No Happy Ankle Here :(

Head spinning....

Ever had a couple of weeks where the head spins, and you feel like you are stuck in a revolving door.  My revolving door has consisted of Dr, Physio, Xray, repeat, and yep lets repeat that again, and ok CT scan time now.  No, specialist now and an MRI.  Man can I get off this revolving door now.

That's a long story short.  Yesterday, was the final head spinning moment where I got told by the Orthopedic surgeon; "you don't have a happy ankle".  Really; wondering what gave that away the swelling that is still there after 6 1/2 weeks, the fact you nearly sent me sky high when you hit the mark pressing into my ankle or maybe that I'm still stuck in a fabbo boot, or well, enough of the sarcasm now, yep.

Anyways the 70.3 Ironman goal is over for this year. :( End result and final conclusion; fractured my fibula near ankle (that is nearly repaired woot woo).  But and herein lies the kicker, MRI revealed; I have badly bruised bones around said ankle, and extensive soft tissue damage.  Again with the words you did "a good job and my you have a high pain threshold," remarked as putting in the long pointy thing containing local anesthetic and cortisone directly into X marks the spot on the ankle.  Yeah, baby. 

Another 2 months rehab getting from boot to ankle brace, then see what happens.  No improvement back to surgeon.  Bike and running not for probably 6 months.  Bruised bones and soft tissue damage take a very, very long time to heal, apparently. Alright.

So this is well and truly my mental fitness months of training in preparation for me to do 70.3 Ironman one day because it's going to happen.  I hope the first one will be Cairns but as this has taught me who knows what is around the corner.  And really it's about having a go.  So it is just meant to be later that I have my go.  Looks like the mental fitness is coming first.  Plus guns from swimming.

Head slowly coming to stop...

Bonus:  No surgery....I can still swim with pool buoy, I can still travel (very happy days), have camera in hand makes a happy camper, and I think I'm about to get creative with one leg exercise so stick around that could be well worth a laugh. 

Train safe, avoid tennis balls and 

have awesome day.

Yours, my head is going stop spinning

Shell xox :)

Kick off...

Well yesterday was "officially" kick off for 20 week programme.  Starting on the path to finishing the Cairns 70.3 Ironman in June 2014.  I'm not sure yet, whether to smile and jump around like a Mexican bean with happiness.  Or find a corner and assume the foetal position, whilst rocking in said corner.  The jury is out.  Like my level of mid life crisis sanity, at the moment.  Then again, hey, you gotta be in it to win it.

 

So, yesterday, day one.  I woke up and said; "motivation, motivation where for art thou motivation."  It was left back in the calm of the weekend, with giggles and laughter.  Finally, got to the pool, pushed off from the edge and through my head was running; buggar me, it's all started now.  Then I discovered I've actually taken off 14sec of my 50m laps from 12 months ago.  I'm still no fish and I really would prefer to do it all breaststroke but I'm getting there.    Woot woo.  Thanks to coach la frog :). 

The night finished off with my grandma shuffle with team mates at the Esplanade.  Little thing called 1km and 2km time trials.  With 1km recoveries.  Isn't that nice to have a wee breather in-between all that goodness of running. Then I thought, hey 18 months ago I couldn't jog a 1km, now I'm doing 2km with help of teamies.  Another big, Woot woo.

When I got home I had the same feeling as the Jamaica Bobsled team of Cool Runnings; "I am feeling very Olympic today".  :)   Even though everyone passed me.  I didn't care because I remembered, hey before I couldn't do this and look what I'm doing now.   

Today's adventure however; was 30km on the bike.  I'm a total newcomer to the bike.  I just got it at the end of last year, and well if I had of ridden over the festive season.   I reckon it would be a close call with the man in blue.  (The sacrifices you choose to make :).)  Anyways, today's task is done.  Not pretty.  No "Olympic" feeling, jelly legs, speed wobbles trying to get water bottle because so bleeding hot, nearly fell over in my street trying to unclip...blah blah blah (ramblings of old duck continue).   You may have gathered; not my favourite part of training, yet, but will get there.  I may need to remind my legs of that tomorrow too, when I can't walk and have to hit the bike again.  :{

In a nut shell, though I think the really important thing and Coach M tells us ALL the time.  Take it day by day.  Don't forget to look back and see how far you've come.  Sometimes I think we are all guilty of not being fulfilled of what achievements have crossed our paths, in life, family, job, training.  We are too busy trying to get to the end, instead of enjoying the ride.  Well, what a ride this one is going to be, is all I'm saying.  I might even beat Big Dog (Newcastle thing) to bed tonight, the eyes very heavy and body just wants to be horizontal.  Ha ha.

Safe riding

Cheers

Shell 

Arrival - It's here.

This week marked D-day when I got my 20 week programme that starts on Monday.  I left it for a day before I even opened the email from my coach.  I know chicken .....   I'll let you fill in the blanks.  After a day of rehydration the day before with friends, and maybe or may not feeling the after effects of that.  I didn't think my heart could have taken it and my excitement cup wasn't going to overflow.  Because reality might sink in, I've bitten off more than I could chew.

Let's say I wasn't disappointed when, on the following day I opened it.  Buggar.  Yep, looking at the days for the next four weeks, numbers floating off the page talking about interval hills on bikes, running for time.  Uhh, my grandma shuffle is two speeds.  Stop and go :)  As fellow team mates disappear into the distance.  An inner gremlin in me goes what the .... are you doing. 

But then I go to training and realise even the young, very fit team mates are having those same doubts.  Ok, yep there are those that are just going to smash it.  Is it naughty of me to say though, seeing them with "whites of eyes showing"  puts me at ease.  I guess, it is.  Then again it shows we are in the same boat and why it is important to train around positive people to share the doubts but them quickly get them out of your head.  We all have our own reasons for doing this crazy stuff.

So it is back to basics I'm not looking at the week ahead, or the next four weeks.  Next Monday, I'll be looking at day one and go yep.  Ok, I need to do this as best I can.  Well that is the theory anyway.  Let's see how that works out??

Happy Training

Shell xo :)

cool T'shirt from Ironchicks, they have great information too :)

PS:  On and end not though, I have to say the best thing that has happened this week is doing a class on technique for running and feeling great afterwards.  (Never thought I'd say that ha ha never admit to coach either, shhhh.  It  gives her other silly ideas for you).  Biggest plus getting a really, really cool t-shirt from my sister, made my day.  See Photo.  So, Now, I think I'm all set to go, maybe...