As I mentioned in my previous post I have had a positive few weeks with training events. However, what I did not mention was that my knee was still painful during the run at the Aquathlon. When running uphill my old injury was doing its usual sharp ache in the inside of my left knee and on the last 2 laps my ITB injury on the outside of the same knee was so painful it was debilitating. This was so frustrating for me as the downhill section was when I was making up my run time and my knee was buckling with pain. I had already emailed the sports physician who had fixed the ligament damage in my knee through the use of Prolotherapy the year before and he assured me I could get a further prolotherapy injection now. Prolotherapy is a medical treatment that stimulates your body to repair or regenerate itself to strengthen weakened connective tissue. It also deposits new additional fibres thereby repairing lax tendons or ligaments to promote the release of local growth factors. He also said he could give me a cortisone/steroid injection on the outer side of my knee to try and help the ITB pain. The body naturally produces cortisone and by injecting it into an area of pain it acts as an anti-inflammatory. I know that ITBS can be helped with strengthening exercises on the glutes as well as using a foam roller to ease tight muscles. However what I do not have is time, so the injection is a quick fix. Due to the evasiveness of Prolotherapy it was paramount that I got this done ASAP and not in the final week before the Ironman. The problem was that I was working all week until late. Thankfully I managed to get some time off work and went to an emergency appointment on the Wednesday afternoon. I travelled to my old home city, London, and went to London Bridge Hospital. I also had a physiotherapist at the appointment which was really helpful as he told me his findings on the biomechanical benefit of Kinesio tape and how to apply it correctly. I know that there is no scientific proof that Kinesio tape works but as no knee support does the job and many athletes swear by it why would I not try it?
When at my appointment my physician questioned why I and many of his other Ironman patients can't just stick to the shorter distance triathlons. My only answer was that they weren't a big enough challenge anymore and don't have the stigma attached to them.
The cortisone injection was relatively painless but my Prolotherapy injection was a lot more painful than I remember it being. When I left my knee was swollen to the size of a bowling ball! Although the cortisone is not guaranteed to work especially with just one shot it was worth a try. He did mention however that as the cortisone has a short healing process I could get another done in the final week leading up to the Ironman but again time is against me.
When I got back from London Dan was at the fire station on his drill night so I decided to go swimming with the Tri club. Mentally I need to keep up the training despite being on 'tapering' as otherwise I will feel like I'm going backwards. As mental attitude plays such an important part in Ironman it was vital I kept mine positive. I knew I should not and would not be able to run or cycle due to my knee injections a few hours previous, so therefore swimming was the obvious non-impact sport. I was however still pushing myself through the tough interval hour session and made it even harder for myself by putting a buoy between my legs so I was unable to kick (I didn't want to kick with my knee and anger it). I managed to keep up the timings that were asked of us even when I was at the front of the chain. This did make me think that if I managed to get my strong kick linked with my arms I could make myself a lot faster - something to consider when training for another Ironman? This was the second to last club swim I would be able to make before the Ironman.
Speaking of possibly doing another Ironman I have one in mind, the Outlaw in Nottingham. This is not an Ironman branded event but is the Ironman distance (which makes it about £100 cheaper). I had read about this event when reading Andy Holgate's 'Can't Swim, Can't Ride, Can't Run'. This is his autobiography from how he came from a common man to an Ironman in less than a year. After signing up for a sprint distance triathlon as a joke he then got hooked and has since completed the feared Ironman Lanzarote (although he says he would never try Wales due to its' stigma as the toughest Ironman). His first Ironman was the Outlaw and the events' popularity has grown throughout the years, as many Ironman events have. Almost all of the Ironman Europe locations have sold out, many doing so within the first 2 hours of registration opening. Even Ironman UK in Bolton sold out after 24 hours. I would've liked to do Challenge Henley, a local Ironman distance race next year, but the ignorant people of Henley have campaigned against the annual event so much as they can't play golf that this is the final year it is taking place (on the same day as Ironman Wales). Many of the Tri club are angered by the cancellation of such a great event as for us this is the only Ironman in the South of the UK. It adds massively to the economy of Henley every year so their distaste for an event that encourages sport and helps people achieve their dreams just seems cruel. Surely the residents of Henley can cope without golf for one day?! Anyway, this means that my only chance to do an Ironman next year is the Outlaw, unless I travel abroad which I cannot guarantee is financially possible. I wanted to wait until after Ironman Wales and until I got paid in September to sign up so I can assess my ability as well as be able to afford the high cost of the event - something I will struggle to do this month. However, due to the popularity of the event it is almost sold out with less than 200 places left. I'm now stuck as to what to do. I don't want to be in a situation where I don't have the option to compete next year but also don't have everything in place to register now. I know that I won't regret entering as it is one of the ones I want to tick of my list, the others are Austria, Ironman UK in Bolton and Challenge Roth in Germany (obviously Wales is in there and Henley would've been too). I also know if I miss a slot I'll be devastated so part of me is just saying sign up. I'm sure the debate will continue in my head.
