Thank You

Being an age group triathlete there are a lot of things that must fall in place in order to have a successful race.  For example, training must come together at the right time, gear prepped, nutrition tested, registrations purchased, transition bag packed, etc.

This can often be a solitary experience when you are running down a sidewalk at 5:00am on a Saturday morning or concentrating on your swim stroke on the 72nd round trip down the lap lane or nailing that 5th hill repeat on the bike before the sun disappears.  It can be easy to focus on what we need to do as athletes to reach that personal best time or hopefully a podium finish, which inevitably leads to more time in the swim, saddle, or street.

While the human brain does allow for multitasking capabilities, we can truly only focus our whole body on one task at a time.  Other responsibilities are put on hold.  The grass will get mowed later, finances will be reviewed tomorrow, the house will get cleaned... well, never.  Many of us are fortunate enough to have a support network in place that help out with that.

It's that support network that I want to shift the focus of this blog post.  I always talk about my accomplishments, or lack there of, but never really have taken the time to talk about the person that is there for me every day.  Sometimes even waiting for me on the porch to come home from a 40 mile bike ride or a long run.  This post is dedicated to that person, my wife Tricia.

At the very moment this post was published (through the magic of blogger), I should be somewhere around mile 10 on the bike portion of my first half-ironman distance race, Beach2Battleship 70.3.  Getting to this point has been nearly a year long experience.  Purchasing a bike, getting up early to go to the pool before work, spending 3 hours on a bike ride with Joe VI which may be followed by an hour long run.  She has always been there supporting me and encouraging me to push forward.  I greatly appreciate this especially during the time of nursing my broken rib.  She helped me get out the door for a run, even if it was 2 miles, just to keep my fitness and motivation going.

Tricia waits for me to turn the corner running to the finish chute or lumbering out of the swim exit or flying by on my bike.  She is waiting there poised with the camera for that perfect photo to add to my race report.  It's actually a lot of stress on a person!  She has done this all year when I know she would rather set the camera down and enjoy the event for what it is.  Not a photo op but watching me complete a 1 or 2 or 3 hour race that she helped me through by allowing me to get in 10 - 12 hours of training each week.

Our support networks should get a chance to enjoy the experience too as it is just an endurance event for them as it is for us athletes.  So Tricia, if you get a chance to read this while I'm spending 4 - 5 hours riding a bike and running, please put the camera down.  I will be looking for you, waiting to blow that kiss to you whenever I can.  Enjoy this race too.  You deserve it.

Race Preview: Beach to Battleship 70.3

Things have definitely changed from when I registered for the race.  My training plan came together and I was rocking it for 10 weeks until the bike accident.  I'm not going to get into the bike accident again but it definitely derailed my plans.  So this is how I'm breaking things down:

Swim

Swimming has definitely been hit the most with the rib injury.  When it hurts to body roll and even turn at the end of the lap, I'm going to avoid  The thing with this race is I have the most to benefit from being a bad swimmer.  I've heard the current will cut 15 minutes off of people's swim time.  Not sure I will get that but I'm thinking it will keep my swim time at a normal 2:00 / 100.

Time: 40 Minutes

T1

Word is that the T1 requires a about 1/4 mile run.  I'm just going to tag this with 5 minutes here.  No clue really.

Time: 5 Minutes

Bike

I'm feeling comfortable here.  I've gotten 90% of my long ride distances in but I didn't get that speed work in.  I am going to target an 18 - 19 mph here.  Since I decided that I noticed that the worst climb in this bike course is a 38 feet incline over a 6 mile span.  Scary.  So, I'm sticking with my 18 - 19 mph but hoping it will be 20 mph.

Time: 3:00 Hours

T2

I'm going to enjoy some star treatments here as as we hand our bikes off to a volunteer and we are then off to our run.

Time: 3:00 Minutes (still no clue or justification)

Run

Two weeks ago I PR'd my half-marathon at 1:45.  I surprised myself with that.  I'm going to shoot for a 2:00 hour run here.  I think the key to a successful run is nutrition, so I've got my plan set.  More on that later.

Time: 2:00 Hours

Total

40 + 5 + 180 + 3 + 120 = 5 hours, 48 minutes

Nutrition

Pre-Race: Banana's and Bagels, Gatorade G1 right at the start.  Lots of water!

Swim: Hopefully very little water and toenails.

Bike: Eat every 15 minutes by switching off 2 chomps and 1/4 cliff bar.  Gatorade/Water.

