Tweedle Beetle Tri-Atheletle

I love this!!!

My "real" job is to work with various corporations and help them spread and grow their brand equity via promotional items.  I recently worked on a project for Google where we did a Chrome Cycling Kit and a Maps Cycling Kit.  I used this same vendor to create a two piece Tri Suite for North Lake Physical Therapy Triathlon team.

Hopefully we will have it by the end of the season!!!

	Blue Lake Olympic  6/6/10	Hagg Lake Olympic 7/10/10
PLACE (OVERALL):	178 / 406	64 / 203
NAME:	H, JENSEN	H, JENSEN
AGE:	33	33
SEX:	M	M
TIME:	2:35:03	2:42:17
BRACKET PLACE:	25 / 41	13 / 25
SWIM TIME:	0:32:13	0:30:53
SWIM 100 YD:	1:58	1:53
PLACE AFTER SWIM:	318	126
TRASITION 1:	3:58	3:27
BIKE TIME:	1:09:22	1:15:25
AVE MPH:	21.11 MPH	19.77 MPH
BIKE RANK:	162	52
PLACE AFTER BIKE	224	77
TRASITION 2:	2:57	2:40
RUN TIME:	0:46:33	49.52
AVE MILE SPLIT:	7:29	8:02
RUN RANK	125	60
PLACE AFTER RUN:	178	64

***http://www.racecenter.com/results/

*** PLEASE NOTE CORRECTIONS TO BLUE LAKE OLYMPIC DISTANCE (I READ THE RESULTS WRONG...) WHOOPS! ***


The day started in stark contrast to Blue Lake Triathlon just a little more than one month ago.   The sky was blue, I pulled on my shorts and drove (enjoyed the windows rolled down the entire drive) out to Hagg Lake.  I arrived early and things went as smooth as they possibly could - I even had time for some meditation and visualization.


We were in the water at 8:00 AM sharp my my wave was second at 8:01.  The water was brilliantly warm and the toughest part of the swim was the elbow which clipped my nose about 3/4 of the way out to the first buoy.  I felt strong throughout the swim, although hindsight being 20/20 - I should have pushed it a bit harder.  I swear there was a current... somebody mentioned it but I can't be sure.

My "imaginary" Hagg lake.

Okay... the bike leg..
That was really hard...really, really hard..  I feel like I did well but... DAMN!!! That was really hard!  Lets remember that "Hard" is relative and I suppose that being "relative" it has to be compared to a reference point.  Lets call this my "expectation".   Compared to my expectation, Hagg Lake was really, really hard.   The course was described to me as rolling hills (the start of my reference point troubles).  This is how "I" expect rolling hills to look.


I sort of pictured grassy plains with, well... rolling hills, maybe 50 or so feet of elevation change - maybe even a hundred feet.  The kind of ride where you stand up to peddle and maintain your speed, but for the most part, maybe even the entire part, you are locked onto your aerobars, cranking out 20+MPH speeds, mile after joyful miles.  Let me be very clear... THIS IS NOT HAGG LAKE.

Stage 8 Tour de France

Brutal climbs...
Leg and Lung punishing accents...
Terrifyingly fast descents....
Riders and runners dropping like flies in the heat of a blistering summer day...




Okay, Okay.... this is actually the profile for stage 8 of the 2010 Tour de France.   Sorry Lance, I know you are reading this and I hate to bring up bad memories.  I guess the good news is my ride was MUCH better than yours.  It really looked like this from my vantage point!!! Honestly... It did!


Actually, what the bike leg really look like with this:


For the Olympic Distance the race was two loops around the lake with a bit of a dog leg mid way.  Total distance was nearly exactly 24 miles.  Personally, I went out too strong - finding myself really having to push on the second loop and then struggling through the run especially on the uphill sections.  


On the first loop, after crossing over the damn, there was a hard right hand turn which I nearly went down on as I came into the turn way too fast.  It is one thing to be sliding sideways on a mountain bike and something entirely different to be sliding sideways on a road bike with 120 psi tires chattering through the corner.  After a quick and very lucky recovery I reentered the group, nearly colliding with a rider who saw an advantage and went to take it on my right side (I was a bit annoyed by this) whom I never expected to be there.  I got back on the bars fairly quickly but was seriously shaken - if my heart rate wasn't already at 180 - it quickly found its way there during the slide and it was tough to get it back down to where I needed it.  The race wasn't without a bit of blood though - one woman went down hard and required the use of emergency medical (fire and paramedic).  Lets hope she was all right! The rest of the bike leg was without event and I finished with a decent time of 1:15:25 and average speed of 19.77 mph.  


The run leg of the course was a 3.125 miles out, 3.125 miles back on road course.  The same course as the bike leg (yup, this was hilly too!).  I was stiff coming off the bike and felt like it took forever for the gels to kick in that I scarfed down at the bike to run transition.  Each hill seemed to slow me more (even though my splits were within seconds of each other).  Where I felt like I struggled was both legging it out and recovering on the downhill section.  This has always been a strength of mine and a strategy (shorten my stride and grind a consistent pace on the uphill side, then maintaining the same cadence - lengthen my stride, increasing my speed on the downhill).  Not being able to do this really shows that I should have slowed things down on the bike so I could take advantage of my best leg (the run).  My run time was 49:52 with ave mileage splits of 8:02.  This is really where I am looking for improvement at Scoggins Valley Olympic Distance next month.


