Clyde's Comeback!

My first Tri workout. Sad that with a few days before the big race today was the first time I've ever ran, biked and swam all in the same day. 

.5 swim out at the lake. Wanted to do the same workout as last Saturday but the wind was howling out there. So after almost calling it off and driving back home we (Harmers and their English friend) all suited up for a  quick swim. Once in the water it really wasn't that bad and the distance is just a educated guess. 

24.3 mile bike ride. Came home after the swim.  Actually drove home with the wet suit still on my legs. Got here and hung with the fam for a couple hours trying to decide when to go out and ride because the wind here was blowing too. Anyways I headed out to the airport and back in the wind at around 11 a.m. I had wind pushing me all over the place but... this was the first time I've ridden Leroy since the professional bike fit Monday night (it lasted from 9:30 pm to 2:30 a.m mind you). So with the new adjustments and the the wind slapping me to and fro I banged out a 22.5 mph ride (my fastest ever). Kind of pumped about that. Without wind it could have been supa fast.

4 mile run after the bike. The hip was sore just walking around the house this morning but it didn't hurt much more than a dull pain on the run. I didn't have a watch but felt like I was cruising along somewhere around 6:40 pace. But both hips seemed tight by the time I got home... not super painful but tight.

1 hour on the elliptical. Hip was too tight and achy to run. I actually could have ran but am grasping at anything to try and get it race ready in two days... I'm running out of time. 

B-hills loop extended through the secret st. Hip was still achy this morning but I needed to run and shake it out, see what was going on. Through the first 3 miles it was very tender to push weight on. Then last part of the run it seemed to do a little better. Ugh! Months ago I didn't think I'd still be in this boat. Just hoping it'll loosen up a little and give me a shot tomorrow. 

Wow what a day. Pre race goals were to break 5 hours and be the first Southern Utahn done. Both were a little unknow because I've never done a triathlon before and didn't really know how I'd stack up against the course or the local competition. 

I achieved both goals!

The day went about as smooth as you can write it up. Weather was great out at the swim and bike with zero wind. I did get hot out on the run as there was a high in town of 92 f today. But everyone had to deal with it.

The Swim

The swim went great. I thought if I can do the swim in 40 min's I'll take it and feel good. Well I came out of the water in 36:52- pumped! I was zig zagging a lot too. Took the last turn way way too wide and looked over to see I was swimming all alone way off the path of the big group. Oh well I'm not a swimmer.

Got on the bike and the transition was super as well. Transitioning from swim to bike in 3:41.

The Bike

I rocked the bike in 2:34:53. But there was a big mechanical issue. Less than 2 miles into the ride I tried shifting from my small ring to the big ring up front and it would not do it. Tried over and over for about 10 miles and it just wouldn't push the chain up. Would it ruin my day? No... was it a factor in my bike? For sure. On all the good long downhill where you really want to hammer and make up ground and time I was just spinning in place. Without all those harder gears I was super limited to top end speed. So people would come flying by me on the downhill and I'd come flying by them on any uphill or flat. In the end it cost me somewhere between 6-10 min's on the ride. A big difference on placing and time overall but for some reason I'm at peace for it and realize that maybe it happened for a reason. Because that's never happened before on this bike. I've ridden this bike course 3-4 times and I only use the small ring for the 4 miles up Snow Canyon... today I had to use it for all 56 miles.

Other than the shifting issue everything on the bike was a dream. I pushed my body as hard as I wanted to and it answered on every call. I really passed hundreds of people and only got passed by 3 guys while out there- and that was on some long downhill sections. On any uphill it was like I was the only one moving and people were just lined up sitting for me to pass or something.

The run

Well the run turned out just as I thought it would. I ran it in 1:33:35 or 7:08 avg. This run and bike course are both very challenging. The last 6 months I've basically only been able to run around 7 min pace with this injury and that's basically what I ran today. Was I hoping for a race day miracle where I'd start dropping 6 min miles and sub 6 on the downhill... yes. But the reality is my hip is injured and this was all that I could do. And I'm happy I could do it after hitting the bike so hard. I did have a goal to not get passed at all on the run. It lasted until the last mile and 3 guys came blazing by me one of whom was Josh McAdams. The runner in me wanted to go with them but I just couldn't get any faster of turnover on Diagnal st. It's slop is killer on my hip and in the end it just rocked my world. I thought I'd never get to the end of the street and make the turn south to the finish.

