Form is temporary, talent is permanent!

Well the first race of the year has been and gone, the Fleet Half Marathon. Lets say it didn't go exactly how I had imagined! The truth is it was a disaster. After just one mile I was struggling to get my breath, I slowed down to try and get things under control but it made no difference. At about 2.5 miles I walked off the course and tried to get my breath, I couldn't inflate my lungs fully as I had a huge amount of pressure built under the diaphragm. After a minute or two I tried to run again but it was no better. I had some serious thoughts of jacking it in for the day but knew I hadn't done any long runs for 4 weeks due to injury and then illness, in fact I'd only been running just over a week after the physio appointment. I decided I would have to finish no matter how slow I was. At about 4 miles I burped loads of times and felt the pressure release. I then tried to settle into a decent pace to get round. I felt OK up to 11 miles but by then the lack of running was starting to show. I could feel my legs trying to cramp but managed to run all the way to the finish. I ended up with a 1:23:01. I suppose lots of people would be happy with that time, but I'm a perfectionist and I am not happy. I am worried how the Ironman marathon will go? only time will tell I guess. Still to keep positive the main thing is my ankle held up for the distance and seems to be healing well.

Tough times ahead

Well its been an eventful week with mixed emotions. Last week was an uncomfortable week with the Colitis. The week ended with a visit to the gastric specialist to see what he suggests as the "flare ups" seem to be getting more frequent, in fact it seems to be every 2 months now. I have been put back on some extra medication on top of the normal stuff to settle things down again. After South Africa I am to start a new form of medication called Azathioprine used in conjunction with my current medication. This stuff is a bit nasty and will wipe out my immune system by reducing the number of white blood cells in my body. The result is I will be highly likely to catch every cold/flu/virus that's going around this year. I have to do a 3 month trial on the drug to see how it affects me, I also will have to have weekly blood tests to monitor my health at the same time. If it goes OK then I will go onto a 3 year course of the drug and then try to come off it at the end. There are lots of side affects that I will have to watch out for but the doctor says as an athlete I am more in tune with my body than the average Joe and will know quicker if things are not right. I also had a shock when he suggested that another alternative is surgery to remove the bowel completely and spend the rest of my days on a colostomy bag or an internal sack connected to the large intestine to replace the bowel but its not as efficient and I would have to make much more regular toilet visits. I have to say I'm not keen on this idea and think I will try out all the medication options before it gets to that stage. It has come as a shock and made me realise how serious my illness is. Lets hope for an improvement on the new medication next month.

On a lighter note, I got the all clear to try some running from the physio on Thursday last week. I have ran a three mile, 4 mile, 5 mile, and a 10k since then. My ankle is still stiff but seems to be holding out so I hope things are on the mend. I had a big day on Sunday, 1500m swim and a 10k run in the morning and then I did the big one again, another 112 mile turbo session. I did it in 4 hours 52 this time but used a bit more resistance than last time. Today I did an 18 mile ride, 5 mile run and then down the pool this afternoon for a 3.8k time trial. I managed a 1hr 5min 08 secs for the swim which I am pleased with.

I must at this point thank Sags for all the motivational texts I have received over the last week or so, they have helped me out when I have been feeling rather down. Thanks mate.

From bad to worse

Just when it seems things are going to be OK I take another knock back. The ankle injury seems to be on the mend and I managed a steady test run of 3 miles on it today. I will see how it feels tomorrow but I think it might be ready to build up slowly over the next few weeks. The bad news is I've had a major colitis flare up and my insides are in pieces. I've been back at the doctors today and I have to go into hospital on Friday to see the specialist for an emergency sigmoidoscopy. It looks like the medication might not be working out as the flare ups are becoming more frequent. I may have to try a different type of medication but will know more on Friday after the tests. Its not the best timing and I am worried as its only 4 weeks this Sunday until race day. Not feeling too good and definitely loosing motivation and confidence as each day goes by. The target time for IM South Africa is not looking good and just a finish is becoming the new target.

Got some new tyres today for the race wheels, Michelin pro 3 race with white sidewalls to match the white saddle and bar tape on the race bike. What do you think of them?