Run: One GU every 4 - 5 miles.

I'm planning to consume 350 - 400 calories per hour on the bike and as much liquid as I can carry. (which is about 80 fluid ounces of the water/Gatorade and probably more for what I live off the land).

The Trip

Joe VI and I left on Wednesday and we are currently in Greensboro, NC with Ken and Kyle.  It's been a fun trip but definitely long.  748 miles Wednesday and 318 miles on Thursday.  On Friday we pick up TKB in Raleigh and then caravan with Ken down to Wilmington.  Lauren (Joe's wife) will be flying into ILM airport where we will then do the expo and packet pickup.  I can't believe it is almost here!!

The most fun part of our trip occurred just after we passed through St Louis.  Once on the Illinois side we came up on this vehicle:

Three tri bikes on the back.  So we took a shot.  Joe put his B2B Participant Guide against the window as we passed.  The driver looked and gave us the thumbs up!  They then passed us a few moments later holding theirs!!

Joe then asked them if they are doing full or half by folding the guide in half and they answered by leaving theirs open "full".  It was a hilarious couple minutes.  We followed them for quite a while and then split off from them.  Talk about small world!

Race Report: Kansas City Half Marathon

Going into this race I dropped all expectations.  Had I not been in a funk with training since the bike accident, I probably would have targeted a sub-1:45 finish.  With the emergency room visit on September 30 with a painful "snap" in my back, I almost completely dropped out.  After two weeks of continued timid training, my back was feeling much better.  I even got a 2000 meters swim on October 7!  The plan was set, I was going to do a long run on October 10.  If I survive that run (which followed a 43 mile bike the day before), then the race was ON!

October 10th came and I hit the road at 5pm.  The first 5 miles were OK with an 8:15 average but it went downhill to a 9:15 pace.  At 10 miles I met TKB for her run as she was training for the 5K and went another 2.3 miles.  That was marred with walking, as well as a couple phone calls from work.  Those phone calls turned into a week long sufferfest in front of the computer.  The plan was this... the half marathon was suppose to be a training run from my half ironman in two weeks and so that's exactly what I planned.  Run it in the upper-Z2 range (aerobic) and have fun.  I was even planning to run with the 3:55 marathon pace group as a friend of mine, Ashley, and her twin sister, Melissa, were leading it.  That was the same pace group (and leaders) when I did the full last year.  Obviously, I would turn back at the 7 mile mark and finish it on my own.

Pre-Race
I could tell I was going to have trouble sleeping.  I had not gotten to bed before midnight since Sunday and the stress of the work week was still settled into my body.  I hit the bed a little after 9pm and decided to down a melatonin to jump start the sleep cycle.  The 5:00am wake up call from my cell phone came quickly.  For the marathon last year I had a protein fruit smoothie but have since dropped those from my routine.  It's now a toasted bagel with peanut butter and a banana.  I've never been an oatmeal fan and this seems to work just great for me.  For some reason I took a shower before we left for the race.  I think it helps wake me up even more and maybe keeps the Scotty-stink down.  At 5:50am, TKB and I left for the race.

We have learned a nice little tactic for parking at this particular event.  Park in the Lydia's and Jack Stack BBQ parking lot.  There is a pedestrian bridge over the train tracks that leads directly into Union Station, which is a block away from the start. We got there around 6:20am and stayed inside the Link for a while before migrating to Crown Center and Westin to find a bathroom.  This was mostly to avoid the 46° temps.  With long lines in the Center, we eventually went outside but found long lines there too.  (This is one reason I get to events an hour before the start, to get in line and not keep searching for the shortest one... which we should have just stuck with the first spot, frankly).  At least during our hunt I found Mark (or rather, he spotted us) and got to say Hi and wish him luck.

Waiting inside before the start.  Trying to stay warm.

Eventually I decided that I was fine and, in desperation, I could stop at the on-course Port-a-Johns.  I took off for the start.

Start
I eventually found the 3:55 pace group and chatted with Ashley for a bit.  I did feel a little self-conscious about hanging out with the hardcore marathoners but decided to get over it.  I was "accepted" when Melissa gave me a 3:55 pace band.  OK, she gave it to me before I told her I was running the half.  They want to get rid of those things before the start so they don't have to contend with them during the run, so I'm happy to oblige.

One thing I've noticed during the National Anthem as it really should be renamed as the "Acquiring Satellites Anthem" since you hear hundreds of Garmin "beeps" go off during the song.

