Grounded by kryptonite....

So, can't say it hasn't been an adventure this past 10 days; visiting physio, x-ray, doctor.   I'm not going to bore you with the details of all that totally thrilling maze; the end result and final diagnosis....drum roll; 

•    Small fracture in fibula near ankle
•  Avulsion to ligament from said fibula to ankle bone.  (In English, means I stretched my ligament that much it pulled a flake of bone off - yippee) 
•   Grade 2 damage to both middle and back tendon.  Which isn't so bad in big scheme of things.  :)

Yep, think that is about it.

Everybody keeps telling me I did a good job.  So I'm going to take pride, ownership and say thanks.  When I do things, I like to do them well.  I have this annoying trait everything has to be perfect when done well.  Although, this time I didn't quite have to take it to this level.  It kinda puts a different angle on training.   

Training, yes, well where does it leave me?  Good question. For the next two weeks (at least) I have a very fashionable boot on.  I could now be known as "Puss in Boot"  As everything is happening on the high end of the ankle, my said boot extends all the way to the knee.  Just need my sixties dress now with sparkles and will be rockin'.

My new fashion accessory...pretty cool hey :)  With dark and stormy clouds or days ahead maybe?

Anyway, as to where this all leaves me for training and my 70.3 Ironman Cairns.  Not sure.  I'm just going to take to day by day, see what happens.  I've had the why me, water works and the absolute shites about it all in the last ten days.  In-between the laughter of what an idiot super girl was at not sticking the landing.  So time will tell.  Remain positive, take pain killers, listen to your body (that one courtesy of Coach M).

At the end of the day I can't change what has happened, and things could be worse.  Am I a tad disappointed, at this stage of the game.  That would be, yep.  But need to focus forward not backwards and get on with making it better, is the first step.  

I'm a firm believer of what will be, will be. ( Oh dear so many cliches yet here we go again..) So if the universe really wants me to nut this year's 70.3 Ironman Cairns, out it will happen.  I wish I could fast forward to see if that is going to happen but have to wait.....  Kinda thinking I'll be in for one hell of a test of mind, body, and spirit.  Good thing I have some amazing people around me.

Yours Puss in Boot

Shell xoxo :)

PS: the one bonus is that swimming is first thing I can do, how awesome is that considering live in the tropics and its summer.  Woot woo. :)  Safe training everyone xoxo :)

Didn’t stick the landing..

Ever had one of those ‘oh shite’ moments in life? 

Valentine’s Day, is the day of ‘love’ for most expressed in many forms and ways.  I don’t have a problem with the day, take it or leave it.  It is sooooo commercialised now.   Sometimes I wonder if the spirit of the day is lost.  In competition of everyone trying to post first photos, on social media of flowers received from said love one.  But it is the way the world crumbles now, opps I mean turns. 

On this Valentine’s Day 2014, I tried to fly like Supergirl through the hot tropics sky, to hit a smash in tennis.  Only to not stick the landing and come down like the preverbal sack of …potatoes.  From there I assumed the role of dead jelly fish.  Kryptonite had hit my system and this Supergirl; grounded.

When supergirl could stick the landings.......

Laid out on the side of the court.  Surrounded by my mates, in a world of pain didn’t image possible; buggar, buggar, bum went through my head.  Ok, plus a few really explicit words were going through my head, in-between the OMG this really hurts.  In addition 1. Coach M is going to kill me.  2.  Holy dolly where does this leave me for training for 70.3.  Crap and back to the buggar, buggar, bum.

A ride in a special car with green tube of happiness took busted SG to ED.  Outcome with my wing super friends at my side, the egg on my ankle is a sprain.  I now had a cankle and crutches, advised to stay away from training for at least a week and get to physio ASAP.

Over the weekend, it grew and grew, the swelling somehow spread to the inside now.  Kryptonite had certainly taken hold.  My cankle soaked up the ice baths, elevation for the remainder of weekend yet not budging in size.  Bless its cotton socks.

Monday morning; hello.  I got to see the very nice young man physio; looking at my cankle; “yep, its fresh, and you did a good job”.  I really don’t do things in half measures.  :)  After some gentle prodding, oh, yep that tickled, a lot.  It appears tendon damage around the ankle and perhaps the tendon that joins ‘shin bone to ankle bone’ a little damaged too.  But until the swelling goes all the way down, won’t really know.  Woot woo, unreal banana peel.

My new one leg exercises to keep up on fitness levels :)

So now it is a waiting game; waiting, waiting, waiting.  See what tomorrow brings after see physio again.  I’m thinking my swimming is really going to improve, and left leg is going to be sooo strong after doing one leg drills on wind trainer, over the coming weeks. :)  

Happy days

Shell xoxo

Never an end note but I would not have got through the day without gorgeous girls Sue and Megs.  Thank you so much I’m very blessed to have such great friends by my side.  xoxoxo

Cranky pants

 It had to happen, the sunshine ran out and the rainbow faded for just this day Wednesday 12th Feb.  Ho

Um.

It was just one of those days.  Swim squad, even my secret weapon afterwards didn't help.  Freestyle, freestyle, freestyle, ha ha.  Yep, I know it is a big requirement.  And actually, I kept getting faster on my spilts.  (I just wanted it to be over, cranky arse me.)  Maybe, it had merits in it though; get a fire in my belly and anything can happen.

