My October is still “life stress” writ large. Total volume increased from September’s 9:22 to 11:32, but still only 11 activities and less than half of what I’d like my volume to be.
But hey, I don’t get paid for this, I’m aging more slowly than I would otherwise, and I have far more energy for my work and other needs than I did 3-4 years ago before I started training. So no complaints from me. Will just try to do better in November.
Ok, after easy August. Had a good september and October month. Only less swim then I wanted, so need to up my volume again for the swim. With my first full IM planned in 2026 necessary to increase my swim and running.
But running goes pretty well. I only did Z2 running (around 5:35-5:45/km), just kept it consistent. Then in October did a 10k race and was surprised with my 44:20 result, without any tempo or intervals. And ideal for setting kind of base to work on now. Still lots of work to do but had some consistent weeks now (only after my 10k race took 5 days off to let my hamstring recover and had a cold that week so some days off was ideal to regain good feelings).
I wont waste your time with details but Marbella was the toughest, most brutal ride I have ever done. It was also one of the most beautiful rides. However, coming from the flatlands of Virginia I am no longer intimated by any North American Ironman race, not Placid, not Boulder, if St George was still there I would do that one as well.
We need a race report 
Well, my 2025 season has ended unexpectedly. In early November after a 2 -hour run followed by working on our roof, developed a tough case of what has been diagnosed as piriformis syndrome, making simple activities of daily living quite painful (e.g., sitting, bending over, etc). Been battling it since with a combination of ibuprofen, muscle relaxers, alternating heat and ice, and light stretching. Just now starting to calm down a bit perhaps allowing some swimming (with a pull bouy) or light cycling. Running is out for a bit.
Will try to transfer my IM Florida 70.3 registration to a 70.3 next year. Once ready I will get more intentional and consistent with core and glute strengthening exercises, and proper glute activation/warm up before running. Will see if GP recs PT as well when I follow up next week. Will report back!
Good luck everyone!
Had a close friend with this diagnoses. He’s an avid runner. A month of PT and specific glute/ham work has him back to running. Take it slow.
Here’s a race report from the last tri I did at the end of the 2024/25 season (this is in Australia). I’ve been meaning to post this for ages but am now finally getting around to ticking things off my list 
It was a sprint tri but the bike leg is ~27km because you do 2 laps for the sprint and the people doing the olympic do 3 laps. It just makes it easier for the organisers with the road closures.
This is the 2XU tri series and this was the 6th and last race in the season. It usually clashes with a 70.3 not too far away and I think many of the faster guys go to that one. I thought I had a shot at a podium but knew I had to beat this guy who beat me in the last race. (I had finished ahead of him, but during the rolling 5-at-a-time start to the swim, he’d started after me and his overall time was better.)
So, not wanting to get caught out again, I made sure I lined up next to him at the swim start, we were probably in the middle of the pack, a few rows back.
In the end I held on and got 3rd. Woohoo! I found out afterwards that the guy running like a train was the first one I had passed on the swim and the guy in blue was the second one I passed. The guy running like a train caught the guy in blue just before the line and won by 2 seconds. I was about a minute further back.
New overview. Being very consisted the last weeks/months. Very good November. Running goes better and better. Also did some bike power tests and although 50% less bike volume then previous years when I was just a cyclist, numbers stay pretty good.
Swim felt better, but I was waaayyyy to reliant on my pull buoy. Did not swim faster than 6 months ago when doing a new CSS test. If I had done it with pull buoy it would be for sure be a lot faster. So took a decision and joined the Tower 26 program. So hopefully this approach would give me better technique and overall better swim perfomance.
November was light due to injury described above…basically stopped training.
Injury Update:
After a couple weeks of rest, muscle relaxers, and pain pills, pain was reduced some degree but still limiting. Doctor then ordered MRI of lumbar region, which showed disc bulge pressing a bit on the sciatic nerve. So original diagnosis of piriformis syndrome was changed to L5-S1 radiculopathy (which would explain the foot numbness).
Ordered me some physical therapy which I’ve now had for two weeks. Working on nerve glide exercises, myofascial masaging on three nerve pain points, and now strengthening exercises. Doing MUCH better….pain sensations are still there but reduced significantly in severity…still need pain meds but cutting them back too. Interesting we’re still not sure of the “cause/origination” of the pain because I have zero tenderness, soreness, weakness, etc., around the lumber region…it starts at the glute and travels down the leg. Doesn’t really matter, the prescription of pain reduction and core/hip strengthening remains the same.
As a result, I was unable to participate in the Florida 70.3 so I decided to volunteer at th last minute. Ended up manning a penalty tent on the bike..that was a lot of fun.
So, to make a long story short (too late)…progress is coming, but slowly. Not setting any goals for next year beyond coming back stronger in the core/hips to set up for return.
Thanks for reading!
Sorry to late but
70.3 MTY 2nd
IM Texas 4th
IM Ottawa 2nd
Nice!! Congratz with the performance
Here my final overview of my first year of triathlon
Completed 3 races.
First a 1/4 Triathlon, terrible run, had cramps so had to walk a lot , but finished 312th/637
Then a 1-100-10 triathlon, much better run so was happy with performance (244th/495)
And my goal for 2025 was 70.3 Luxemburg. Also happy with perfomance but had a run injury so could not did any run the last 3-4 weeks before the race.
My goal for 2026 is full IM Austria. So working on improving my swim. For sure the open water swim because I am a lot slower there then in the pool. Also keep improving my run. 2025 before my 70.3 had a a lot of injuries. No I don’t have any issues anymore and my running has improved.
My 2025 totals
Swim 505,545 yards
Bike 5,412 miles
Run 1008 miles
Strength 43 hours
1 Sprint, 1 Olympic, 2 70.3s, 1 Full, 1 Duathlon, 4 Podiums.
My top 2 highlights is completing at 70.3 Worlds and I beat one of my training partners in All World rankings, someone I have been chasing for years by 5 positions World and 2 US.