The start was pretty anti-climatic as you are a hundred yards away from the start line.  I'm sure had this been my first marathon or half or whatever I would have more emotions into it.  After a few moments of shuffling, we finally got across the timing mat and on our way!

Race - Miles 1 - 3
I chatted with a couple guys during the first two miles.  I actually started getting concerned about my race at that time as I was actually having trouble keeping up the conversation with labored breathing but I had to reinforce that it was just the warm-up miles.  I stayed in front of Ashley and Melissa during this time.  When I hit the aid station I had the choice to either slow down, continue my pace, or pick it up.  Looking at my heart rate, I decided to pick it up as it was in the lower-Z2 range.  Before the turn onto Pershing, I caught up with the 3:50 pace group and then heard "Scotty!".  I turned around and it was Drew from Twitter!  He had told me earlier that he was running 3:50 and I had forgotten to look for him.  We chatted for a few minutes and then I was off to go up Kessler, a 150 foot ascent in half a mile.

During the ascent I decided, per my usual mid-race M.O., to forgo the plan and just run.  Sure, I'll run by heart rate.  If Heart Rate > 0, then keep going.  I was in the 170s during the hill and feeling good.  My plan then changed to see if I could catch-up with Mark.  Unfortunately, I wasn't sure if he was in the 1:40 or 1:45 pace group.

Pace - 10:00, 9:21, 8:33

Race - Miles 4 -7
This section of the course is pretty much downhill or flat and I picked up some great time with splits of 7:46, 7:23, 7:24, 7:09.  By the time I hit mile 7 I had already passed the 3:35 marathon pace group but had only caught up to (and passed) the 1:50 half-marathon pace group.

I was beginning to feel the pains of my faster than normal pace while on 47th street through the Plaza.  Cardio-wise I was doing well, mechanically the legs were starting to speak up.   I took a Gu in the 5 mile area.

Race - Miles 8 - 10.5
The last major hill of the course as you are pretty much ascending nearly 200 feet for this entire 2.5 miles.  There are no flats or downs, you just have to do it. I began thinking about the "Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional" quote to get me through it.  The heart rate was actually lower than I thought it would by being in the upper 160s (upper Z3 for me -- anaerobic).

Pace: 7:32, 8:09, 8:16

Race - Miles 10.5 - 13.1
Finally, pretty much all downhill.

I figured by now I would see the 1:45 pace group and I think I saw the pace sign waving in the distance.  I didn't figure Mark would be with this group anyway, regardless if he started with them or not. So I just kept focus on my breathing, which was surprising calm.  I wasn't breathing like it was my last breath but my legs really weren't happy with me.  I'm sure if my legs could control my arms they would have slapped me.

During one of the sections I saw Coach Eladio Valdez of The Runner's Edge.  He was also the designer of the course.  He had a megaphone and actually congratulated me by name (because it was written on my bib... outside of meeting him at Hospital Hill in 2010 for one of his speeches, he wouldn't really recognize me).  I'm thinking that Joe VI and I might want to participate in the Runner's Edge next year.

After the final turn I could see the finish line and tried to take off.  I crossed the finish in 1:45:51 minutes!

Kickin' it!

Pace: 7:30, 7:15, 7:37, 7:23

Post-Race
After getting my timing chip cut off by some kid who probably held his breathe the entire time, I ran into Mark in the finish chute.  He had finished a few minutes ahead of me with 1:42.  Pretty darn good for a first half marathon time! We walked up through the food area and I grabbed whatever I could, 'cuz I'm greedy like that.  Mark took off to watch his girlfriend Rachael cross the finish line.  She was also running her first half as well.  Congrats to both of them!

After catching up with TKB and Megan, we walked around a little bit and then took off for home.  After showering and then a cat nap, we discussed lunch options.  We had a friend who was running the marathon and we realized that if we left pretty soon, we could actually catch him finish.  Hopped in the car and back down to the finish line.  We were able to watch Ben finish in 5 hours and 35 seconds.  Congrats Ben!

Of course the real post-race meal was about to commence as we went to Oklahoma Joe's for lunch.

Thoughts
Considering I wanted to go sub-1:45 before my training trailed off, I'm pretty happy.  Joe VI and I are planning a 55 mile ride on Sunday.  I plan to follow that up with a 2000 meter swim on Monday, so that should be my last big training push before the Half ironman on October 29.  I'm in great spirits for it now!

