Shots in the Arm

One way to build confidence is to do something rather than pout and eat cookies. So, Sunday's long ride was a good shot in the arm. I chiseled out a 50+ mile ride, averaging slightly over 21 mph. This does not provide me with superstar status, but it proved to me that I could still ride reasonably well for a long-ish ride.
This morning I swam 1.2 miles. It was a little choppy at first, but the water settled later. I swam a decent time and again got a shot in the arm.
Not long after I swam, I pulled on my shoes on and took on a 10.4 mile run. I started out conservatively, and all the while monitoring my trouble spots (left calf, right Achilles Tendon, right foot, and hips). Ok, when I type it out it seems more like Santa's Naughty and Nice List more so than a Make sure these pieces and parts don't fall off list.
Anyway, as predicted, my left calf was a tad tight and my right Achilles joined the party. My hope was that they would either iron themselves out and be fine, or not get any worse. As my run continued, the tightness and soreness either settled down a bit or I got better at ignoring it, but thank goodness it wasn't getting any worse.
I had battled the wind for the first half of the run, so when I turned around I felt the sweet reward of a tailwind. This and a slight downhill inspired me to pick up my pace with little more effort than what I was producing on the way out.
I decided to attempt to hold this new pace the rest of the way back, but had to continue to monitor my trouble spots. I felt pretty light and smooth, which is a feeling I didn't expect to experience on this run and it was quite welcome. To my amazement, my body held out, I kept the pace I adopted on my return trip and ran a solid negative-split run. I averaged 6:54 per mile and it was yet another shot in the arm.
When I got home, I limped down to the lake and plopped myself into the chilly water to wash away my sweat and pain. The good news is that I left my sweat behind. I limped back up the house to eat breakfast, ice, and recover further.
I'm feeling much better about my chances at the Tawas, 1/2 Iron distance triathlon coming up this weekend. And by chances, I mean of finishing in a respectable time without doing any additional damage to myself.
So, I'm out of my slump and back to imagining a successful day on the course in Tawas!