The Offseason Starts Now
I had to include at least one race picture! Coldest race I have ever done but I was so thankful it was jut a sprint!
Okay so I didn’t really have a big season this year but I’m going back in for some rehab to hopefully repair some injuries that have been nagging me for years. I have had back issues since I trained for my first Ironman in 2006. It’s gotten progressively worse and really became an issue in my last Ironman in 2017. I’ve tried many bike fits, PT, chiropractic adjustments and other things to “get me through” races, play with my kid, sleep and just live life in general. Turns out I have a hypermobile SI (sacroiliiac) joint which causes all my other muscles around the SI to constantly fire to try and stabilize me. The worst pain occurred on the bike so it seemed that long bike rides would be a thing of the past. Since June 2017 I have not ridden more than 3 hours. My back does okay with that but can I ever ride longer? I would love to!
In the past year I’ve done 2 prolotherapy treatments in my SI joint with some success. So, I went in for the big guns and did another stem cell treatment with (PRP) platelet rich plasma to help with my hypermobile SI joint. Since the biggest part of the procedure (and most expensive!) is the extraction and prep, I had my amazing regenerative orthopedic physician (Dr. Timothy Mazzola at Regenerative Orthopedics and Sports Medicine of Boulder) look at other areas that have occasionally bothered me over the past 5 years. He’s a genius (and board certified) with the ultrasound and found degenerative tendinitis of the deep fibers of the adductor longus insertion, hyperechoic thickening of the tensor fascia lata, degenerative changes at the insertion of the glut min, tendinosis of the glute med, a large tear in the right proximal hamstring and acetabular tear of the right labrum.
Bravo to you if you know what that means but basically, things are a little messed up in my right hip/glute area. I’m sure it’s from stabilizing my body through all the things I do since my SI is not doing it properly. What’s interesting is that I don’t have a lot of symptoms in my hip but if we are going in, let’s take care of all of it!
Recovery is not horrible but will be a little challenging for someone that can’t stay in one place for long. No running for 6-8 weeks and a very gradual build up with biking and swimming. I’m optimistic of the opportunity this can bring and hope to be racing something longer than an Olympic distance triathlon again. If not, that’s okay as long as I can ride my bike, run a few times a week and do active things with my family. I’m in it for the long haul now and will not compromise my health for the next “A” race.
When he did the procedure he found a bit more damage than anticipated but treated it all. It was pretty cool to watch the black turn to gray on the ultrasound as my fat stem cells were added. I’m two days past the procedure and feeling really good and maybe a little bored with no workouts. It’s much better than I expected and I’m excited for the changes each day will bring!
Funny note for Garmin users - last week my watch was telling me I was “unproductive” even though I was working out as much as I could before the procedure. I’m two days into no workouts and it’s telling me I’m “productive.” Ha ha