Anyways I'm really happy about how everything boiled down. I learned a lot in my first event and had a really fun day actually. Although I'm not chopping at the bit to sign up  for another one... just yet.

I had every intention of running today. Not really sore but I'm very tired. A lot due to the race and a lot due to Halen my 2 week old little boy who sleeps all day... then wants to party all night:) I just got busy with a bunch of things I've neglected the last few weeks. Plus right about the time I was gonna run we got hit with a CRAZY downpour that flooded my chicken coop in and the whole thing needed my attention. So that was like 1.5 hours of hard and fast emergency work. I was running all over the yard so maybe like .5 running today. 

B-hills extended through the secret street and LV. Felt so so today. Actually the hip felt pretty good but the legs were a little awkward and heavy. I now regret not doing anything yesterday. Even 30 min's on the elliptical and it would have helped shake out some of the junk I had to deal with today. Nice morning for a run though. We had a pounding rain storm yesterday evening and it was a clear crisp morning with the smell of rain. 

Good early morning run with the old guys. Logan got the party started when he showed up with a combo of Ace Ventura/ Snoop dog perm hair. Lots of laughs and a beautiful morning out with Stephen even joining. Hip felt pretty good during the run but since has been tight. I'll have to continue with nightly stretching and rolling out with a ball sessions just to stay in the game. 

Ben and I ran from my house this morning. DC loop in reverse with one mile beforehand up to a port-o-potty. Really nice morning, actually ended up wearing a tank top at 5:15 a.m.  I think it was like 58F and calm. Pace was just chill and ended up having a great run. Too bad Logan slept in. 

28 mile bike ride with Ben. We started with Bob and headed into the fields but this was Ben's first real bike ride and the pace needed to be a little slower. So we just took it chill up to the Coral Canyon park on the mesa and around the river trails. Beautiful morning to be out. 

4 mile run with Ben after the ride. Just out and back into Silkwood. Ben said we were doing 6:30 pace on the way back. Felt pretty good today. 

18 holes of golf with Ben VanBeekum. Ben lost.

105 min's on the elliptical. Watched the first episode of the Hatfield-McCoy series. Loved it. Mik'L had an early meeting so I couldn't run with the guys. Good thing because we were up all night with the baby. I got like 1 hour of sleep if you combined all the little junk together. Anyways by the time she got home from the meeting and I got feeling like doing something it was almost 2 p.m. So I stayed indoors and enjoyed my new workout room. 

Over to the B-hills park and back. Didn't get out until around 8:30 a.m and it was already hot. Yesterday's high on this little valley link was 100 F and today is gonna be hotter. Sad but it's that time of year again. I felt ok but kind of rusty. Like I hadn't really ran in a few days:) Hope to have a solid week of running everyday and keep improving the hip tightness.

Trying to start getting up and out early everyday of the week. The hot weather is upon us and my wife needs more time in the morning to do her workouts. So from now on it's 6 a.m or earlier for the rest of the summer. The good news is that's the best running time. Cooler temps and less traffic on the roads. 

Hit the DC loop in reverse. Felt ok with no super sharp pain in the hip but still feel like I'm running in quick sand all the time. I'm a long ways away from running hard and fast again. But any running is better than no running and I'll take it. 

Big boys run around the DC loop... in reverse. I felt pretty trashed and junky today. I had planned on doing at least 2 more or even 5 more after we finished but it just wasn't happening. Had a long, hard night with the baby so that was one factor. Then the hip didn'f feel good at all. Not super painful but more like the right side swings freely and the left side has a brake or clamp causing friction at around 45-60% resistance. Which does actually hurt. IDK it seems I never really make progress with this.

On a good note it was fun running with the lads. Had a nice morning although even at 5:15 a.m it was 70F or so. I already miss spring. 

90 min's on the elliptical. I so wanted to run everyday this week but today it wasn't in the cards. Mik'L had an early meeting, Myler had to get to school, and my hip felt so jacked. So I made the best of it with another longish session on the machine. I actually don't mind the elliptical where as I hate the treadmill and the spinning bike. 

Nice solid run this morning. I felt pretty stiff and achy but managed some decent results. 12 miles @ a 6:49 avg. DC loop then extended back into B-hills. Actually hit a 6:01 mile coming up the trail from the DC to River Road. I didn't think it was possible to go that low with this injury and I wasn't really going all out. So that gives me hope that there's just a little speed there even though it's not much. Kind of hot to start out this morning with the over night low of 72 F aided by cloud cover. But now the day is overcast and cooler than it's been... maybe a chance of rain too. 