Good

• Perfect weather for running.  I almost put on my Under Armour base layer shirt for extra warmth (it's actually not for cold weather so it's pretty thin) but I think I would have over-heated.
• Health Expo - I think they do a pretty good job with the booths, although it's pretty standard stuff.
• Packet Pickup - Quick and painless.  If you forgot to print off your receipt before arriving, you may have had to contend with a pretty long line to get one there.
• Post-Race - Lots of fruit, yogurt, chocolate milk, rolls, pretzels.  They had beer but I don't know what kind as we decided to skip that.  This was much improved than last year.
• Course - This is a challenging course but it's well stocked with aid stations.

Bad
To be honest, I couldn't think of anything bad.  I know I complained earlier about not making it to the port-a-potties because of the lines, but I think that was my fault for not getting there soon enough.  They had a bunch of port-a-potties, plus the Crown Center holes.

Proof

TKB (right) and Megan (left) waiting for me to finish.

Yeah, it's upside-down.  It's an artsy photo, you figure it out ;).

I feel sorry for the rest of the world who doesn't get to enjoy Oklahoma Joe's BBQ.  Beef Brisket Z-Man, Fries, Burnt Ends. 

Half-Ironman Training - September

It's amazing how things turn around so quickly.  I was going from a nearly sub-20 minute 5k performance to planning the 2012 season as my Boston Qualifying season.  My Half-Ironman training was ramping up pretty hard.  I was feeling great... feeling like a svelte runner/triathlete.  I was ready to finish the remaining two months with confidence.

Then some kid took a dump in a pool.

I took September 1st off from work.  One reason was actually triathlete related, but I'll get to that at a much later time.  I knew I could get a good workout in.  I decided to ride my bike to the gym at 5:30am for a swim and then do a 25 mile bike ride since the sun would be out to light my way; however, the gym's pool was closed due to Cryptosporidium.  I took off on my 25 mile ride anyway.  To make a long story short, I wrecked my bike.  6.5 hours into the month of September and I was in trouble.

The rest of the month of September pretty much sucked.  I skipped 90% of my workouts due to various reasons.  My goal was to still get in my long workouts and I was successful with that.  The midweeks workouts stopped.  My knee was really scrapped up and took a couple weeks to look decent.  I stayed out of the pool due to my knee and also because the ribs were sore enough to make body rolling painful.  I tried to keep midweek runs in and trainer rides but work was also getting in the way.

I did visit the doc early on and he gave me some medicine to help with swelling.  It was still sore all the way to September 30, so I went in for x-rays.  The phone call came and the verdict was a fractured rib.  It's been over a month and still a fractured rib!  Well, at roughly 5:30pm on September 30 (6.5 hours left to go in September), I was sitting in traffic when I felt a "pop" in my back.  Within seconds I had a wave of a nausea and lightheadedness.  Something wasn't right.

I was meeting up with TKB and Heather for dinner before they went to a play and decided to call TKB to come get me as I pulled over in downtown.  Heather arrived first and then TKB arrived to take me to North KC Hospital.  I was concerned it was fully broken.  I could feel every bump in the road.

So here we go, ANOTHER set of x-rays for the day.  And the results?  A fractured rib 7th rib on the right side.  Duh.  I already knew that.  I'm just not sure how bad it is compared to earlier that day or back on September 1.  My plan is to call the doc on Monday and see what his thoughts are.

So, what are my race plans?  Unchanged but I'm willing to adjust.  As I texted my half ironman training/race partner, Joe VI: "It may mean I just start drinking 6 hours before you." I do have a half-marathon training race on October 15 that I might cancel.  I'll make it a race day decision.  As long as I can a get a good run in next weekend, I'll still go for it.  My real concern is getting my mileage up for Rock'n Roll Las Vegas Marathon.  We'll see.

So, let's review:

Swimming: 0 meters ->  This may be a big issue for Beach2Battleship.  Thankfully I can just ride the current in my buoyant wetsuit for most of the swim :)
Bike: 125 miles / 8 hours, 19 minutes
Run: 48 miles / 7 hours, 27 minutes
Volleyball: I think I only made it once this month.  Probably going to put myself on the PUP list.
Weights:  Why do I even bother putting this on here?

Overall I probably missed 50% of my planned miles due to making most of my long runs/rides but missing the planned speed work.  I will say that I likely used my back/rib as an excuse to spend some more time in front of the computer as I have started working on my long planned iPhone/iPad app for a website I help run.  (OK, I said in my opening post that I might geek out in non-athlete stuff... don't worry, I'll keep it at a minimum).

