No…..not my back!

Of all the injuries that I could sustain while running for 20+ miles and biking for 90+ miles and swimming for 4,000+ meters, a small calf injury is not that bad. It has almost healed and I was feeling quite optimistic this morning when Binita dropped me off at the airport. That’s when things started to unravel. The line for checkin was the longest I have ever experienced. While snaking through the line with a heavy bike box, a check-in bag and a carry-on backpack, I pushed the bike box in an awkward manner and strained my lower left back.

I am REALLY frustrated as I write this. The Ironman is on Sunday and I have a brand new injury that hurts every time I make a sudden movement. My back muscles flex for balance and it hurts. If I am walking in a smooth stride, it is okay but if I trip over the smallest object, watch out!

I arrived in Cabo this afternoon. The trip down to the hotel was smooth. I checked in and gave my bike to the mechanic assigned by Ironman. He assembled the bike in no time and seems to have tuned it nicely. After eating some pretty decent tacos for lunch, I walked over to the Ironman registration and picked up my packet. The walk actually loosened up my back a bit. The expo itself was a bit disappointing with no posters, no water bottles and barely any merchandise. It was a really low-key affair. On my way back, I picked up some Mexican Ibuprofen and took 400mg but it doesn’t seem to have helped.

My hotel room is nice. It overlooks the beach and the ocean. Will is already here. We went out to dinner at Rossys Tacos in San Jose Del Cabo. It is a local hole-in-the-wall restaurant with a bunch of locals. The food was so-so and on the spicy side. They had an assortment of salsas in bottles and freshly made.

I picked up some Advil at the in-hotel store and am about to take some before I go to bed. We’ll see how badly it hurts when I wake up tomorrow. I have lasered my back a few times today and plan to do the same tomorrow. I wish I had a couple of extra days to heal. As things stand right now, it is touch-and-go. I am doing all my preps (sans running) as if I am going to start on Sunday. I hope things get better over the next couple of days. My feelings range from annoyance to frustration. It has to be a Hashtag-FirstWorldProblem. At worst, on Sunday I will be sipping a drink with an umbrella in it overlooking the ocean on a lovely white sandy beach. Life is not so bad…

Binita arrives on Saturday. I can’t wait!

Will went whale-watching yesterday and saw tons of them in the bay. The ocean looks a bit choppy. It will be somewhat tough to swim in it, but the wet-suit and salt will help with buoyancy. I’m not even sure if I should care. With my back, my chances of starting the race are right around 50-50. We’ll see how tomorrow goes! If I feel good, I will swim a bit in the ocean tomorrow morning.