On the Fence

The Steelhead 1/2 Ironman in Benton Harbor, Michigan is this Saturday. This is supposed to be my "A" race, along with the St. George, Utah Marathon in October.

My low back has been tight for a couple of weeks now. Nothing too serious, just something I've been aware of especially while swimming or cycling. About two weeks ago during an open water swim, it began to hurt much worse almost immediately as I started swimming. I had planned to swim 3 loops of the 600 yd. course @ the Miller Park lake. That was quickly changed to 1 loop, and even that was challenging. I found myself trying to compensate for the pain while I was swimming. I kept trying to find a comfortable position while swimming. This was changing my swim stroke pretty dramatically and I'm sure it didn't look pretty.

I tried another open water swim on Friday morning, hoping that I could add on a little distance. It did feel better initially, but quickly tightened up as I reached about 1/4 mile. This time I was able to go about 800 yds rather than the 600 yds I swam on Wednesday evening. Still not close to 1/2 Ironman distance of 1.2 miles, however.

Saturday morning I did get in a pretty decent 13 mile run at a fairly good pace. My back felt ok while I was running - tight, but not really an issue while running. Later in the evening it began to feel worse, however.

My two resident (visiting for the weekend) physical therapists, our daughter Lisa & her husband Gary, both diagnosed the problem as "SI joint". Gary did a PT treatment on my back and it did feel better afterwards.

Sunday I hoped to get in a 3 hour ride or approx. 45-50 miles. It started out ok, but after about 1.5 hours on the bike, the pedal stroke especially when recruiting my hamstrings and glutes pulled on my sore back more and more. I cut the ride short to around 40 miles. Could I ride another 16 miles? Yes. Can I ride another 16 miles after a 1.2 mile swim, and then follow it up with a 13.1 mile run? I don't know.

So, I'm sitting on the fence trying to decide. I just returned from a massage and that seems to have provided some relief. I've been icing and taking Motrin. I plan to do a swim @ Miller Park tomorrow evening and see how that goes. I'll make a decision by Thursday evening, obviously since we are scheduled to leave for Michigan on Friday.

In the meantime, I'll be weighing the pros and cons.