* Do whatever is necessary to get my calf back in action....massage, stretch, ice, heat, etc.
* One strength session.
* Swim 20K, Bike 230 mi, Run ?? mi

RECAP:
The main focus for this week was to get my calf back in action.  I spent a lot of time massaging, icing, heating, and stretching.  Here was the progression as the week went on:

Monday: Still hurt to walk.  Riding was fine while seated in a small gear but was uncomfortable standing and in the big ring.
Tuesday: Walking felt a little better.  Riding felt a little better while standing and was fine seated.  Got a massage.
Wednesday: Walking feels fine but still hurts to get up on my toes.
Thursday: Walking is fine and standing on toes feels a little better but hopping is still painful.
Friday: Walking and standing on toes is fine but standing on toes with a bent knee is still painful as is hopping.
Saturday: Same as Friday but getting a little better.
Sunday: This is starting to clear up but still have a slight pain when hopping.

My swim and bike volume were where I had planned for them to be with the bike getting a little more attention this week due to the bum calf.  I didn't feel particularly good in my bike workouts this week and I feel like I need to do more big ring work but was too afraid to this week because I didn't want to set the calf back.  I shortened my workouts for the week in hopes of a quicker recovery.

My only actual workout for the week was my Thursday bike session which I cut short and only did 15 minutes steady.  It was unseasonably cold and raining this week so there weren't too many other people out riding.  The cold weather also made it tough to warm up the body so it felt like I was straining at lower intensities.  I probably should have done this on the trainer but like riding outside so much better.

GOALS FOR NEXT WEEK:
Next week is still a little up in the air at this point.  I'm going to try and run on Monday or Tuesday to see how it feels and have another ART/Stim appointment on Tuesday.  I don't want to rush this calf back to action because I need it to be 100% by Clearwater.

* Do whatever is necessary to get my calf back in action....massage, stretch, ice, heat, etc.
* One strength session.
* Swim 20K, Bike 180 mi, Run 20 mi

NEXT WEEK'S KEY SESSIONS:
* Tuesday Bike: 2 X 30 mins Steady (LT minus 10-15 bpm :: 155-160 bpm) ~25-26 mph
* Sunday Brick: Bike 30 mins Steady + Run 3 miles Steady

THOUGHTS:
This week was a little disappointing but it was also a good reminder to listen to the body.  My formula for success is: CONSISTENCY + PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD == SUCCESS.  If I'm INJURED then I can't be CONSISTENT and if I can't be CONSISTENT then I can't be SUCCESSFUL.  So.....avoid injuries at all cost.  It's better to miss a workout than miss a whole week.  My high school coach, Marty Bushland, used to say........when in doubt, leave it out.  Luckily for me, I feel like my run was ahead of where I needed it to be to reach my goals for Clearwater for this year so the week off will just be an equilizer.  Since I took this week off of running I've decided to cut my taper from 14 days to between 7-9 days.  I feel like I will need the additional fitness on the run.  With 4 weeks left I plan on trying to hit 20 miles running this week followed by 40, 40, and then race week.

Aside from triathlon Jen and I had a busy weekend.  On Saturday morning we put on the Carolina's Open Water Challenge for our buddy Steve since he was in Kona.  It consisted of 800m, 1 mile, and 2 mile open water swim options.  The turnout was about 35 people which didn't compare to the 150+ from the last swim but it's late in the season.  The highlight for me was watching three of the top MAC swimmers duke it out in the 2 mile competition.  One of the guys holds the current 50M Short Course American Record.  I think everyone had a good time and said the water felt nice at the chilly 65-66 degrees.

On Sunday we showed our condo that recently became vacant to a prospective tenant.  We've learned quite a bit over the years with our rentals and it now all feels pretty simple.  Maybe I'll share some more about this in a later post.