Why I should race:
1. My thyroid tumor presents no medical danger to me at the moment. It's not like the tumor will explode if my heart rate hits 180bpm or anything, so training and racing are inconsequential to the course of the thyroid disorder.
2. IMCDA is all paid for, with the exception of bike shipping. All race registrations, flights and lodgings have been arranged. So, I am absolutely going, it's just a question of racing.
3. I can't think of a better way to celebrate the good biopsy news than racing in Idaho.
4. I am in decent shape, certainly good enough to finish the race in a respectable time.
5. I have 5 more weeks to train my butt off to get the rest of the way there.
Why I shouldn't race:
1. By waiting, I will be putting off surgery for another 7+ weeks.
2. I will need all my strength at 100% for the upcoming surgery. I am trying to schedule the surgery for 2-3 weeks post race. I am usually totally back to normal 2 weeks out.
3. I have not had the proper training time, due to lots of illness and the neck thing this spring, to prepare myself to toe the start line in PR condition.*
* I should say that some may view this as an obvious con, I do not. I've met some guys who can do a 4:30 half and won't even try an Ironman for fear they'll finish in the 12+ hour range. I am not afraid of doing this race in an atypical time...even if I am dragging myself home at 16:59, I will be immensely happy.
I've also assembled a panel of 4 experts to give their opinions. All 4 are MDs, and three of the four are athletes. So far I have heard from 3 of the four, and they all say go for it. One bit of advice was to wait a good while after the race for surgery, just to alleviate con #2 above.
So, I am soliciting opinions from the blog-o-sphere. And to my mom, please don't leave like 10 anonymous comments saying not to do it!!
In other news, its been raining like crazy in southeast PA since last weekend. This put a damper on my plans to bike to work this week, but I did run a couple times. This morning I went the "long way" along the rivers to work (7.5mi), only to find that my trails were basically flooded out. Check out these pictures.
The Perkiomen Creek raging at about 20mph this morning
7 comments:
Do it!!! Who knows, maybe you'll pull a "Rebecca" and PR on minimal trianing!
I have told you this from the beginning....DO IT!!!!
i think you'll regret it later if you skip out. you should race. worst case, you can experiment with different bike/run strategies where if you were shooting for a finish time goal you would be sticking to your race plan.
You're definitely strong enough to finish, probably better than you think too. Go for it!
5 for 5. Do it. :) You might actually enjoy it a lot more since you haven't trained as much- no pressure to hit a time goal... just enjoy the sport.
I am going to say listen to Rebecca, that is always a good idea. :) Hope all is well.
Tim
Get to the chopper already!
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