Note: I only have 1 NEW wetsuit to give away, so if you are interested, please be sure to contact me right away!

Why am I doing this?  On May 30th I am going bald…for a cause!

Many of you know I am racing Ironman Louisville for Team Tatum’s Bags of Fun (Team TBF). Through this team, I have been introduced to Tatum and her two young philanthropic friends (Ben & Alex). These boys have hosted a head-shaving event in their backyard each spring for the past 3 years, and give all proceeds from their endeavor to Tatum’s Bags of Fun.

I have decided to help Ben & Alex make their event a success and will shave my head to stand in solidarity with all kids battling cancer.

As part of this, I need your help! I need to raise a least $250 for the event, and that is where you come in!   Please make a donation, right now, today, to Tatum’s Bags of Fun through my fundraising link:  http://tatumsbagsoffun.com/tbf-triathlon-team/tj-tryon/

Even a small donation of $10 or $20 is very helpful to reaching my goal, or contact me at tj@coachtj.com if you are interested in the wetsuit deal!

All monies go directly to support Tatum’s Bags of Fun.  Tatum herself is a 2 time cancer survivor (oh yeah, she’s only 12 years old…) and delivers a Bag of Fun to EVERY SINGLE child diagnosed with (or being treated for) cancer in Indiana.  Unfortunately, there are about 350 children per year served by TBF. Let me repeat what I just said:  TBF gives a Bag of Fun to EVERY child diagnosed with cancer in Indiana, they do not pick and choose certain kids, or give randomly, they bring hope to everyone!

Please consider helping make Ben & Alex’s event a success and know that you’ll bring smiled to children (and their families) who are dealing with something that I cannot imagine!  Check out my fundraising link at http://tatumsbagsoffun.com/tbf-triathlon-team/tj-tryon/

Many thanks to the great folks at XTERRA Wetsuits for help me with this great project!

Tuesday was decent, with slight aches and crescendo pain when standing or walking for long periods.  The weather warm-up really seemed to ease things up a bit, and I felt pretty good by the evening.  Wednesday, no paid all day.  Good sign!  Got home from school, and decided to try a short bike ride to see how I feel – maybe a quick 5 miler or so.

Rolled the Litespeed out the door, hop on and go – no pain for the first 5 miles, decided to go for 10.  Short story, I ended up a little over an hour, averaging about 19 mph in the winds with very little discomfort.  I’ll take it!

I know I’m about 3 weeks away from being able to run again, but today was verification that I am on my way there…

With the constant rain and cold temperatures we have had the past few weeks, Morse Lake has cooled back off to a chilly 58* over the weekend.  Unfortunately, we are a victim of Mother Nature showing off, and I’m not happy about it – it’s time to start swimming already!

Once the water hits 61*, we will finally be able to get in the water.  Just because it’s 61*, doesn’t mean that it’s going to be warm, as a matter of fact, it’s still downright brutally cold until the mid-to-upper 60* range.  Here is a list of tips to minimize the negative affects and the uncomfortable feelings that can result from cold water swimming.

• Wear two caps. You lose most of your heat through your head, and doubling up your “capage” helps you to keep your heat in.
• Wear a neoprene cap. Neoprene is better suited for cold water than standard latex.  That said, I’m not a huge fan of neoprene caps, but they do work.
• Wear a wetsuit—but more specifically, a full suit. The sleeveless suits allow heat to escape through your armpits.
• Put in earplugs. When the water drops below 60 degrees, I think earplugs become necessary—and they do work well in keeping your core temperature up. Additionally, this will help you from developing nystagmus from cold water getting into your ears.
• Blow bubbles before taking off on your swim. When the cold water hits your face, the shock (mammalian dive reflex) causes your lungs to contract, causing breathing problems – and panic from unsuspecting athletes. Go waist deep into the water and submerge your face to blow bubbles. This helps alleviate the shock of the cold water.

Use these tips not only to help your body tolerate cold water swimming, but to use it to your advantage and gain a leg up on your competition.

We, as a team-based, collaborative, empowered group, need your new, creative ideas, your skills and your knowledge to build this first year race, into the leading regional fitness festival, for adults and youth alike.

The Fit Fest includes a sprint triathlon/duathlon/aquathon, as well as a Kayakathon (swim, kayak, run) based out of Morse Park and Beach, with a point to point run finishing in Noblesville’s Forest Park, and youth races based out of Forest Park as well. This is a HUGE undertaking, and we need your help to make this inaugural fitness festival, benefiting Riverview Hospital, a success. Sign up to be a key player and help us to plan a great day!

Are you a coach, den parent, or youth group leader? Want to help your team earn $100? We also need 10 teams of 10 volunteers (at least 2 adults per team) to help out on race day! This is a great way for your scout pack to earn their service badge, or help your cross country or band with fundraising, by helping hand water out to athletes on race day! Please help spread the word!

You can find more information on the Noblesville Fitness Festival athttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Noblesville-Fit-Fest/124325327756361?fref=ts. Please feel free to email or call me if you have any questions. I can be reached at tj@coachtj.com or call my cell phone most evenings until 9PM. I look forward to working with you to make this an incredible event!

