A "wake up" moment!

On Friday night I had a "wake up" moment.  My son was playing in the final of the schools regional football and it was a horrible night.  The wind was howling, the rain chucking it down and they were getting hammered 3-0.  I'm not the giving up type but I said to my wife, if they go 4 down I'm heading to the car.  Then Ali scored, 3-1 half time.  Still they had a tough challenge on there hands.  Second half he lays on the second and scores the third - now we have a game.  They end up winning 7-4 but it was a tight game.  As I drove home the thought occurred to me that I'd given up when they were 3-0 down.  I didn't believe they'd come back against such a good side.  On reflection this demonstrated how crap my attitude had become in the last few months.
A change of attitude and approach is required.  For too long my posts have been more like a report from an A&E department.  It's understandable but frustrating.  I picked up my new orthotics and had a bit of extra treatment for my Plantar Fasciitis - my podiatrist stuck his thumb into the gristle in my arch and gave it a "kicking" - very pleasant, not!
On Saturday I went for a 4.2km run to test out the new orthotics.  They certainly gave me additional support and I wasn't in any pain while I ran.  I was aware of a small amount of discomfort on the top of my foot but later on the PF started to ache.  The new orthotics are to sort the problem on the top of my foot (Lisfranc mid-foot injury) and it seemed ok so that's progress.  I'm meeting my physio on Tuesday to see if we can sort the PF out because it's starting to really piss me off.
I met with my coach and she is in a similar position to me on going back to the beginning on training and building it up so hopefully we will get some running in together - I'm avoiding my club mates because they are coming into their peak fitness and don't need someone to hold them back.
As a result I have reset my goals for the season based around getting healthy and fit.  I am ignoring the race schedule as each one I have to drop out of, 3 so far this year, just makes me feel crap.  Get the foot sorted and building my fitness and strength back is my priority.  This will help silence the chimp in my head who has plenty of material to work with at the moment.
In the meantime my ATHelite club mates went out in horrendous conditions today to complete the Standard & Mid distance triathlon.  Freezing cold water, howling wind and rain  on a tough bike course.  Sound horrible but I wish I was there.  Well done to everyone who braved the conditions.  It will sent you up nicely for the rest of the season.  Enjoy your training and I'll see you at a start line next year. I 've got a lot of work to do.

Extreme training!

It's been a week of extreme training.  Pushing my body to the limit while trying to perform at the highest level.  The warm up was two days at a business retreat at St Andrews - no seriously it was business and didn't involve golf.  But there was the odd glass or two of wine.  This was very deliberate as it was preparing my body for the extreme training ahead.
On Thursday a 4.15am start and off to the airport to meet with my team mates for the annual "Stryder Cup" in Portugal.  3 days of intense, nail biting golf followed by food and.....the odd glass of wine!  The nutrition programme started off at 6.30 am with a full Scottish Breakfast and a pint of Guinness.  I only do this once a year and most of the time I am walking through the airport at this time looking over at the noisy crowd and wondering how can you drink at 6.30am?  Now I'm wondering WHY did I drink at 6.30am?
Our organiser had gone to extra lengths this year and on top of 2 (out of 3) superb golf courses he had arranged for the Miss Teenager Universe Portugal 2015 to be hosted at our hotel and for the contestants to be staying there the whole time we were there.  Now before you start getting the wrong idea, I have a teenage daughter as did a lot of the players so we were very well behaved.  But watching them at breakfast, lunch & dinner walking up to the buffet was hilarious as they did it "cat walk" style.  Sadly they didn't crack a smile and it's not something that looks much fun.
Back to the golf.  I was captain of my team and am delighted to say we won comfortably although the individual games were tight.  Now you might not think golfers are athletes but 5 hours plus in the afternoon heat when you've been out to the very small hours the night before takes dedication and mental toughness!
Back home now and hopefully this week I'll get the orthotics sorted out so I can start running to shed a few of the extra pounds that have gone on unless the weight is muscle from the strenuous activity of golf!

Time out

I'm at an important stage in my "athletic career" (that's meant as a joke for those that don't know me). I have spent the last 17 years building a successful business while helping, in whatever small way I can, raise 3 kids with my wife. So it's fair to say that life is busy, always.  Having been injured, did you know that (?), means my training schedule has gone to pot and I pulled out of a sprint triathlon today as my foot isn't happy.  I was meant to have you new orthotics fitted yesterday which would have stablised my mid-foot problem but they hadn't arrived. So rather than risk injury I decided to take the rest.
I did go out for a wonderful bike ride on Saturday with some club members and we got the best of the weather.  Alan was riding a "fixy" which limited how fast he could go and due to the wind I offered him some protection by riding in front. I was so happy to be riding at that pace while he worked hard on the hills.  It made me realise I needed to spend more on the bike and it certainly is kinder on the body.
This week won't be good for training.  I'm away at a business retreat for 2 days, honest it is work, but it may involve the odd glass or two of wine.  Then I'm away in Portugal for 4 days playing golf and while I know that won't get me any sympathy I am hoping my foot will behave.  Usually we will be in buggies so that will ease the pain but I may be force to have the odd beer or six!  So come this time next week I will be feeling guilty and starting to plan what the rest of the season will look like.  I am struggling to see how I can be fit enough for 100 miles without causing permanent damage to my foot.  So it looks like I'll be having time out and ticking over on the fitness front for the foreseeable future.  I'll let you know once the new orthotics are fitted and I've tested them out.  In the meantime enjoy your training and competing in the events.

