Ten days away from Steelhead Half Ironman and I'm falling apart.

Less then 2 weeks away from Steelhead 70.3 Half Ironman and I’m falling apart. All my equipment and body is going to hell.

It all started last Wednesday at Ohio Street Beach. I had to swim 1.5 miles in Lake Michigan. I’m putting on my wetsuit and I find a hole in the crouch area. So I had to swim 1.5 miles without a wet suit. The air was hot and the water felt nice. I was scarred shitless that I was swimming in Lake Michigan and not wearing any flotation device. Luckily I have my wetsuit from my first triathlon for next week.  

Then on Saturday I was riding my second loop in an 11 mile loop around Lake Geneva. I wanted to do 3 loops then do a 20 minute run. Around mile 9 on the second loop I noticed my left cleat was making clicking noises. After I finish a really tough hill just outside of Fontana my shoe and cleat were not connected. I had to ride 11 miles through the hills to get back to my car on the power of my right leg. The ride totaled 44 miles. So to make up for the last 16 miles I ran for 40 minutes then swam a half a mile in Lake Geneva.

I ended up getting new Speedplay Zero cleats at Village Cycle in Elk Grove after my 12 mile run on Sunday. Today I tried using the new cleats and I could not clip in. I took my bike to Village Cycle in Arlington Heights. They said the cleats are fine I just have to break them in. Then I told them I was having issue changing into by big dear in the front of my bike. The mechanics told me I have to get a new derailer cable. Plus the bike mechanics said I need t clean my bike more or the carbon will explode. So I get my bike back on Wednesday.

See the difference in the new cleat vs. the old cleat? These barely survived 1,000 miles.   

I would go running but my side hips are aching. Instead of risking injury I’m taking a rest day and writing a blog update then doing some Yoga on www.Netflicks.com.

I hope everything works next Saturday. I did get new shoes (Saucony Hurricane 12) and a new helmet (Giro) so I don’t have to worry about my head and feet. 

 

Everyone knows I'm not going to quit. Not after I heard about Bob Percy. Bob Percy is fantastic speaker who I met a few times at Team in Training Functions. He is a great speaker. For the Team in Training Mission Moment last week our staff person told us he hitting a rough patch in his battle with blood cancer. He was with his family and going to see the team of doctors for the next course of treatment. Before the doctors came in Bob's family told him It's OK to stop treatment and take it easy. Bob then quoted a speech from Tiffany Wilson from the 2007 It's My Life conference:

"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, It's about dancing in the rain."

  Suffice to say he is posting everyday on Facebook with all the ups a down of cancer treatment. Hell I wanna dance in the rain too! I wanna keep fighting for him and all the other people battling cancer. I'm still fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Make a donation online at http://www.runningforacure.info or ask me about buying one of my Team in Training Water Bottles.