I believe I ran myself into a stress fracture yesterday, haven’t been to the doctor yet to confirm, but I fail the hop test and the tuning fork test – heck, I can’t put weight on my right leg without severe pain. I’ll be visiting the doctor tomorrow to confirm everything.

Got home from the race yesterday, went to bed early afternoon for a short nap, and woke up this morning. I slept for about 16 hours straight.

Yesterday was the culmination of the last few weeks of training. Two weeks ago, I ran the Carmel Half-Marathon, and while I felt pretty good, I was still undertrained for the race. I felt good enough the day after the race that I led a 50 mile bike ride the next day. Monday after the half-marathon, my 7th grade students were running a timed mile in gym class. I was asked to join them, which I did. I ran a fast timed mile with my boys, then again with my girls, on the beautiful Bishop Chatard track. In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have run a couple of hard track miles on tired legs.  I believe in pushing so hard, I strained my calf muscle, which, over the next few days of running, presented itself as shin splints. Knowing I had the Mini coming up in a week, I decided to take a week off running to try to let the shin splints heal.

The last couple of days leading up to the Mini, I tried to manage my expectations, knowing that if my shin splints hurt, I may have a long walk ahead of me. Regardless of me actually running or walking the Mini, I was still making plans to try to go out and put down a good time, which for me would be putting down sub-10 minute miles in my state of training. This should put me into the finish around 2:10.

I rode down the morning of the race with Greg, and met friends from the VRC and Tatum’s Bags of Fun at the south steps of the capital building at 6:45, took some pictures, and hiked to gear check, into our corrals at about 7:15. Several of us were in E, and we spent 15 minutes chatting the time away. Countdown to the start, and we were across the start line in approximately two minutes. Started off strong, no pain in my shins or calf muscles, feeling good about the run. Decided to take it fairly easy, to make sure I could finish.

By mile 3, I was feeling really good, keeping a sub-10 minute pace, decided I was going to need to start managing my race, as I knew I was going to be on pace to finish around 2:10. Hit the track in under an hour, which put me at the yard of bricks in 1:18. At this point in time, my right calf is starting to cramp up a bit. I’m feeling fresh, I’m feeling awesome, except my right calf. Decided to keep pushing, as I’m still on pace for a 2:10. Off the track, heading back towards town, I’m starting to feel my calf tighten up. Ana came by me around mile 10, shouted some encouragement, and blasted on down the road. By mile 10 or 11, I’m having to stop occasionally to stretch my calf out, as it’s really starting to put pressure on my shins. I reached mile 11.5 right at the 2:00 mark. At mile 11.5, I’m starting to be in serious pain – I know I’m no longer on 2:10 pace, but know I can still walk in under 2:30, so I was not stressed about it. I’m able to stop and stretch my right calf muscle out, and continue for a quarter of a mile or so, but then I start getting a stabbing pain in my shin again.

Mile 12 passes at the 2:10 mark, and I was very grateful to hit the bridge on New York. I knew it was going to be a long painful walk down New York. I alternated 100 yards walking, 100 yards trying to run the entire way down New York, until I was to the Library, and could see the finish. At this point, I decided to just suck it up, and run across the finish line, in 2:24.

It was not even close to a PR, but better that I would have come in if I were walking, and, anything under 2:30 qualifies for seeded entry for next year. My goal is to get into D corral next year, which will require I break 2:00. I’ll heal up and in the fall run a sub-2:00 to have me seeded in D for next year.

Was it worth the stress fracture? Probably not, but then again, I don’t think I could have predicted a stress fracture. On a good note, I have not been to the doctor yet – he can still determine I have a strained calf muscle or severe shin splints. Both of those still mean that I need to take time off running, but likely less than the 4 weeks (minimum) that a stress fracture requires. I doubt that I will be this lucky though, as I don’t pass the hop test, or the tuning fork test. What does this mean for the rest of spring? I think I’m done running for the next 4 weeks. I will likely need to hold off riding the bike for a week, but should be able to focus on the bike and swimming for the next 4 weeks, and pick up running again in early June. This likely means I will not be able to run for Toughman Richmond – will have to see if they have aquabike. Big picture is Muncie/Steelhead/IM Louisville/Augusta. I should be able to heal and be able to race all of these races still, providing I listen to my doctor, and don’t sabatoge my healing. All this is really just spectulation in the air until I see the doctor tomorrow.

There is a lot of good information online, and there is a bunch of  ”myth” as well.  The good information seems to be based on the RIICE approach, and include some great stretches.  I’m going to rest my shins the next few days and ice 3-4 times a day.  As far as icing, I remember a trick from back in my cross country days, freeze water in Dixie cups, and just tear off the paper as you are icing. Ibuprofen, compression and liberal elevation will hopefully help.  In addition, I am going to try some stretches that have been suggested, as well as follow the advice in this video. I’ll check back at the end of the week to let you know how things look as far as the Mini-Marathon.