New bike, new....leg??

One of the newer philosophies by which I lead my life these days is:  whenever one gets a new bike, it's always nice to get a new leg to along with it.

About a month ago, at the age of 37, I got my first EVER customized biking leg.  I'm lucky enough in New York to be close to a fantastic prosthetics company, A Step Ahead, and one of their specialities is catering for active amputees who want to participate in all kind of sports.  See here for more info on some of these amazing athletes.

The biking leg is basically a lot lighter than a regular 'walking leg', and it is less built up around the groin area, to enable me to crouch down on the bike, to get out of the wind.  Being an amputee, having less power is one obvious disadvantage on a bike, but another one is when your artificial leg cuts you in all kinds of uncomfortable places during a long ride.  Imagine taking a cheese grater to the old clock weights over the course of a few hours, and you'll get the idea.

Finally, this leg has been adapted so it can clip into the bike.  It has taken a while to get used to, but gives a lot more power than the cages I was using before.

I got my Specialized tri-bike, at a generous discount given to A Step Ahead athletes, from Bike Works on Long Island.   Expensive, but worth every penny!

Yesterday, I biked down from Garrison, about 50 hilly miles north of NYC, along the Hudson river.  I was riding into a headwind all the way, and by the time I got back I was pretty tired.  It was my first long ride of the year, though, so hopefully with a new more long rides I'll start to build up some endurance.

NYC Half Marathon

Today I ran what must be my first half marathon in nearly a year, the NYC half marathon.  It is one of my favourite half courses, taking in a loop of Central Park, followed by a run down 7th Avenue and into Times Square, along 42nd Street, and then down to the very south of Manhattan, via the West Side Highway.  The route was changed this year to run less in CP and to end up in the South Street Seaport area.

It was perfect weather for it; a cool misty morning.  My two guides for today, Amanda and Mark, made for a great running team.  The run felt good; we went at a steady pace, and the only thing that really bothered me was my old shoe, which started to give me a blister around mile 6.

We finished in 2.11; I was surprised how quickly we'd done it, considering I'm just getting back into running after a few months taking it very easy.  After a pleasant brunch and a loong cab ride back home, I took a mammoth 1hr 30 mins map, and then went out and demolished a large plate of sushi.

Perfect way to spend a spring day in NYC!

Grrrrrrrrrrr

Just finished my last run before Sunday's New York half marathon, an evening jog in Central Park with my running partner for the race, Amanda.  Was feeling a little sluggish on the way round, but wasn't sure if it was the running leg to blame, or me for having too many cream eclairs for lunch.

Anyways, cycling back home, thought I detected the faint whiff of oil; put my hand down left, and felt the brown stuff dripping down the prosthetic.  I've blown the hydraulics on my knee joint.

On balance I wouldn't say having one leg has been a bad thing; it has certain advantages (half price metrocard anyone?), and has made for an interesting life (not many people can crack walnuts in their knee joint), but one huge disadvantage is the unexpected leg malfunction.  I have had a few of these, and they always seem to happen at the worst time.

Still, in this case I can get the leg fixed tomorrow so everything is OK for Sunday.  It could have been worse and happened on Saturday evening.  And, unlike anyone else who gets bad knees, I can just get mine swapped out in about 20 minutes, and I'm as good as new..so its really not all that bad..

Spring Bike Ride

It's a beautiful, bright spring day today..went for a 30 mile bike road with Matt Malina up the Hudson, over the GW Bridge, and then along a wooded road in the Palisades Park, right by the water.  Lots of other cyclists also out of winter hibernation, taking advantage of a lovely Sunday morning.  Some steep climbs, but feeling good.    I have a new tri bike which I'm slowly getting used to..the aero bars take a while to feel comfortable, but you can definitely notice the difference when cycling into a headwind.

One thing I've always wanted to do is Lands End to John O'Groats in England.  My brother and sister did it about 10 years ago and had a great time.   The scenery in Scotland in particular sounds amazing.  Now I'm inspired to do that...maybe next year.

Next Sunday is the NYC half marathon.  I've run up to 10 miles to train for it.  I don't think it will be my fastest, but looking forward to it.  I'm swimming at least once a week, and running 2-3 times a week, and trying to bike as well, so slowly getting back into shape after the winter break.

Happy New Year!

To see in the New Year, Rachel and I ran with our friend Catherine in the Midnight Run in Central Park.  This was a 4 mile run that started at about 10 minutes after midnight, after an impressive fireworks display from Sheep's Meadow in the south of the park.