Did I do well?  Ya, I think I did.  I have to keep reminding myself that when the race was ran (July 10, 2010) I was less than 6 months out of spine surgery.  There is really no question though that this race was really special to me because it was to be the first opportunity for my two boys and my wife to watch me race.  I can't describe the feeling of passing the three people you love the most in the world, hearing them cheer you on as you run or cycling past them.  The feeling of picking up my two boys after crossing the finish line.  Its really amazing and makes me feel so grateful.



Thanks North Lake Physical Therapy for sponsoring my involvement in the race, but most of all - thank you to my wife, Shannon for sitting on the side of the road, breaking up fights between our two toddlers in 80 degree temperatures for 2:42:17.  She gets first place for dealing with a much tougher race than I had!

Setting the Stage - The timeline:

Last December, 2009 - I made the decision that I was going to begin my training for the Pacific Crest 1/2 Iron Man in Sunriver Oregon.


December 19th, 2009 - Beautiful December day - 20 mile light ride. Tingling in my left hand.

December 21st, 2009 - Woke up to the most intense pain ever radiating down my left arm. (http://tweedlebeetletriatheletle.blogspot.com/2009/12/locked-up.html)

January 21st, 2010 - Complete Artificial Disk Replacement surgery, to replace the badly herniated Disk between C6/7.

Febuary, 2010 - Cheryl Kosta agrees to ignore my ridiculous insurance and provide to me the very best in physical therapy.  Thank you!!!!

The Badly Herniated Disk between C-6 and C-7.

The Group:

The North Lake Group, lead by Physical Therapist and North Lake founder Cheryl Kosta, took me under their healing wing back in February 2010 - after my C6/7 artificial disk replacement surgery.  This surgery corrected my badly herniated disk which resulted in excruciating pain, muscle waisting on my left shoulder, pectoral, bicep and triceps, numbness in my left hand and paralysis in my left triceps.

What They Did:

Rather than just rehabbing my cervical spine and shoulder area, the group took on a holistic approach - viewing the body and a system of interconnected subsystems.  I completed my rehab with two sets of ortohotics (one for daily use - the other for running/cycling), a professional and complete bike fit, and I am ecstatic to report that I have made a complete recovery.  The orthotics are designed to not only align my bone structure preventing some of my most chronic injuries (Achilles Tendinitis and IT Band Tendinitis) but also increasing performance!  By aligning my structure I increase efficiency and power transfer.

Post Surgery - Notice the artificial disk between C-6 and C-7.

The Result:


On May 15t,h 2010 (less than 4 months after my spine surgery), I returned to competing at the Pole Pedal Paddle. (http://tweedlebeetletriatheletle.blogspot.com
/2010/06/first-race-of-year-2010-us-bank-pole.html)

On June 6th, 2010 I competing in my first Olympic Distance Triathlon at Blue Lake, finishing 125th out of 405 finishers.
(http://tweedlebeetletriatheletle.blogspot.com/
2010/06/2010-blue-lake-olympic-distance.html)

My Sincerest Thank You!

There is no question that North Lake's direction during my recovery not only helped my physical recovery from my spinal injury but also returned me to a stronger, more limber and faster place.

To Cheryl and everyone at North Lake, thank you for your guidance, your support and your financial assistance!

My Wife Shannon, gave me the two greatest gifts a man could ever receive, my two boys - Aidan and Brodie.

To my wife - Thank you.  To my two boys, I love you more than anything in the world.

To All of you Dads out there, Happy Fathers Day.

To my Dad, Happy Fathers Day.

To my other Dad, Happy Fathers Day.

I love you both - Thanks for everything.

Jensen

2010 BLUE LAKE OLYMPIC DISTANCE TRIATHLON

PLACE:                          125 

Ave HR:          178 bpm

Overall, a total blast!

Then it was our magic marathoner, Adam's turn at the wheel.  Once we found each other at the transition (what a few minutes in a race?) - he set off at top speed!    Adam, what was it?  6 minute miles????  Anyway, Adam rocked the course tagging Eric our pro kayak expert.

On a lighter note, our professional paddler forgot... didn't know... or maybe just wanted to look supper macho by leaving the plug out of the kayak and having to dump the water 3 times during the paddle portion of the race.  Needless to say, he still posted the best time of the day - for him :).  He also managed to say, "To hell with the man, and purposely drowned his Blackberry in the process.  Way to go Eric - you are an inspiration to all of us chained to our cells.


Although next year, I will try to get out there before 1:00 AM in the morning...

P.S.  Favorite Quote of the day...

"I am pretty sure I was still buzzed when I woke up this morning..." - Adam

No, I am not talking about getting a larger chest or shaving unwanted pounds off your mid section with a lypo-hose.  I am talking about designing a workout routine which will change the structure of how your bones fit together, changing the way we stand, the way we sit, the way that we live to increase performance and decrease the chances of injury.  Actually investing both TIME and ENERGY (the two basic ingredients into anything worth while) - applied under the watchful eye of a professional, yields incredible results.  I am absolutely giddy with all that I am learning.

10 weeks ago, I walked into my PT (Physical Therapist).  She asked me to remove my shirt and my shoes and simply stand.  The first words out of her mouth after her critical eye passed over my body was - "You struggle with IT band and Achilles Injuries."  By the way, it wasn't a question but a statement of fact - one that I had to smile at because it couldn't be more close to the truth.

Today I feel as if I have nearly come full circle.  I am not as fast as I was 10 weeks ago, nor as strong but I feel like my PT has been able to set a foundation to get even stronger, even faster and with less chance of injury.

Thank you to everyone at North Lake Physical Therapy - I came to you hoping for a stronger neck and you gave me a stronger body.