When I got back from London Dan was at the fire station on his drill night so I decided to go swimming with the Tri club. Mentally I need to keep up the training despite being on 'tapering' as otherwise I will feel like I'm going backwards. As mental attitude plays such an important part in Ironman it was vital I kept mine positive. I knew I should not and would not be able to run or cycle due to my knee injections a few hours previous, so therefore swimming was the obvious non-impact sport. I was however still pushing myself through the tough interval hour session and made it even harder for myself by putting a buoy between my legs so I was unable to kick (I didn't want to kick with my knee and anger it). I managed to keep up the timings that were asked of us even when I was at the front of the chain. This did make me think that if I managed to get my strong kick linked with my arms I could make myself a lot faster - something to consider when training for another Ironman? This was the second to last club swim I would be able to make before the Ironman.
Speaking of possibly doing another Ironman I have one in mind, the Outlaw in Nottingham. This is not an Ironman branded event but is the Ironman distance (which makes it about £100 cheaper). I had read about this event when reading Andy Holgate's 'Can't Swim, Can't Ride, Can't Run'. This is his autobiography from how he came from a common man to an Ironman in less than a year. After signing up for a sprint distance triathlon as a joke he then got hooked and has since completed the feared Ironman Lanzarote (although he says he would never try Wales due to its' stigma as the toughest Ironman). His first Ironman was the Outlaw and the events' popularity has grown throughout the years, as many Ironman events have. Almost all of the Ironman Europe locations have sold out, many doing so within the first 2 hours of registration opening. Even Ironman UK in Bolton sold out after 24 hours. I would've liked to do Challenge Henley, a local Ironman distance race next year, but the ignorant people of Henley have campaigned against the annual event so much as they can't play golf that this is the final year it is taking place (on the same day as Ironman Wales). Many of the Tri club are angered by the cancellation of such a great event as for us this is the only Ironman in the South of the UK. It adds massively to the economy of Henley every year so their distaste for an event that encourages sport and helps people achieve their dreams just seems cruel. Surely the residents of Henley can cope without golf for one day?! Anyway, this means that my only chance to do an Ironman next year is the Outlaw, unless I travel abroad which I cannot guarantee is financially possible. I wanted to wait until after Ironman Wales and until I got paid in September to sign up so I can assess my ability as well as be able to afford the high cost of the event - something I will struggle to do this month. However, due to the popularity of the event it is almost sold out with less than 200 places left. I'm now stuck as to what to do. I don't want to be in a situation where I don't have the option to compete next year but also don't have everything in place to register now. I know that I won't regret entering as it is one of the ones I want to tick of my list, the others are Austria, Ironman UK in Bolton and Challenge Roth in Germany (obviously Wales is in there and Henley would've been too). I also know if I miss a slot I'll be devastated so part of me is just saying sign up. I'm sure the debate will continue in my head.
Another dilemma I have had is whether to get a 2-piece suit or just stick to a trusty 1-piece tri-suit. I have mentioned before that I love doing events and training in my tri-suit. It is great not having to worry about my shorts digging into me or whether my top is going to ride up when running. I feel completely free and comfortable in a 1-piece suit. However, I decided that I needed to get a 2-piece suit as during an Ironman I am bound to need the toilet mid-race and obviously just pulling your shorts down is easier than getting a whole all in one suit off. My friend had recommended a brand that did a 2-piece suit that clipped onto one another meaning no riding up. I decided to get this in preparation for my Ironman. It arrived the day after I ordered it and the style looked great. However, my head kept saying that I shouldn't risk it. So after all that I have decided to get the same style but in the 1-piece tri-suit version as opposed to the 2-piece. Dan thought my flapping about this issue was silly and kept insisting that if I need to pee I should just pee myself as the professionals and many others do. I've come to the conclusion that an extra 2 minutes taking my suit off is not the be-all and end-all. Two minutes, or even 5 minutes, should not affect my ability to get in before cut off time. The other things I have bought in my final preparation for Ironman is some Selant spray. This is basically an ultra quick way of sorting a puncture out. You merely dispense the canister into your punctured tyre and it self-inflates the tyre and seals up the tear. This is great for me especially after the time I wasted during Wimbleball fixing my punctures. I hope I don't have to use them at all (especially given the price of them) but they are there if I have an emergency and that is another worry lifted. The final thing I bought was some Kinesio tape in order for me to strap my knee up and of course I got these colour coded to what I am wearing on the day; pink and blue. (I have also got nail varnish to match this theme as well).
My final event before the big one is an Olympic distance tomorrow. I feel compelled to compete in this as the event organisers kindly deferred my entry for no fee when I couldn't compete last year due to my bike accident where I broke my wrist. This is a good time for me to test my new tri-suit, my heart rate strategy on the bike, the Kinesio tape and whether the injections have had any pain relieving effect. I want a sub 4hr time but my main aim is to test and take it carefully, I do not need any injuries now. Much like during the Oxford 100 miler, I have nothing to prove, I have to prove myself 7 days later.
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