Narrator: 0:10

Welcome to the athletes in motion podcast from race to recovery. With your hosts, Tom Regal, and Kenny Bailey.

Tom Regal: 0:29

Hey, Kenny, how you doing? I'm

Kenny Bailey<br>: 0:31

doing great. Oh, wait, I'm doing fantastic.

Tom Regal: 0:34

I'm fantastic as well, because we're always fantastic. We gotta get T shirts made up for that. I'm fantastic.

Kenny Bailey<br>: 0:41

How are you? How are you?

Tom Regal: 0:44

Yeah, we're fantastic, of course. And we're here with Leo Silva. We're checking in with our one of our three of the triathletes journey, as we follow Leo through is through his year, which started off with a bang, and not a good way. As we heard, and and now we're here following up. So I know we had a race just this past weekend. The Nashville Music City try the Leo what's been going on since we last chatted with your you're healed up? You're good. We were waiting, I think at that time to get the stent removed. I'm assuming that's gone. Because I saw you racing on the weekends. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Leo Silva: 1:29

Yeah, no, it's been it's been great. I mean, that those basically just one way to go pretty much right. stent was removed in the end of April. I got the all clear to start training in May. And I got I think, four weeks of training before the Music City. Sprint try. And it just felt great to be out there again. It's a really awesome local race. i This is my second time doing it. And I had a great time, my heart rate. Not so much. I think that you know, I, you know, I was just trying to push it and make sure the kidney was working. Right. And I think it worked out great. I had my last week actually, I had my CT scan, and everything is good. The doctor wanted to get another scan after I had started working out. And I'm you know, I'm good to go. So, super excited. Nice

Tom Regal: 2:34

to get that checked out just before the race.

Leo Silva: 2:38

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So

Kenny Bailey<br>: 2:40

Leah, tell us about tell us about the race kind of the atmosphere. What was the weather like? What was race conditions? How did how did how did it unfold?

Leo Silva: 2:49

Yeah, I know the race was was amazing. well organized. You know, I was a little bit worried about the weather just because we got a lot of rain on Saturday. And I was worried about either having rain during the during the bike split. Or being super wet. It was wet, but but not bad. And the road is I mean, it's on elementum Parkway. So it's, you know, you basically go one direction you come back on the other lanes. So it's like, it's not super technical. The river, the river was awesome. I mean, that was my fastest swim split ever. I think I finished the swimming. And I'm not that great of a swimmer. But I finishing like three minutes that I was like, This is great. I felt like I was a really good swimmer. Because I got out of the waters like wow, look at my time. But just to know that everyone's time was better than mine still, but hey, it's okay. But you know, it's a really awesome local race, in my opinion. Well planned, well put together and our group beat was there a number so it was really cool to race. It's always good to race with brands right. And I think we had like 2425 Beat members. So it was it was really awesome.

Tom Regal: 4:13

Yeah, it was a it was a it's a great race. For those of you who are outside of the Nashville area and Middle Tennessee area, we hit that 1000 over 1000 athletes. So there was a there was an increase over last year. Not quite their record, but pretty darn close to it and they're from all the states surrounding so not just not just Tennessee itself of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois. They've got quite a it was quite a mess of people coming in for this race. So 1000 People sprint and Olympic distance in the Cumberland River, which based on all of our rains was ridiculously moving, I think the fastest. So for the spring is 300 yards or 300 meters, 300 meters and And I think the fastest was two minutes and 22 seconds.

Kenny Bailey<br>: 5:05

It wasn't get wet at that

Tom Regal: 5:06

it was hard. I mean, it was cold. It was it, they said 70 degrees, but it was pretty chilly. It was a pretty chilly 70 degrees. So there were some people, it's quite a few people that were in wetsuits, which made you even faster. Because I know the front guys came out in wetsuits, and they just weren't screaming down there. That was pretty sure.

