One Looong Ride and Slow Swim and Run

I just got done with my first training week post 3-week illness.  I got in two weight sessions, two runs, two rides and one swim.  Yesterday was only my third outdoor ride in three months and it was 5.5 hours with the toughest climb in Marin to top it off.  I think I died at least two times but all the ironman racing and training taught me to push through, be patient and I'll come back to life. There were times yesterday that I felt like I was in my 10th hour of an ironman.  The plan was to do a brick and squeeze in a swim yesterday but both were scrapped after I rolled in from my epic ride.  The theme of today was slow.  I swam 3200 yards and absolutely had no power in both my stroke and my kick.  But I also know that in 3 more workouts, I'll be back to where I was three weeks ago.  And my one hour run started with a 9 minute first mile, a bit hard to believe when I saw the split.  Luckily, things improved somewhat as my last mile split was 8 minutes, still slow. My goal next week is to get in 14 workouts:  three rides, four swims, four runs, 2 weight sessions, and one yoga class.  And finally, if you have a weak stomach, you may not want to continue reading this story.  On Thursday night, I bought some ear wax remover drops that my doctor requested I do to clear some wax build up.  I used the drops and followed the directions and about 15 minutes later, I couldn't hear out of my left ear.  It felt as though I was completely underwater and my ears were plugged.  I thought maybe it was the drops stuck in my ear and that it would evaporate by the morning.  The cool thing was that I did not hear any traffic noise outside my window that night.  I woke up and still my ear was plugged and couldn't hear a thing. I checked myself into the emergency room and the doctor performed an ear irrigation in both ears and what came out of both ears looked like two rat testicles.  He actually asked me if I wanted to keep them to which I declined (turns out lots of people keep em).  I warned you not to read on. It's amazing how well I hear now, I feel like I have a bionic ear.