In November 2008 I tore the MCL in my right knee playing indoor soccer. When it happened I knew it was bad, but we were short handed and I even played the rest of the game. Even though I didn't play soccer as a kid I loved playing the fast paced game indoors and was on 2 co-ed teams and 1 men's team. After a week past I went to my primary doctor and he put me on some steroids and pain meds. After I went through the round of steroids the pain was still pretty bad so we did a MRI and found I had a 2nd degree tear of the MCL. He referred me to an Orthopedic surgeon, but to my surprise the Ortho did not recommend surgery. He told me that if I was a professional athlete he would go in and clean it up, however since I wasn't he recommended that we do nothing, except physical therapy exercises. He warned this would be a long recovery this way, but I would have fewer problems later in life if we didn't cut on it.
Since I had been playing 3 games a week and didn't curtail my calorie intake I gained 30 pounds by the Spring '09. With Spring in the air and ballooning up I tried running and I reaggravated the knee along with getting shin splints and plantar fasciitis. I had to shut it down, again.
In the summer '09 my wife, Beth, was talked into doing a Sprint Triathlon by some of her friends that she was doing boot camp with. I remember when my wife couldn't run one lap around the track and she had a mountain bike from Target that weighed a ton! But now she could run like the wind and had found a road bike on Craig's List. My wife was not a swimmer though and I began swimming with her to help her with her technique. I quickly realized that swimming didn't bother my knee. I began to crank more laps out and found a swim schedule on-line.
By early fall '09 I started riding my mountain bike with her and this, too, didn't bother my knee much, however my psyche was shot while she rode circles around me on her road bike as I tried to catch her on my old mountain bike. After a few rides, I went and got a new road bike from Colonel's Bike in Ft Worth. Those guys are great! But, to my dismay she still was leaving me in her dust. It's not about the bike, it's about the engine pushing it!
On a cold, rainy day in October '09 Beth competed in and finished her first Sprint Triathlon. I was very proud of her because the swim was a huge challenge for her. She had cut her swim time in half from when she started to the day of the race. Even though I had done many 5ks and a few races of longer distances I was caught up in sprit of Triathlon. I still walked with a limp, but watching all of the ladies compete that day the seed was planted that I could ever get back to running I could do Triathlon.
In November I was reunited with a fraternity brother, David, who I found had been doing Triathlon for years. I would ask him questions and he graciously and patiently answered them. David encouraged me to get into Triathlon and invited me to his Saturday morning "Crack" rides. But, I never could fit it into the schedule, plus those guys rode fast and for hours. I could barely ride 30 minutes. It was intimidating. But, he had thrown some fertilizer on the seed.
A year after my injury I was still trying to get back into running, but the going was very slow. I couldn't even run a mile and I continued to fight shin splints and planta fasciitis. Also in November, Beth joined a team for a Mud Run. One of her teammates was a man named Jeff and he would later change my life forever. While they slopped around the course I limped or rode my bike trying to catch pictures of them. They looked like they had fun.
In December I happened to be at a Christmas party with a guy I had been introduced to only one other time, Jeff the previously mentioned Mud Run teammate of Beth's, and I found out he was doing an Ironman Triathlon (CDA). This would be Jeff's first IM and I pretty much cornered him and peppered him with questions about the sport. I was in awe that I had met someone that was actually brave enough to do an IM. I'd seen it on TV, but this was different. I could actually talk to this person and look him in the eye. This was real. As he would visit with other guests I stalked him and started asking more questions about his training and anything related to Triathlon when there was a lull in the conversation. I left the party inspired. Jeff had thrown some water on the fertilized seed. Now it just needed to grow.
My wife loves to read and for Christmas I bought her a book that was all over the news and sports magazines, Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. For New Years we took a mini road trip and on this rare occasion she wanted to drive. Since she hadn't started the book I began reading it and I was captivated. By the end of the trip I'd finished the book and started to reread it. When I got home I went and bought some Nike Free shoes, not to run in, but to wear around the house and as much as I could. I bought some Newton Stability Trainers. Amazingly, the shin splints and planta fasciitis went away and by the end of January I was able to run 3 miles without stopping (if you call a +14 min/mi running). Now that I could mostly run pain free it was time test the body. (Yes, I rushed this process, too).
In February '10 I competed in my first multi sport event, Texas Motor Speedway Duathlon (run 2 miles - bike 14 miles - run 2 miles) and with the encouragement of friends and family I entered in my first Triathlon, St. Patrick's Day Sprint Triathlon in March '10!
St. Patty's Day starts in a 50 yard pool, and the swim was the least of my worries. I had been swimming since I was a little kid, but never competitively. I was worried about the run. When it was my turn to enter the pool, I entered the pool feet first like we were all instructed to do, and I proceeded to sink all the way to the bottom! When I hit the bottom I pushed off with all my might towards the far end of the pool and when I breached the water I swam for all I was worth. Half way down the pool I realized I hadn't taken a breath yet - later my wife said she just kept saying to her self "breathe, take a breath, what is he doing?!" I finished the swim, passing many competitors, and ran to my bike. I sat to put my mountain bike shoes on and then I couldn't get up! I couldn't breathe! As my family were yelling at me to go go go. I just tried to catch my breath. Eventually I got to my feet and walked out of transition pushing my road bike. I ended up having a pretty good bike, and the run wasn't that bad though I had to walk twice. I had completed and throughly enjoyed my first Tri. I am a Triathlete! I thank Beth for having the courage to do it and show me that it's possible to Tri. I thank David for letting me into your Tri world and encouraging me that I could do it. I thank Jeff for answering all of my questions that Christmas party night and being a training partner which means kicking me in the butt when I need it and encouraging me when I need it, too.
