Wow…where
has this year disappeared to? I cannot believe it is June already but it is so
delightful how light the evenings are now and that can only mean one thing in
my world….more time to do quality training in glorious (or not so) sunny
weather.
So
A LOT has happened since my last posting back in February. Way back then I was
really struggling with my lower back injury and had not long received my
diagnosis of an annular disc tear and prolapse in my L4/5 and L5/S1 discs. I
had committed to a 2 hour daily rehabilitation and conditioning regime and was
receiving twice weekly treatment to help ease the muscle spasm and mobilise my
spine. I want to take this opportunity to thank my manager Cris Kellett for his
fantastic efforts in helping to sort me out – without you I would not be able
to do what I am doing now – so I am eternally grateful for all those
acupuncture needles and deep tissue massages – making me wince like a child!
In
retrospect looking back to February/March I believe I was probably coping with
my injury the best I probably could. Trying to look at the things I could do,
not the things I couldn’t. Don’t get me wrong watching all my Tri-club buddies
compete in races and head off on lovely winter bike rides was hard but I feel I
have taught myself a lot about being patient and channelling my focuses
elsewhere. At the end of the day I was fortunate in the sense that my injury
happened during the winter months, out of competition, and so I tried to
utilise the time that I would have spent training to do thorough rehabilitation
sessions.
My
sessions largely consisted of x-training to begin with on the elliptical
machine. This machine has similar physiological demands to running but without
the impact and actually I always felt much better after having a session on
there. These sessions were supported with strength and conditioning circuits to
target my core and gluteal muscles as they play a vital role in stabilising the
spine and pelvis. I also used the opportunity to get in the pool more – and I
must say for someone that generally doesn’t really enjoy swim training, I have
seen small improvements and actually enjoy getting up at 6am 3 days a week to
throw myself in the cold waters of Impington Village college pool! Recently
Open Water swim sessions have recommenced so once a week our club arrives at
Milton Country Park to don our wetsuits and get tangled in weeds. Jesus Green
outdoor pool is also a fun place to train as it is known as the longest pool in
the UK (91m!) and so you can just keep going and going!
Whilst
all the sessions in the gym and pool had started to improve things somewhat I
was still very much aware of my pain on a day to day basis. Not as severe as in
the initial stages but noticeable. I decided to have a review with Professor Cathy
Speed to discuss the options and it was suggested that perhaps an epidural
injection would be helpful. Now, bearing in mind this was early March and the
last week of March I was due on our Cycling and Triathlon club annual cycling
camp in Mallorca I had a big decision to make. Do I just keep on with my rehab
and see if it’ll settle with time or try to take a helping hand and literally
get jabbed in the back with a needle full of corticosteroid and anaesthetic?
After much pondering I went along to see Dr Rokas Tamosauskas at the Spire
Cambridge Lea who is a Consultant in Pain Medicine and Analgesia and we agreed
to go forward with the procedure. In hindsight I am not sure whether the injection
or the rehab did the trick but fortunately I was able to go along on the
training camp in Mallorca and to my delight complete the entire week. It was by
no means pain free or easy but it enabled me to get back on my bike, relatively
comfortably and get lots of miles in the legs! I managed to complete a
notoriously famous climb and descent on the island known as Sa Calobra which I
have wanted to do for a few years now – so was super chuffed that I achieved
it.
Amongst
getting back on my bike I had also started to do a few sessions a week on the
Alter G Anti-Gravity treadmill to start getting back to running again. Because
of all the hard work on the x trainer these actually felt relatively easy and
by off-loading my body weight at around 80% I felt as light as a feather so I
had minimal pain from impact. Over the weeks I gradually increased my body
weight back to 100% and whilst in Mallorca completed my first run in over 3
months on the beach front and it was pain free! Happy days =)
Pre
injury I had already booked up my events calendar for the 2015 season and as
much I was delighted at all the positive steps forward I was making I was still
deeply gutted that I had to pull out of a few events. The first being the
Cambridge half marathon which is always a great buzz as the city streets are
lined with friends and family members and the atmosphere is electric. Second
was the European Duathlon Championships in Alcobendas, Spain and after such a
great race at Worlds last year it would have been great to put my GB suit back
on but I would not have been competitive and therefore was not really worth my
while. Instead I decided to build up my mileage and tissue tolerance to load
rather than push speed or performance.
