My left foot…

It’s hard to believe I have only 4 weeks of training to go in advance of Telethon day on 26th. Seems like if got my dates wrong here – but I haven’t. I’ll consider a two-week taper before the big day. A taper is a time to cut down on long distances and just keep the muscles ticking over. That was the plan.
Unfortunately the niggle in my leg, picked up on Saturday, has forced an early taper type week.

Monday – 9am I phone the physio for an appointment. This needed treatment asap and thankfully they could oblige. I was on the physio’s table at 4pm. The verdict wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good either. In a nutshell my legs are overworked, tight and tired. Damm! It didn’t come as a surprise. I struggled at the beginning of the run in Kenmare. My left ankle would not bend for 4km’s. It was painful stuff. I made the decision to continue – although I had a feeling I might not get away with it. You may recall I had a target in mind for finishing in under 5 hours!! It was hard to let that go in the midst of a race. Normally I run these things off. I also had a severe pain down the right hand side of my back to deal with. Great craic this triathlon thing eh..?! I completely ignored it because I had the same pain in my back last year and it went away. Mind over matter I guess. Enough moaning man - back to my left foot. The stiffness is a culmination of months of constant training. Not just one race! The advice from the Physio was to keep weight and pressure off my feet.
Did a light 1.5 hour cycle in the phoenix park.

Tuesday - I did a 2 hour easy cycle in the phoenix park.


Wednesday – Another session with the physio. When I’m lying there on the bench and my face is turning purple I keep reminding myself as I hold my breath so I don’t shout obscenities
‘Its good pain!! The pain is good’
The recommendation was not to run for a week. That’s fine except I can’t swim either this week. To avoid infection on the Tattoo I have to skip swimming pools for one week. I’ve gone from a triathlete to a monoathlete. This week is now all about cycling. Thanks Neil for massage that night.
By the end of that day I was completely tenderised.

Thursday – Time to dust off the turbo trainer. Each evening I was getting caught in the darkness cycling in the park. When the lights go down its not just the Reindeer that you have to look out for in the park… We’ll say no more! I set the bike up in front of the TV and put on a DVD. This probably sounds ridiculous but I purposely watched a DVD I’d seen before. I didn’t want to be overly stimulated by the DVD – this had to be more about the cycling. A bit strange? Obsessive? Compulsive? Not at all. Just too lazy to go to DVD shop! There will be no DVD’s on Telethon day – just people watching. That’s why all support from people on the day will be much appreciated.
I did two hours on the turbo. The film was called Deja Vue. The irony was not lost on me.

Saturday - I needed to do a long cycle. Happily the weather was bang on. To make things interesting and show a bit of support I decided to cycle to Mullingar to the Caroline Kearney Memorial triathlon. It took me 4 hours to get there. Slow pace on me tod - nothing special. I should have got there sooner except for dodgy directions. It would appear that no one in Mullingar has heard of Lake Ennell or how to get there. That’s ok except its only 6 miles from the town centre! My fault really, I could have brought directions with me. I shouldn’t be putting people on the spot like that…

Total time spent training 9.5hours