20 miles down the STG marathon course to the finish line today with Stephen Abraham Lincoln Hooper Pope. Nothing fancy just a long run. 6:39 avg. Hip got tight around mile 7 but didn't get any worse so it was runnable all the way in. Had perfect conditions on a beautiful morning. Glad I could spend it with Stephen. 

My legs are sore. Sore from Saturdays run down the STG marathon course. It's been since like the first weekend last October since I ran any downhill and the quads just got super bent out of shape. So yesterday as I hobbled around I thought there was no way I'd run today. I stretched good last night but still woke up super sore. Got up and went outside to do chores and a little yard work and at first I was too tight to manage but in the course of 20 min's the legs loosened up enough to where I thought I could try running. So anyways after a long intro I did a run today. Middle B-hills loop with the secret street and LV at the end. Very tender and sore? Yes. But also very runnable too... and my hip felt pretty stable with minimal pain in that region.  I'll take it and just might get something else in later today as well. 

2 hours on the elliptical at 4 resistance. Had some more delayed soreness setting into the legs and just to be safe decided not to run outside. Plus I really wanted to finish the third and final part of the Hatfield and Mccoy series. So that was awesome. Kind of a long workout on the machine but it should have helped move some of the heavy and soreness out. 

Big boys run with the Circle plus not only Steven showed but also Billy boy. Running felt really hard because I played ultimate frisbee last night and it rocked my world. Hip is really sore and hurting. Other than that it was a special morning although Logan was carrying around some zesty anger. He needs to talk to a professional about it or if kept inside, he could really become a burden to society. 

This may sound crazy but I had a major accident in the middle of the night while burping my little boy. I was sitting down and had him on my shoulder and then I sneezed... It like slipped a disc or something in my back. I literally couldn't take one step and had to call for Mik'L to come help (this was at 3 a.m.). It's super painful and sometimes it gets even worse if I move just right. I'm in udder disbelief. Anyone have any suggestions or similar mishaps?

Back is still really jacked up. I've been reading a lot about it and it sounds like sneezing and back pain are more common than one would guess. As soon as it doesn't hurt like crazy I'll try and see April and the chiro. 

2 hours on the elliptical this afternoon. Back is still way too sore to run. I went to April's and she thinks its just a muscle spasm and not anything with the spin/ discs. Happy about that. But it still just hurts. Feels like someone shot me with an arrow in the top left side of my back and now I'm walking around with the arrow still in. Everyone says the muscles just need to loosen up and release... I'm like ok how and when?

40 min's on the elliptical followed by

6 mile run out around Silkwood.

Back still has a major knot in it but the elliptical sounded like it might be doable. Then after hitting it I thought I may be able to do a little run to just check it out. Back was tight but  never got worse. Effort felt extra hard for slow pace.

37 mile ride out early this morning. Woke up at 3:25 to feed the baby then was  up and just hung out until 5:10 when it was time to ride. We headed out to the bike shop then up Snow Canyon and then once at the top we just came back home. I felt pathetic. Left leg has  no power. Not sure if it's related to the back or not. Riding felt ok but I did start with a big heat patch that seemed to make it feel much better (while on). But this ride kicked my trash... 19.8 mph avg

60 min's on the elliptical after the ride. Just felt dead. At the end of the entire workout I was trashed... kind of sucks because I only boarded 6 miles but it was much more involved than a 6 mile run. Time to eat a lot of jerky and frosted mini wheats. Kind of a brunch type meal.

Morning run with the lads. Pace was laxi taxi but about my limit right now. Back still has a big knot but the pain has eased down a lot. The mornings have been amazing (58 F) with a slight chill in the air and the daytime high of only around 90 F. 

37 miles on the bike this morning out to Hurricane or so and back. Pushed hard in places and then kept it honest in others. Pretty good ride. I was on the BMC roadmachine that Ian is having me ride to train for LOTOJA. Feels way different than my tri bike. I'm not very comfortable on it but I'm guessing I'll get the feel soon. 

1 hour on the elliptical after. Started to feel DEAD about 30 min's into it. From there on out it was a grind. Sleep has become something of the past. 

43 mile bike ride. Kind of felt dead on the bike. Quads are pretty shot. On the way back home from the airport I tried to hammer the bikefix strava section and was only 3 seconds faster than when I road it unknowing of the challenge. 

9 mile hike on the West rim trail in Zion. With a 55 lb backpack. Overnight camp with the scouts. Tried out a new cool hammock. Loved it.