The 10 Steps of IM

Well I think I have entered stage 10 of Ironman NZ 2010......who'd have thought it was so complicated.....no one told me how many stages there were supposed to be.

Stage 1 - November 2009. Enter
Stage 2 - November 2009 - March 2010. Panic
Stage 3 - November 2009 - March 2010. Train your butt off with crazy friends
Stage 4 - Blissful taper week
Stage 5 - March 6th 2010. RACE DAY! ELATION! PARTY!
Stage 6 - Recover and..ooops stress fracture & the more troublesome ITB!
Stage 7 - May 2010. I must be crazy. Enter IM NZ 2011....!
Stage 8 - March - August 2010. Months of physio and losing fitness
This week stage 9 - surgery on my ITB!
Stage 10 - August 2010. 6 weeks of rehab



Just in time for......you guessed it....entering the 20 week NZ IM 2011 programme




I never knew there were 10 stages to a race; at least I haven't quite reached the fabled 12 steps. Not just quite yet anyway!

Let me recap the last 5 1/2 months of my life and what I've learnt that has hopefully prepared me better for my next IM NZ challenge in 2011.

- I've learnt that no one is infallible
- That whatever the best laid plan are, they can change - and that's ok (right?!)
- That going to the gym and doing weights is still boring, and always will be
- That I LOVE running and cycling and yes OK.....even swimming!
- I can just watch a race without blowing up, but I'd prefer to be doing it
- I can still participate in coffee rides, minus the riding
- I have a great boyfriend who humors my need to bake as therapy :-)
- I love my friends for the following reasons:

They keep telling me how awesome it is to smash out a 100km bike ride and 1 hour run; They tell me about how much quicker they're getting; They say they're jealous of my time off; They help me carb load by buying me chocolate; They remind me that actually this is my life!

These are a few of my inspiring friends who have a wonderful mix of loyalty, passion, reality and compassion. Love ya!

So what next. Well my limited exercise regime is now ramping up. I am entering stage 10 with a big bandage on my leg and set of crutches, and look forward to the next 8 weeks of doing what the Doctor says so that I am ready to take on any challenge any one of you may like to put down for me!!! And no, it will not progress to stage 11 or 12....I am not ready to be over my addiction!

Off to practice on my crutches.

F
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Pressure Cooker...

Well I'll be blown, the extent of my incapacitation has reached the big cheeses at Statoil on a north sea oil rig.....“We still have an unstable pressure situation,” Gisle Johanson, a company spokesman, said by phone today".

I also am slightly worried by the wikipedia definition of instability:
'Instability in systems is generally characterized by some of the outputs or internal states growing without bounds.'
Good grief, they are describing what is happening to my mid drift....'growing without bounds' eek! There's also a worrying trend for my brain to suddenly feel like it's going explode...I am wandering if there is a pressure release valve anywhere that can be deployed in case of emergency by those that are my nearest and dearest - you know who you are so make sure you have some idea as to how to achieve the necessary calming effect that comes from releasing the pressure valve!

Let me explain.....21 weeks of no running, 6 weeks of no biking. Let me put it another way 'I NEED TO RUN AND EXPEND ENERGY!!!!!!!!!!'. If only I could bank it for the next Ironman training, if only it worked like that :-). What am I going on about you may think; enjoy the rest, take the time to 'discover' another interest...well I do enjoy other things, cooking, writing, reading, gardening, but let me share what it does for me when I can pull on the runners and escape out the door for an hour:

It's 5am, darkness is still all around, the Brisbane winter air has a bite to it that belies what will be the usual summer heat when only a small bite of freshness to the air is quickly wrapped up by the enveloping heat. I have rolled out of bed, a little sleepy, taking a few minutes to let my body adjust from warm bed to chilly air, for my brain to try to understand that it really is good to get up, that even in the dark there is a beauty of being out and about when everybody else is sleeping. The clothes are pulled on, already prepared the night before so that the grey matter doesn't have too much to contemplate this morning. The runners, so comfortable, so familiar, slip onto my feet. I have a swig of water, tie my hair back, put on a cap and head out the front door.