As I usually find New Year's Eve a huge anti-climax, being able to do something different and healthy, like being outside in the beautiful chilled air, was a refreshing change from the usual New Years entertainment.

There was something very special about running with 6000 other people in the darkness, with lots of spectators cheering us on.  These were people with all kinds of running abilities - the elderly, children, tourists, people in costume, all in all it was such a fun atmosphere (helped by the fact that it wasn't a timed run), and I definitely want to do it again.

My sporting aims for this year are a ride across Iowa in the annual RAGBRAI ride, an Olympic distance triathlon, and then hopefully the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC in October.  I recently got a nice new shiny tri-bike; all I need now is a wetsuit, and I won't be able to make any excuses about not doing any of the above.  Better start training soon though.

For now though, I've been enjoying a beautiful New Years Day with no hangover!

NYRR Sprint Triathlon

Yesterday I took part in New York Road Runner's Sprint Triathlon in Flushing Meadows, Queens, with Team Achilles.

The East coast of the U.S. has been in the grip of a heatwave for the last few days, which made for potentially 'interesting' conditions on the course.  The day before, the event organizers had talked about making the run an optional 'fun run' only, or scrapping the run portion completely, if it got too hot.  Luckily, the event started early (7.00 am), and the short distances (400m swim in an inside Olympic sized swimming pool, 13 mile bike, 5km run in the park), meant that everyone should finish before it started getting dangerously hot (it reached 100 deg F in Central Park later in the day).

Despite the heat, I had a good race.  I still get nervous waiting to go into the swimming pool - my girlfriend and handler extraordinaire Rachel noticed I was engaging in a strange listless rocking motion while I was waiting around the side of the pool.   This was the third time I'd done this particular race, so I shouldn't have been nervous.   I wish before events I could be as relaxed as Allan, a friend from Achilles.   As it was like a sauna in the pool room (I swear I lost about 10 pounds just lining up for the start), Allan decided to wait just outside, horizontal, on the ground, with his eyes closed.   He actually looked so relaxed that one competitor passing by was worried he'd passed out, and Rachel mentioned a couple of times she was worried he'd fall asleep and miss the entire event.

Inside though, I knew my swimming would be better this year, and once I got in the pool, I felt pretty comfortable.   For this first time in this event, I managed to keep swimming without stopping for a breather.  I felt good on the bike portion as well, even though I haven't done much biking this year so far, and while the run was hot, I wasn't too uncomfortable.   The organizers did a good job of providing sprays along the course to keep everyone cool.

My final time was 1.36, including a 17 min swim, 46 min bike ride, and 29 min run.  Next year I'll be back to do the swim in under 15!  

The Achilles Kicking Crew

Early Morning Run

I've been finding it hard to get into the groove of marathon training over the last couple of weeks.  I have cut down on the cranberry muffins, but have yet to inversely increase the number of miles I'm running each week, which I will have to do fairly soon if I'm to hit the start line of the marathon in October with any degree of confidence.
For one thing, I still have some soreness/stiffness in my lower back.  I first injured my back training for,  and completing, the NYC marathon in November 2009 - one particular challenge of amputee runners is that we place a lot of strain on that part of our bodies.  After New York, I found a good chiropractor who did some manipulation and showed me some good stretches to strengthen my core muscles in that area.  They have definitely helped, but I'm supposed to do them three times a day, and I will admit to having pretty much skipped them over the last few months.    Stretching for the suggested 20 minutes in one session is something I have little patience for, but I have come to realise how important it is for staying in good shape, especially as I age and body becomes less elastic, so I will have to get this back into my daily routine.
Reason number two:  I feel like I have less energy, but I'm hoping that when I get stuck into training I'll consciously start improving my diet and sleep pattern to keep up with the demands of training.  I was also diagnosed with a vitamin B12 deficiency earlier this year, so I'll have to make sure I'm disciplined about taking my daily vitamin tab (B12 deficiency can lead to reduced energy levels).
Third reason - it's so hot out these days!  It reached about 93 deg F (33 C) today, with high humidity, and I'm definitely more of a cold weather runner.  Training for the London marathon surrounded by snow earlier this year was more my kind of thing!
One way round the heat is the early morning run, and today I did actually make it out of bed by 7.00 am (I'm definitely NOT an early morning person) for a quick 3.5 mile run in Central Park.  It was still warm, but once my body had properly woken up, it was enjoyable being outside and exercising amongst all the other early birds, and then coming back for a shower, knowing the workout is done for the day.  If the hot weather persists, I'll try to fit more of these runs into my routine.