Inspirational weekend

What a fantastically inspiring weekend.  On Saturday I went to watch the Highland Fling, the 53 mile ultra from Milngavie to Tyndrum - the one I ran last year. I had a number of friends running this incredible race and I wanted to surprise them so I headed up to Balmaha with some friends. Watching all different styles, shapes, ages of runners was inspiring.  They had completed 19 miles and we're all looking strong but I knew what they still had to face. A very tough 34 miles.  They all completed the run with some fantastic time. It didn't just happen they had sweated blood, sweat and tears and deserved the accolades.
Once they had passed through I went for a swim in Loch Lomond with my pal who wanted to experience the cold water as he is doing a standard distance triathlon in 3 weekends in the loch.  When we got there we did a safety assessment as the water was only 7 degrees and it was choppy.  Entering the water was a bit of a shock to the system but after a few minutes we were starting to "warm up". We cut it short at 5 minutes as we'd achieved our objective.  I was meant to be doing the 70.3 ironman in 3  weeks time but have pulled out as I am still resting my foot and therefore not running until I get my new orthotics next Saturday. That would not be sufficient preparation therefore I made a difficult, but the right decision.
Today I had the pleasure of watching the London marathon on TV and following friends on FB.  One friend deserves a special mention, Laura Gordon.  3 years ago she achieve her target of running a 10k. Today she completed the London Marathon. Unbelievable achievement and she raised a fortune for a good charity. It just shows what is possible with the right mind set - well done Laura.
Spectating isn't my favourite past-time but it gives me a chance to support my friends who have supported me. Watching people achieve their goals is inspirational. It makes me all the more determined to get over this injury and reset my goals.

A diagnosis, at last!

Tonight my podiatrist explained what perhaps the specialist should have last week.  He had met her and discussed my foot in detail.  I have Lisfrancs (mid-foot) injury.  At this stage there is no requirement for surgery so in order to strengthen the mid-foot I had my feet scanned for new orthotics.  The podiatrist also confirmed that my target of running 100 miles on August 22/23 is still on, assuming that my foot behaves.
This is great news but I will need to take it sensibly.  My orthotics won't be ready for a week so I'll concentrate on my swimming and cycling to keep my base fitness up.  I have a sprint triathlon on 3rd May and a half Ironman on 17 May so I've plenty to keep me busy.
Thanks for all your good wishes and continued support.

Perhaps looking for Plan C!

A week into Plan B and it's not going well.  My foot has been grumbling all week and I've not had a good weeks training.  Yoga on Tuesday was wonderful.  On Wednesday morning I went out early in the morning in the rain to run for the first time in 10 days.  I was aware of my foot all the way round but after 4k I became more aware of a "toilet" problem so needed to head back asap.  Fortunately I made it, just, and it reminded me the importance of routine i.e. ....no need to go into detail here as I think you get the point!
I then took my bike to get it's annual service and due to a part needing ordered I haven't had my bike back yet which hasn't helped.
Thursday and Friday I was in London so no ability to train but I did a lot of walking and my foot wasn't happy.  On Saturday it was a glorious day but I had booked a days golf for a friends birthday so we were away for the day.  Turnberry is a fantastic golf course on the Ayrshire course and the sun shone all day.  However my foot really started to hurt and my calf muscle began to stiffen.  By the end I was limping and the pain was affecting my golf - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
I rolled my foot, stretched my calf and hoped I'd be able to run today, Sunday.  Sadly there was no improvement in my foot and calf so today became a rest day.
I am meeting my podiatrist on Tuesday night and he is looking at stiffening the mid foot area to provide more support to my foot.  We are also looking at my footwear which when I do a post mortem, it might turn out to be a major factor despite taking advice at the time.  I will also be booking a massage for my calf and foot which I don't think will result in a "happy ending"! 
Is a plan C required?  Maybe but not before I get the orthotics adjusted and look at changing my shoes.  Hopefully the bike will be back and I can get in the miles.  I'll be back in the pool and between those two should keep my fitness up.  My taking part on a sprint triathlon and a half marathon are in the balance and I'm not even thinking about my 100 mile run at the end of August.  A lot will depend on the next few weeks.  Get out there and enjoy the summer folks!

Plan B

Life has a way of putting obstacles in your way and that is why you need a Plan B.  Unfortunately I have to implement my Plan B due to my foot injury.  For a few months now I have been suffering pain in my foot and despite treatment it hasn't improved, in fact it's got worse.  Tonight I visited the specialist and had 3 x-rays taken.  The outcome wasn't exactly conclusive but without getting an MRI scan which isn't guaranteed to show anything, the experts view is that there is some "wear and tear" on some of the bones on the top of my foot.  There may be some old damage from a car accident 7 years ago but nothing definite.  I've been told I can run and if it's sore take pain killers.  I've to see what happens over the next month - the last resort is surgery as that is a 3-6 month recovery period so here's hoping.
What wouldn't be sensible would be high intensity training compressed into 8 weeks.  Therefore it is with a heavy heart that I am postponing my WHW+ (100 miles) till 22/23 August.  It will mean 2.5 hours less daylight but that will be part of the fun.  It gives me 8 weeks more to build my mileage in a sensible way. 
I may be mental but I'm not totally stupid.  I have numerous multi-day events and challenges that I want to take on over the next 10 + years and having to do it with a walking stick isn't on the agenda.  My short term focus is now on a half Ironman on May 17th so miles on the bike required and build up the running.  It's a set back but not a season wrecker like my hamstring last year! See you out on the road, the trails and on the water!