Bike:
- 11.49 mi Distance
- 39:37 Moving Time
- 647 ft Elevation
- Avg Speed 17.4 mi/hr
- Max Speed 40.5 mi/hr
Run:
- 2.58 mi Distance
- 26:13 Moving Time
- 10:08/mi Pace
- Elevation 169 ft
It was time for another brick, the last opportunity before my first triathlon. I decided to try to closely simulate the upcoming event, as well as ride out on the same route that foiled me earlier in the season, with a broken chain and a calf injury.
This was what I needed to be confident that I could complete the race.
The bike went according to plan. I took it relatively easy, not working too hard and focusing on keeping myself to about an 80% effort. One of the things I’d been concerned about was outpacing myself on the bike and having nothing left for the run, so I wanted to work on actively preventing that.
The legs still felt terrible for the first mile of the run, but by this point I knew what to expect and it was easier to deal with. I felt no hint of a problem in my calf on the way out of the out-and-back route, but just after I looped around to head home, it seized up on me. It was bad enough that I had to stop completely. I tried to relax and calmly stretch it out, but I was cursing inside. I was terrified that this was going to be a re-injury that would prevent me from racing.
Luckily, the stretching seemed to help quite a bit. I started running again, very slowly, to test it out. It held up. I continued and made it home ok, without further incident.
I hoped it was a fluke. My first tri was just a week away.