Kenny Bailey<br>: 5:26

Is there a difficulty? I think it's relatively easy for this one. But with a river moving that fast. You guys have good difficulty getting, you know, getting onto shore or did it just,

Tom Regal: 5:36

yeah, you could you can overshoot it, you could definitely overshoot it. I went a little bit past and had to come back because that was I was trying to aim for what the the little buoy was for me. And that was on the on the far side of the entrance back. And so I had to, I had to jump up and run back up. Not too far off. But yeah, you certainly could have the Olympic distance ones went out in the off of the boat, the river boat that took them up there and they had to swim across the current and then come down. So that's where it's more challenging, because you can actually miss that first left hand turn buoy that you got to get jumped on. But for the sprint is just you, you kind of hugged the shore and you just went sailing past everybody. So it was fantastic.

Kenny Bailey<br>: 6:17

That's great. Yeah, I know that can be difficult.

Leo Silva: 6:20

Yeah, but I was debating between wearing my red suit or not because of the temperature. But I was like, I'm gonna take longer taking this thing off the swim. So I'm just, I'm just gonna go for it. And he was fine. I mean, once you got into water, by the time you realize how cold it was, it was done.

Tom Regal: 6:39

For the bike that cools you off of the bike, so you don't overheat

Kenny Bailey<br>: 6:43

on the run, wasn't it? Was it pretty human on the run? It was Yeah. Yeah, it's a bad thing about Tennessee when it rains like that. And the next day if it warms up, it's just you can just watch the moisture come off the ground. So Leo, when you when you're doing this, like you got the all clear from the doctor, right are there you know, you're testing it. Like you said, you wanted to push you want to test it, or there you go sign Leo hammered

Tom Regal: 7:05

it. Okay. Oh, hammered it, because I caught him on the run. But I mean, it was just barely, I was just barely creeping up on him on the run. Guy was flying for four weeks of training. Dude, you were flying. It was insane. I

Leo Silva: 7:20

mean, I, you know, I felt pretty good. I mean, it was, it was fun. Because, you know, I compared my time to what I did last year compared, you know, how I place to what I did last year, I had a goal of finishing in under 110. And I finish in 112. My, my run needs some improvement. You know, I think if I want to be competitive, I think one of the areas and this is a great feeling is like when you know that you can improve in something you don't know what it is, and you know what you need to do to get there. But yes, I tell my wife, I was like, I wish I had, you know, done a little bit better. She's like, stop it, you know, weeks and weeks of training you were I mean, you're like you're out or three months, like you're in the ICU when you're in France and you couldn't exercise period. So I'm happy with. And I was just happy to be racing. And I was literally I was trying, I was pushing as hard as I could, you know, I was telling some of our club members, we were the first ones in the water. Which is great. Like, you don't have anyone in front of you, which is a fantastic thing. But then you have all the fast people behind you pass you on the bike. And I you know, I didn't get to pass anyone on the bike or anyone on the run, like, you know, because all the past few board behind me. So which is which is okay. But I remember people would pass me in the back is like, Oh, I gotta I gotta stick with them. And I gotta stick with them. I was like, Oh, I catch like, they're faster than me. And I just have to be okay with it. So I think my heart rate on the bike was like, average of 167 and under one was average was 170. Like I was on your

Kenny Bailey<br>: 9:05

pay. So I guess my question to you is, so you know, with your kidneys? What do you what are you looking forward? So you're pushing it from a heart standpoint, right? And you just want Is there a sign? Or is there something that is it a feeling? Is there or is it just like, what was checking off? You

Leo Silva: 9:27

know, the kidneys are 100% Like, you know, I'm not in the medical field. But your father is and he said look you can have Yeah, you can have a not normal life with 20% of one kidney and I have 100% of my left kidney. And I would say probably like 80 ish was my right? Yeah. Oh, so can you hear me? Yep.

Kenny Bailey<br>: 9:52

Okay, so I think it could be 100% satisfaction rating. Yeah, it was what I heard.

