The older I get the more fully I understand the value of staying healthy. I realize being 100% mobile can change in a minute. Sometimes it’s preventable, sometimes it’s beyond your control. Either way I don’t take for granted the days that I can just get up and go pain free.

Last week Sarah and I had the chance to get away to the Dominican Republic for a week. She earned a (much deserved) trip and I was lucky enough to get to tag along. At first I was concerned that eight days on the beach might disrupt my training (you know you have mental issues when you consider not going on a trip like that because it might impact training for a finisher medal). When I looked at my training calendar the trip actually lined up nicely with a recovery week. So off we went.

Due to the travel on Sunday I had to push my long run of 18 miles to Monday so I had the pleasure of doing that in the fabulous Dominican heat and humidity. Seriously I probably lost 10 lbs of water on the run. But from Tuesday on the week was mainly beach time with my wife, eating great food, and shorter maintenance / rest workouts.

Then Thursday happened. The water was rough. The flags were red. But there were still plenty of folks out playing in the surf. I put on my goggles and decided to attempt a short swim. After a few minutes in the waves I realized that wasn’t happening so I decided to simply enjoy the fun of playing in the ocean. After 10-15 minutes I had enough of the beating and decided to head in. I turned my back, took about two steps towards the shore, and then was completely blasted from behind. Huge wave. Took the goggles clean off my head as it knocked me over. I came up and realized immediately something was not right in my lower back. It wasn’t intense, but just didn’t feel right.

We headed back to the room not long after that and I did some stretching. It seemed to be getting tighter as the evening went on. We met up with some folks for dinner. After sitting for an hour and a half it was time to go. I stood up and realized immediately I could hardly walk. It was all I could do to shuffle with my chest bowed out, and even that was excruciating.

The next morning I almost cried trying to get out of bed. Bending hurt. Twisting hurt. Standing hurt. Walking hurt. Everything hurt. Right along my belt line in my lower back. We had two full days left before heading home. The worst thing about situations like this is not knowing exactly what it needs. Rest? Strengthening? Ice? Heat? I’ve injured my back before (ironically three years prior on the same beach). The most recent time was during a strength workout. I cut the weights but continued the workout with just body weight. Two days later I was golden. So I opted to try to loosen it up with light activity. I was thrilled to find that sitting on a spin bike resulted in zero pain. So the next few days I began a regimen of low power spinning and stretching.

Here I am a week later. There’s still pain. It mainly comes after sitting for long spells. My back just locks up and standing / walking after sitting is a killer. I went to a chiropractor on Monday and he quickly identified that my right hip was sitting higher than normal. I’m pretty sure there was a nerve between my lower spine and raised hip that was getting pinched; after his adjustment some of the stiffness remained but the shooting pains dropped off considerably.

So here I am four weeks out from IMNC. I haven’t even attempted running (seeking how I can barely walk). I tried my first swim yesterday; the rotation puts a strain on my lower back that is still more than I can handle (even with a pull buoy). So for now I can ride. I did a 45 minute ride yesterday morning followed by a 90 minute ride last night and both felt fantastic. I’m still working in stretching and have started ice to hopefully get some swelling down.

I wish I knew what the next four weeks held but at this point I have no idea. If I’m not 100% pain free by next weekend I have a tough call to make. I’m losing fitness each day. I’m not about to attempt an Ironman if there is any lingering; it’s hard enough when you’re 100% healthy. In the past it’s taken 2-3 weeks for things to clear up. Usually I just wake up one day and it’s gone. I’m really hoping that day comes sooner than later.