Even on bike training for the day was going faster on wind trainer.  Which is completely different to

riding on the road but hey, when the rain is still falling for a novice rider it is the safest way.  To get the km's up.  Everything on this fine day just seemed to hurt. 

The up side is Thursday is always rest day, at the moment.  So maybe my body put on the mental block it wanted a day off early.  Who knows but its another day.  Things that had to be done got done and if I'm totally honest with myself, I felt heaps better after it all.  At the time just felt like I was getting smashed and the "I can'ts" crept into my head.

Not to self; banish the "I can'ts" and tell them to get the hell out of dodge.

Just keep going......
Shell xo :)

It snuck in there..week three

I'm wondering if this is how you loose track of time....focusing on training and little else.  Week three seemed to have come and gone in a flash.  Unlike the rain that seemed to be fallen from the heavens.  (Only wish it would fall where the farmers need it). 

So a week of wind trainer, swimming, well you are going to get wet anyways but that fat rain, when it hits you in the face whilst trying to breathe.  Thats a little interesting.  Cliffy shuffle in the rain, who doesn't love jumping in puddles.  How cool is that?  I love it.  Yep the sneakers might stink because they can't dry but the sun will shine again and will get them all nice and clean. 

Come Sunday was definately a struggle to run (cliffy shuffle 50min) but did it.  So tick tick little fellow this week made it through it all.  Yahoo.  :)

Week three was definately embrace the rain week, all part of the adventure...

Happy days enjoy them.

Shell xo :)

Week two down...it's a wrap

I'm not too sure where all this week went.  I think there were a couple of black out days because I'm still shaking my head.   I've actually, officially, laid out 100's of dollars to compete in a crazy race "because it's fun". 

Monday was AustraliaDay public holiday so a short cliffy shuffle along the Barron Gorge Road.  There are worst places to train believe me.  The peace of the rainforest, running crystal clear waters of the mountains heading to the Coral Sea, blank out your screams of pain on the gentle inclines of the mountainous road.  But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. 

My beast, still un-named maybe I should get onto that...

Tuesday, the threat of cyclone off the coast lead to the bike being on the wind trainer, just keep peddling.  Bit like one of those silent movies where the character keeps running but doesn't get anywhere because scenery is actually scrolling past him.  It's an interesting ride. 

Wednesday, still raining but no gentle sea breeze.  Our cousins further south got that one.  So you really can't put off swimming because hey you are going to get wet anyways and preschool squad is one of favourite parts of the week.  Except when doing said chicken wings, catch up drills etc.  Breathstoke, bring it on.  Ending the day with another bike session on the wind trainer with teamies.

Thursday,  my awesome day off and getting ribbed because I didn't get up at 6am to run hills with my team mates.  They really haven't learnt I don't 'do' early mornings, some know and they would agree with me.  Coach M has great delight in annoying me on early morning starts; it's funny - yep.  When my day says you are free as a bird.  My mind and bloomin old body says, yippee.  Let's celebrate and have a nanny nap.  Awwwh.  End of story.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday have all blurred with mixture of tri club, boot camp, cardio tennis, and running.  But at least week two is done and dusted.  Yahoo.

It may be only week two but the roller coaster has began with good and crap sessions.  My favourite

leg swimming this week sucked.  Nearly fell off the bike, that's to be expected.  BUT my milestones; I ran 10km with help of my team mate, tackled my first hill on bike and conquered (remember I'm a learner on the bike), and this morning ran 40min non stop.  So I think the important thing dust off the bad crap and grab with both hands the stuff I achieved this week and never had before, even if they are wee milestones.  They are milestones for me.  Bring on week three....

Train well and safe

Shell xo :)

Who Inspires you?

We all have those that inspire us, to make better versions of us.  There are some that just plug away and do their thing.  Not even realising, they inspire others to do greater things.  Although, some procrastinate about making better versions of themselves.  Others think they are fine and dandy.  That is awesome, good for you.  As long as you know, within yourself, you are the best you can be.

But what inspires you, to do things, bigger and better? 

Who inspires me?  It isn't any one particular thing or person, it is many.  My coaches and team mates inspire me because they are like the ever ready bunny and just keep going.  Which makes me want to keep going too, because if I stop and not train.   I'm not going to make it to the finish line, in June.  Along with that, is words of encouragement, and kicks up the butt when required.  Yep, there will be plenty of kicks required as we head into the coming weeks.

Most of all what inspires me is those that have, and still; pay it forward.  Against the odds, try and make things better for others; Nelson Mandela,  Mother Theresa, Doctors without Borders, a beautiful family that left their home country and now foster Chinese orphans in China,  our service men and woman, my family, those battling against the odds.  The list goes on, but I think you may get the general idea. 

So I'll draw on those that inspire me, to collect each piece of the puzzle along the way in this adventure.  The jigsaw pieces of the training, programme, advice, one foot in front of the other,  etc.  Take each piece and start to fit it together and come June, when all the stars align, this puzzle will be complete.   At the end, if it is a better, fitter, healthier version of me.  I'll be ecstatic because I've had a lot of help and inspiration to get to the final destination.

Pay it forward happy people

Shell xo :)