The Journey back to fitness - part 3

Surgery – Going for the finishers T shirt –– New business 

Surgery -8th of December. 

As I pointed out in my last journal one of my ribs is still broken (scroll down to see the X-ray image in my). Having also now been for a CT scan and an appointment with the surgeon I am in a position of where if I want to get on with my life then surgery is most likely the best option.  Turns out that there is non-union of the two rib ends and having an active lifestyle means it is constantly aggravating the muscles and nerves around the rib.

The surgery is planned for the 8th of December and the reason for this is that having time off over the Christmas period makes sense as it is often the quietest time from a business point of view. 

What that means is 6 weeks off work, and I have been advised that it will also be 3 months off exercise.  Honestly, I could have had the surgery by now, but it does make sense to plan it over that quite time.

Part of the decision to commit to surgery is that I feel the rib every day when I am massaging.  I have an active life and while I am not keen to under the knife it is apparent that the rib is impacting not only on work and sleep but also the things I love to do.

So turns out that the dynamic movement in cyclocross was a bit much for the rib

I had to give up cyclocross this last winter as I only managed 1 and a bit races before scumming to the rib pain.  I have also discovered that any kind of sit ups or crunchies load it and I then hurt for two days.   I guess the other key sport for me is Triathlons and part of testing what the rib will cope with is training for an Ironman that I had entered last year when I was home recovering.  And that brings me nicely to the point

Going for the finishers T shirt

So having spoken to the surgeon and realizing I was going to have to have 6 months off exercise it was a case of Fark.  I have two Ironman’s that I am entered for – Ironmaori in December and Ironman New Zealand in March.  I was going to have to sacrifice one or both.  It was a case of do the surgery and hopefully recover in time to do Ironman New Zealand with not certainty or try and do Ironmaori in December and then have the surgery with the potential that it might be a struggle.
​
Considering that December as I mentioned is the quite time for work it made sense to do the Ironmaori race.  However, it has become apparent that while I might get through the day the rib is not super happy.  It might seem strange, and you may ask well if you can do an Ironman, it cannot be too bad.  Well, the truth is I think it is going to be a tough day. My last long run was a reminder that its going to be tough - The images below are from Ironman Australia and taken at the same spot over the 4 laps.  Yep It is a reminder how tough it gets at the end. 

Ironman Australia - with me slowly falling apart on the run 

​Last December when I entered this race, I had great plans despite not being able to exercise at the time.  The potential of a flat course and a fast time beckoned.  The key factor for that to happen is a trouble free build up.  Honestly life is not like that, and it has been a long slow slog to get into any kind of shape especially because I was dealing with a rib that was basically still broken. 

Throw in getting sick right when I was supposed to start hard training, a niggly Achilles tendon, my wife having a hip replacement and launching a new business means I am way behind where I need to be.  It must be said it has been an interesting build up as I have not been able to intensity in the pool and there has been no speed work on the bike or run.  It’s been all about trying to build fitness and avoid injury and essentially do a no-frills training plan.   

​What does that mean – well honestly it means a change from let’s go and race to if I can just get to the finish line and get the finishers T shirt it will be a good day.  

The take home from that is that life happens, this is my hobby and just going and doing the race will be a cool adventure.  It’s not the end of the world if I am not in A game shape especially considering the year I have had. 

My normal Ironman build is something like this:
4 weeks hard, 1 week easy, 4 weeks hard, 1 week easy, 4 weeks hard, 1 week easy, 2 weeks hard and then 1 week taper. 
​
It has become apparent that missing that first 4-week block of training has meant I am chasing my tail a little and that while I should be in okay shape to struggle through the day. I am missing that 4 weeks of training as I think it would have made a difference especially to my cycling.  And speaking of cycling it leads nicely to my new business.

New Business

Most of you will know I have been working on a new business called Trinc Clothing.  It has been a project in the making for the last few years and in the last few months I have manged to get the website up, have a launch evening and start the process of getting the product online and begin selling.   
​

Go to Trinc Clothing

I am proud of what I have achieved and while there is still a massive amount of work to get done it is a cool adventure and hopefully the brand will be able to help in its vision of raising awareness of mental health and depression.  So go have a look and please feel free to purchase some of the product.

So that’s the update 

Critical thing is I would urge you to book in your massages as my last day with be 29th November and I am almost booked out

So its going to be a crazy couple of weeks and on some many levels it's going to be madness trying to do this Ironman with a niggly broken rib but honestly I think if I am controlled, avoid a kick in the ribs in the swim then is should be kind of ok.  

So turns out there will be a road to recovery part 4 the post Surgery edition.  Not sure how I feel about that but I guess it's just part of the journey .  

Cheers

​John