Its been a while since my last post as I've been busy sorting my life out down here in the South Atlantic. I've only been down here a couple of weeks so still trying to get into a proper 'heavy' training routine so that I'm ready to hit the ground running when I get back to the UK, hopefully just in time for my first race of a busy season; the Dambuster/RAF Champs in June.
The first week was a pretty good one training wise, racking up 12 hours. I managed to get outside on my bike a few times, doing battle against the strong winds and 'lumpy' roads, as well as checking out some nice run routes around the local hills. And then there's the pool. Its nearly always empty and if there are 3 or 4 other people in the water then that seems like its busy!! It falls into place even better when I start shift work and I get plenty of time to train twice a day and with no injury niggles I was feeling very optimistic. Bonus. It was all going so well in 'training heaven'...then man flu strikes. Great. All the training grinds to a sharp halt before its even had a chance to get going, with blocked sinuses and a sore chest. Not happy.
I'd just sat down and devised my training plan for the whole det and managed to 'tick off' the first session then woke up the very next day with my nose running like a tap and by the end of that day my throat had closed up, I had a raging temperature and my neck and shoulders ached. Not good.
Its been 3 days now since the lurgy struck, and I'm still suffering with headaches and a nasty cough. Its really frustrating when you have time to kill, looking out the window at the sunny weather (no really, the sun does shine down here!) and wishing I was running up along the craggy hilltops. But I know if I push it too soon I will only be out for longer in the end, so patience is definitely the key at the moment. I'm sticking to the rule of thumb that says if the symptoms are from the neck up, then training can continue, but if like me, the symptoms are also below the neck then rest is imperative.
I'm tentatively targeting Monday as a gentle return to training. It will probably just be an easy spin on the turbo but I'm not putting any pressure on myself just yet, I will just see how I feel.
So, its a bit of hurry up and wait for me at the moment. Its a case of keeping my fluids up, eating sensibly (not too much cake!), doing a few stretches (when my head doesn't ache to much) and sleeping...a lot!
Train well.
Mal,
ReplyDeleteLooks like I'm going to the Falklands in May or Oct this year. Who did you go through to get your bike and turbo down there with you?
Hope you're feeling better soon.
Cheers
Neill
rest well, its too easy to overtrain down there, take it from someone who knows! Neil you cant go you are my new training buddie when i get to halton!
ReplyDeleteHi Neill,
ReplyDeleteAs you've got plenty of notice, it may be worth speaking to Nick Maxey at Brize ( by email to RAF Tri treasurer). Failing that, once I had my flight details I just rang Cargo at Bzn, ext 6059, and explained my situation, (RAF triathlete etc,). They were great and coz I got my bike bag (with turbo in there too) to them early on the day of the flight, they managed to get it on my flight, as oppose to it following on at a later date.
Good luck!