Sam Long’s preparations for the new season were temporarily halted last week when the American triathlete was hit by a ‘horrible’ double dose of infection and illness.
Having set his 2026 focus firmly on the IRONMAN Pro Series, the 30-year-old first required minor surgery to ‘cut out’ a skin infection from his backside and then picked up a virus that had already swept through his young family.
Posting an image of himself and his new baby boy, Sebastian, lying on the sofa at his Tucson home in Arizona, he revealed on Instagram how both issues had combined to leave him with no choice but to take a break from his build-up to the new campaign.
Commitment to IRONMAN Pro Series
After producing a string of impressive IRONMAN results last season, where he won three of his six starts and finished as runner-up in a further two, Long announced in December that he was planning to commit the majority of this year’s campaign to the M-Dot brand.
And it seems training had been going well until he was hit by a double whammy of health issues, one of which would certainly have made the prospect of cycling a very tricky task indeed.
“This week did not go how I planned,” he posted. “Fitness was building nicely and I was gearing up for a really solid week… and then bang.
“Skin infection on the buttocks that needed to be cut out at the medical center. Extremely painful. Extremely awkward. 😂
“Followed by antibiotics for the first time in my life, which made me feel absolutely horrible. Then my boys came down with a viral infection… which I kindly picked up myself.”
‘You can’t keep a good man down’
While clearly not ideal, Long is hopeful that his unintentional week off will not hamper him too much as he looks to get back on the saddle and press on with his pre-season preparations.
“So instead of smashing Strava KOMs, I spent the week fighting both bacterial and viral infections. Not exactly in the training plan,” he admitted. “But you can’t keep a good man down.
“Indomitable spirit intact 💪. Looking ahead to another big week.”
Long always knew that this season was going to be different, as he and his wife, Lara, welcomed their new addition to the family, a baby brother for their eldest son, Leo.
Speaking on his YouTube channel in December, he admitted there were even times when he considered whether having a second child would result in him retiring from the sport. However, with the strong support from his family behind him, he put such doubts behind him.
And he left more than a hint to where his appreciation lies, with a special note of thanks to Lara.
“Shoutout to mama the rockstar – somehow up at 4am every day and still staying healthy. ⭐️”
Such invaluable support will no doubt see him back on his feet and back in full training soon.
