The Fab Five is a bit of a mess these days. Possible meniscus tears, turf toes, rotator cuffs, IT Bands, allergies, planter faciitis, hernias, tendonitis . . . and the list goes on. Thankfully mine are minor: a bump on the forehead from my Rev3 medal, and a bruised elbow from running into the door while trying to avoid two wild birds I let out of the dryer hose.
Injuries are obviously a big part of training, and this video is a hilarious viewpoint of how absurd the will to train through pain can seem to someone who is not training for Ironman. Warning: Explicit Language.
I can’t prove this, but I’m willing to bet that at least half of triathlon training injuries are directly related to running. I can honestly say that my legs (and body) feel better right now than they have in months. Over the last 24 days I have ran exactly 5 times: A 3.5 mile run with the East Nasties, a short/easy 2 mile jog after a bike, another two mile jog when I was sick, the Country Music Half, and a 10k for the Rev3 Olympic on Sunday.
Following the CM Half, my feet were very sore and my IT Band was on the brink of relapse. My calf was (and still is) in a knot. That day I ran for one hour and thirty seven minutes.
Following Olympic Triathlon Sunday, which took over an hour longer, I felt fantastic. Not one body part was sore (other than the calf). I was ready to do a hard workout the next day.
That said, there is a major catch. The run is a huge deal in triathlons and I’m not even remotely suggesting it should be avoided. In fact, I love the work involved in running. I just preparation, warm up, and strength exercises should not be taken lightly. Done right, we should all probably warm up a minimum of 15 minutes before a run and if that cuts into total run time, so be it.
That’s another reason why I love triathlon . . . by the time you get to the run, your legs are definitely warmed up.*
* Unless you did Rev3 Knoxville this year.