My current situation is not something I could ever have foreseen, and not where I want to be a week before the race. On a day-to-day basis, I'm fine. Even when I was in hospital, I was "fine" for getting about, eating, and so on. My legs are healing, although the skin is still damaged and itchy. I still have a bit of a sore head. I'm still a bit tired.
However, from the point of view of doing a high-level Ironman, it's now a complete unknown. I'm probably not "fine". I haven't pushed myself hard since 22nd June. That's a long time ago. If possible, I'd still like to compete at Ironman UK, but I don't want to go there and destroy myself to come in 10th or 20th position. It doesn't feel real any more. It's a strange feeling. It's a very different mentality now. Damage limitation.
So, because I would still like to compete, this week I have been trying to do all I can to promote recovery. I took Monday and Tuesday off work and spent most of those days in bed, even though I wanted to be up and about and training. I had to force myself to do nothing. I've been sleeping a lot. I've been drinking a lot (of water). I've been eating really nutritious food. I've been doing stretching. And, inevitably, to whatever degree, I have been losing fitness and muscle tone.
On Monday I made a pile of food for the week. I made wholewheat pasta, loads of onions, loads of peppers, loads and loads of fresh ginger, 2 lemons, loads of garlic, loads of broccoli, chilli and tomato sauce. Served with chicken, with an orange for dessert. I don't think I can do anything to make this any more nutritious..!
I've been on strong antibiotics. Antibiotics kill all the bad bacteria in your system, but they also unfortunately kill all the good bacteria too. This can leave the intestinal system very depleted. So I've been doing some research and I've been taking more glutamine the usual to try to boost myself back up. I've been eating probiotic yoghurt. I've also started taking probiotic tablets to help boost the good bacteria in my guts. Every day I take a probiotic capsule that contains 20 billion live bacteria. I take quite a few supplements each day, and they all smell fairly benign. These probiotic tablets smell different. They smell alive, somehow. I'm a little reluctant to be taking them, as they are another unknown for my body, but I think the benefits will be worth any risks.
I've been doing some very light training in the latter part of this week. However, I need to push myself, to learn how I will feel when I go hard, and to learn how I will respond and recover. So, this weekend I am going to do a hard bike ride on the turbo for about 2 hours, I am going to do a hard swim, and I am going to do a hard run. None of these will be absolutely flat-out, but I will be pushing myself and keeping a close eye on my heart rate. I hope it will be normal. I will then monitor how I feel in the day or two after the weekend, and this will help me to decide on whether to race or not.
I've also been in touch with a sports doctor, via Des (who gave me the massage 2 weeks ago). The doctor's opinion will also have a big bearing on my decision.
I had been worried that with the lack of training, I'd have put some weight on, but my empty weight this morning was 66kg, which I was happy with.
I'd like to think that I will feel well enough and will receive medical clearance to start the race in Bolton. I won't know for sure until next week. If I decide to go for it, I'll get through the swim, and I'll probably get through the bike, and after a short time running, I'll know if I'm strong or not. If I'm strong and in a position to challenge for Kona qualification, I'll go for it. If I'm not strong, I will treat it as a training day and will pull out after maybe 10 miles of the run. I'll then have to look at a Plan B, which could well involve Ironman Wales in September...
For now, I need to get through the weekend, and push myself in training, and see how I feel, and keep getting lots of sleep, keep eating good food, keep drinking lots, and keep giving myself every opportunity to recover from a horrible, freak occurrence. But at least I am still here, still in one piece. At least I knew I was in trouble and knew to go to hospital - I can be quite stubborn and can fight through a lot of things that most other people wouldn't - if I hadn't gone to hospital when I did, then, well, I could have died. So at least I am still here...!
However, from the point of view of doing a high-level Ironman, it's now a complete unknown. I'm probably not "fine". I haven't pushed myself hard since 22nd June. That's a long time ago. If possible, I'd still like to compete at Ironman UK, but I don't want to go there and destroy myself to come in 10th or 20th position. It doesn't feel real any more. It's a strange feeling. It's a very different mentality now. Damage limitation.
So, because I would still like to compete, this week I have been trying to do all I can to promote recovery. I took Monday and Tuesday off work and spent most of those days in bed, even though I wanted to be up and about and training. I had to force myself to do nothing. I've been sleeping a lot. I've been drinking a lot (of water). I've been eating really nutritious food. I've been doing stretching. And, inevitably, to whatever degree, I have been losing fitness and muscle tone.
Lots and lots of sleep...
On Monday I made a pile of food for the week. I made wholewheat pasta, loads of onions, loads of peppers, loads and loads of fresh ginger, 2 lemons, loads of garlic, loads of broccoli, chilli and tomato sauce. Served with chicken, with an orange for dessert. I don't think I can do anything to make this any more nutritious..!
A nutritious mix
I've been on strong antibiotics. Antibiotics kill all the bad bacteria in your system, but they also unfortunately kill all the good bacteria too. This can leave the intestinal system very depleted. So I've been doing some research and I've been taking more glutamine the usual to try to boost myself back up. I've been eating probiotic yoghurt. I've also started taking probiotic tablets to help boost the good bacteria in my guts. Every day I take a probiotic capsule that contains 20 billion live bacteria. I take quite a few supplements each day, and they all smell fairly benign. These probiotic tablets smell different. They smell alive, somehow. I'm a little reluctant to be taking them, as they are another unknown for my body, but I think the benefits will be worth any risks.
Probiotic ingredients
I've been doing some very light training in the latter part of this week. However, I need to push myself, to learn how I will feel when I go hard, and to learn how I will respond and recover. So, this weekend I am going to do a hard bike ride on the turbo for about 2 hours, I am going to do a hard swim, and I am going to do a hard run. None of these will be absolutely flat-out, but I will be pushing myself and keeping a close eye on my heart rate. I hope it will be normal. I will then monitor how I feel in the day or two after the weekend, and this will help me to decide on whether to race or not.
I've also been in touch with a sports doctor, via Des (who gave me the massage 2 weeks ago). The doctor's opinion will also have a big bearing on my decision.
I had been worried that with the lack of training, I'd have put some weight on, but my empty weight this morning was 66kg, which I was happy with.
That'll do
I'd like to think that I will feel well enough and will receive medical clearance to start the race in Bolton. I won't know for sure until next week. If I decide to go for it, I'll get through the swim, and I'll probably get through the bike, and after a short time running, I'll know if I'm strong or not. If I'm strong and in a position to challenge for Kona qualification, I'll go for it. If I'm not strong, I will treat it as a training day and will pull out after maybe 10 miles of the run. I'll then have to look at a Plan B, which could well involve Ironman Wales in September...
For now, I need to get through the weekend, and push myself in training, and see how I feel, and keep getting lots of sleep, keep eating good food, keep drinking lots, and keep giving myself every opportunity to recover from a horrible, freak occurrence. But at least I am still here, still in one piece. At least I knew I was in trouble and knew to go to hospital - I can be quite stubborn and can fight through a lot of things that most other people wouldn't - if I hadn't gone to hospital when I did, then, well, I could have died. So at least I am still here...!
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