Tibialis Posterior Syndrome (The latest injury)

Am I the most unlucky athlete around? Life just seems to be injury or illness and I'm getting fed up of it. The latest suspected diagnosis is Tibialis Posterior Syndrome. The details of the injury can be found at http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/ankle/tibialisposterior.htm I am lucky to be on the East Riding Talented Athlete Scheme and as a result I have priority treatment available locally with the physio. I am in hospital on Thursday to confirm the doctors suspicions about whats wrong with me. I hope things start to pick up soon or it will be swim, bike and a bloody long walk in South Africa! I'm rapidly loosing my motivation to train now as it just seems to be one knock back after another. If I can be back running in the next 2 weeks I will be happy, but after already being off running for 10 days things don't look good for the Ironman.

112 Mile Turbo Workout!

Yes that's correct, you did read the title properly! On Saturday I did a 18.4 mile run at an average of 6:53 per mile. This rounded off my weeks running with a total of 52 miles. This week I am having a few days off running as I am having problems with shin splints. Now to the headline story, the monster turbo set. I never thought I would see the day that I would do an Ironman bike split on the turbo trainer. I set up the dining room as usual with the laptop in front of me, the first movie of the day was American Gangster, this was chosen for the reason that its over 2 hours long and would see the first part of the ride off. I had a pack of Jaffa cakes and a banana on stand by and a 750ml bottle of High 5 4:1 in the bottle cage. Beth took the picture early on before the sweat had started to flow! I had on my X Socks as the calf's were a little tight from the day before, but generally the legs felt ok as I had spent yesterday evening and last night in my new Skins tights for recovery. At about 2 hours 45 I stopped for a bladder emptying trip up stairs and made myself a coffee, and then it was straight back to business. I had been maintaining about 23.7 mph for the first 90 mile but then things were slowly beginning to slow down. By 105 miles I was in the low 23's / high 22's and by 109 miles in the 22 mph zone and slowing rapidly. I hit the magic 112 miles in 4 hours 48 mins and 36 seconds. I then did the last 12 mins of the hour as a warm down finishing with 115.7 miles. I would be pleased to do that on race day but I know that on the heavy road surface that South Africa course has and allowing for the wind etc that its not very likely to break the 5 hour mark and will more likely be about 5 hours 20 on a good day. Still its been a good workout and a mental boost. Turboman will be proud of me!!

Bike Position

Anthea took a couple of pictures during last nights turbo session for me. I wanted to see how my position is on the TT bike in comparison to my road bike with clip-on tri bars. It feels comfortable for 1-2 hours on the turbo but as I've said before, I've not ridden it on the road yet. I know how comfortable the TCR Advanced is and I know I can race on it and feel good for the run. I wish the weather would pick up soon so I can do some proper testing in order to make the decision which bike to use for Ironman South Africa. The course is mainly flat so common sense says the TT bike, but if the angles are to severe then it will be hard to run off the bike. What do you fellow bloggers think!!

Nice weather

OK so not quite as bad as the picture yet! Today I managed to get 83 miles under my belt on the road. I met with the Bridlington Cycling club but they had only planned a 44 mile loop. I rode with them for 23 miles on the front of the bunch all the way out with a tail wind. The weather was very windy and the odd dusting of hail stones was falling. I wanted to do more than they had planned so at 23 miles split off in a different direction. I had to change my route as the hail/sleet got heavier and I didn't want to get stuck on the Yorkshire wolds. I did a small loop and ended up on the reverse of the outward ride. I had a strong head wind back and then when I got to Bridlington I did a 17 mile loop again with lots of showers of sleet and hail, at the end of the loop I felt OK so I did the same 17 mile again. When I got back I had clocked 83 miles. I was pleased to have got a long ride in as I originally scheduled it for Saturday but I was tired from Fridays 18.7 mile run. That was a tough run on a very hilly circuit on a windy afternoon/evening and ended up finishing in the dark. I managed to get 50 mile of running in last week which is a good total and I am pleased with the way the training is going at the moment. Looking ahead the next few days will be on the turbo trainer given the amount of snow that's forecast. Feeling more confident about South Africa as the weeks tick by. Only 9 weeks today until race day!!!