Hello all, I am contacting several folks to get objective input regarding whether doing IMFLA, 12 days away is realistic or I should cancel and try to get my money back for airline tickets, lodging etc. Yesterday as part of my taper thought I would just ride over to watch the cyclocross race at Alpenrose as I've never been to one & it was a beautiful day. Saw a friend who enticed me to doing it with his cyclocross bike. I thought it might be fun & went into it conservatively and just to finish & stay out of the way. Well, during the 3rd lap or 4th time around one of the leader pack passing the came up fast from behind and decided pass me on the right even though I was already off to the right side to stay out of the way and rammed me fast, hard & squarely into my lower back with enough force to knock me off the bike. I had immediate sharp pain but got up and continued for another 2 laps thinking I could shake it off. Then trying to lift the bike over a barrier the pain became too sharp to handle and I had to immediately lay down in 1 position. So I spent 6 hr. in the ER getting x-rays and a CT to assess possible liver damage. Definitely have a broken 10 rib. I will be having follow up today on some internal fluid they not sure what the cause is. They also gave me an instrument to keep me breathing deeply to avoid pneumonia. The rib pain is really strong and terrible. Movement is pretty much impossible. So wondering what other triathletes would do in the same position. I have competed in 8 IM 3 IMH (with 2 finishes) and 5 IMC. I was hoping to do well age group wise & try to quality for IMH. Thanks in advance for any thoughts you might have. Barbara
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Re: Broken Rib should I still do IMFLA? [BarbBikeTechie]
[ In reply to ]
My very first foray into multisport life was 3 years ago - a sprint Du - I did it with 2 broken ribs, an injury I picked up while MTB racing 3 weeks earlier. It was almost a week before I went to the doctor, realizing that something must be wrong when I could no longer get in or out of my car, stand up out of a chair, or dress myself in less then 20 minutes.
Thanks to a friendly doctor who loaded me up with some great pain killers, I was able to make it to the start line and had a fun time with no pain.
I've never done an IM and I don't know your fitness level on a good day - but I won't bet on anyone with broken ribs placing in the top in any age group.
Personaly, I would go for it and have a good time, regardless of my placing. There will be other races where you will be in better condition to qualify for IMH.
Good Luck - get better soon and find a friendly doctor. ;)
put the mettle to the pedal
Thanks to a friendly doctor who loaded me up with some great pain killers, I was able to make it to the start line and had a fun time with no pain.
I've never done an IM and I don't know your fitness level on a good day - but I won't bet on anyone with broken ribs placing in the top in any age group.
Personaly, I would go for it and have a good time, regardless of my placing. There will be other races where you will be in better condition to qualify for IMH.
Good Luck - get better soon and find a friendly doctor. ;)
put the mettle to the pedal
Re: Broken Rib should I still do IMFLA? [BarbBikeTechie]
[ In reply to ]
I have never done the broken rib gig, but it must be painful. Personally, I think you are crazy to even think about doing the race. You have done the dance 8 times, sitting this one out isn't the end of the world. I would be more concerned that if you had a lousy experience it would be your last IM. In IM as in life, pace yourself and hang in there for the long run.
Re: Broken Rib should I still do IMFLA? [BarbBikeTechie]
[ In reply to ]
"The rib pain is really strong and terrible. Movement is pretty much impossible."
Why are you even thinking about the IM if it's this bad. Assuming you have no internal damage, this injury will take six to eight weeks to heal. There is nothing you can really do for it except let your body's healing process do it's work. There will always be another IM.
Why are you even thinking about the IM if it's this bad. Assuming you have no internal damage, this injury will take six to eight weeks to heal. There is nothing you can really do for it except let your body's healing process do it's work. There will always be another IM.
Barb,
I can feel your pain. I was in your position twice this year. Two weeks before Canada, I had to come to an abrupt stop on the bike and went over the bars at low speed. Landed on my face and also had the bars hit me square in the chest. Result was road rash on my face and a displaced rib, it had broken away from the sternum and was pressin into my chest. It was very painful, especially when I coughed or sneezed. I was still able to race, but didn't have a good race. I think it was more of just having a bad day and not so much because of the injuries.
Then just after things had fully healed, I got hit by a car that decided to turn off the road and never bothered to look back as they cut into my path. Result this time was a fractured rib on my side, 10 stitches in my elbow, bruised hip and strained groin. This happened 18 days before Great Floridian. I wasn't able to run or swim at all leading up to the race and there was no way I would have been able to race this time. I just started back running again this weekend.
I would try to swim first to see how much the rib injury affects your swimming. For me I couldn't extend my left arm at all and couldn't kick because of the groin strain. Then see how much it affects your riding and running. It normally takes 6 - 8 weeks for a rib injury to get better. If you think that your performance is going to be greatly affected, I would opt out, especially since it would be difficult to achieve your IMH qualifying and just finishing another IM is not really the goal.
Mike Plumb, TriPower MultiSports
Professional Running, Cycling and Multisport Coaching, F.I.S.T. Certified
http://www.tripower.org
I can feel your pain. I was in your position twice this year. Two weeks before Canada, I had to come to an abrupt stop on the bike and went over the bars at low speed. Landed on my face and also had the bars hit me square in the chest. Result was road rash on my face and a displaced rib, it had broken away from the sternum and was pressin into my chest. It was very painful, especially when I coughed or sneezed. I was still able to race, but didn't have a good race. I think it was more of just having a bad day and not so much because of the injuries.
Then just after things had fully healed, I got hit by a car that decided to turn off the road and never bothered to look back as they cut into my path. Result this time was a fractured rib on my side, 10 stitches in my elbow, bruised hip and strained groin. This happened 18 days before Great Floridian. I wasn't able to run or swim at all leading up to the race and there was no way I would have been able to race this time. I just started back running again this weekend.
I would try to swim first to see how much the rib injury affects your swimming. For me I couldn't extend my left arm at all and couldn't kick because of the groin strain. Then see how much it affects your riding and running. It normally takes 6 - 8 weeks for a rib injury to get better. If you think that your performance is going to be greatly affected, I would opt out, especially since it would be difficult to achieve your IMH qualifying and just finishing another IM is not really the goal.
Mike Plumb, TriPower MultiSports
Professional Running, Cycling and Multisport Coaching, F.I.S.T. Certified
http://www.tripower.org