (aka training) for this event and participating did amazing things for my body and mind. I don't recall a high quite like the one I experienced in the hours and days post Tri. I want that back again. There is some resistance to getting in the water however; I know I'll have to start from scratch with my swim stroke and re-gain stamina. The swim is the hardest part of this journey and the most humbling. I watch the effortless strokes of good swimmers and marvel. This is beauty, captured in an endless rhythmic slice through water. Biking and running? Well, they are just that.
And so, I will wait to see what unfolds in the journey towards this year's Danskin Tri.
How strange is that issue of swimming for you are a self taught swimmer...and in the bouyancy of seawater with swells and waves...not the heavy water of concrete ponds where to swim is taught as a class...yet, others who grew up learning to swim as children, in the sea, as we did, do not possess the graceful strokes of those who learned to swim inside, in classes...
ReplyDeleteIs the difference that swimming was a childhood game to us, and a competitive sport to those who took it as a class?
I believe we learned to swim in the sea for fun. We learned how not to drown but not how to move efficiently and effortless through the water. This is why it is such a challenge for me.
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