Attack from the back...

I woke up this morning, sat down at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee before my run and WHAM...I threw out my back. Damn...this is getting crazy. I've had calve problems, bonking, the flu and now I've thrown out my back. It's my own fault, I'm tense and I've had enough of it. It was painful putting racing laces in my shoes with a sore back.

I've heard that 90% of lower back problems are from tension, which is caused from the mind. Off and on, since I've been 15 years old, I've had back problems. With all my experience with bad backs, I know what to do to help it heal quicker and prevent it from getting worse. The key is to keep it moving, so I still went for my run and it wasn't pretty, I looked like a duck running, but I know it helps relax the muscles. During the entire run I kept telling myself and visualizing it getting relaxed and loose. The good news is I had no calve problems today, now it's just a back problem.

At lunch time I still went for my swim. I believe that motion is lotion. I had a good swim, my last 100 was a 1:35 and I even did 4 x 25 of butterfly, slowly and gently. The toughest part was getting out of my truck or up from my desk. It takes me about 2 minutes to lightly get up and then stand straight, usually having to hold onto something to pull me up. Once I get moving, the back is workable, but it's the sitting to standing transition that's a killer.

After work I picked up some Robaxacet and Yucca and took those along with Advil. For years I've found that Yucca works really well for my back. It flushes out the acid in my joints and gives me better movement, that's why they recommend it for arthritis. After dinner I went for my bike ride. If I averaged over 33 kph I would know I'm ready, but that didn't happen. I had a pretty good ride considering my average heart rate was only 125 bpm, although I didn't feel strong.

I've decided to just stay positive and relax. I was talking to my buddy Gord Brauer today, an old time Ironman triathlete from my early days, and he told me just to have confidence in my training. And he was right and for some reason that just settled me almost immediately. After he said that I just calmed right down, my whole mindset immediately changed.

I know I can still race even with my current back pain, providing it doesn't get worse, and in reality it should get better by Saturday if I'm careful. I'll be forced to go slower, but should still be able to race. Anyways, I'm mentally staying positive and on my ride tonight I remember the spirit of what Mark Allen once said said "keep your mind in the moment, don't over think or play all types of alternatives, just relax and enjoy the moment". When he initially did that himself, he won his first Ironman after 6 missed attempts. Well, my training is over and now it's just rest until Saturday's race.

Run - 30:25 / 3.72 miles / 8:10 pace / 132 avg hr

Swim - 32:28 / 1500 meters

Bike - 1:42:13 / 54.33 km / 31.8 kph / 125 avg hr