Goals to accomplish, obstacles to face

It's been a few weeks since a check in, for those that expected to see an update weekly, I apologize.

Thanks to everyone for the great comments, I am inspired by your encouragement everyday!

I shared my latest "gadget" purchase called a swim tether, designed to allow for swim training in small pools. It's kind of a "poor mans" endless pool. For $49, I can train during travel. I have been on the road for the last 2 weeks and have to say I was pleasantly surprised and somewhat impressed, it worked great!

In my first Blog, I set a list of goals that I hoped to achieve as I make my way to the starting line in September. Funny thing about goals, they really aren't goals until you write them down and make the decision that its all done but the work.


Two goals that I set were around inspiration and losing some weight. I hoped to be inspired and possibly inspire someone else. I had also hoped to get my weight at or below 190lbs.

Since then, I have received several comments from many folks that in fact, they are inspired by what they have read, I can say with certainty that I have been inspired by all of the comments and encouragement I have received.

The second goal, weigh 190 or less, really was born out of the desire to be light enough to justify spending $1500 on a set of carbon fiber race wheels, oh yeah, and feel better about myself too. I mean, it was hard to explain that I wanted a set of wheels that saved weight measured in milligrams when I was at least 15 lbs over weight! So, I just set my mind and got very disciplined in my nutrition, cut out sweets, limited carb intake and watched my portions. As of this week, I weighed in below 190 lbs for several days, enough days to claim victory! Now the goal will be to continue to trim as much as I can by a continued effort in good nutrition, lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and limited sodium intake. One of the tricks I use is to make sure I have fresh fruit and raw nuts in my office for when my sweet tooth kicks in. Secondly, it's important that I don't get too hungry, causing me to over eat when I finally sit down to a meal.

So all in all, I feel good about where I am on my goals, with the caveat that much work remains and I can't let up now.

Now for the obstacle I currently face.

As everyone knows, we are all uniquely built and in running, most of us either 'pronate' or 'suppinate' when our feet hit the ground. Over pronation means that your feet roll too far in when running. This usually happens when your feet are flat. Suppination is just the opposite, an outward rolling of the feet, usually at the end of the stride.

I happen to over pronate. Over the last few years and a few marathons, I have been wearing shoes that address this condition yet it has not done enough to prevent a condition caused by over pronation called, Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome or "Runners Knee". Here is the definition:

The patella (knee cap) lies in a groove on the front of the femur, just above the knee joint. This groove is called the Trochlear Groove. Normally, when walking or running the patella moves up and down this groove vertically, with no sideways motion (just like an elevator moves). Pain occurs when the patella is not tracking vertically in this groove, but is pulled sideways. This will cause the cartilage on the undersurface of the patella, and the cartilage in the Trochlear Groove to rub abnormally against each other, producing pain.

There are two things that I am doing to combat the issue. One is wearing a specially designed knee brace that forces the patella to track properly. The second is to get a pair of orthotics that will assist in correcting over pronation as well as absorbing shock before it travels to the knee.

This type of brace has helped a ton and I am finding relief. I've had my feet scanned and sure enough, they are flat. My orthotics will be here next week. All combined, I should be fine.

The way I see it, it's just an obstacle to face. There will be more along the way. But that's the point isn't it? To see what one can accomplish, in spite of obstacles?

Hopefully it will get warm in the next few weeks and we can start training more outside. Next post I may be able to share news about my new bike and wheels!!

Dan