The legs start to ache as they pound on the pavement, slowly waking up from their slumber. The lungs inhale gulps of cold air burning that burns slightly on its way in. The face is stung by chilly air. The feet and hands are cold. 5 minutes in and the blood is pumping, the mind is alert, the body is starting to respond to the demands I am putting on it. My breathing settles to an easy rhythmn, my legs go onto metronome rhythmn, the hardness of the ground disappears, my mind starts to contemplate the issues of life...that is when I know it is a good run. And that's where the issues of life get sorted, or at least the pressure released. My pressure valve sits somewhere between not wanting to leave a warm bed and the metronomic running pattern 5-10 minutes later. The issues that seemed to be building up dissolve into my sweat. There is a lightness in my mind as I run past dog walkers, watching the sky lighten, hearing the birds wake up. I can get my fix from running alone or with people, it is still an individual thing that people get different things from. I can't imagine every being able to achieve the same feeling from anything else. I'd cope, but the pressure valve would have to develop a slow leak to keep me sane....I think it would take lots of other things put together to even do that.

Running, losing yourself over the course of an hour or so, physically worn but mentally refreshed, the world of Faye seeming easier. Perspective achieved.

Present situation: pressure building, a slow leak not really helping enough.

Lost: one pressure release valve.

Wanted: nearest and dearest please keep looking and let me know when you find an alternative.

Time to go slothing ;-)

F
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Back on the Bike?

I have had trouble thinking of something to write for the past 4 weeks and 4 days....my blog is about training right, and I haven't really been doing any; or nothing to speak of. And no, I am not counting days...well OK maybe I am. I have lost count of non-running days so this count only takes into account non-riding days. BUT the counter has stopped today!

It was time to 'get back on the horse' so to speak, and test this knee of mine out. Having rested it completely for 4 weeks and 4 days MUST had been of benefit surely!

Well it wasn't the best return to riding I've ever had. Hang on; I haven't yet had a 'return to riding' as I've never had a lay off riding before. My knee / ITB / troublesome leg was, well a little troublesome. Injury, lack of use, just getting used to working again? Well it gets to the situation where I think, 'well what is going to work'? With several months of no running and over 4 weeks of absolutely no riding, no kicking when swimming, no long walks and no stress (on my leg at least!), what comes next?

I guess I just have to suck it and see. No race entries are being penned (OK only that small one I had to do a month or so ago for NZ Ironman 2011)until I am training pain free, and things will go slowly slowly.

So, where to from now? I had a little think, what could I have written about these past 4 weeks and 4 days? My life has always always involved some kind of high intensity sport - mostly running until the body started telling me it was time to diversify. My esteemed friends have had plenty of suggestions of alternative sports to get stuck into....wait for it.....
- Marbles (No point, I lost mine a while back)
- Lawn bowls (mmmmm let me think for a nano second...NO!)
- Crochet (is that really a sport!)
- Darts (too much opportunity for overuse injury..)

Mmmmm, I am not inspired by any of those. But surely neither 'full on training' nor 'being injured' are the only labels that define me as a person? I hope not. Maybe I should start collecting ideas from those who know me, and start thinking myself about what defines me. Trouble is, I like being someone who trains, who pushes themselves to achieve, who can run, cycle and swim (probably in that order of ability!) with friends, who can be competitive in a friendly way, who can feel smashed but content at the end of a 5 hour ride and 1 hour run, who can wander at the start of a race 'why the hell am I doing this', and feel at the end 'wow I am SO glad I did'. Maybe I need to realise that I am still that person, maybe the frustration I feel is part of what makes me who I am, maybe I need to understand that nothing lasts forever and life continually changes, maybe I need to learn to say 'wow I am SO glad that I am' 'that I have the opportunity to do', 'that I know those I do'.

But maybe just maybe I'm just not quite there yet! I'm sure I will have other things to write about, they may not be as exciting, but it all tells a story.....and hopefully the story that gets me back on the bike, back in my runners, and back enjoying a flat white and fruit toast with friends after smashing ourselves silly pursuing the draw of those feel good hormones....maybe that's why we do what we do. If anyone finds something else that fits the bill in the meantime, let me know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Faye
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Knitting, Crochet.....or maybe sky diving?

16 weeks since Ironman. Three 5 minute runs resulting in a realisation of ITB issues......followed by weeks of no running to fully rest the ITB, stress fracture and body in general....rest, recuperate, and now I'm raring to go :-).

Well actually 'Can't get of the Bike' (which the last 16 weeks have been since I can't run), has become 'Don't get on the Bike'.
I am now on a 'no riding' period. You could be mistaken in thinking that I have taken up some new periodisation training directive that has moved into its next stage.....'Ok you've done the bike (novice crit race, Byron Triathlon bike, few hills, few strength wind train sessions), now we're onto running'. But no it is not. I have been banned by higher authorities.

