When I ran Cross Country and Track in High School, I thought stretching your quads, calves, and hamstrings were all you needed to do to prevent injuries.  Now, 12 years later, I’ve learned that continued athletic performance relies on one’s commitment to keeping your body limber and prevent injury. Thankfully, there are far more techniques and tools that can be utilized than my high school self believed.

Since my youth, I have been introduced to a foam roller, massage sticks, and massage balls (aka tennis ball) and learned about key muscles in my sport such as hip flexors, glutes, abductors, and IT bands.

When I say “injury” I’m referring to little nagging injuries (such as a tight muscle) or overuse injuries (such as tendonitis).  Over my career (so far) I’ve dealt with patellar tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, IT band syndrome, osgood slaughter, peroneal tendon pain, calf pain, hamstring pain, groin pain, achilles pain, and the list goes on. In the past when I was injured I would start stretching the muscles around the area of pain and hoped that it relieved my symptoms.  For example, if I had calf pain I would use a foam roller and stretch my calf like crazy. When my injury went away I would go back to my old habits and did not consider changing my stretching routine. But if you are going to sue or fight at court you need to know how long does a personal injury lawsuit should take and then proceed. For this, lawyer for spinal injury cases or any other injury cases caused due to accidents, is the best option.

Today I have changed my habits so I’m more “proactive” instead of “reactive” when it comes to injury prevention.  There was one particular injury last year that has led to my daily stretching and recovery routines. In August, I experienced calf pain a few days before the Michigan Titanium (MiTi) race.  I was planning on doing the Half Iron distance at MiTi. I did everything I could to relieve my calf pain before the race. I foam rolled and stretched my right calf in every possible way. Unfortunately I still had calf pain leading up to the race.  The day before the race I had to drop out of the half Iron distance and instead registered for the Full Aquabike distance. The Aquabike was a swim-bike Ironman distance so I could avoid running, which aggravated my calf.

I ended up having a great race at MiTi but it still bugged me that I had a nagging injury that seemingly came out of nowhere.  In addition, I wanted to be injury free since I was racing in Kona in mid October. As luck would have it, when I was at MiTi I met a licensed massage therapist and I scheduled a massage appointment the following week. In case of injuries the personal injury attorney serving Rosemead can help. You can also get help of 801-Injured attorneys

At the massage appointment, I expected the therapist to work on my right calf for the majority of the time. Instead he worked on my entire body and only spent a few minutes on my calf.  The massage included stretching and massage of my quads, hamstring, glutes, lower back and back muscles. Later that day when I went for a run, I did not have any calf pain!

That experience helped me recognize the connections in the body’s muscular structure. My therapist and I believed that the calf pain was likely due to very tight quads/hip flexors which caused my hips to tilt forward.  When my hips tilted forward it caused my hamstring to become tight which pulled on my calf. As a result I felt pain in my calf since it was the “weaker” muscle.  The calf was the symptom but the cause was likely my quad and hip flexor.

I’ve continued to get massages on a regulator bases to prevent further injuries and also to learn more about my body.  My stretching routine has included static stretching and rolling. When I stretch I go in a order of priority as shown in the list below.

1. Quads

2. Hip Flexor

3. Glutes

4. Abductors

5. Groin

6. Hamstring

7. Calf

My first priority is to stretch my quads and hip flexors unless there is a particular area that is bothering me.  My quads take the most pounding from biking and running so this gets the most attention. My hip flexors are always tight from being in a seated position at work and on the bike.

Below are a few quad stretches that I do on a regulator basis.

Quad Foam Roll – use roller to roll up and down the quad to find tight areas.  Keep roller on a tight area to help it relax. Try not to force it to make it

This blog is a continuation from my last blog post “My Kona Journey: Part 7”.  I would suggest reading that blog before reading this one.

“The hardest skill to acquire in this sport is the one where you compete all out, give it all you have, and you are still getting beat no matter what you do. When you have the killer instinct to fight through that, it is very special.”

