Update and Hardware
Recovery week couldn’t have come at a better time for me. This week has been crazy busy. Work has been nuts, and RC’s surgery was this week as well.
The surgery went well. Not exactly as we’d have liked, but better than it could have been. My sister and I made the drive down to Gainesville after I finished my swim Wednesday morning. We made it to the hospital about noon. They’d done all the preliminary stuff earlier in the day and he and Mom were waiting for them to call him back. They called for him about an hour after we got there. The surgery was 2 hours late getting started after they called for him. Finally around 5:30 in the afternoon, the surgeon came to talk to us. They removed 10-12 small tumors, but weren’t able to get them all. They put some chemo in to slow the growth of what was left behind. He made it through the recovery period fine and was able to come home Thursday. The prognosis: the pathology report will tell the tale as far as where they’ll go from here with his treatment. If the report shows the cancer has started to leach through the lining of the bladder, they’ll remove the bladder. If not, they’ll perform another surgery to remove the remaining tumors and then treat him with chemo. The pathology report will be ready sometime next week. Please continue to keep RC in your thoughts and prayers.
Other than the long run Monday, this week has been fairly moderate on the training front.
An hour and a half on the trainer Tuesday, 45 minute swim Wednesday and a 50 minute run Thursday. I had a swim/bike brick on the schedule for Friday (3k/4hour). The forecast called for rain, so I changed things around a bit. I decided I’d go with 1.5 hours of swimming, 2 hours indoors on the trainer, and a 45 minute run. The swim went well and I ended up with just under 4500 yards. My dislike of the trainer has not changed, but I made it through 2 hours of stationery boredom. The skies cleared and I was able to get outside for my 45 minute run. I took it easy the remainder of the day and tried to rest up for the 5k.
My only goal for the 5k this morning was to go as hard as I could without injuring anything. Actually, I did have a time goal way in the back of my mind. I thought maybe if the planets lined up just right, I might be able to break 20 minutes. But, the main goal was to bust out a hard 5k and not blow out my IT band or anything else.
I made it to the race about 30 minutes before the start. I got my race number and warmed up a bit. I finished my warm up, stopped by the bathroom and made it to the start line with about 3 minutes to spare. They seeded everyone this year and I lined up in the 22 minute group. The gun sounded and we were off. I passed a few folks in the beginning, but things cleared out pretty quickly…must have been the seeding. It’s usually pretty crowded at the beginning of this race. I hit mile 1 in 6:26. I did a quick calculation and figured if I could hold that pace or go a little quicker, I’d be able to break 20. I picked up my pace and hit mile 2 in 5:57. It’s a bit hilly from mile 2 to the finish line and I knew I'd be slowing during that section. At about mile 2.5, I passed a guy in my age group who always finishes ahead of me. Then I noticed a guy up in front of me that usually finishes in the 19 minute range. He was about 75 yards or so in front of me, but I couldn’t close the gap. The finish line started coming in to view and I went as hard as I could go. I saw the clock display 20 minutes, but I still had about 50 yards to go. I crossed the line and forgot to hit stop on my watch….as usual. I think my time was about 20:15. I’ll know for sure when the official results come out. They didn’t use timing chips this year and we had to fill out an index card at the end of the race. The card I was given had a 12 on it, so I’m guessing that meant I finished 12th overall. Each age group had a basket and the completed cards go in the appropriate basket. It’s a challenge to fill out a card just after giving a 20 minute max effort. I found the male 35-39 basket and was surprised when no other cards were in the basket. They didn’t post the results, so we had to hang around until the awards to find how we placed. DJ, KJ and one of KJ’s friends had made it to the race and we chilled while we waited for the awards. The overall winner finished in a smokin 15:11! Smokin! 2nd and 3rd weren’t far behind. I can't remember the exact time of the women’s winner, but I do remember that 2nd place finished one second behind….ONE SECOND. They finally made it to my age group and I was very happy when I found out I’d won my age group. I’ve gotten second and third in the past, but have never won. I didn't hit my time goal, but I'll definitely take the AG win. And.....I set a new PR of about 40 seconds.
I’ve got an hour trainer ride on the schedule for this afternoon and then it’s rest day tomorrow.
T minus 27 days…..