Well, we will see how the month of October turns out.  It is my favorite month of the year, plus it's our 10th Anniversary month!

Where Art Thou

Oh boy.  Where have I been?

The day after my accident I did a 50 minute run.  Two days after I did an 11 mile run with Mark, Mike, and Joe VI.  Four days I did a 42 mile ride around KC with Joe.

The circle in the upper right corner is around the Truman Sports Complex.

Tuesday through Friday?  Nothing, really.  I did go for a 60 minute run Wednesday but only made it 2 miles.  I decided to stay out of the pool because it hurt too much to put any torque on my ribs.  Sleeping sucked.  I couldn't turn or sit-up without pain on my right rib cage.  It still isn't an enjoyable experience.  I keep saying that if it still hurts in 2 days I'm calling the doctor.  I've been saying that for a week now.  I haven't evaluated my training in over a week.

I did decide to take last week quite easy.  Partially because of the accident, partially because I've been catching up on geekiness (started working an iPhone app this week).  The big reason we've been busy is today we celebrated my parents 40th anniversary and I prioritized the planning for it last week. It was quite an event as it was a surprise party and, thankfully, it stayed that way.  My Mom has a tendency to sniff that stuff out pretty easily.  

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

So, I guess this is my week-in-review.  I did 53 miles total.  42 bike and 11 running.  Joe and I met up Saturday morning for a 9 mile run around downtown KC (Plaza and Westport area).  So there's that.

I've decided to take a couple weeks of my speed work period of my Half-Ironman Training program and instead redo a few weeks of my plan.  I'll probably take a few more days off from the pool and get back around Wednesday this week.  I'm really not that concern about the swim portion of the HIM but don't want to neglect it. 

Half-Ironman Training - Week 9

I've been complaining all week that I haven't had time to work on this post; however, I just realized I had it ready to go on Monday but forgot all about it.  Since I'm about to head out for lunch with my brother, I haven't had a chance to review it.  I'm just posting it and will fix all those normal "scotty" grammatical errors later (sorry Ken).

Weekly Training

• Swim: 4750 meters (4750 meters planned)
• Bike: 105.84 miles (105 miles planned)
• Run: 18.04 miles / 2:32 hours (3:10 hours planned)
• Weights: 0 
• Volleyball:  0-3.  
• Overall: 126.84 miles in 10:25 hours

Ugh... I totally bonked on my run Wednesday night.  Lesson learned.

I had races this weekend, so my schedule got mucked up a bit again.  I don't have another race for the next 6 weeks, so it will be all about focusing on my training plan.  Love it!

If you follow me on twitter, you've probably read that yesterday I missed a sub-20 minute 5k by TWO SECONDS.  Ugh!!!  I decided to run this race completely "analog", meaning that I left my Garmin at home.  The only non-human electrical current on or in my body was my footpad attached to the shoe and that was because I just didn't want to take it off.  It has to be re-calibrated if you reinstall it. I do wonder that if I had worn my trusty Garmin 301xt, then I would have noticed the time and really kicked it up.  Either way, looking at a 6:27 pace makes me smile!

Considering my 7:40 pace during the North Face Endurance challenge marathon relay, it really makes me think that maybe I can run hard and be successful.  I really started diving into doing this athletic type stuff a few years simply to find out what my body is capable of.  How far can I push it?  I'm starting to dig a little deeper into that experiment.  Maybe I'll start evaluating my goals for 2012.  Always have to keep looking forward.

Upcoming

• The next two training weeks will be my longest in terms of number of miles and time.  After Week 12 I will start doing speed work, which will probably reduce the miles and time in favor of anerobic workouts.  Although, I hear you do have a tendency to workout the same number of miles but just in less time.

I'm just stoked about getting the training in!  I don't think I'll miss a SINGLE workout for the next two weeks.  It's going to be GREAT!

• Labor day weekend is 5 days away and that means spending lots of time with friends and family.  For once we don't have any traveling going on.   I hope to get my miles done in the morning and good times in the evening.  Well, not too much good times Saturday evening as I have a group ride on Sunday.

Random Thoughts

It's been great meeting all these people doing triathlon and races.  I spent some time with Ryan during the North Face Endurance challenge (which I should have the race report completed by Wednesday at the latest).  Something else that comes to mind is how fortunate I am to have all these great routes to take just in my area of the city.  Within 15 minutes I can get in a pretty challenging hill workout or find a route with 20 miles of flat-ish roads.  That's the same for biking and running.

