Oliver Half

The calf is coming around. I have not run in 10 days, but I can now walk without feeling any tightness and pain. It is hard to say how this injury happened, but those in the know seem to think that it might have had something to do with the blow I took on the bike a couple of weeks ago. Apparently my entire right side was out of allignment.
It was really disappointing to head over to Oliver and not be able to compete on the run (especially with so many team mates and athletes racing), but stopping after the bike was the logical choice. Had I run I probably would have been out for months, not days.
As far as the race went, I had a pretty decent swim and was able to bridge a gap to some feet that dragged me around the course and had me on shore in 7th or 8th. With Tom Evans and Mark Van Akkeren there it was a forgone conclusion that there would be a deficit after the swim, but it was about what I expected. After the painful run on pavement to the transition area I jumped on the bike and headed out hoping to reduce the deficit a bit. I had a tough time getting going and finding any rhythm. It might have been because this was the first ride on the TT bike in 2 weeks (the guys at Pro City managed to get me a replacement frame just in time), but I think I may have just been flat and a bit tired from worrying about the calf injury. On the bike I was passed by Kyle Marcotte and despite my best efforts was unable to match his pace on the bike. This was the first time I have been passed on the bike this year and I must admit I didn't like it all that much. After riding in no man's land for 70km I was finally caught by a train of 3 athletes (quick disclaimer, they are all great athletes and were following the rules) in the last 10km of the ride. Unfortunately they reduced the draft zone at this race to 1.5 bike lengths so while riding legally by this rule it was still a drafting ride. I know because I sat on the back for a bit and recovered with the official riding beside us. Knowing that I wouldn't be running I went back to the front for the last few km's to keep the pace up and get my day over.
Not the way I wanted my day to end, but the one thing I can say about this trip is that it lit a fire. Randy had me taking it very easy since Florida as part of the plan for this season. Starting tomorrow things start ramping up again. 1 month to the Desert Half!