Nose Clips, Ileotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS), When Not To Listen To Your Legs During Ironman Races, And Never Hesitate To Start Over

Nose clips. Not pretty, but boy do they help prevent chlorine allergy and general nasal irritation by sea and river water. They work!

Hi folks, welcome to my contemplation location, where I endeavor to improve peoples lives!

I was third in my age group at the 2013 Louisville Ironman, and I was quite happy with that. I’m not ready for Kona right now. What a great race.

After many intermittent and strange bouts of ileo-tibial band syndrome (ITBS), whilst running, I’m now convinced that it can be induced by how you run. Several episodes during Ironman races, including my recent Lake Placid Ironman Paleo DNF, have demonstrated that going too easy on a run, plodding in fact, will trigger this beast. You have to fix your biomechanics or you’ll be torturing yourself on rollers for ever. This is why I study body awareness more than I train, and I train a lot.

Years ago my elder sister, Janet, who I need to call come to think of it, told me a story about a famous pianist who was at the top of his game, but decided that he could do better. So he dropped out of the limelight for three years and started over. Completely started over, and we are talking about a famous concert pianist known the world over (Rachmaninoff?). He felt that something needed fixing, and the only way, like a math problem that has you stymied, is to go back to basics. He did this and came back as a truly major force in music.

FitOldDog proudly stands with his son Nigel, who captured a Kona Slot at the Louisville Ironman – 9:52, can you believe it. I look pretty tired compared to Nigel.

I liked that story, which has guided me through my life, and so I have no problem starting over with my athletics, especially for the run. I did that for mathematics to great effect, but that’s another story, and what a fascinating journey into the human mind it turned out to be.

When I looked at the empty swim start I thought of an empty ants nest – a pile of dirt. It’s the people, not the trappings, that make this sport so great.

I’ve had a persistently tight right calf for years that messes with my run and which I’ve kept under control using rollers, stretching and the like. I think that I finally have it licked, with the help of my Feldenkrais instructor, Karen, and my dance and Continuum teacher (and life advisor) Rebecca. A considerable amount of work led to the conclusion that a broken shoulder, combined with guarding my previously fractured ankle, was throwing off my body in a subtle and fascinating way – I called it the zig-zag problem – going from left shoulder, right hip, medial right hamstring [left side of right leg], to right side of right calf, to medial right foot – zigging and zagging down my body along the fascial planes. Oddest part of all this was the effectiveness of the final advice given to me by Rebecca prior to the Louisville Ironman, which I used throughout the run a few days ago. The advice was to, (1) snap my fingers down my left side to wake it up, and (2) rub my hands together gently in front of my body to discourage my tendency to move like a drunken sailor, and thus flow more smoothly through my inner lines. It worked like a charm, straightening me right up, running smoothly and painlessly (my legs might argue about that, but who’s asking them).

I was not fast during this race, but I ran steadily the whole time with, (a) no sign of ITBS, and (b) no evidence of that pesky tight right calf. For 26 miles, somewhat undertrained for the distance, I ran past many younger people walking.

If you do stuff you get to see stuff – the Ohio river from our hotel room prior to the 2013 Louisville Ironman race.

Now I’m ready to pick up my run pace for the New York City Marathon, but first I have to get Ironman 70.3 Worlds Championships and the Outer Banks Half Ironman out of the way, whilst remaining injury-free.

It sure is great to stay in shape, working to remain healthy, whilst pushing my limits, GENTLY!

I can’t wait to pick up my pace at the track and start working towards trying to qualify for Boston again.

I think the clicking worked via my Chi field (yep, it’s real, feeling is believing), whilst not stopping on the run was all about mental focus and improved biomechanics – I’m no Rachmaninoff, but I do my best.

I made one mistake, which cost me the Kona slot, I started out too slow on the run – I made the mistake of listening to my legs complaining after a pretty hilly 112-mile bike ride. But all’s well that ends well.

More excitement to come – what a great year, DNFs or no DNFs.

My son, Nigel, had a great race, and I’m not ready for Kona yet, but I now have an excuse to visit Hawaii (boy, I better start doing better with my business, Old Dogs in Training LLC, or I’ll have to trim my sails – live while you can, life is brief, but work for the future).

I really want to achieve a sub-13 hour Ironman. You have to have goals and dreams, my friends, if you want to get anything done. But remember, I don’t just want a sub-13, I want to use body awareness to make it enjoyable, non-damaging to my body, and to complete it with a smile on my face and ready to eat.

And what could be better than completing an Ironman race with your kid. Well, a 40-year old dentist kid who’s a real athlete. I really am a lucky guy.

-k @FitOldDog