Here I am, getting ready for my usual Thursday night rides with Tribe and speculating about the upcoming triathlon in Mexico.  It's a little over two weeks away now.  I'm definitely ready.  Training has been going well.  My endurance and speed are right where I want them.  Only one problem, my right calf and achilles are killing me when I run.

I don't know what it is.  I get so frustrated.  It seems like I have some type of nagging issue before every big race that I train for.  This whole thing started on a 7 mile treadmill run, after an hour long ride on the stationary bike.  I'm about 5 miles into my run, when I feel like I landed wrong on my right foot.  My ankle didn't twist or anything.  I just kind of landed pigeon toe'd (or however you spell it).  It felt like the inside of my achilles tendon was just tender.

That was over two weeks ago.  I've iced it, elevated it, wrapped it up in compression, used a Strassburg sock and tried using anti-inflammatories.  Nothing works.  My right calf is also sore, but I'm not sure that it's related to the achilles tenderness.  The area is not sore to the touch or anything.  I just feel tenderness when I run and it's taking me off my game. 

So, I've decided to take my training down a notch.  I took yesterday completely off.  Tonight, I'm only biking.  I guess we'll see how it goes.  I'm planning on a 40 mile bike and 10k run this Saturday with Vance.  I'm hoping I feel good for that, so it gives me some confidence before the race.  I'm also using this weekend to test my endurance in the heat.  We are purposely starting a little later, so that it will fairly toasty when doing the run around Tempe Town Lake, late in the morning.  I'm wanting to run in some heat, since it can get pretty hot, humid and windy in Rocky Point.

The run portion of the Las Palomas Triathlon is all on the golf course cart path.  While I kind of like that idea and it's kind of scenic, it's probably the worst thing I could ask for with my achilles pain.  The cart path is super curvy and has tons of rolling hills.  Well, all I can do is try and heal my leg and finish my training.

Next Thursday is a Splash & Dash race at Tempe Town Lake.  It's a 750m swim followed by a 4k run.  It's the perfect little tune up to get me back into remembering open water races and quick transitions.  I'm hoping to gas the run too.  Then, next weekend, another tune up race, the Sprint in the Park.  It's a super short triathlon, but again, perfect for practicing my transitions and blowing out the run.

I think my bike has gotten a lot better this year.  I've been logging a lot more miles riding and I think the strength training has really helped.  I'm hoping that between the tune up races, the strength training, extra bike miles and getting in some good, long bike/run workouts, I'll be able to really step it up a notch in Mexico.

With that being said, I'm excited!  Amanda is doing her first real sprint distance triathlon and her first open water triathlon.  She did a super sprint last year, but this will be her first big race.  We have a 3 bedroom condo at Las Palomas Resort, which is the host hotel for the race.  We're going down and meeting up with a few friends.  I can't wait to celebrate on Saturday morning after crossing the finish line.

Good luck to everyone racing in the next few weeks.  I'll try and squeeze in a race report or two before Mexico!