– Eddie Reese, U.S. Olympic Swimming coach

I woke up before my alarm went off at 3:30am.  I was only able to get a few hours of good sleep since my body was so amped up for what was about to happen today.  This was the morning I’ve been imaging and waiting for for years. After putting on my race kit I had my usual breakfast of oats with protein powder because it settled well with my stomach.  After eating, my family and I left our condo around 4am and started the 30 min drive to the race transition area.

At 4:30am we arrived at the transition area where my aunt and I were dropped off.  The athlete swim check-in opened at 4:45am so I got there a little early to beat the big crowds.  In addition, I wanted to see the Pro Men and Women check-in. When we got to check-in there was already a long line so we weren’t able to see the Pros.  While waiting in line I dropped off my special needs bags for the bike and run. When I was about to enter into the swim check-in area I gave my Aunt a hug as she wished me good luck for my race.

The check-in process went very smooth.  There were more volunteers than athletes which is rare to see.  The process went very quick and volunteers were very enthusiastic.  The volunteers applied my race number tattoos. After we got our race number we had to step on a scale to record our pre-race weight.  Finally we walked across the timing mate to verify that our chip was working and check-in was complete.

After check-in I walked over to my bike to get everything setup.  I placed four bottles of Infinit on my bike and filled up my aero bottle.  I pre-clipped my shoes in the pedals and pumped up the tires. After double (and triple) checking my setup, I was done in transition.  I went into the Kualia Bay Hotel to meet up with my dad. I entered the hotel and saw a few pro triathletes, like Mirinda Carfrae (3-time Ironman World Champ), another reminder that the best of the best were here this morning.  I sat in the hotel for about 30 minutes to rest the legs and take in some more fluids and nutrition. I also put on my swim speed suit, and went back into the transition area with less than a hour to go until my race.

When I got back into transition I checked on my bike setup and get some sunscreen on. By this point the transition area was packed like a can of sardines, including big name pros like Sabian Kienle, Jan Fordino, and Timothy O’Donnell.  With 20 mins before my swim start at 7:05am, I was ready. The Pro men and women already started their race, so I made my way over to the starting area by the bay.

 I entered the slow moving line to Kailua bay for the swim.  While entering the water I walked down the famous IRONMAN stairs that is always shown on NBC’s documentary coverage.  I witnessed a mix of emotions from the athletes that ranged from excitement to anxiety, mirroring my own feelings. When my feet touched the Pacific ocean, I paused for a few minutes before swimming out to the start, conserving my energy for the swim by decreasing the time I would have to tread water.  I made my way to the start line 13 minutes before the start time. My strategy was to be at least 50 yards to the left of the pier so I wasn’t starting out with the strong swimmers.  In addition it was less congested left of the pier. I didn’t want to start my race by getting trampled!

 When I got to the start line I was greeted by paddle boarders that were going back and forth to form a start line.  As I was waiting for the cannon to go off, I was thinking back to the times before I started doing triathlons.  During High School I remember watching the Ironman World Championship documentary on NBC, which inspired me to do a Ironman race one day. I’ve always dreamt of what it would be like to compete and experience the start at Kona.  In my opinion, the start of the Ironman World Championships is probably the most epic moments in all of triathlon and I was experiencing that right now!

 Ten seconds before the cannon went off the paddle boarders stopped and turned their boards parallel to us so we could swim by easier.  When that happened I knew it was GAME ON. BANG!!! The cannon blasted and I went out at a strong pace. There was a lot of contact with other swimmers through the first quarter mile, which I expected.  Fortunately I never got kicked or hit hard to disrupt my swim.

 It was challenging to sight far due to the waves and swimmers blocking my view.  I had to just follow the swimmers and trust that they’re going the right way. The swim course was pretty simple since it was just a long straight out and back loop.  The turnaround was around a big sailboard. As I got closer to the turnaround there was more separation between the athletes which made it easier to swim. At this point in the race I was swimming 20 yards away from the buoy markers.  I noticed that the main pack was swimming closer to the buoys which explained why there were less swimmers around me. In hindsight I probably should’ve swam with the main pack so I could’ve taken advantage of the draft behind the other swimmers.  As the swim progressed there were several swimmers passing me because they likely started further back. Usually my pace doesn’t slow down this early in a Ironman swim.

