Back and Shoulder problems - Great!

Good morning all, I hope this finds you well rested!

I am a little tired on this Wednesday morning. I had an 8 mile run last night that went great. It was a tempo run so it was designed to be faster than normal and with the cool temperatures it was great. I was able to keep my heart rate down but was running fast for me in the 8:00 - 8:30 minute per mile range comfortably. I woke up yesterday with a sore right shoulder, fortuantely I don't have another swim until tomorrow and my hope is that it will improve in time for me to swim. If not, I will skip the swim and keep using the stem unit on the shoulder hoping for improvement. My lower back is giving me problems again. I tell myself these aches and pains are just part of the deal. I can't trace either one of them back to one acute instance so it is frustrating that they crop up. Oh well, I have dealt with them in the past and will continue to deal with them.

I have my second "Big Day" race simulation this Sunday consisting of a 3,000 yard swim, 90+/- miles on the bike followed by a 13-15 mile run. This will be done over a 10 hour period. I really hope my soreness is gone by then. The seoncd time doing this workout I am going to test the upper limits of what I can do aerobically over a long period of time on the bike. The first time around 4 weeks ago the weather was bad, cold, and rainy for the bike portion so I didn't really hammer the bike. Coupled with the fact that I am an idiot and my rear brake rubbed the entire time didn't help things either. This time I am going to increase my average watts on the bike and see if I can match my run pace as the first time I did this workout. If I can, I will know I can go slightly harder on the bike and not "blow up" on the run. If I have a horrible run, I will know that my pacing the first time around is probably best. If I am sore or not healthy going in, comparing the two workouts will be tough.

Just as a side note - We got our Southwest notification that our trip is around the corner (actually a month away). Most of my hard work and training is done. I have built a good base, now my training is going to shift from build to maintain and peak. Tempe Town lake is now full of water, hopefully some really hot days in the Phoenix area will warm it up a bit but if not, I will deal with it. I am getting excited thinking about the day while at the same time wanting to puke.

I took my bike in for a tune up giving me time to log some miles first. I started putting my check list together for my special needs bag and have begun working on my race plan with my coach. She has to hate me and dealing with the engineer in me. I the triathlon equivalent of planning the exact spot that a gernade is going to land. We are talking about a 12-17 hour event and I am planning each section like I can control it - when I know I can't. Too funny

All for now, I have to video chat with my kids over breakfast....

have a great week
Tracy