It's All Part of the Plan...

Now that we've gotten the Batman-geekness out of the way...

This physical therapy break has been really good from a mental reset standpoint. Although it was good doing some hard work in the early part of the transition phase, I was also running myself into the ground. Mental, emotional, and physical lapses were coming up quickly. I was losing sight of the goals that I have in plan for the 2013 season.

I'm starting to really come around. My body has responded extremely well to the core strength exercises and work done over at Raymond Chiropractic & Sports Injury Center. If you're an athlete in southern Maine and are having issues that don't start with the terms "torn," "stress fracture," "fracture," et. al., it's worth your time to get in and see Dr. Raymond.

My left shoulder continues to be the source of issue. As I said in the last update, a lot of it was related to my left hip. Well, now the hip stuff is cleared up, but the shoulder itself is still a steaming pile of garbage. Part of the problem: that lat was shut off for so long that the other shoulder muscles are overdeveloped and rolling the shoulder forward. So even though the lat is "turned on," I don't have an established neuromuscular connection to be able to get it to fire.

We're currently working on some exercises to improve that. It's frustrating to only be allowed to do the first two inches of a pull-up motion (only until the elbow wants to start to bend). I want to swim, but I don't want to hop into the water until I can get the shoulder under control on dry land. And even then, I'm going to need to re-learn the stroke to be able to get the shoulder in the correct position so I don't go and screw it up again.

But, it's all part of the plan. You can only make improvements when your body is healthy enough to accept them. And that has me hungry to get back at it.

As I announced previously, we're talking about a pretty hefty 2013 schedule:

• Rev3 Knoxville Olympic: May 5, 2013
• Rev3 Quassy Half: June 2, 2013
• Rev3 Maine Half: August 25, 2013
• Rev3 Cedar Point Full: September 8, 2013
• *potentially* Rev3 Florida Half: November 3, 2013

And. while we're at it, here are the goals for 2013:

• Break 5:00 for the half. I know with another season under the belt it'll happen. There's no doubt in my mind. The "reach:" sub-4:45.
• Swim under 33 minutes. This is going to take a fair amount of work, especially with the shoulder stuff. But I feel like going back into the pool, almost losing where I was before, will only benefit me from a "re-learning how to swim so that it doesn't look like an attempted drowning" standpoint. This will earn my time on my competition, but also lessen the energy expenditure, which means better biking and running.
• Run under 1:40 off the bike: the fitness has probably been there, with the main culprit (IMO) being a poor nutrition plan (only have myself to blame there) and, in one dramatic case, overbiking the first hour (Rev3 Maine). I held back by 9 minutes on the bike at Cedar Point and ran almost 20 minutes faster despite me vomiting everything I had in me during the middle miles. 
• The full: go to race, not just "complete the distance:" this is a tough one for me to explain. I know that there are, for a lot of people, who push to complete a 140.6 as their entire goal. That their goal is to be able to have someone say that they're an Ironman, or that they've done a full, etc. My goal is to go there to race. I don't want to do 140.6 miles for the sake of being out there for 140.6 miles. My goal is to go swim, bike, and run as fast as I can on that day in September. I have an idea in mind what I'm capable of right now. I think that based on how much I improved this year, despite leaving a lot on the table, gives me a good margin.

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This weekend is the Maine Running Company Turkey Trot; it's my first 5K ever.

No, stop laughing, I'm serious.

I've never raced a 5K. I'm interested to see what the hell happens, considering how little I've been allowed to do over the past month or so. Still no biking, as Wallace sits in Norcross, GA awaiting his fate.

Want to also point out the work that both PowerBar and Revolution3 have done in the wake of Hurricane Sandy: PowerBar donated all the products from the cancelled NYC Marathon as well as took donations from Team Elite members; Revolution3 loaded up a truck full of goods and bags and dropped them off this week. It's incredibly heart-warming to see the work that these folks do for others, even when it may not be the prudent business decision. Part of the reason why I'm so excited to be a part of Team Rev3 is because of how much they care beyond the athletic component, but also family, friends, and life in general.