At the turnaround we swam around the sailboard, filled with cheering fans, which was pretty cool.  Staying 20 yards away from the buoys allowed me to swim alone and at my own pace, though I likely missed out on the draft of other swimmers.  A half mile before the swim exit I saw the famous coffee boat and for a split second I thought about stopping in for a cup of joe. Chuckling at myself, I thought I better not since I was in middle of a race…

 When I exited the swim there were about 20 athletes around me which meant it was very congested.  In the changing tent area, there was not enough room to even sit down. I quickly removed my swim speed suit and put on my helmet and socks for the bike.  My swim time was 1:00:53 and my gender placement was 405th.

 The start of the bike was more like a NASCAR race where all of the bikes were just motor pacing behind one other.  We were only able to keep 2 bike lengths between each other because it was so congested. The Ironman drafting rules state that you must keep 5 bike lengths behind the rider in front of you.  It was impossible to not draft especially during the first 5 miles because the roads were too narrow to pass. I had to stay patient and treat it like a warm up ride. I wasn’t able to start riding at my goal Ironman (IM) wattage until I got to the Queen K highway.

 When I got to the Queen K, I was able to pick up the pace… but it was still crowded.  Most of the riders were violating the 5 bike length draft zone rule. This meant that if passed a rider I also had to pass the rider in front of him because he was within the 5 bike length rule.  So I had to pass groups of riders, which required me to ride at a hard effort for a long time duration. Often, it took 2- 3 minutes to make a pass around a group because the groups were so long.  After I passed a group of riders I would slow down and settle into my IM effort.

 I didn’t want to continue doing 2 to 3 minute hard efforts because it would tire me out later on.  I attempted another strategy,  staying behind the group until it started to separate so I could pass one or two riders at a time.  However, as I patiently waited behind the group, I would get passed by riders that I already passed, which caused some frustration.

 In order to move up on the field I had to stay near my goal IM wattage, but this was hard to manage.  I found myself doing 230-250 watt efforts when passing and then doing 180-210 watts when riding behind a large group.  I had to be patient and wait for riders separate so I could pass them one by one. Once again I did not want to work too hard during the first few hours of the ride knowing that it was a 112 mile bike race and then a marathon run.

 Between the town of Kona and the airport we had a tailwind so I was averaging between 25 to 30 mph.  I was feeling good on the bike and I was on a great pace so far. When I got to Waikoloa (30 mile mark) the wind varied between a crosswind and headwind.  My speeds slowed down to 20 to 25 mph. After the 30 mile mark I was able to pass more athletes since the riders were more spread out.

 When I got to route 270 and started the climb to Hawi (42 mile mark) I had a tailwind.  During the climb to Hawi, I took advantage of my power-to-weight ratio, passing a lot of riders and sustaining 240+ watts.  However, on the downhills, I had to pedal just to keep up with the riders who carried more mass.

 When I got to Hawi, it was getting really congested because of the slowdown before the hairpin turnaround.  A lot of riders took advantage of the slowdown by passing a bunch of riders before the turnaround.

 After the turnaround, the riders were slow to getting up to speed, so I gunned it and passed at least 30 riders.  In addition, the riders were grabbing nutrition at the special needs station which is right after the turnaround.  I didn’t need any food at special needs since I had enough nutrition to get me through the bike leg. At this point I was right on my nutrition plan of one bottle of Infinit per hour.  I made sure that I was taking in a little water at every aid station. In addition, I was splashing water in my helmet and on my body to help stay cool.

 Once I got to the long downhill descent I was no longer passing riders.  Instead I was getting passed by riders every few minutes. There were a few steep section where I could get into an aero tuck position and not have to pedal.  But, for the most part, I had to keep pedaling to keep pace with the riders. When I got to the bottom of the Hawi climb I was able to pass a few riders on the climb to Queen K.  This was the last segment of the race where I felt good… from that point on things got ugly for me.

