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TRAINING / RACING<br />
Bob Pair celebrates his 1st place overall<br />
finish at the Storm The Fort Triathlon.<br />
Photo : Courtesy Bob Pair<br />
How injury and <strong>Hammer</strong><br />
<strong>Nutrition</strong> helped me get<br />
back into competitive sport<br />
BY Bob Pair<br />
I<br />
rolled out of bed to excruciating<br />
pain. My left heel and arch felt like<br />
a spike had been driven through<br />
them. With no warning at all, I<br />
had just torn the plantar fasciitis in my<br />
left foot. This was in 2011, and I could<br />
not warm it up or stretch it out, and<br />
worst of all, I could not run. I distinctly<br />
remember thinking, “Being 50 may be<br />
more of a challenge than I expected.”<br />
I would go for weeks without running,<br />
being very faithful to stretching and ice.<br />
However, as soon as I “thought” the pain<br />
had subsided, I would try to run and<br />
after only a few steps would be back to<br />
hobbling in pain. I finally accepted that I<br />
would not be running for the foreseeable<br />
future.<br />
During my physical therapy, I was<br />
challenged to implement full body<br />
workouts into my exercise routine. I was<br />
also encouraged to go to my orthopedist<br />
to have my right knee examined because<br />
of physical limitations and pain. (I had<br />
surgery on my right knee in 1998 and my<br />
left knee in 2008, and was diagnosed at<br />
that time with the onset of arthritis and<br />
associated cartilage degeneration.)<br />
I decided to get back into road biking;<br />
I had competed in several triathlons in<br />
the mid-80s. In February 2012, I bought<br />
a road bike and went on a 37-mile ride<br />
in the mountains the very next day. I<br />
forgot how much I loved the speed, the<br />
cornering, and the miles. However, at<br />
about the two-hour mark I bonked. I<br />
thought it was a fluke, but on my next<br />
ride I got caught in a cold rain and<br />
heavily bonked after 90 minutes. A<br />
local bike store recommended <strong>Hammer</strong><br />
<strong>Nutrition</strong> products.<br />
To test the waters, I started off with<br />
<strong>Hammer</strong> Gel and Endurolytes Fizz.<br />
- continued on page 23<br />
22 Feb/Mar : Issue 83 "I'm running my first ultra ever on Sunday. Why would I choose to use anything but <strong>Hammer</strong> <strong>Nutrition</strong>?" - Nicklaus C.
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