Sunday ride

Man, this weather is the pits. See what we have to put up with in this country! A gap in the clouds permitted an al fresco beverage stop and the inauguaral meeting of the tea and toasted tea cake appreciation society (TTTCAS). People, this is true Ironman training!
Brian and I continued into the road spray for another 20 miles which probably ended up at around 80, a decent 5 hours in the saddle.
Training was disrupted due to a a job that came in over Monday night, but I did manage to run home on Tuesday and then again on Thursday.
The knee is constantly sore, so I've got to be careful pounding the pavements. The longer runs from now on are going to have to be x-country.
Any kind of plan has now gone out the window. I'm just doing what I can and turning up at the club sessions. Hopefully that'll see me through.

I like swimming

All these swim sessions have turned me into somewhat of an aquaphile. I used to worry about mouthfulls of tepid choking pool water, now it gets swallowed like a shot of Tequila, and probably does my insides about as good.
The knee has still been sore when on the bike and running and stiffening up after sitting, in fact it has felt buggered, but over the last few days, and this maybe to do with the prescription anti-inflamatories, the soreness has been much less. I hesitate when saying this. I do not want to tempt fate. I have to run consistently now, with some long sessions building up to the 3 hour target. It's been a worrying and increadibly frustrating couple of weeks, but dare I say it, Weymouth seems to be back on - now just over 2 weeks away.

The bad news... and the good!

Suspected tendonitis diagnosed over the phone with Claire the Osteo. Must have been brought on by the fall and probably not helped with the bike ride and the runs on a tender knee. This reminds me of the old joke,

'Doc, my knee hurts when I run and ride my bike.'
'Well don't run and ride your bike then!'

So I had two really good swim sessions with the club last week and a couple ofsessions in the gym staying off the feet. Swam today as well after weighing up the options of heading out on the bike. I know the knee wouldn't last, so it's pointless even trying. Looks like Weymouth is becoming less and less likely, and the more I think about it, the more it seems like a sensible thing to end my hopes of doing a half distance before the big one in the hope that the body will be fully recovered. The chances of aggrevating an injury over such a long distance would be high, and I can't afford to be that irresponsible.

The next two weeks will be a revelation.

The good news is my resting heart rate is 38 bpm, a sure sign of overall fitness. That's 2 above Paula Radcliffes in her prime.

120 mile ride

Saw the Osteo first thing and got some ultrasound on the knee and suction on the shoulder. Claire also showed me how to tape up my itb. She asked me to just ride to Brighton and not back, so I hearded out into the glare of the hottest day of the year so far, through the commuter congestion and out towards Westerham. From there on to Lingfield and the A22 around Uckfield. From there it was signs to Lewis with a little detour right to go over Ditchling beacon (no icecream at the top this time) and down into Brighton. 4hours after setting off I was devouring a baked potatoe with prwns and pineapple followed by lemon tart with raspberry coulie. Feeling slightly bloated I decided the knee was holding up well enough to make a start back. I could always get the train at Haywards Heath. No I couldn't, come on this is Ironman training. I knew I would cruise back if it killed me. The last hill was tough. My gearing is a little low, which may have to be changed before the big one. Anyway I made it back and jumped in the jacuzzi at the gym, stretched of the calves in the steam room and sat in the plunge pool for as long as I could. The membership fee is really worth it!

Recovering...

This is so frustrating! I know these things are sent to try us, but what a monumental waste of time! Most of the time I sway between these thoughts and the slightly less acerbic view that this isn't a catastrophe, mearly a minor disaster. I know I'm probably fitter than I've ever been, and that I'd put in plenty of hours before the fall, but there's this nagging concern that everyday now is precious and should be a key part of my overall training plan.
While the scars have been healing, I've been out on the bike and running a bit - up to an hour - because I'm incapable of just resting up. Once you're in this kind of routine, it's not that easy to put your feet up. You get really fidgety!
The problem with that is training on an injury. That's not such a cool thing. The right knee took some of the fall and is still slightly swollen and running hot. I've been covering it with an ice pack after runs and rides, which has helped.
The elbow is taking the longest to heal and is still scabed up. It's really tricky knowing when to start swimming again. It's only been two weeks since the fall, and I'm all but healed. Having said that I took delivery of my wetsuit today and in the process of trying it on, I open up the elbow again, so I think the club swims are going to have to wait another week.
Ok, some good news: Managed to get the bike serviced and repaired. Looks great now with new Ultegra rear deraillier and shifters, not forgetting colour co-ordinated LOOK pedals. Alright, the bar tape is a lttle on the light red side, but it'll make finding it at T1 a little easier.
Altogether now. Think healthy. Think injury free recovery!