It's just wonderful to have a YMCA within five minutes of your house too.  The place is amazingly clean and I can always rely on it being open at 5:30 in the morning and have the pool open.  They hardly even have a case of some kid taking a deuce in the pool.

For example, take traffic circles

(or round-a-bouts)

.  There are tons of them around here and they are great! I was initially annoyed by traffic circles.  It was difficult to tell if a car was going to exit or plow into you but I've grown to appreciate them.  You don't have to worry about slowing down for a stop sign. In addition, the pain that traffic lights give are gone as well.  You don't have to worry about waiting at a light that may never change because you don't have enough metal to trip the sensor in the road.  Yes.  I'm declaring it now: I love traffic circles.  They are flawless and NOTHING wrong can happen with them.

And finally, it's amazing that I've never been injured doing this stuff.  I feel invincible!

Ouch

I've been pretty busy this week.  You know, it's football season so Fantasy Football Leagues are in full effect... tons of drafts going on.  Uh.. I mean, work has been picking up and other commitments have moved up in priority list.  So I haven't been able to get to a couple posts that are way over due (Week 9 HIM Review and my North Face Endurance Challenge Marathon Relay Race Report).

In addition, this week and next week will probably be my highest volume of training miles/time of my 18 weeks.  This week I've actually shirked on a couple of them.  I moved Friday's rest day to Monday to recover from a full weekend of activities and events, a couple at race pace.  Since I had today off, I thought I'd try to get a couple in this morning.

I decided to bike to the YMCA (2.5 miles from my front door), swim, and then get in a 25 mile bike ride.  Once the gym opened I noticed a sign that said the pool was close.  It was because of all the nasty stuff going around right now that has been effecting the water.  This was sign #1 that I ignored about the training.  The good thing about Triathlons, is there are three sports (need any more definitions?).  I decided to get the 25 mile ride in and then my 50 minute run that I skipped.

8 miles in I got warning #2.

I was going around a traffic circle when I must have taken the circle a little to wide.  This became apparent as I was in a section of the circle where there was an entrance into the circle from another road.  Due to the angle, I was right where the curb from the road met up with that of the traffic circle.  Not the curb wall but rather where the curb met up with the asphalt. The concrete curb was an inch higher than the asphalt and I think it just took my wheels out from under me.  While I landed on the non-street side of the curb, it wasn't lush grass but hard dirt.

Maybe this picture will help (doubt it).

Picture from the sky.  Some bird probably had a good laugh.

So I was heading to the curb at a good angle.

A view from a worm, also still giggling.

And then it just took my wheels out as if someone slide a 2x4 at the bottom of my tires at about 12 mph.

It went quick.  There was no chance to correct.  No wobbly riding hoping for a recovery. It was me riding  and then not riding.

I took a systems check right away.  My first thing to do was grab my right calf and it was as hard as a rock.  Whether it cramped up or prepared for impact, I'm not sure.  TKB described it as whiplash of the calf.  Shoulder hurt, ribs hurt, knees hurt.  Dirt everywhere.  I got up and walked around to ease up the calf and it turned out just sore and a little tight.  My knees got scrapped pretty well.

Bloody Stump

The good news was I was ok and my bike survived.  The bad news? I was literally at the furthest point of my ride.

I decided I could manage OK.  The bike was in good shape, so I took off for the rest of my 25 miles.  My mindset was that I could probably get in my 25 miles and my 50 minute run but I wavered until about mile 18, at which point I decided there was absolutely no reason to continue getting in miles that weren't going to be beneficial.  My heart rate was low, as well as my speed.  I don't need 3 warnings signs, as it may be the last. So I got home and cleaned up.

As scraped up as I am, I decided I should probably stay out of the pool, which is good because all YMCA pools are now closed thanks to cryptosporidium (the reason I couldn't get my swim in today).  So the open wounds now have time to heel and I won't feel guilty skipping those swims.  I AM looking for open water swim opportunities though (something I was looking for before today).  If anyone has any ideas, please comment below.

I am going to test my legs tomorrow morning to see if they are OK but that will be an extremely easy run.

I took my bike in and my rear deraileur is jacked up, so they are going to replace it and do a good look over of the bike.  I've put 1000 miles on it since the last checkup, so it's probably due anyway.  Fortunately I should have it back on Friday!!!  Go Cycle City!