 I had a large power fade when I got onto the Queen K. At this point I knew I had to stay mentally positive and tough it out.  I had about 2 hours left to go on the bike. It was hard to stay positive when I kept getting passed by several riders. In addition, the last 30 miles of the bike had a significant headwind which added fatigue to the legs. I entered into survival mode and mentally check-out.  My mindset changed from “racing to a podium finish” to “just to get to T2 whatever it takes.” I turned my focus from pace or power to spinning the legs and soaking in the environment. I started taking notice of the beautiful landscape of the lava fields and the Pacific coast. In other words today was “pain in paradise”.

 Towards the end of the bike I had some cramping issues in my hamstrings.  I had to stand up on the bike and stretch out to get rid of the cramps. I rarely have cramping issue so I think I was a little dehydrated and more fatigued than usual.  I was happy to finish the ride in 5:14:06 and 108th in my age group.

 When I dismounted in T2 and started running my legs felt like bricks.  I did not rush myself through T2, like I normally do at other triathlons.  Instead I took my time as I put my run gear and sunscreen on. When I started the marathon, I realized that I didn’t have my Garmin watch on because I left it on the bike so I had no way of tracking my pace.  However, this may have been a good thing because I could go by feel and not worry about my time. My mindset for the run was to soak in the atmosphere, finish, and most of all just enjoy the moment because I was in KONA!

 Per the Ironman tracker I was running 7:30 pace for the first few miles. Throughout the marathon I did a run-walk strategy.  I walked through every aid station to hydrate and cool off. In the aid stations I put sponges and ice in my tri suit. After the aid stations I would start running again.  The first 9 miles of the marathon were exciting because of the crazy and cheering spectators.

 By mile 9, I had to walk up a few big hills like Paloniti.  After mile 9 my pace slowed down to the mid 8 to 8:30 pace range.  By this point, I was running on the Queen K highway… which had very few spectators, but plenty of volunteers at each aid station for support.  After a few miles on the Queen K it felt like time was slowing down because it was taking a longer and longer time to get to each mile mark. I knew it was going to be a long day! Instead of focusing on the mile markers, I shifted my focus on just getting to the next aid station and keeping pace with the other competitors around me.

 The temperature on the run was near 90 degrees, which made it uncomfortable. But the ice from the aid stations kept my body temperature under control. The hot temperatures caused my Infinit nutrition on my fuelbelt to heat up which didn’t taste great.   Instead I took some clif shot blocks on the course to get in the additional calories.

 I ran the last 2 miles non-stop since it was mostly downhill.  I was able to pick up the pace and find extra energy to finish strong.  When I got to Ali’i drive I used every last bit of adrenaline I had to finish strong.  The finish line area was pretty epic and I soaked it in. My finish time was 10:02:34 and I was 80th out of 175 athletes in the 30-34 age group.  Given the mental wins and struggles of the day, I was very pleased with how I finished.

 After finishing the volunteers gave me a finisher’s medal and Kukui Nut Lei.  Pushing myself the last 2 miles caused me to be very nauseous so I stopped by the med tent to make sure I was ok. The medical staff took my weight and I lost 10 pounds which was 7% of my body weight.  I started to feel better after resting and drinking some broth in the med tent. I’m always in rough shape after an Ironman… and today was no different. However, I was less sore since I didn’t push the marathon as hard as I’ve done in the past (aka less pounding on the feet). . did have some nasty sunburn on my back!

 The next day my family and I watched the award ceremony for the age-group and professional athletes.  The age-group award ceremony was really motivating to watch. The 5-top finishers in each male and female age group got awards.  The ceremony inspired me to continue to improve and someday be on one of those five podium steps.

This race was a humbling experience, racing against the best athletes in the world on one of the toughest course in the world.  It was a honor to say that I qualified for Ironman World Championships and that I accomplished one of my lifelong dreams. I would like to thank my dad, my aunt, and my 2nd cousin Emma that came out to support me on this trip.  I also want to thank Team Athletic Mentors, the Trikat Club, and my friends for supporting me on this journey. I would like to thank my coach for his guidance and helping me reach my Kona goal.