Leo Silva: 9:58

100% my left kidney and probably like 8085, or my right kidney, so I am going to have a completely normal life. There's nothing stopping me from from doing anything at this point. And I guess what the doctor said, okay,

Kenny Bailey<br>: 10:13

is what I was trying to figure out is when what what you're testing was, everything should be fine. And then you're confident about you and shot to the line. I didn't know if like, oh my gosh, it feels this way. Or if I if it starts presenting itself in this way, am I gonna be concerned, but it sounds like there's zero issue with that. Now, it's just a matter of, like you said, don't let the person pass you next time.

Leo Silva: 10:31

It's just kind of what you get. I just gotta get my legs move faster. Okay. Yeah,

Tom Regal: 10:38

maybe four, maybe six weeks of training next time. You'll get that extra two minutes. Yeah.

Leo Silva: 10:43

I mean, okay, so I got another one in two weeks. Yeah, I was gonna say clean Old Hickory Lake. Okay. Okay. So that's my next one. Yeah, loved it. They did it last year for the first time. Awesome event. So really enjoyed it. I'll be going there again, in in two weeks. And I want to hopefully I'll see some improvement. I'm not you know, it's one of those things that my goal continues to be Augusta in September. So I will be coming into these races. Like I was tired. You know, I will have training on Saturday, and I'll be racing on Sunday. It's going to be part more part of the training, then a separate event. Right. And then I'll rest on Monday, which is normally my rest day. Perfect. Yeah.

Kenny Bailey<br>: 11:32

So after the two weeks, is it is it then just ramped to a half distance at that point? Because you're doing a couple of Sprint's? Yeah, and then it's it's full boat training. Yeah. On that one. Okay. Yeah.

Leo Silva: 11:43

And I know I love racing. There is a triathlon in Bowling Green. In August that we will probably be going as a family because they have a kids triathlon. On the same day, the adults will do the sprint early in the morning, and then the kids will do it after. So I think that there'll be really cool to do. So, yeah, we're we trying to do these smaller local triathlons first to support them. Second, because I just love being out there. And I want to see, you know, kind of, I expect to see improvement as my training goes on. And and I get ready for the for the, you know, 7.3

Kenny Bailey<br>: 12:31

Yeah, okay. Okay. Well, well, Leo, we are we are super happy that you're literally back in the saddle. Bridge got the all clear. I mean, obviously, your your health comes first. I bet your wife is, you know, a huge sigh of relief on her part and probably swelling with pride as you get across the finish line knowing that you're back to what you love to do, which is you know, which is awesome. Right. So glad you're back. Excited to see how you progress. If Tom pasture on the run, you need to get faster. That's what I'm understanding. Yeah, man. Never again. Never again. That's your that's your that's your motto. Never again.

Leo Silva: 13:08

And you know, Katie, I gotta find a story. I you know, I got home. And I told the kids, it's like, Hey, kids, thanks for coming to watch me. You know, that was great to see you out there. They're like Mama Mama made us. I mean, they're four and six. So they're too young to kind of like, play cool. It's like, Hey, thanks for being there. It was so amazing. I love seeing you guys. And they're like, mama made us No. Choice. Am I Fair enough? Thanks for being honest. Yeah, it's

Kenny Bailey<br>: 13:39

early for them. Come on down, drag him out of Nashville and stand there and wait to see done yet.

Tom Regal: 13:48

Glad glad you didn't have to do the Olympic then they would have been really annoyed.

Leo Silva: 13:52

I know. And you know, that's the thing to do. Like we've had station at home. It's like, I've done one Olympic. I did one in Knoxville. And it's just too long with the kids. If I want them to come and watch, it has to be the sprint and I have to be done in like, less than an hour and 15. Otherwise, the kids will go crazy. Right? Yeah. And one thing you know, I was talking to her, Hey, you should suggest to magic sports to have some like bounce houses or like something for the kids at the venue because I think that that would be really cool. If they had something for children and maybe an area where you can like drop off the kids. And you know, they can play. And you know, we when we went to Chattanooga, we were there to watch some friends and they had the playground and that was amazing because he was right in your transition. And I think that that made a huge difference.