No, no that's not right. I just got wrong which period of 'periodisation' that I am supposed to be entering. According to my physio I am now to enter the, 'take a month off and rest' period. He obviously has this canny plan of how to maintain the 'fittest I've ever been in my life' moment that I experienced 16 weeks ago. No running for 16 weeks, moving into no riding for another 4. Apparently a cortisone injection that doesn't make the problem better is not a good sign. So that little niggle at the side of my knee that should have gone away weeks ago is making the bigger picture seem more important than sweating the small stuff. And that bigger picture is Ironman New Zealand 2011, March 5th. And the small stuff....all those things that I thought would be on the radar this winter...Glass House Mountains trail runs - gone; Gold Coast Marathon - 2 weeks time, no chance; Tour of Toowoomba community ride - next week, no chance; Foster Long Course - September, unlikely; Gold Coast 1/2 Ironman - October 3rd, ???????

So during the next 4 weeks I shall be mostly.....

Doing sit ups
Doing press ups
Doing static rows
Swimming with a pull buoy (but no further than 2km cause it hurts my shoulder)
Doing butt strengthening exercises (thanks for telling me I need a sprinter's butt Leon!)
Baking cakes (and not eating them) - it is therapy
Going on a detox


So the new training plan is in action...at 3pm on a Sunday afternoon...with a glass of red wine and some cheese. Followed by roast chicken and probably a glass of white wine. I am looking to the benefits of 4 weeks devoid of almost all aerobic activity:

I get to appreciate the fact that I am actually alive
I learn that we are not infallible (although I'm sure I have learnt that one more than once now!)
I learn what hard work is about when I start training again
I don't take my ability and fitness for granted
I get to sleep in (though not too often otherwise getting up again is going to suck big time!)
I get to spend more time with people who I like :-)
I get to drink more wine (oops, forgot about the detox I'd promised!!!)

So with those things to think about, I might sign up for a sky dive....I'm not quite ready for knitting and after all I have to get the adrenaline rush from somewhere. I'm sure that such a tandem sky dive does not involve either running, cycling, or putting my legs under too much stress (take note Leon the physio, I am taking your advice) - cause someone else even deals with the landing! I'm off!

Yours in wine, sleep ins (and a little frustration and wall climbing)

F
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One step forward.....what comes next?...certainly not what I thought!!!?!

So this week I let a complete stranger put an injection of cortisone in my ITB, right near the outside of my knee. In fact not just 1 but 3 needles...

Well OK he wasn't a complete stranger, I've already let Dr.Andrew Smith inject Traumeel into my calf muscle and that's what helped me get to New Zealand in a 'competable' state; but still...I wasn't really banking on letting him put another needle near to my leg anytime soon!

The first 2 days of my week was spent realising that I was going to have a week of not only not running, but not riding either! I needed to go crazy fitting stuff in right (yeah I know it is supposed to be for the better good!)?! Mmmm well after a Monday morning criterion session I got told off by my physio for pushing things a little too far...yeah OK Leon, I hear ya, but I didn't get to the start line in New Zealand by totally listening to everything you said... ;-)

So with the agreed approach being to finally bite the bullet and see if a cortisone injection would calm down my inflamed ITB, I headed off to do the deed Tuesday morning. Following it up with an afternoon of standing up and massaging probably wasn't the best idea, but I left the surgery pretty positive, being told that I could get back on the bike for an 'easy' ride Saturday if my leg was feeling OK.

Yippeeee!

Well it is now Sunday evening and I haven't been back on the bike. I have had one swim with a pull buoy, lots of aching leg syndrome, a little frustration, and 4..count them..4 migraine headaches! What the?! There is a little stress in my life at the moment, but not to the extent to cause that! I have missed 2 days at work, suffered tunnel vision, pounding eyes and head, nausea, and finally today my body decided to vomit too. So strange has it been that I've even Googled whether there is a correlation with the Cortisone....check this out: Cortisone

So what is the next bit?! I was hoping 'One step forward two back' wasn't a saying that was going to be applying to me right now, but that's what it feels like. I am tentatively heading out to play on the bike tomorrow morning...just for a short easy ride you understand, and dearly dearly hoping that a new day doesn't bring another migraine. The desired effect of the cortisone injection has temporarily been forgotten (albeit a nagging little ache still present in my knee!), but hopefully it'll be the thing to concentrate on again for the new week!