 Thank you for reading my Kona blogs and I hope this encourages you to go after your dreams.  You can accomplish anything if you surround yourself with the right people, you have a plan, you have a drive to succeed, and you have patiences.  Anything is possible! Go and write your journey!

The post My Kona Journey: The Final Part appeared first on Team Athletic Mentors.

This blog is a continuation from my last blog post “My Kona Journey: Part 6”.  I would suggest reading that blog before reading this one.

“Make sure your worst enemy doesn’t live between your own two ears.”

– Laird Hamilton

My summer racing and training was going really well heading into mid September.  Based on my key bike workouts, I felt that I was on track for achieving my 5 hour time goal for the bike course at Kona.  In fact, the day after the Reeds Lake Triathlon, I had my best 100 mile power average ever!  That 100 mile ride gave me confidence that my fitness was where it needed to be for Kona.  However, that confidence began to wane heading into Kona.

The last 5 weeks leading up to the big race were the most physically and mentally draining block of training I had experienced. With all honesty, I was just having bad workouts.  I especially struggled with big brick workouts each weekend.  These workouts included a 4 to 5 hour bike ride followed by a 30 to 50 minute run.  I really struggled to hit my power or pace targets during some of these big workouts.  For instance, I recall one workout where I had to do a 100 mile time trial followed by a 1:10 hour run. It just so happened that the temperatures were in the 80s and 90s on that day.  At the time I thought the sunny hot weather would be a good thing since it would be great preparation for Kona.  The hot weather would allow me to test out my nutrition plan and pacing.  In addition, the heat would test my physical and mental limits.  I can assure you, my limits were tested!

When I started the 100 mile time trial, I could tell early in the ride that my legs were not going to cooperate, causing me to ride well below my goal power. In fact, the average power that I was able to hold was 30 watts lower than my Ironman goal power.  It was hard to stay mentally focused when I was not physically able to ride to my full capability.  On the positive side, I was able to stay cool and stay on my nutrition plan since the intensity of the ride was low.  Unfortunately, I felt worse as the ride progressed, so I decided to just call it a day on the bike and cut the ride short to 73 miles.  This was the first ride I had to shorten due to fatigue during my training.

After the shorten bike ride I changed into my run gear and started my 1:10 hour run.  The run was broken up into 3x 20 min at 15 – 20 seconds faster than Ironman pace with 2 minute recoveries.  When I started the run I was really “feeling” the heat since I didn’t have that 20 mph breeze like I did for the bike.  It was in the low 90s with no cloud cover and no wind.  I thought to myself “this weather will be very similar to Kona”.  To help stay cool I threw ice and cold water down my tri kit since Kona would have these items at aid stations.  I was only able to get relief for 5 minutes until a;; the ice in my tri kit melted.  During the 20 minute intervals, I was able to hold between 6:45- 6:55 pace but the perceived effort was very hard.  My body had to work extra hard stay cool and overcome a fatigued body.  The heat really got to me during the last 10 minutes of each interval.  After each interval, I rested in the shade and put ice and cold water in my tri kit to stay cool.  During the run it was a challenge to take in calories without getting an upset stomach due to the heat.  This was one of the hardest runs of the year for me!  When I finished the run I was glad that it was over but was disappointed that I was not able to do better.

The following day after my big brick workout I did a 2:40 hour long run.  My long run would again be in the high 80s.  However, this workout went better than yesterday’s suffer-fest.  I was able to hold my Ironman goal pace and stay cooler during the run.  It made a huge difference not doing a 3:30 hour ride before the run.  I was able to get in 22 miles for the run, stay hydrated and fueled.

I realized that my body was just getting fatigued from the long Ironman season.  Doing Ironman Brasil in the late spring and then training for another Ironman in October was new territory for me, so I wasn’t sure how my body would respond. One thing is for sure is my body was telling me to start tapering.  So, three weeks before Kona, I began cutting back on my training volume. When I started the taper, I was beginning to feel more like my normal self again.  Finally, I was having good workouts again and I had my mental motivation back again.

