Injury Update & 1st Race of the Year Done!
I can hardly believe that it's been 7 months since I last did a triathlon but yesterday it totally showed!
I usually race Duston Triathlon in April because it's only about 40 mins from home and the faster you swim, the later you start! So I get a bit of a lie in compared to previous years! It's also really good to get all the jitters and mistakes out of the way before races that really matter to me :)
I first did this race in 2009 and I've done it 4 times since then. It's so nice to turn up to a race where you know the venue and the course like the back of your hand, it should (!) stop all the jitters right!?
This winter I have worked extremely hard swim, bike and serious amounts of physio! Not so much the run :(
After an MRI in January 2017 I finally discovered I had a trigonum on my left heel (causing my Achilles pain) and I just needed intensive physio to strengthen the ankles. I thought my injury worries were over, but sadly not. The same day my consultant did a scan on my right leg to discover that after the Parkrun on 1st January I now had a 0.8cm tear in the Soleus. No running for two and a half months ensued!
Thankfully during this time my coach Michelle Dillon helped me keep my head in the game! I used every mental strength strategy I knew and found a lot more via the internet and Michelle! At least we knew my swimming and biking would improve :)
Leading into the race I had started a walk/run protocol from my physio on 22nd March and did my first continuous 20 minute run on 30th March! Cutting it really fine to do the race yesterday!!!
Onto the race....
I rocked up feeling not too nervous (very good and something I have really worked on)
I did all my usual prep, including a really good warm up and I feel good and only a little nervous, just enough, not over the line :)
Swim
I can only describe the swim as feeling like someone was pushing against my chest, making it really difficult to breathe properly and that started to make me worry a little. I had to fight hard not to panic and just keep swimming strong. Having to stop as the faster swimmers got in behind me is a bit of a pain but I guess the norm for a pool swim!
T1
Normally I don't have anything to say about this but I think I did more faffing in this T1 than EVER before!!! Hey ho, this is why we have some practice races!
Bike
My contact lenses were almost coming out, which is not good when the first part of the course is downhill and you have to negotiate roundabouts!!! Thankfully within a minute or two I could see properly! I will ensure next time NO water get's into my goggles! After 5k we were unlucky and had to stop at a set of temporary traffic lights (thankfully our times were adjusted accordingly) then I struggled to clip in and get going again, I was now getting annoyed at myself! I struggled with my breathing again on the bike and it took me probably to the half way point to feel like I was riding the way I wanted to at the start, better late than never that my legs arrived!
T2
I couldn't get my shoes on, I think it took me 3 attempts to throw my feet in! No wonder I had a blister at the end (!)
Run
Thankfully my run legs felt great at the start (sound familiar!?) I was enjoying being able to push myself as hard as I could with no niggles holding me back. It's been 18 months since I have been able to push this hard on the run and I am just so grateful that I could even get this run done! The back end of the run I started to struggle but I stayed positive and reminded myself it was just a lack of hard running and to keep pushing. I am so proud of my commitment to my physio exercises, my legs feel stronger than ever and I am hopeful that at some point in the near future I will be able to run closer to the times I think I am capable of.
I was 3rd in my age group and 13th overall.
Next up is a Parkrun on 29th April to start to put some much needed speed into my little leggies! :)
I usually race Duston Triathlon in April because it's only about 40 mins from home and the faster you swim, the later you start! So I get a bit of a lie in compared to previous years! It's also really good to get all the jitters and mistakes out of the way before races that really matter to me :)
I first did this race in 2009 and I've done it 4 times since then. It's so nice to turn up to a race where you know the venue and the course like the back of your hand, it should (!) stop all the jitters right!?
This winter I have worked extremely hard swim, bike and serious amounts of physio! Not so much the run :(
After an MRI in January 2017 I finally discovered I had a trigonum on my left heel (causing my Achilles pain) and I just needed intensive physio to strengthen the ankles. I thought my injury worries were over, but sadly not. The same day my consultant did a scan on my right leg to discover that after the Parkrun on 1st January I now had a 0.8cm tear in the Soleus. No running for two and a half months ensued!
Thankfully during this time my coach Michelle Dillon helped me keep my head in the game! I used every mental strength strategy I knew and found a lot more via the internet and Michelle! At least we knew my swimming and biking would improve :)
Leading into the race I had started a walk/run protocol from my physio on 22nd March and did my first continuous 20 minute run on 30th March! Cutting it really fine to do the race yesterday!!!
Onto the race....
I rocked up feeling not too nervous (very good and something I have really worked on)
I did all my usual prep, including a really good warm up and I feel good and only a little nervous, just enough, not over the line :)
Swim
I can only describe the swim as feeling like someone was pushing against my chest, making it really difficult to breathe properly and that started to make me worry a little. I had to fight hard not to panic and just keep swimming strong. Having to stop as the faster swimmers got in behind me is a bit of a pain but I guess the norm for a pool swim!
T1
Normally I don't have anything to say about this but I think I did more faffing in this T1 than EVER before!!! Hey ho, this is why we have some practice races!
Bike
My contact lenses were almost coming out, which is not good when the first part of the course is downhill and you have to negotiate roundabouts!!! Thankfully within a minute or two I could see properly! I will ensure next time NO water get's into my goggles! After 5k we were unlucky and had to stop at a set of temporary traffic lights (thankfully our times were adjusted accordingly) then I struggled to clip in and get going again, I was now getting annoyed at myself! I struggled with my breathing again on the bike and it took me probably to the half way point to feel like I was riding the way I wanted to at the start, better late than never that my legs arrived!
T2
I couldn't get my shoes on, I think it took me 3 attempts to throw my feet in! No wonder I had a blister at the end (!)
Run
Thankfully my run legs felt great at the start (sound familiar!?) I was enjoying being able to push myself as hard as I could with no niggles holding me back. It's been 18 months since I have been able to push this hard on the run and I am just so grateful that I could even get this run done! The back end of the run I started to struggle but I stayed positive and reminded myself it was just a lack of hard running and to keep pushing. I am so proud of my commitment to my physio exercises, my legs feel stronger than ever and I am hopeful that at some point in the near future I will be able to run closer to the times I think I am capable of.
I was 3rd in my age group and 13th overall.
Next up is a Parkrun on 29th April to start to put some much needed speed into my little leggies! :)
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