Kenny Bailey<br>: 14:56

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah,

Tom Regal: 14:58

it helps the aquariums right right there too. So if you can take the aquarium or give them some playtime or something like that, that's kind of neat. That's neat. I'll have to laugh to mention that the magic sport. Yeah, very cool. Sweet. So. So aeration, two weeks, and then straight to the 70 points. Right. Nothing else. Well, you said that other one. Okay, so you've got a couple of Sprint's. Coming up one in August. Yeah, yeah. And the throw it up. And it'll be, it'll be thrown down. Pick time. Yep. So what are you gonna do with the kids at the 70.3.

Leo Silva: 15:32

So, you know, it's my wife's 40th birthday. I was like, the hits, just keep on coming, we can go to a gosta for the birthday. She's gonna be so much fun, you get to spend a lot of time with the kids,

Tom Regal: 15:46

she thought that she bought in with the kids.

Leo Silva: 15:50

She's amazing. So we are debating between a hotel or Airbnb. So we're going to make those decisions very shortly. Because you know, things are getting more and more expensive. But I think we're going to go with a hotel near the venue. So if they want to go back and kids want to take a nap. And there's a lot of pressure, I need to finish in a very fast time. Because if I take too long, she'll be like, Look, no, like, you got to finish it under X amount of hours, because I will have the kids so I gotta focus a lot on the trainee or no pressure,

Tom Regal: 16:30

no pressure at all.

Kenny Bailey<br>: 16:32

I see what Leo does, like, Hey, we're gonna go to Augusta for your birthday. I'm gonna just be step out for a quick quick bit. Be back by to be back. So you also be sore and tired or cramping or anything else when you're done because you Well,

Leo Silva: 16:46

I'm gonna have to fake it.

Tom Regal: 16:48

Yeah, totally. Yeah. Because yeah. As

Leo Silva: 16:51

soon as the race is over, it's like, hey, here are the kids. Yeah,

Kenny Bailey<br>: 16:54

here you go. Open in a whiskey shot.

Tom Regal: 16:57

Here's your kids. Yeah. And she's going off to celebrate a birthday at that point. Exactly. So nice. Cool. Okay. Well, that's good. Glad to hear everything's of firing on all cylinders. And you're back at it and kind of going along. It's great to hear it was great to see you out on the race course. And it was a wonderful, fun weekend with all the tri clubs. So it was it's a it's a big hometown race here. And yeah, it was fun to be a part of that one for sure. So everybody stepped up and did the club stood the aid stations and had a lot of fun with that. So it was it was really cool. Showing of the triathlon community right here in the middle of the fact that there were right next to Nissan Stadium, which is the Titan stadium matches, they're going to tear down what and another season. So they're building the new stadium. So there's all this construction, magic sports managed to do an amazing job getting us in and out through all of any construction zones and all that stuff. That road was safe, everything was good, the conditions were really good. So they did a fantastic job. I know they're worked a lot with the city, and all the all the different entities around but hats off to them for doing a fantastic job. Because it was it was really a good race. There were no issues whatsoever with it. So cool, cool, cool beans,

Leo Silva: 18:16

and the river to thanks for the river being because you

Tom Regal: 18:20

love that. Thank you river. I love that. So cool. So we will, we will catch up with you in a few more weeks. And check in with you again and see how the training is going on at that point for everybody. Thanks for checking in. Send us some questions. If there's any questions and things you want us to ask Leo, you can hit us up on on the YouTube channel on the Facebook, Instagram, any of that stuff, just get some questions out to us and we'll we'll make sure to get them over to Leo and we'll have him on the next on the next episode. But excuse me keep up on the on the five stars thumbs up all that great stuff. We appreciate all of those comments and everything. Make sure to subscribe, subscribe wherever I end up putting the little subscribe button and we will we will catch up with you on the next episode.