Ahh the Taper Monster has got me!!!!!

This weekend is the Victoria Half Iron and I have been approaching this as somewhat a IMC rehearsal. So volume has decreased and I have put a focus on my sighting in Open Water swims while reducing volume in bike and run while keeping the intensity.

So last night I had a track workout and about 15 minutes from the end while doing a circuit started to get really tight in my right hamstring. Did not pull anything or the like but was not getting any looser so had to shut it down and "limp" home as such.

After a night of icing on 2 to 3 hour intervals (Waking up ice on an alarm is always fun) and dreaming of the tightness having completely dissipated by morning I woke up still tight but better than the night before. Off to work and in my lunch box instead of food I had 4 Ice Gel Packs and continued to ice for 15 minutes on and 20 minutes off for the duration of the day before heading to Dr Carla Cupido (My super chiropractor) for an assessment and treatment.

So looks like is a hamstring strain. For someone who likes to make up ground on the run this is not the best news but nothing to stress about in the whole scheme of things in life. Good news is should still be able to race hard however will need to prepared to shut it down on the run should I get tight in the first 15km or so to prevent further injury.

Treatment went well today and had a mix of ART, Graston followed by my first experience with Kinesiotaping. Continuing to ice over the next few days and just having a pretty chilled training lead in (It is a taper - pass me a cookie you Taper monster!!!) and will do a shake out run on Friday night or Saturday morning to see how the legs are recovering. If all bodes well will be hitting elk lake at 6:50am attempting to swim, bike and run as hard as I can.

So what to take with this recent dance with the taper monster - it would appear that after a bit of post injury analysis with Jerry from Forerunners and Carla is that it could be related to me having easy weeks!!!! What this means is that because I am fresher during these weeks my perceived effort level is skewed and when I do a smaller workout at normal intensity I am working harder than I perceive. When this comes to strides and reps this means going faster (unintentionally) and hence potentially stressing my body more than intended. Then before I know it the Taper Monster has struck!!!!!

One reason I was doing a pre IMC rehearsal was to identify what works and what doesn't work for when I taper for the big show in August. How I approach easy and taper weeks is now something that I can take out off this and ensure that when I do my "hard" workouts in these weeks I dial back the effort to adjust for the level that I perceive the effort.

So is picking up an injury prior to Victoria a good thing?? With a ironic smile I say yes (glass half full baby!!!) as it has picked up a risk factor in my training cycle. Add to this that I will definitely now by ripping the swim and bike as hard as I can due to the small potential I may need to abort the run so will get to learn a lot about maximal effort/potential on race day as I know I can run on tired legs as proved in Oliver.

So for those out there - beware of the Taper Monster and how he can effect you!!!! Looking forward to racing hard this weekend and I think by shutting down my workout early last night will still be able to give er come race day in all three disciplines.

Icing, Icebaths and popsicles await.

If your from Vancity read this little testimonial

If you are based in Vancouver and looking for someone to work with on injuries, injury prevention and the like I can't speak highly enough of Dr Carla Cupido. Having never been to a chiropractor before I was a little sceptical at first when I first tried it out in March but can not speak highly enough of Carla.

Working with somebody who understands running, cycling and competing is awesome and if I am told to "rest" I know it is the right thing to do not just a standard answer that everyone gets. Carla is super energetic and really up to speed on the latest treatment options available (including ART, Graston, Kinesiotaping) and you have a practitioner who will work with you to keep your body on track to achieve your goals.

Add to this Carla is genuinely interested in your progress, goals and results and is an actual joy to work with. So if your looking for somebody to work with on a ongoing basis or to just try something different check out her website at www.drcarlacupido.com and pay her a visit.