One week before Kona I flew out to the Big Island of Hawaii.  I was very fortunate to have my father, Aunt, and 2nd cousin with me during the 10 days in Hawaii.  We stayed in a nice condo resort in Waikoloa Beach Village area which was right off the Queen K highway.  This was a good spot for training since I could ride on Queen K which was part of the bike course.

I rode the course a few times to get an idea of how my bike would handle in the crosswinds.  Kona is known for having significant crosswinds that can change on a dime.  On Tuesday, I rode 1.5 hours from my Condo to the turnaround point in Hawi.  When I started the ride I was fighting a stiff 15-25 mph cross wind.  Several times the wind turned into a headwind or sometimes a tailwind.  After 45 minutes of riding I started the climb up to Hawi. The climb was a gradual incline.  There are a few steeper sections where I could get out of my aero position and sit up on the bike.  The hardest part was fighting the strong 20-30 mph headwinds and crosswinds.  Overall, I thought the terrain of the course was not hard but rather  the elements of the race such as the wind, heat, sun, and no shade is what makes this course challenging.

After the 1.5 hour bike I did a 20 min run off the bike which felt great.  This was my last “long” brick workout before the race which I thought went well.  I felt that physical and mentally strong.  The taper and rest was exactly what I needed.

Two days before the race I did a 30 minute open water swim in Kailua Bay.  The water temperature was around 80-81°F which was warm enough to not allow wetsuits.  For the race I will wear a speed suit instead.  One benefit of swimming in the Pacific is the salt water will help keep you more buoyant. The water in the Bay was very clear so you could see all the sealife below.  When I was swimming from the pier the water was calm for the first 200 yards.  Once I got more out into the ocean there were waves that began to push me around a little.  In addition, the tides kept me constantly moving up and down which caused me to get a little motion dizziness.  Hopefully I don’t get seasick during the race!   I had to be extra careful not to swallow or get any saltwater in my month.  This  2.4 mile swim in Kona will be the most challenging of any Ironman race I’ve done.  Knowing that I will be swimming with the best Ironman athletes in the world,  I needed to be on top of my game.

The final day before the race we had to check in our bike and equipment.  It was a spectacle just to witness the bike check-in process.  It felt like the red carpet in Hollywood.

Everyone was gathered around the fence to check out the Pro and age group athletes walk in. They had an announcer calling out all the athletes as they walked into the transition area.  When I entered the transition I had my own volunteer to escort me around the entire check-in process.  I had photographers take a picture of my bike so Ironman determine the total count of bikes and equipment that people are using for the race.  After the photoshoot, the volunteer walked me out to my transition spot.  I mounted my bike and placed my bike and run bags in the changing tent area.  The transition area and changing tent were very condensed.  On race day the changing tent would be very crowded..  Other than the space issue I felt like a VIP during the check-in process.

After the bike check-in I went back to the condo to eat and get things ready for the race.  On race morning, I like to have everything ready to go so I can try to get extra sleep.  I prepared my Infinit nutrition bottles for the bike and run.  Similar to Ironman Brasil, I plan on having 5 bottles on the bike plus one extra bottle in special needs, just in case.  The special needs bag will be placed at the turnaround point in Hawi.  For the run I prepared 5 flask bottles.  I plan on carrying 3 flasks with me coming out of T2 and picking up 2 more flasks at the special needs which was located at mile 18.  I plan on keeping my calorie consumption per hour the same as Ironman Brasil, but I plan on drinking more water.  I had all my shoes, race kits, electronics, race numbers, and timing chip laid out on the floor.

I had a lot of nervous energy running through my body considering it was the biggest race in my triathlon career.  I felt relaxed and calm during the final days leading up to the race but now that the race was less than 24 hours away it was hard to keep calm.   For me, it’s hard to not be nervous before a race that I deeply care about… especially if it’s a race that I’ve been dreaming of doing for a long time.  I just tried to embrace the nervous energy and the moment that would be in store for me tomorrow.

To be continued….

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