Happy Training,
TJ
The surgery went well. Not exactly as we’d have liked, but better than it could have been. My sister and I made the drive down to Gainesville after I finished my swim Wednesday morning. We made it to the hospital about noon. They’d done all the preliminary stuff earlier in the day and he and Mom were waiting for them to call him back. They called for him about an hour after we got there. The surgery was 2 hours late getting started after they called for him. Finally around 5:30 in the afternoon, the surgeon came to talk to us. They removed 10-12 small tumors, but weren’t able to get them all. They put some chemo in to slow the growth of what was left behind. He made it through the recovery period fine and was able to come home Thursday. The prognosis: the pathology report will tell the tale as far as where they’ll go from here with his treatment. If the report shows the cancer has started to leach through the lining of the bladder, they’ll remove the bladder. If not, they’ll perform another surgery to remove the remaining tumors and then treat him with chemo. The pathology report will be ready sometime next week. Please continue to keep RC in your thoughts and prayers.
Other than the long run Monday, this week has been fairly moderate on the training front.
An hour and a half on the trainer Tuesday, 45 minute swim Wednesday and a 50 minute run Thursday. I had a swim/bike brick on the schedule for Friday (3k/4hour). The forecast called for rain, so I changed things around a bit. I decided I’d go with 1.5 hours of swimming, 2 hours indoors on the trainer, and a 45 minute run. The swim went well and I ended up with just under 4500 yards. My dislike of the trainer has not changed, but I made it through 2 hours of stationery boredom. The skies cleared and I was able to get outside for my 45 minute run. I took it easy the remainder of the day and tried to rest up for the 5k.
My only goal for the 5k this morning was to go as hard as I could without injuring anything. Actually, I did have a time goal way in the back of my mind. I thought maybe if the planets lined up just right, I might be able to break 20 minutes. But, the main goal was to bust out a hard 5k and not blow out my IT band or anything else.
I made it to the race about 30 minutes before the start. I got my race number and warmed up a bit. I finished my warm up, stopped by the bathroom and made it to the start line with about 3 minutes to spare. They seeded everyone this year and I lined up in the 22 minute group. The gun sounded and we were off. I passed a few folks in the beginning, but things cleared out pretty quickly…must have been the seeding. It’s usually pretty crowded at the beginning of this race. I hit mile 1 in 6:26. I did a quick calculation and figured if I could hold that pace or go a little quicker, I’d be able to break 20. I picked up my pace and hit mile 2 in 5:57. It’s a bit hilly from mile 2 to the finish line and I knew I'd be slowing during that section. At about mile 2.5, I passed a guy in my age group who always finishes ahead of me. Then I noticed a guy up in front of me that usually finishes in the 19 minute range. He was about 75 yards or so in front of me, but I couldn’t close the gap. The finish line started coming in to view and I went as hard as I could go. I saw the clock display 20 minutes, but I still had about 50 yards to go. I crossed the line and forgot to hit stop on my watch….as usual. I think my time was about 20:15. I’ll know for sure when the official results come out. They didn’t use timing chips this year and we had to fill out an index card at the end of the race. The card I was given had a 12 on it, so I’m guessing that meant I finished 12th overall. Each age group had a basket and the completed cards go in the appropriate basket. It’s a challenge to fill out a card just after giving a 20 minute max effort. I found the male 35-39 basket and was surprised when no other cards were in the basket. They didn’t post the results, so we had to hang around until the awards to find how we placed. DJ, KJ and one of KJ’s friends had made it to the race and we chilled while we waited for the awards. The overall winner finished in a smokin 15:11! Smokin! 2nd and 3rd weren’t far behind. I can't remember the exact time of the women’s winner, but I do remember that 2nd place finished one second behind….ONE SECOND. They finally made it to my age group and I was very happy when I found out I’d won my age group. I’ve gotten second and third in the past, but have never won. I didn't hit my time goal, but I'll definitely take the AG win. And.....I set a new PR of about 40 seconds.
I’ve got an hour trainer ride on the schedule for this afternoon and then it’s rest day tomorrow.
T minus 27 days…..
Happy Training,
TJ
posted by TJ at 1:05 PM
7 Comments:
A sub-21 5K is smokin! Ironman in Training :-)
Prayers going up for RC!
Congrats on your first place AG, Mr. Speedy
15 minutes...man I need some of whatever that guy has going on. Congrats on the win and the PR.
Great race and hardware! Good luck with your tapering after that smoking race!
Prayers going up for RC. My dad has prostate surgery on Oct 22.
Prayers for your step dad... and congrats to you!
Congrats on the AG win! Great race.
RC is in my thoughts- praying for good news from the tests. :)
Nice job on the 5K!!! I will be praying for RC.
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