Saturday, December 12, 2009

12 weeks....out!

It is now to the day 12 weeks out. And where am I at? Well excellent question....one that at times I struggle to answer. But I am going to give it a go.

There are a number of things that have put my campaign in such a predicament. One being the back injury that I sustained going on 11 weeks ago. This has been the main cause of the the other issues preventing me from training over the past 11 weeks. As I have mentioned in a number of other posts the weight has been a real issue.....I'm now in the Clydesdale division...not happy! (more self discipline required here)

The whole issue I believe is that I haven't had a real outcome/prognosis on my back and therefore really haven't know which direction I can head with my training. It has been 6 weeks since I arranged for an appointment with one of the leading back specialists in Queensland. Throughout this time it has been regular Wednesday trips to the Physio and interspersed throughout this time some acupuncture and this week I have been back to my old massage therapist (who does a brilliant job) ....the hike over to Camira is certainly worth it. So much of my guidance throughout this time has been from the physio and some well researched information...but I am really looking for direction from the specialist...as he 'should' know best. Giving Triathlon away is NOT an option so I am looking for options to enable this to occur.

Within the last couple of weeks I have found that because I am 'floating' in limbo and that there is NO DEFINITE goal apparent at the moment, the attitude and thinking is reflecting this...I am a goal orientated person and the goals must be realistic achievable goals that are clear and defined from the start..and at this stage the goal of completing an IM in the first half of 2010 is NOT. I am hoping that this goal (to complete NZ IM or OZ IM in 2010) will become more defined on Thursday next week.

But still what about setting other smaller goals...well yes..but (there is always another perspective). There have been these goals, complete 90% of my program per fortnight, increase core strength and stability, improve diet (still got a lot of work here), loose the spare tyre round my waist (see previous goal!) and increase stretching and flexibility. Impressive set of goals but personally without that BOMOAG (big overriding mother of a goal) these small ones don't seem to be important. Now, I can tell you that after writing that I know this is not the case and that these things should be important all the time and not just during the base period, time of injury or off season. And I am the first to admit that I do require A LOT MORE FOCUS on these sorts of goals...but it is currently a real struggle and it of course puts pressure on me achieving that BOMOAG. In that I have to use possible 6 of the 12 weeks to IM to get a level of fitness that will do me justice to then go into (a far from ideal) 6 weeks of build and peak for IM. This is my predicament this appointment is at the end of the 12 week window and because the other 'smaller goals' have not been achieved throughout this 'time of injury'. I am going to struggle to achieve this BOMOAG, particularly when IM is now not about finishing, its about going better than 10h50m and ideally this time round 10h30m, if this not going to be able to achieved on a limited preparation then I am starting to rethink my goals for 2010 and firstly it should be recovering completely from this injury (based on the specialists recommendations) and then consider a few more HIM on the calenders round the region. This is not to say I am completely closing the book on
NZ IM or OZ IM in 2010 but I will be considering all options on Thursday December 17, 2009 after 9.30am.

Where are we at in terms of training......
Last week:
  • On the monday went for a walk with KO and could not get any further than 500m down the road before the inside of the left foot/toe began to tingle and go numb...which is a symptom of a prolapsed disc impinging on the nerve (particular when walking down even the slightest incline) This was a bit of a concern as I thought that things were improving as I had a lot less pain and discomfort down the left leg and the nerve pain was really isolated to the glute area.
  • Last week complete 3 out of 3 swim sessions. Which included a 400m TT in 4:25.
  • Worked hard on the core strength
  • Phiso on Wednesday
  • Gave the indoor trainer session a go on the Saturday and seem to be able to handle it without too much of a problem...other than being really unfit and was 'blowing-up' after 20min of a 45min session.
This week:
  • complete 3 out of 3 swim sessions. Which included a 800m TT in 13:23. This was within 30sec of my PB so considering...things aren't too bad....even though I'm carrying many extra kilos.
  • Worked hard on the core strength
  • Phiso on Wednesday
  • Massage on Friday - Felt great after this and I am going to look at some other possible treatments that Indulge Your Body Clinic offer. I am willing to try anything to assist the healing process.
  • Acupuncture today (Saturday)
So at this stage I'm not giving up hope and a lot hinges on the appointment this Thursday. Until then I will remain positive and try to improve my attitude towards the 'smaller' goals....particularly the diet and weight.

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