Better late than never. There’s been a lot going on this week, so I finally had some downtime to recap last week’s training. Plus, I have a race announcement. Yes, I’m doing another race before IRONMAN California. I’ll share that next week, but the $8 crew gets it at the bottom of this post.
Unfortunately, I hit the first little snag of this training block. For most of this year, I’ve been dealing with a nagging hamstring from a 2023 soccer injury. Yeah, I’m old. Up until now, it’s mostly been manageable and more annoying than anything.
Last week, though, I started experiencing some bad discomfort in my glute on that same side. After Tuesday’s speed workout, I knew something was off. At first I thought it might just be soreness from adding strength back into the routine, but I don’t think that was it.
So yes, this week’s title is literal. Pain in the ass. Not metaphorical. Actual ass-adjacent nerve nonsense.
I tried to “test it out” the next day and it was painful even running easy recovery pace on the treadmill. That’s usually my sign that I need to stop pretending everything is fine.
Luckily, I have a doctor at my house. My girlfriend Sarah is a PT and she was able to check it out (yes, she saw my butt), and gave me some dry needling.
I took the rest of the week off of running. We had an idea of what it might be since it was similar pain I was having in my hamstring. The culprit, my sciatic nerve—which was causing piriformis syndrome.
I googled piriformis syndrome and this is what I got:
“Piriformis syndrome is a painful neuromuscular condition that happens when the piriformis muscle in the buttock compresses or irritates the sciatic nerve.”
The best remedy for it is rest, along with strengthening exercises and stretching. Sarah gave me multiple exercises I’ve been doing a few times each day.
Thankfully, after a few days of rest, I’ve tested out a few runs. Some discomfort and tightness, but not the severe pain I was experiencing.
Including this week, I still have 8 weeks to go until race day, so there was plenty of time to take a step back in the run department for a week.
The silver lining? I got to put more time into the bike (and swim, I guess).
Check out the full recap below.
HOT TAKE OF THE WEEK
Today’s hot take isn’t really a hot take. It’s common sense. Get off your phone while driving. My Instagram feed is full of “influencers” filming hot takes, sing-alongs, daily updates, and whatever else while they’re behind the wheel. It’s one thing if a camera is just recording. It’s another when you’re repeatedly taking your eyes off the road to talk to your followers.
People already get hit by cars because of inattentive drivers. We don’t need to add “updating 50K followers on breakfast” to the list of hazards.
GET OFF YOUR PHONE. Park the car. Then post.
My friend Noel just did a reel about this. Here’s his take:
LAST WEEK’S TRAINING LOG
SWIM
Knowing I would be taking a step back in the run this week, I was able to get 4 swim sessions in, including my first OWS since Muncie 70.3 in early July.
Swim sessions this week included:
Monday: Endurance Swim (5200m)
Wednesday: Speed Swim with 300’s fast (4500m)
Friday: Strength Swim (4150m)
Friday Bonus Swim: OWS in Marl Lake in Waupaca.
We drove up to Waupaca after work on Friday and I did an easy OWS in the aqua blue lake. Definitely want to go back and swim there more!
Swim totals:
4hrs 6 minutes
17147 yards
BIKE
As I mentioned, the silver lining of the run injury was being able to spend more time on the bike. I already feel like my bike is in great shape for California, but you can never be too fit or strong on the bike. It’s what sets you up for the run.
I logged 9 sessions over the 7 days, broken down as:
4 easy rides at Z1
2 tempo/threshold rides
2 IM specific rides
1 quality outdoor ride (5+ hours)
It was definitely nice to get outside for a long ride. I got to ride with a local training buddy, Tyler, who’s been prepping for 70.3 Wisconsin + 70.3 Michigan next month. He’s a strong athlete with lots of experience, but this was actually his first century ride. We need to convince him to do an IRONMAN.
Bike Totals:
15hrs 30 minutes
116 miles outdoors (rest on Zwift)
RUN
As I mentioned, on Tuesday I did a speed run (9 miles) with some 3’ and 1’ efforts. Wednesday, I tried to do an easy run, but was feeling a lot of pain.
On Sunday, I tested out the glute during a very easy run on the treadmill. It felt surprisingly good, so I ran easy while watching some tv.
Run totals:
2hrs 24 minutes
21 miles total
THE OTHER STUFF
I’ve added in strength work and now I’m starting to ease back in some heat prep for California. I don’t think California will be “hot” by any means, but coming from Wisconsin (where who knows what temps will be like this fall), I want to make sure I don’t take any chances. Also, heat prep has other great benefits on it’s own. I’ll share my heat prep plan in upcoming weeks.
Tomorrow is also my birthday, my last year in the 35-39 age group. Next year it’s the big 4-0 and a brand new age group! 70.3 Worlds in Chattanooga actually takes place on my 40th birthday (Aug 29th, 2027).
RECAP
Overall, this small setback is just that. A setback. It’s not a blow to my chances to go sub 8. I’ll continue to monitor it and back off when needed. The run is definitely more about durability and holding up over 26.2 miles instead of needing to run fast and hard. Right now, easy volume is my friend.
Since it’s already Friday, I’m almost through next week already. So far the glute/hip has been good. Just lots of easy running. More to share next week.
Here’s where I always transition over to the paying subscribers only. Full TrainingPeaks breakdown, Whoop data, and more behind the scenes that I don’t share with the rest of the world. Also, paid subscribers get access to discount codes (below) and the first to hear about all new sponsorships, race announcements, etc
