At the start of this week, I started work for BAE Systems, but don't have a house yet (hence the no week 25 blog), due to injury, exams, estate agents, laziness and much more. This meant staying with family, which was great to have, but when you're not cooking your own meals, it restricts the time you have. I was working 9/10 hours a day, was exhausted and ended up not training for the first half of the week, again. This really started to annoy me but I was ok. Then on thursday, I had had enough and went for a run, and it was good, I was feeling good and looking forward to getting back to some serious training on Friday. However on Friday, after a heatwave all week it pisses it down! What the hell! Was looking forward to topping up my tan! But it was a sign of things to come. I picked my new helmet up (which was blue as they didn't have red, and I didn't leave a phone number, what a tit! That is going to cost me at least 10 minutes on the bike section (a tri joke)), and proceeded to switch out my zipps for my training wheels and then realised that my rear derailleur hanger was still bent. This is the same hanger that apparently The Bike Factory in Chester, not naming any names, had supposedly replaced. I was not happy, in fact I was incensed. I fiddled about with the limits and then went out for an hour and it was not good. My chain was jumping everywhere, I couldn't put any power down and I felt so unfit. Afterwards I went for a swim, but the pool was closed and that just tipped me over the edge. I completely lost it, mainly due to nerves and fear. I am hugely out of shape, and have 4 weeks until my Ironman, I cannot blag this. Mentally I have been all over the place, whilst pleased to be back on my bike and back swimming (the day after, see later) I am pissed off because I am out of shape, have lost so much fitness, and overweight (relatively speaking). But then I am happy when my training goes well.
On saturday, I went for my first swim since the crash and did a 30 min 1500m tt, much slower than how I was but I had no pain. But to show how messed up mentally I was, I was annoyed because it was slow. But then I went for a run, took a minute of my time from the day before and was happy. When you get to the stage where your mood depends on how your training goes then you are in a really bad place, especially as I nearly killed myself 5 weeks ago. To have had the crash I did, and to be back swimming long distances, be back on my bike, running fine is incredible. My healing has been stupidly quick, double what it should have been and I am not grateful, but I am getting there. I need to wrench myself out of this, and concentrate on the final result. Apologies if all of the above makes no sense, but it has been a tough few weeks, coming to terms with what has happened and my head is a bit messed up now.
Anyway, I have 4 weeks left and a lot of catching up to do. I am entered to do llandudno OD tri next weekend as a bit of practise as I haven't actually done anything more than a sprint tri, going against everything you are supposed to do, though I am never one for convention, look and my shoulder. In terms of my injury, I am 99% healed now, the bone hasn't finished knitting together completely yet, so am I taking it slow on the downhills, and laying off putting my rain cape on and off whilst riding til after my Ironman. For swimming I can build all the way up until half a week before then taper. For cycling, I am hoping to do a 180k ride in a couple of weeks, 2 weeks before D-Day and then taper down, and running I want to do a long run (2-3 horus) a couple of days after llandudno to give me a 2 and a half week taper. Then it is time to race. I am ready mentally, to hit this with everything I have, and the next 4 weeks are going to be eating like a monk and training like a pro. Physically I won't be ready, and it is going to be tough, but it wouldn't be an Ironman otherwise! I am going to finish, not to worry about time, and I will do that.
Bring it on
Tim
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