In
May I took the decision that I would try to race the Belvoir middle distance
triathlon. As I had not really felt comfortable on my time trial bike I thought
it would be best to ride my road bike. Less aggressive and aero it would
undoubtedly cost me time on my bike split but to be honest I just wanted to
compete and enjoy the process rather than worry about the result. So rather
than rush through transitions I took my time and actually chatted my way around
the bike course. Getting out onto the run felt great (despite it involving 4 x
2.5k hill reps!) and I smashed through the field to finish 11th
overall and 3rd in my AG. On a high from this race I raced another
half distance race called the Outlaw 2 weeks later at Holme Pierrepont in
Nottingham. Once again I was without TT bike but improved my bike speed on the
last race by over 2kmh. I unfortunately developed an excruciating stitch on the
run which slowed me down somewhat and in a very big field of 283 women I
finished 30th which I know I could do better but again I was just
thankful to compete.
Moving
forward I have A LOT coming up! Another half iron distance race called Graffman
at Graffam Water next weekend, a cycle trip across the pond to Paris, the long
course weekend in Tenby which is the notorious Ironman Wales course split over
3 days, the marathon leg of the Outlaw Iron distance race alongside super pro
Lucy Gossage and mega swimmer Helen Gorman, 2 weeks training camp in the
Italian Dolomites with my lovely Tom & friends, another half ironman called
the Vitruvian at Rutland Water and then my first FULL Ironman race in Mallorca
at the end of September! I am ever so slightly anxious!
Outside
of triathlon and training I have been beavering away trying to utilise my time
to get stuck into my MSc research. Since September 2012 I have been studying
for an MSc in Sports Injury Management and the only thing that had stopped me
from completion was my dissertation. So alas I got my head down and finished my
project which looks at the use of Performance Profiling in physiotherapy. After
submission I had to take my final exam which was a spoken viva about my work.
Fortunately I did very well and I am pleased to announce that I gained a
distinction overall and will have my graduation in November up at Sheffield
Hallam University. I am currently in the process of submitting my work for
publication so keep your eyes peeled and hopefully in my next blog I’ll have it
printed up in a sports medicine journal of some kind.
Alongside
cracking on with my research I embarked on a 2 day intensive running course at Lee
Valley Stadium with Blaise Dubois, a physiotherapist for the Canadian Athletics
team. It was a fascinating 2 days and completely challenged my way of thinking
and analysing running. Since the course I have become registered with The
Running Clinic (check out the website at: www.runningclinic.ca) as a Specialist Therapist in the analysis of running biomechanics. We
discussed the concept of barefoot running and minimalism and the advantages
this plays over the use of over bulky shoes when done in a timely and
appropriate way. If you are interested in finding out more about the way you
run and how you may be able to improve, or are injured and would like to return
to running then why not come and have an assessment here at Progress? We have also received our shiny new Watt Bike
Pro which is an excellent way of capturing accurate data to help improve
cycling fitness and performance. If you are interested in being tested to find
out your Functional Threshold Power (FTP), Maximum Minute Power (MMP) or
pedalling efficiency the give us a call on 01223 200 580 or find us at www.progresshealth.co.uk to get booked in.
That’s
it for now, hopefully my body will not be completely broken by the next time I
write!
 Pictures from my Cycling Camp in Mallorca – March 2015 with
CTC & CCC
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Me & my best friend Aimee as we reached the bottom of
the iconic Sa Calobra
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Me, Tom and our housemate Dave
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Me & Tom having fun pre ride on the beach front!
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My medal from completing the Outlaw half ironman
31st
May 2015!
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Our shiny new Watt Bike Pro!
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3rd place in Age group at the Belvoir Half
Distance Triathlon May 16th 2015
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