Wish me luck!

f
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DNF....what the?!

Saturday May 8th. Byron Bay Triathlon. My first DNF race....Mmmmmmm!

It was a strange feeling for me, to plan to start a race knowing that I was going to be a DNF on the listings. Was it worth starting? Should I just walk the run? Should I make my entry a team? So many things to consider, and at the heart of it, a little flat feeling that I was not going to be able to finish a race. But that's OK right? I can just swim and bike and see how I go, and then enjoy watching everyone else. Is this a new era in my racing outlook?! I can do that, be sensible, look at the bigger picture, just treat it as a training session right? Mmmm who am I kidding?!!!
On purpose I didn't even take my runners with me, no chance to put them into transition, no chance to put them on! No chance to be tempted to run.

So my race went something like this:
- Leisurely wake up, register, rack the bike, chill out for a bit.
- Line up ready to start, wetsuit on, wandering what the hell I'm doing as nerves kick in (but I'm not racing right?!).
- Swim: the rip seemed to be all over the place and as everyone agreed afterwards..'was a bit of a nightmare'. My time wasn't quick but then nobody's was and in that respect I was glad to get through it middle of the pack (16 out of 45) and not get dragged wildly off course by the currents :-)
- Out of the swim and I was pretty tired from the effort, such that the run to transition didn't really let me get my heart rate much lower!
- Bike: After settling myself down in the first 5 km I enjoyed the battle that ensued. There were 8 or so girls who made it hard to sit in and ride, it made me push myself to get away from the group and the risk of a drafting penalty! A headwind all the way to Lennox was unrelenting but the corresponding tailwind back to Byron was awesome!! Thanks to the battle of the girls, an effort to get away from them, and my favourite hills to pull further ahead, I came off the bike in 62mins 18secs (4th fastest)...flying dismount, ran into transition and......stopped!

Mmmm, at that point I was feeling really good, pumped, and if my runners had been by my transition rack, I would have pulled them on and pottered out onto the course! Probably a good thing that they were not there!!

But it was such a let down, quite comical really, I went and handed my transponder chip in, found some fellow supporters, and cheered on the runners.....

It was a lesson in doing what I should, but that didn't make it any easier. Didn't stop me from checking my times, seeing where I ranked, tried to work out what time I would have run - where I would have come overall....!

But the reality is that I was a DNF but ultimately it was great to just enjoy the weekend. A long way from Ironman, but it's all important for various reason.. :-)

Time for core training with Drill Sergeant Pip!

Faye
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Floating in the ether....

ether (ē′t̸hər)
noun
a substance hypothesized by the ancients as filling all space beyond the sphere of the moon, and making up the stars and planets.

It feels like I have been up there for a while. I've tried to ground myself and just get back to normal life...but other things have been happening.

So I finish Ironman, and it was a fantastic experience. Sure I had a few sore bits and had already resigned myself to a few weeks of very light training and enjoying some time out, but then things started to unravel. My first run back to test out the displaced cuboid bone I'd managed to acquire didn't go well....I had to stop after 10 minutes due to my knee reminding me that actually it had been hurting in the last 10km of the marathon. Oh yeah that's right! So now 9 weeks on from completing Ironman NZ, I am back at physio, injured, and not running.
I'd got so excited, planning the Glass House 30km run, the Gold Coast Marathon, Saturday Mount Cootha runs with the girls....and uh, I've had to re-consider my plans for the winter!

I must admit, the whole realisation that once again I was out of running action; combined with the massive change in training schedule after finishing Ironman, the sudden lack of goal etc...flattened the buoyancy of my mind and left me struggling to find a reason, a motivation, a happy place. And in comes the 'ether', where my mind has been residing recently....but I think it's coming back to earth...just maybe.

So I have had a talk with myself, with close friends and come to the realisation that I just have to be me. Things are how they are...I have an opportunity to do some other things...I am going to enter some open water swims, work on my bike, go to yoga, join a gym, do some more social stuff, relax and try not to feel like I'm missing out when friends go for a 2hour run.... People bounce back differently, and this is just how I'm bouncing - or rather crawling back!

But hey, I have 10 months right? I entered IM NZ 2011 yesterday....so there is bigger fish to fry than the odd run now. 10 months to get faster, stronger, get injury free, have a more holistic outlook, and try to enjoy myself til that date 20weeks out arrives again ;-)

Train happy!

fj
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